Here’s how Google checks for lag on your Android phone
Yes, Google hates lag on smartphones as much as you do — enough so that the search giant has a robot dedicated to spotting that delay between your finger input and what happens on screen. Meet the Chrome TouchBot, an OptoFidelity-made machine that gauges the touchscreen latency on Android and Chrome OS devices. As you can see in the clip below, the bot’s artificial digit pokes, prods and swipes the display in a series of web-based tests (which you can try yourself) that help pinpoint problems in both code and hardware. This isn’t the only gadget monitoring device lag at Google, but it could be the most important given how much the company’s software revolves around touch. Don’t be surprised if this automaton boosts the responsiveness of Mountain View’s future platforms.
Filed under: Cellphones, Robots, Tablets, Mobile, Google
Source: Francois Beaufort (Google+), Google Git, Appspot
Facebook wants to give your photo uploads a Snapchat-like flair
Facebook may be not as in tune with the teen crowd as Snapchat, but that isn’t stopping it from trying to fit in. TechCrunch has discovered that Facebook is testing an iOS photo uploader that lets you overlay Snapchat-like filters, stickers and text on pictures as you post them. While it’s not exactly a subtle attempt at riding the coattails of a fast-rising rival, it does show that the social network has ditched writing me-too apps in favor of adding features you’re more likely to use. Whether or not you see this uploader any time soon is another matter. Facebook regularly experiments with features, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the revamped software sees a lot of tweaks (assuming it makes the cut) before you get to try it yourself.
Filed under: Internet, Mobile, Facebook
Source: TechCrunch
Google intros new Android branding, but is it necessary?
Google has updated its own applications for Android with a splash screen that adds a tweaks to remind users who built the app, the operating system, and the ecosystem that it hooks into.
Having updated Googles’ own applications, you’ll now be presented with a white screen, an oversized logo, and the word “Google” plastered across the screen. But why?
Adding a splash screen to the loading process of an app only increases the time taken to get into the app itself – something previously Android design guidelines discouraged in order to load the app as quickly as possible.
However, Google has now taken a defensive position on app branding to counter the bundled Microsoft apps that now come with some Android phones that directly compete with Googles’ offerings. Here’s what Google say in their Material Design guidelines:
Branded launch screens are a good way to portray a brand while the app is loading. Take advantage of the loading time to display your logo or other elements that improve brand recognition. Avoid using text on this screen except your logo and, if applicable, a tagline.
So whilst technically completely unnecessary, Google feels it needs to protect its brand against its competitors on its own platform by introducing this loading screen into their own apps. Is the average user naive enough to not be able to distinguish between cloud services providers? Perhaps they are, and perhaps that’s why Google feels the need to hinder the app experience with these ugly splash screens.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Did you even notice the change?
The post Google intros new Android branding, but is it necessary? appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Apple Music will play on Sonos speakers by the end of the year
When Apple Music showed up, one of the biggest questions was whether or not it would get at least the same level of third-party hardware support as Beats. Will you have to chuck your Sonos speakers in favor of some Apple-blessed streaming audio gear? Not at all, apparently. The team at 1 Infinite Loop says that Sonos devices will play Apple Music by the end of this year — “ASAP,” as the iPhone maker’s Ian Rogers puts it. There’s no word of compatibility other hardware, but it’s evident between this and Android support that Apple is more interested in having a Spotify-like ubiquity than locking you into its ecosystem.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Apple
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: Ian Rogers (Twitter), Buzzfeed News
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