Google updates its search and keyboard apps for Android

Google has updated two more apps for Android. This time we’re talking about the search app which is simply called Google, as well as Google Keyboard.

Both apps are infused with Material Design, sporting fresher, more colorful looks, and smooth animations.

The search app now lets you say “OK, Google” to ask a question even if your screen is off and your phone or tablet is off the charger, though this only works for the Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Google will also go through your Gmail inbox, and if it finds stuff you’ve forgotten to follow up on, will prompt you to add plans to your calendar. This will show up as a new card in Google Now. Other Now cards help you keep track of your trips and to-do lists, and even tell you where you parked your car.

You’ll be able to use the Google search app to search in other apps. When you speak your query, you can simply mention which app you want it to search, and it will. And you can now ask Google Now to flip a coin if you can’t make up your mind about stuff.

The Google Keyboard app’s update is all about the looks – specifically, Material Design. It comes with two new themes, one light and one dark, which sport that fresh new look (as you can see above). To enable either one, after getting hold of the latest version of the keyboard app (and keep in mind that Google loves staged rollouts for such updates, so it might be a while until you’ll have it), go to Keyboard Settings and pick either Material Light or Material Dark.

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HERE maps beta officially released for all Android devices

Nokia’s HERE Maps launched on Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones recently to offer “true” offline navigationand an alternative to Google’s preloaded Maps.

But the app was in testing only on Samsung’s smartphones even despite the leaked apk file that allowed us all to sideload the HERE navigation on non-Galaxy smartphones. Now that’s about to change – Nokia is releasing the apk for all Android smartphones so you can try HERE maps for yourself.

You’ll need to download the apk file to your smartphone and sideload it (using a file manager of some sort) but you’ll need to go into the Security settings of your device and enable the Install from Unknown Sources option. Nokia has the entire step by step tutorial over at the source link.

The app is still in beta so a few bugs are to be expected but it should be safe to try out.

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Google Play Music gets contextual music stations, Material Design

Google has announced a big update for its Play Music service. First off, the Android and iOS apps have received a new, Material Design-infused coat of paint. Second, the service now brings you contextual music stations.

These have apparently been “hand crafted” by a team of music experts, including DJs, musicians, music critics, and ethnomusicologists, to give you exactly the songs you need for a particular moment.

When you open the app, you’ll be prompted to play music for a time of day, mood, or activity. You can choose an activity, such as a workout, a commute, or so on, to get shown several music stations you can then instantly start listening to. These music stations can be downloaded to listen to when you’re offline too. You can also see what song is next, and even reorder the contextual playlist, add songs to it, or remove songs from it. And you get to start a new station for any song in the mix.

Play Music’s Listen Now page has been redone too. Your recently played music, new songs you may like, and radio stations based on what you usually listen to are presented in a card-based interface, complete with Material Design.

The contextual music stations are available today for Play Music subscribers in the US and Canada, through the Web, as well as the Android and iOS apps. The new Listen Now page is showing in all of the 45 countries where Play Music is available, and it too is out for the Web, Android, and iOS.

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Apple stops allowing iOS 7 firmware installations

Apple iOS 8 was released to all compatible devices on September 17, but it wasn’t a smooth launch at all. The iOS 8 was plagued by lots of bugs, Apple even removed all Health-related apps due to a bug in its HealthKit. This is where the iOS 8.0.1 update came to help, but while it may fixed the Health app issues, it broke the cell reception and Touch ID on quite a few phones.

So, the iOS 8.0.1 update was quickly taken down and iOS 8.0.2 appeared two days later to fix the Heath app and what the 8.0.1 update broke. Many users disappointed by the iOS 8 behavior decided to revert back to iOS 7.1.2, but this option now no longer available.

Apple has stopped signing the iOS 7 firmware since Friday afternoon so no one will be able to revert back to iOS 7 if they upgraded to iOS 8. This probably means Apple already considers the iOS 8 bug-free or at least smooth enough to be ready for mass adoption.

The adoption rate is indeed great, as every other previous iOS rollout, and Apple has done nothing unexpected. It always wants the majority of its users to run on the latest version because all those new services, security patches, etc. But it could have waited a month or two before it took this aggressive approach, just to be safe.

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HealthKit-integrated Apps start surfacing in the App Store

With iOS 8.0.2 now seeding, apps using the Apple HealthKit suite have started appearing in the App Store.

The first of the apps to appear in the App Store is FitPort, which gives you all available health information to you while syncing with HealthKit. The new health-related framework also allows you to be very picky on what information you share with third-party apps.

The issues that were reported a bit over a week ago, were originally supposed to be fixed with iOS 8.0.1. Since the update’s life was short due to bugs breaking the cellular and Touch ID functionality, it was pulled by Apple.

Expect more health-related apps to appear on the App Store in the coming days and weeks.

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