Now that Hangouts has SMS integration, it’s the default SMS client in Android 4.4 KitKat, which means traditional text messages and instant messages are now all thrown in together. But if you don’t like it like this, there is a way you can change it.
If you recently picked up a new Nexus 5, and you live outside of the United States, you may have noticed that saying “Ok Google” to activate its voice-controlled assistant doesn’t work — no matter how loud you shout it. That’s because it isn’t designed to work internationally yet, but there is a really simple way to enable it.
Google started rolling out Android 4.4 KitKat to the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 today, and it quickly became apparent that the rumors claiming the “Google Experience Launcher” would be exclusive to the Nexus 5 were true.
Although older Nexus devices have received some user interface improvements, the big changes — transparent status and navigation bars, larger app icons, Google Now on the home screen — are only available on the Nexus 5 for the time being. At least officially.
But there is a way to install it unofficially.
I don’t know about you, but I was hoping Google would finally give us a battery percentage indicator in Android 4.4 KitKat. Sure, there are plenty of third-party apps that’ll do this in Google Play, but none are as clean or as simple as the baked-in solutions provided by the likes of Samsung and HTC.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be — but there is a way you can add a battery percentage indicator without rooting under Android 4.4. Just follow the steps below.
Everybody is outraged — OUTRAGED! — that Google will soon start using their names and faces in advertising.
The pundits are screaming bloody murder over the move, suggesting that Google is now as bad as Facebook. The more constructive critics are scrambling to give instructions for opting out.
But all this gnashing of teeth and ripping of hair over Google’s new social ad policy is misguided, in my opinion. I’ll tell you why Google’s new “shared endorsements” is probably a good thing, but also how it could turn out to suck.
But first, let me tell you what this is really all about and why “shared endorsements” is probably a good thing.
