GOOGLE PLAY UPDATE

Google has released v3.9.16 of the Play Store application for Android and with it come some useful new features. One of the new features is the ability to delete apps from your ‘All’ apps list within ‘My Apps’. Anyone who has been using And

roid for a while will know that this list is cluttered with useless apps that you only downloaded once and then deleted but are now permanently part of that list. Well, not anymore.



Applications in this list that are currently not installed on your device will now have a delete button next to them, so you can instantly remove them from the list. Moreover, you can now press and hold over these items and delete a whole bunch of them simultaneously.

Another useful new change is that the Play Store app finally remembers your position in a list. Before, if you scrolled down a list and clicked on an item and then went back, you’d go at the top of the list. This would be extremely frustrating of you had scrolled down a lot. Now, the app remembers your position, so you can go back and continue scrolling down from where you left off.

Other minor changes include new notification icons that appear when there is an update available, along with expandable notification option. Your phone will now also show the icon for the app that you updated instead of the same generic icon it showed before. The new Play Store app is also smaller in size than previous versions.

The update is rolling out now so you’ll have to wait for it to arrive on your device. Alternatively, you can click on the source link below and head over to Android Police, who have uploaded the APK for your downloading pleasure.

Google+ gets a fresh new look

Google+ has received a revamp that completely changes the way it looks. Assuming you have received the design update, the first thing you’ll notice on the left is a new ribbon that houses all the key features of Google+. You can hover over them to access additional functions, move them around or put them into ‘More’ if you don’t use them very often.

Next you will notice that your conversation stream has changed a bit. The photos and videos appear a lot bigger than before and there is also a new album viewer. On the right side is a trending list, à la Twitter, to keep a tab of the topics being discussed on Google+. There is a separate Explore section on the side for you to check out all the popular and trending posts on Google+.

The Hangout option has also been refreshed. In case you are not aware of it or simply forgotten about it since the last time you used it (in which case I don’t blame you), it is a video calling feature that lets you talk with multiple people simultaneously. In the redesign, it gets its own dedicated section where you see your friends who have invited you to a hangout along with other hangouts from people you may not necessarily have added to your circles. Google believes this will help you make new friends. Google will present you with a bunch of hangouts that you can join as long as they are public. This feature can also be used for broadcasting an event to multiple people.

The chat list has been moved to the right side of the screen. Lastly, your profile page has been updated and now you can have Facebook Timeline style large cover photo.

Unlike the previous design, which was aligned in the center of the browser window, the new one tends to prefer the left side. The content in the middle, however, does not occupy the width of the monitor, which leaves a lot of empty space between your timeline and the chat list if you have a widescreen monitor. Hopefully Google address this issue soon.

Google is rolling out this update to everyone and it should take some time to arrive if it hasn’t already.