Google offers ML-powered translation for Android apps

Google has announced that it will offer free machine-learning translation for Android apps.

The service will enable developers to bring their apps to as many people as possible, without incurring significant additional costs.

At launch, seven languages are supported:

Chinese (Simplified) French German Indonesian Japanese Portuguese Spanish

Google Translate’s transformer-based language models will be used for accurate translation into...

15 March 2023 | Android

Google tool helps developers create XR experiences

Google has released a tool called Immersive Stream for XR that makes it easier for developers to create mixed-reality experiences.

Earlier this week, the company held an event where it demonstrated a new “immersive view” in Google Maps that uses advances in AI and computer vision to fuse billions of Street View and other images to create a detailed 3D model of locations. Impressively, it even works indoors to allow users to check out a venue like a restaurant before they...

10 February 2023 | Developer

Mozilla and Google are developing non-WebKit iOS browsers

Apple is reportedly preparing to open the App Store to non-WebKit iOS browsers and Mozilla and Google are wasting no time in preparing their alternatives.

App Store rules currently forbid any third-party browser from using an engine other than Apple’s own WebKit. Regulators are gearing up to force Apple to change the rule because it’s seen as anti-competitive.

When they arrive later this year, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 are expected to be small releases when it comes to...

7 February 2023 | iOS

Google releases Flutter 3.7 and teases future improvements

Google held its Flutter Forward event this week where it announced version 3.7 of the framework and teased future improvements.

Flutter started life as a framework for developing Android and iOS apps. Over the years, it’s expanded to help developers build apps for not just mobile, but also desktop, web, and more, all from a single Dart codebase.

Google says Flutter has attracted five million developers and over 700,000 apps have been created using it. Based on GitHub...

26 January 2023 | Developer

Chromium will support third-party Rust libraries

Google has announced that it will allow third-party Rust libraries in its Chromium open-source browser project.

Chrome security team member Dana Jansens published a blog post on Thursday announcing the decision.

Jansens says that Google is now actively pursuing adding a production Rust toolchain to its build system.

“Our goal in bringing Rust into Chromium is to provide a simpler (no IPC) and safer (less complex C++ overall, no memory safety bugs in a sandbox...

13 January 2023 | Languages

Google’s smart TV platforms reach 150M active devices

At CES 2023, Google provided an update on the state of its smart TV platforms.

Over 150 million Android TV and Google TV-powered devices are now being watched each month—and that number is growing rapidly.

In January 2022, Google said that its TV platforms had around 110 million active devices per month. By adding over 40 million devices over the course of the year, Google and its TV partners have boosted the size of the ecosystem by around 35 percent.

The...

6 January 2023 | Developer

App Bundles will help trim Google TV apps

While it’s that time of year when most of us will put on some weight, Google is putting apps for its TV platforms on a diet.

Google has announced that apps for Google TV and Android TV will require the use of Android App Bundles (AABs) by May 2023.

App Bundles were introduced to Android in November 2020 to replace Android Package Kits (APKs).

According to Google, AABs offer the following benefits:

Smaller size – AABs are around 20 percent smaller...

22 November 2022 | Android

Google makes it easier for developers to offer eco-routing

Google is making it easier for developers to offer eco-routing in their apps following announcements from its annual Search On event.

Current users of the Google Maps app may have seen that the service launched “eco-friendly” routes earlier this year, enabling the environmentally conscious to minimise their carbon footprints.

Later this year, Google says that it will launch a preview of the feature to developers. The feature will enable developers to offer...

29 September 2022 | API

Google expands third-party billing support to more countries

Android developers in more countries now have the option to offer third-party billing options.

As spotted by 9to5Google, Google quietly expanded its ‘User Choice Billing’ pilot which allows third-party billing options in non-gaming apps.

Registered developers in the European Economic Area (EEA), India, Australia, Japan, and Indonesia can now participate in User Choice Billing.

A Google spokesperson said:

“Android has always been a uniquely open...

6 September 2022 | Android

ARCore Geospatial API helps developers build immersive experiences

During I/O 2022, Google launched its ARCore Geospatial API to help developers build more immersive, richer, and more useful experiences.

Augmented reality experiences are beginning to gain traction beyond Pokémon Go. Now there are AR apps for making floorplans, seeing how furnishings will look in your home, understanding the world around you, and even getting real-time information about the night sky.

Google showed off enhancements to its own AR solution, Lens, during...

12 May 2022 | Android