Android Police: January 2018

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Newly published UFS 3.0 spec brings faster storage speeds to smartphones

The standards organization JEDEC has released version 3.0 of the Universal Flash Storage (UFS) specification. The new specification more than doubles the bandwidth from the previous version, providing up to two lanes at 1450 MB/s, for a maximum of 2.9 GB/s, compared to a maximum of 1.2 GB/s. The standard also includes temperature reporting mechanisms on the storage controller intended specifically for the automotive market, where electronics are subject to more adverse conditions.

Newly published UFS 3.0 spec brings faster storage speeds to smartphones was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Google and five other companies join Universal Stylus Initiative, bringing total number of partners to over 30

There are so many styluses available on the market for different devices, yet those with active features are rarely compatible with devices from other companies. That's why the Universal Stylus Initiative, or USI for short, was created: to "develop and promote an industry specification for a cross-system active stylus." Google, 3M, MyScript, and three other companies have just joined the USI, bring the total number of partners to over 30.

Google is joining as a promoter member, MyScript and Tactual Labs are joining as contributor members, and 3M Touch Systems, Lattice Semiconductor, and Maxeye Smart Technologies are joining as adopter members.

Google and five other companies join Universal Stylus Initiative, bringing total number of partners to over 30 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Nintendo announces Mario Kart Tour coming to smartphones in fiscal year 2018

Nintendo has announced (as part of an investor call) plans for the release of Mario Kart Tour, the first Mario Kart game on smartphones by the end of the next fiscal year. As is standard for Japanese companies, the fiscal year runs from April 1st to March 31st of the following year, meaning that Mario Kart Tour will grace the Play Store and Apple App Store by March 31st, 2019. Other than the logo, no information about the game was disclosed.

Nintendo announces Mario Kart Tour coming to smartphones in fiscal year 2018 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Google's Calculator app hits 100 million downloads on the Play Store

Virtually every device with a mobile OS comes preloaded with a calculator app, and Google's products are no different. The aptly-named 'Calculator,' which comes on Google's phones and tablets but is available for download to any device, has just hit 100 million downloads on the Play Store.

The Google Calculator is a pretty simple calculator, but it's nicely designed and easy to use. You can add, subtract, multiply, and divide (of course), but there are also basic trigonometric, logarithmic, and exponential functions.

Google's Calculator app hits 100 million downloads on the Play Store was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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T-Mobile customers are now seeing voicemail transcripts in Google Phone app

The Google Phone app already has a dedicated visual voicemail tab that allows users to listen to and delete voicemails quickly. It's a huge improvement over the clunky voicemail dialing we used to have to endure. However, some T-Mobile users, myself included, are now seeing transcriptions there as well, making the process even easier. This capability was added to the Phone app back in November.

We received a tip from a T-Mobile user who sent a screenshot our way, at which point I realized that I also had a voicemail transcription thanks to a scam call I'd missed.

T-Mobile customers are now seeing voicemail transcripts in Google Phone app was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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IFTTT now plays nice with TiVo and Wiser Heat

A few weeks back we reported that TiVo support for automation service IFTTT was inbound, and enthusiasts would be able to integrate a whole new set of applets into their workflow. Well, that day has arrived, and the new applets even include limited Alexa and Google Home integration. Wiser heating systems have also received IFTTT integration.

Wiser, for the unfamiliar, is an electronic heating solution by the British company Drayton, sort of like Nest's thermostats.

IFTTT now plays nice with TiVo and Wiser Heat was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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