Google Hangouts gets optimized for iPhone X

Joining the rest of the Google apps on the iOS platform, Google Hangouts just got an update to optimize it for iPhone X. This means Google’s dedicated messaging app will take advantage of the iPhone X’s immersive display and gets rid of the black bars at the top and the bottom. Aside from this, Google didn’t introduce anything new to the app. But if you have the iPhone X and use this messaging app, it might be time to update your app.

Source: MacRumors

Case renders show Samsung Galaxy S9+ comes with dual camera setup

New leaks from Olixar and MobileFun give us a glimpse of what the upcoming Samsung flagships are going to look like. And it seems there is a stark difference between the Galaxy S9 and S9+. Olixar’s renders show the S9 and S9+ with “ultra thin, 100% clear” cases that hardly cover up anything about the devices. And as we can see, the big difference is the plus model is the only one with a dual camera. In the S7 and S8, the only difference between the two models were screen size and battery. As seen in the renders, the fingerprint sensor has been relegated to below the camera with the LED flash and heart rate monitor off to the side.

According to GSMArena, this confirms a rumour that claims Samsung wants to have a three-tier flagship lineup instead of the simple S/Note division. As for how this will affect pricing, we don’t know yet. 

FCC documents reveal specs of rumoured Nokia 9

The latest rumoured Nokia flagship device gets leaked in FCC documents, showing us what we can expect from the revived brand. The Nokia 9, as it’s being called, will reportedly have a 5.5-inch OLED screen made by Google. It’ll reportedly run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. No word yet on RAM but it’ll supposedly have 128GB internal storage. The Nokia 9 will supposedly have dual-rear camera setup with a 12-megapixel and 13-megapixel lenses and a 5-megapixel front shooter. OnLeaks had a leaked 3D render of the device that showed the phone having edge-to-edge display with a curved screen, black back, and blue-colored sides as you see above. No word yet at the moment about pricing or availability.

Source: The Verge

Microsoft removes Google Chrome installer from Windows Store for violating Microsoft Store policies

In order to combat the appearance of fake Chrome browsers on the Microsoft Store, Google just published a Google Chrome Installer app on the app store that basically redirected users to a download link to install the browser. Microsoft is having none of this and has taken down the app saying it violates their app store’s policies. According to a Microsoft spokesperson, they want apps to “provide unique and distinct value” and Google is welcome to do so as long as they “build a Microsoft Store browser app compliant with our Microsoft Store policies.”

This might be something Google won’t be interested in as The Verge points out. One of the big reasons is most likely related to restrictions on Windows 10 S that requires apps to use HTML and JavaScript engines that are provided by Windows 10. Google already has its own Blink rendering engine called Blink and it’s highly doubtful they’ll create a special app just to adhere to Microsoft’s Store policies. Google also can’t package its current desktop app into a Centennial Windows Store app either as Microsoft wants these apps to use Edge rendering engine. So, for now and possibly what you’ve already been doing, if you want Chrome on your Windows machine, you’ll need to launch that right from Edge browser first.