Snapchat boosts chat features with Chat 2.0

Screenshot courtesy of Daily Mail

Snapchat is honing in on its competitors with the new features the messaging service integrates into its app. Its new Chat 2.0 hopes to bring a more intuitive chatting experience for its users. The feature makes it easier to share videos, short audio notes, and stickers to help you communicate with friends within the app. As stated on Snapchat’s blog: “What we love about the new Chat is how easily you can transition between all these ways of communicating—just like you do in person. When that’s possible, you aren’t texting, calling, or video chatting… you’re just talking.”

The app also gets a new Auto-Advance Stories feature that lets stories from your friends play one after another. You can swipe to skip ahead in a story or pull down to exit completely.

Source: Droid Life

Google brings saved image searches to the desktop

The Pinterest-style photo bookmarking you can do with Google Image Search makes its way out of your mobile devices and into your desktop. Google’s released an update so you can save photos from your browser and organize them by folder on your desktop. The features are similar to what you get on mobile. You just need to click on the star to favorite an item. After that you can tag said photo and add this to a collection. This way you can save those images no matter what device you use. It’s currently available in the U.S. and we’re hoping it makes its way here soon, too.

Source: Google Inside Search | Via: The Next Web

Sony Canada stops Android Marshmallow update for Xperia Z5 due to Play Store bug

A bug affecting the Marshmallow update for the Xperia Z5 is bad enough that Sony Canada is pulling the update for its users. One of the big issues caused by the bug is the Google Play Store crashing, even after cleaning all app data or cache. Some users can’t even open the app at all. There’s no specific date yet when the fixed version will be up. At the moment, the fix is to do a clean install of the firmware again. What users of the Z5 and Z5P need to do is clear the data of the Play Store. Head over to Settings > Apps > Show system > Google Play Store > Storage > Clear Data. From there, proceed to Settings > Location > and then move the slider to the OFF position. After that reinstall Android.

Source: Xperia Blog

Instagram’s plans to change feed has users panicking, requests for followers to turn on notifications

As Instagram plans to change the way you see images on your feed, the users themselves are reacting rather negatively and are inundating the social network with posts begging their users to turn on their notifications. Earlier this month, Instagram announced plans to take an algorithm-based approach to its feed, which was met with resistance from its users. A lot of users fear their posts won't be seen if an algorithm dictates what posts get floated at the front of your feed. This sudden panic though has had Instagram having to tell its users they don’t plan to change the feed right now. But a select few are privy to the new changes as it’s currently in testing. How do you feel about the upcoming changes on Instagram?

Source: Engadget