Tech
Spotify got the support of Android 13’s media player design
The latest version of Google’s OS, Android 13, has recently presented its new redesigned media player. This new player provides media playback controls in the notification shade. It also brings a squiggly progress bar with it. With this new media player, one could place media control buttons wherever they want, leading you to a more personalized and user-friendly experience. Albeit third-party music applications are bringing its support slowly but recently, Spotify’s beta version has brought it together.
Previously, “Spotify” was also one of those applications, but finally, it has got support with its beta version for Android 13 devices (via 9To5Google), which reads version number 8.7.92.115. Currently, users, who have registered for Spotify’s beta trial through the Google Play Store, can only be able to experience this new feature. Those who still need to register have to wait until the public roll-out of the stable update because Spotify has stopped accepting the public sign-ups for it.
Let you know that Spotify, with this new media player, shows a square-shaped and round-cornered Play or Pause button. Buttons that used to jump to the previous or next track are now placed on both edges of the music playback bar while playing a track. This media player also lets the applications select two buttons as per their needs, for which Spotify has chosen the shuffle and like song buttons, placed after the playback bar. However, the utility of these buttons will be changed if you switch a podcast to listen to.
While playing a podcast, the previous and next buttons will work as 15 seconds rewind or forward buttons. Besides, the shuffle and like buttons will be replaced with the playback speed and add a podcast to the library buttons. Recently, applications including YouTube, YouTube Music, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Shazam, Pocket Casts, Play Books, Chrome, and Recorder have got the Android 13’s media player’s support, but on the other hand, applications such as Apple Music, Tidal, and Pandora are remaining.
Unfortunately, at present, Samsung does not integrate this feature with its One UI 5.0. Because Samsung’s customized UI is slightly different from the stock Android and does not have a media player progress bar, this new squiggly progress bar will not fit into it. It is unclear whether Samsung is planning to change its decision or it will remain as it is currently.
Apple is continuously working on its next iteration of iOS 18 and is expected to bring some AI features from Samsung’sOne UI 6.1.
Generative AI-powered features are trending in the tech industry, and fortunately, the Korean giants already have a strong place in the trend. Samsung debuted a bundle of generative AI features under the nickname Galaxy AI with an Android 14-based One UI 6.1 skin on the Galaxy S24 series. Transparently, AI features are the key reason behind the boost in sales of the Galaxy S24 series. Now, Apple is gearing up to give strong competition by introducing a bundle of AI features with the iOS 18 update.
Reports are revealing that Apple could use the mechanism of One UI 6.1’s AI features for iOS 18. Reportedly, Apple could bring several AI-powered features, including the ability to summarize web pages in the Safari web browser. This feature is quite similar to the Browsing Assist feature of Samsung Internet.
If the reports are to be believed, then one more feature called the ‘Web Eraser’ feature would permit users to remove specific elements from web pages. The Note application in iOS 18 permits the recording of audio without any requirement to switch to the Voice Memos application. Samsung Notes’ voice recording feature also performs the same functionality, as it permits students to take notes and record lectures concurrently to have better context.
It also comes to light that Apple is also setting up to add a unit converter to the Calculator application with iOS 18. This feature is already housed in the Samsung Calculator application. Apart from all, the other rumored features of iOS 18 include automatic playlist generation in the Apple Music app, a new Scenes feature in the Canvas app, and AI-powered features in the Apple Health application, Keynote, Numbers, and Pages apps for improved productivity.
The rumors are also saying some other apps like Fitness, Mail, and Photo could also get AI features, but at the moment, it is not clear what those features are. It seems that users could make more detailed edits similar to Samsung’s Photo Assist feature in the Photos app. Appel could also offer RCS support for the Messages application in iOS 18.
Google’s Android ecosystem is always reliable for users, whether it comes to customization or availability, but it sometimes lacks in the security department. However, the company is improving in this department, and over the years, it has been dedicatedly working towards it. Now a new report also specifies the improvement.
Google has recently published a post where it shared details about the encounter with the application that hasn’t followed the terms and conditions of the Play Store.
According to the report, Google has detected 2.28 million apps that have violated the rules, and therefore, the developers are not able to publish them on the Play Store. This is all possible due to the company’s continuous effort, which developed the mechanism.
Along with this, there are almost 200000 applications detected that did not follow the rules and did not guarantee the correct use of sensitive permissions, and there are more than 330000 accounts that were banned for violations that were severe and repeated or the presence of malware in published apps.
In a recent report, the company also mentioned that there are almost 1.5 million old applications that lack the support of the recent APIs, and therefore they are not available for users who are using the latest version of Android. Additionally, Google Play Protect and real-time app scanning have allowed the Mountain View giant to identify over 5 million dangerous applications that are downloaded unofficially. For more information, you can read the full official post via this link.
Google and Samsung are coming together as their partnership goes beyond Android. On one side, Pixel smartphone devices use Samsung-manufactured Tensor chips; on the other hand, Smsung’s flagship Galaxy smartphones have AI features, like Circle to Search, noticeably before even the Pixel 8 series got this novelty.
In the report it is being unveiled, Rick Osteroh, SVP of platforms and devices at Google, stated that the brand’s “partnership has never been stronger.” A post on X shared by @rosterloh pointed to a positive meeting between TM Roh and @SamsungMobile leadership. It highlights a strong partnership between both and excitement about future collaborations, particularly in the area of AI.
Following the statement, he also attached a selfie with TM Roh, president and head of MX Business at Samsung Electronics.
Then, @SamsungMobile reposted Osterloh’s post and teased that both brands are actively working on expanding the functionalities of AI features for Android and Galaxy devices to enhance Galaxy experiences.
Google has already announced at the last Galaxy Unpacked event, back in January in San Jose, that the Samsung Galaxy S24 series will use Gemini AI models to power the forthcoming AI capabilities in the applications and services built by the Korean giant. The brand also brought new functionalities for Google Messages and Android Auto, powered by Gemini Nano.
For enhancing the summarizing facility, Samsung’s Smarter Notes, Voice Recorder, and Keyboard applications use the AI model Gemini Pro, whereas the Galaxy S24 series smartphones use Imagen 2 text-to-image technology to offer “Generative Edit” features in the Gallery application for upgrading photo editing.