Revenge of the web apps: Google moves to bridge native and web experience

-

Little by little, web apps have started to act more like native desktop and mobile applications. They can be added to the home screen on your phone, send notifications, work offline, and more. At today's Chrome Dev Summit, Google expressed its desire to give web apps even more abilities normally only reserved for native applications — like accessing local files.

The Chrome Dev Summit highlighted some of the browser APIs currently in development, including Web Share Target (web apps can appear in Android's share menu), Wake Lock (prevent the device from going to sleep), WebHID (directly interact with USB/Bluetooth devices), and more. The most exciting feature under development is the Writable File API, which would finally allow web apps to edit local files — with user permission, of course.

It's important to note that none of these features will be limited to Chrome. Google introduces these as web standards to the WICG (Web Platform Incubator Community Group), and encourages other browser vendors (Mozilla, Microsoft, Apple, etc.) and web developers to provide feedback. In all likelihood, most of these new features will eventually arrive on other browsers.

It's great to see web apps slowly receive the same functionality that desktop applications have enjoyed, but with added security precautions. A desktop application can instantly gain access to your microphone, camera, local files, and more — not so with web apps. We've come a long way from the basic mobile web apps found on the iPhone in 2007.


#Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Popular Posts:

Apple is postponing new iOS features in favor of reliability and performance

-
Image
Apple has decided to postpone new features in iOS in favor of improving the reliability and performance of the operating system, as according to a report by Axios. According to the report, Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President, Software Engineering, announced the revised plan to employees at a meeting earlier this month. This pushes features like refresh of the homescreen and in-car user interface, improvements to core apps like Mail and camera experience to 2019. What we will get this year is improvements to AR, digital health and parental controls. Apart from that, the OS will largely feature improvements to performance and user experience. We have seen Apple do this with macOS in the past, where they dedicate one entire update cycle to just refining the OS and make existing features work better. However, we have never quite seen Apple do that on iOS. This is largely due to the hyper competitive nature of the mobile market where competition and customer demands push companies t
Continue Reading....

Google’s December 2018 security patch includes much-needed RAM management fix

-
Image
Every first Monday of the month, we're used to seeing Google launch security patches for its supported devices. This month is no different, as Google has released the December 2018 security patch. The patch not only fixes a bunch of security bugs, but also features the long awaited memory performance fixes. Android Pie has long been killing apps in the background (even if you were using them a second ago) and it's even affected devices other than Pixel /Nexus devices and we hope this fix will help. There are also some camera fixes for Pixel users included as well. Surprisingly, we're seeing the updates hit the Nexus 5X and 6P, both of which have reached their end of life. It's good to see Google support these old devices even when their three years are up and the company has no obligation to update them. December's software release is here. Check your Essential Phone for the update. pic.twitter.com/tTaeQZ0kzl — Essential (@essential) December 3, 2018
Continue Reading....

Do more from your inbox with Gmail Add-ons

-
Image
For many of us, email is mission control—the prompt to generate an invoice, prepare a presentation or follow up on a sales opportunity. With so many to-dos, imagine if you could complete these tasks directly from your inbox without interrupting your workflow. We believe email can do more, which is why we're launching Gmail Add-ons, a new way to work with your favorite business apps directly in Gmail. Gmail Add-ons, built for your workflows Rather than toggling between your inbox and other apps, use add-ons to complete actions right from Gmail. With Gmail Add-ons, your inbox can contextually surface your go-to app based on messages you receive to help you get things done faster. And because add-ons work the same across web and Android, you only need to install them once to access them on all of your devices. Click the settings wheel on the top right of your inbox and then "Get add-ons" to get started. We made Gmail Add-ons available in developer p
Continue Reading....

DJI Mavic Air: could this be the definitive drone?

-
Image
DJI showcased its new Mavic Air drone in New York. The third quadcopter in this series is of similar quality to its predecessors and can also fold its arms for better portability. For its size, no competitor offers so much in terms of photo quality. Release date and price The DJI Mavic Air can be ordered through the official DJI website  and is also available from other retailers. The drone is available in three colors: marengo grey, white and red. We can buy the Mavic Air in a basic pack with remote control, protections, charger, cover, propeller replacement and a battery from US$799 (£769 in the UK). Often, one battery is not enough so there is a more complete pack available with three batteries, charger for four batteries and two propeller replacements from $999 (£949 in the UK). The red model reminds me of a Porsche. / © AndroidPIT Design and build quality In essence, it is th
Continue Reading....

[Bonus Round] Meteorfall: Journeys, Out There Chronicles - Ep. 2, Four Last Things, Rocket Sling, Slime Pizza, Nindash: Skull Valley, and Ragnarok Rush

-
Image
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got a card-based roguelike, the next chapter in Out There Chronicles, a renaissance-era point and click adventure game, a space-themed indie arcade game, a unique puzzle platformer, a ninja-themed defense game, and a Ragnarok licensed hero collector. Without further ado: Meteorfall: Journeys Meteorfall: Journeys is a card-based roguelike with an easy to understand deck-building combat system. As you would expect of any roguelike, each game is procedurally generated. This means every round you play is unique. And best of all, this is a premium game with a singular upfront price. That way you
Continue Reading....