Google Photos app has been updated to version 2.0.0.133029744, The changelog does not mention anything much beyond the usual "bug fixes and improvements", but we are likely to find goodies to justify the version bump to v2.x in our upcoming teardown. Stay tuned!
The Android version distribution numbers for the 7-day period ending on September 5, 2016 are available. This month, we see Marshmallow has grown to 18.7% and 5.0/5.1 Lollipop is at a solid 35%. All of Android KitKat takes up 27.7% of the user base, Jelly Bean is at 15.6%, Ice Cream Sandwich is at 1.4%, Gingerbread is at 1.5% and Froyo is still holding onto that 0.1% of the market share.
Google already has an Android Security Rewards program to reward those who are finding exploits in the Android OS, but Project Zero is taking it a step further. The contest will continue until March 17th, and challenges researchers to discover an exploit on the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P that provides access to third-party application files in internal storage. The top prize is $200,000; which should provide for ample of motivation.
A report originating from CNet mentions that mainstream Android Wear players are likely to skip a release for this half-year. Motorola, Huawei and LG are not planning on releasing any new smartwatches for the holiday season of 2016. While LG did have a release in the first half of 2016, Motorola and Huawei released their last watch almost a year ago.
UMi has just announced official details about their Android 7.0 Nougat update plan. The first three devices to receive the update will be the UMi Plus, UMi Super and the UMi Max. We're told all three of these devices will get the update at the same time, and that day will be December 24th, on Christmas Eve.
One week ago, Humble Bundle launched their 20th mobile bundle for Android. This bundle included games like Tomb Raider 1 & 2, Cloud Chases, Shooting Stars! and more. Now, they have added two more games to the bundle. If you pay more than the average, you'll also get to add NO THING and Circa Infinity to your collection.
If you have the 1st generation Chromecast, or the newer Chromecast and Chromecast Audio devices, then you can opt into the new Chromecast Preview Program. Google tells us this is not a beta program, so don't expect buggy features to be pushed through this channel. You can enroll into the preview program right now by diving into the device settings of the Chromecast app.
