Greetings testers!
And the answer is the following - Instagram, Twitter and Reddit, 3 big social platforms are exploring the NFT world already.
- Instagram was spotted working on collectables recently. Not clear yet if it will be for actual NFTs or for some sort of an alternative but it is clearly the move towards the NFT direction.
- Twitter did an NFT drop of 140 free NFTs on the Rarible platform. These were given away to people who were able to comment fast under the Tweet itself. Some items are still shown as not being given to anybody but the majority of these NFTs are gone. Some of them you may see on the auction already from 10 to 69 ETH (1 ETH is around 2000$ atm).
- Reddit introduced CryptoSnoos that they were selling on the OpenSea platform. There are unique Snoovatars that can be also used on Reddit.
Did you have a chance to test NFTs already? Share yours over here 📲
Secondly, Google will force apps to be published in bundles on Google Play starting from August 2021.
Apps will now come in AAB format instead of APK. The good thing is that they will become smaller so you will have more space on your phone to bloat it up with more copies of the same photo that you took just not to miss a perfect shot.
But also,
What's new?
- 📲 WhatsApp got a possibility to set media files to be viewed only once on Android
- 📲 YouTube allows creating Shorts out of a sound from videos on Android
- 📲 Niagara Launcher started a digital wellbeing initiative implementing a healthy home screen concept
Top Stories
WhatsApp got a possibility to set media files to be viewed only once on Android
This feature is going to be rolled out to everyone and likely available for you already. Whenever you want to send a media file on WhatsApp, you will be able to toggle a setting that will set it to be viewable only once. Within a chat, it will appear hidden
Alexey Shabanov
How to test:
- Open any WhatsApp conversation.
- Tap on the attachment button.
- Pick a media type.
- Pick a media file.
- Tap on the 1 icon in the edit text field.
- Send it to the chat.
YouTube allows creating Shorts out of a sound from videos on Android
Shorts are not yet available everywhere yet but YouTube keeps extending this feature with more and more tools. It appears that on some normal YouTube videos, you may notice a Create action button below. This button will take audio from the YouTube clip and add it to the Shorts creation
Alexey Shabanov
How to test:
- Open any YouTube video.
- Tap on the Create button below.
- Capture a Short video and publish it.
Niagara Launcher started a digital wellbeing initiative implementing a healthy home screen concept
This initiative aims to decrease your screen time by cutting the noise that you get from unnecessary notifications. It also asks you for access to your activity data so the launcher can understand your usage patterns in a better way. After being enabled, you can start receiving a notifications summa…
Alexey Shabanov
How to test:
- Install the latest beta build.
- Tap on the new message about Digital Wellbeing on the home screen.
- Tap on the enrol button.
- Go to Settings > Features > Notifications > Notification summary.
- Enable notifications summary.
For Content Creators
YouTube is testing timed comments with more users on Android
The timed comments feature started appearing to more users recently. It allows you to leave a comment on a particular time range of the video and participate in conversation with others. Also, if you are lucky to get this feature early, it will only appear on some videos and not
Alexey Shabanov
Telegram will allow channel creators to accept donations via a new @donate bot
This new bot can be found as @donate and already available to creators. It has an official verification badge and provided by the smart-glocal service. Donate bot will allow creators to post messages with action buttons that will trigger a payment flow inside the Telegram. Currently, only payments i…
Alexey Shabanov
TikTok rolled out a possibility to make 3 minute long videos for everyone
This feature allows you to create 3-minute videos along with 15 and 60 seconds videos. After this rollout, it should become available to everyone. How to capture a 3-minute long video on TikTok:Open TikTok camera.Swipe the timespan setting to the left and select the 3m value.Start recording
Alexey Shabanov
How to quickly follow Instagram profiles from your other accounts
This feature started rolling out globally only some time ago. When you open a profile that you don’t follow, you may spot a new hint next to the Follow button telling you to tap and hold to follow it from your other accounts. How to quickly follow Instagram profiles from
Alexey Shabanov
ICYMI: LinkedIn shows you smart reply suggestions on liked posts on Android
The feature isn’t new by itself but still recent and not obvious to discover. It turns out that as soon as you like a certain post on your feed, Linkedin will show you a car with smart suggestions that are supposed to encourage you to start a conversation. Normally it
Alexey ShabanovICYMI: TikTok rolled out video timeline controls and quick comments section to more users
This feature allows you to scroll through video timelines on the main feed. It also shows the time when you scroll as well. If you open a video from the profile page, you may also notice a quick comments bar at the bottom. It is not available on all videos
Alexey ShabanovFacebook continues testing upvotes and downvotes to clarify the value behind group comments
This feature was spotted in testing a while ago on iOS. This time it is being tested on Android devices in Brazil. Besides the normal upvotes and downvotes that you can add to a certain comment, you will be also asked to pick one of the values that the comment
Alexey Shabanov
- Twitter may soon let you connect your Google Account
- Twitter Adds New Spaces Speaker Listings Display, Highlighting Remaining Speaker Places
- Twitter explores Trusted Friends, Reply Language Prompts, and Facets
- Twitter rolls out one of the most-needed security features for mobile and web users
YouTube
- You might not have to send your high-res WhatsApp videos as documents for much longer
- WhatsApp beta for Android 2.21.14.3: what’s new?
- Instagram will now put random suggested posts in your feed with tests starting right away
- Translating Stories could be a new feature to make its way on Instagram
- Instagram Tests Sticker Links in Stories for All Users
- Instagram Adds Black-Owned Label to Business Profile Options
Snapchat
For Early Adopters
Google Photos is pushing new search filters to more users along with an updated lenses scan layout
This feature started rolling out around 2 months ago but now it seemed to be pushed to more users. It allows you to apply search filters on Google Photos in a better way. For example, you can filter by a photo category like “screenshots” and also apply a filter for
Alexey ShabanovGoogle Play will notify you about alternative search engines and browsers
This change comes as a follow-up after government claims against Google regarding its monopoly in Search Engines (Google Search) and Browsers (Chrome). The main action point here is that Google will have to inform Android users about the existence of alternative apps and services that they can use. …
Alexey Shabanov
A new quick search widget was spotted in development on Chrome Canary
This feature stays under the flag and seems not to be fully working yet. The widget is available but quick tiles remain blank. How to enable a quick search widget on Chrome:Enable chrome://flags/#enable-quick-action-search-widget-android flag.Restart the browser.Navigate to the widget list.Add a qu…
Alexey ShabanovSignal got emojis search and an updated layout for conversation details
Signal messenger got another minor update to refine the conversation profile screen. Now it has all the necessary actions on top and they are easily accessible. Apart from this, it also got an updated emojis search functionality. How to search for Emojis on Signal:Open any conversation on Signal.Tap
Alexey ShabanovGoogle Messages beta now allows marking messages as favourites
Starred messages feature was a part of the summer feature release announced by Google. There it allows you to star any message in the conversation so it will become marked as a favourite. How to Star conversations in Google Messages:Open any conversation.Long press on any message.Tap on
Alexey Shabanov
Google Assistant now has a dedicated lock screen section in the settings
This is not a new feature but the setting is now easier to find. How to test:Open Assistant settings.Scroll down until the Lock Screen section.Turn on Assistant responses on the lock screen.Google Assistant - Get things done, hands-free - Apps on Google PlayCall, search, navigate, and
Alexey ShabanovNetflix
Spotify
Google Search
Google Messages
Google Phone
Photoshop Sketch
Samsung Good Lock
For Android Gamers
This is a new experimental section about Android games
- Square Enix reveals Trials of Mana remake is coming to Android
- Marvel Future Revolution is the sequel to Future Fight, and it's finally available for pre-registration
- The first three Final Fantasy remasters are coming to Android this month
- Battlegrounds Mobile India is now available on the Play Store
TestingCatalog Project
Wanna say thanks to all of you who is reading this newsletter! You are real beta testers!
I know you are testing all these apps that we are writing about or just like reading about them. But how can I make it better? Any ideas? 🤔
