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The guide walks Android users through checking their OS version, applying pending system updates via Settings, and enabling or manually triggering app updates in Google Play. It also notes that some app updates require accepting new privacy permissions before installing.
Google has added the ability to import purchased Google Play Books directly into Gemini Notebook, letting users query and analyze book content alongside other sources like documents and videos. The feature initially covers about 100,000 titles from publishers such as Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, and O'Reilly Media, plus special notebooks created with over 15 bestselling authors. This launch marks the start of Google's broader Expert Intelligence initiative, which will eventually expand to other products, third-party subscriptions, and textbooks.
Luanti's Android app was removed from the Google Play Store following a DMCA takedown notice filed by Tracer.AI on behalf of Microsoft, accusing the open-source voxel game platform of infringing Minecraft's copyright. Luanti's developers say the app contains no proprietary Minecraft code or assets, noting that Tracer.AI filed a nearly identical notice against them in 2023, which was successfully appealed, and has separately targeted another voxel-style indie game called Allumeria this year.
Google is letting Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) users import select owned ebooks from Google Play Books directly into notebooks for analysis. The feature, called Expert Intelligence, covers over 100,000 titles from publishers like Penguin Random House and O'Reilly Media, and includes partnerships with 15 bestselling authors. Users can then apply Gemini Notebook tools like Audio Overviews and Infographics to the imported book content, and combine multiple titles in one notebook.
Google has updated Gemini Notebook with an 'Expert Intelligence' feature that lets users import books bought through Google Play Books, enabling them to ask questions, generate summaries, plans, infographics, and AI podcasts based on the text. More than 100,000 titles from publishers including Penguin Random House and O'Reilly Media support the feature at launch, and Google partnered with 15 authors like Michael Pollan and Steven Pinker to build customized 'Featured Notebooks.'
Google published a memo detailing enforcement of new per-app memory limits introduced with Android 17, first rolling out on Pixel devices. Apps that exceed the thresholds will be slowed down or terminated, and starting in February 2027, non-compliant apps could face reduced visibility and publishing restrictions on the Play Store.
Google announced that starting February 2027, Android apps and games on the Play Store must comply with new per-app memory limits based on a device's total RAM, with games given more lenient thresholds than apps. Titles that fail to meet these caps risk reduced visibility in the Play Store or being blocked from publication altogether. The rules build on per-app memory limits first tested on Pixel phones under Android 17, now expanding device-wide.
Google Play awards points for purchases like apps, in-app purchases, movies, books, and eligible subscriptions, but many users never spend them. Those points can be exchanged for gift cards from retailers including Amazon, Starbucks, Best Buy, DoorDash, Walmart, Target, and Uber, priced at $5 for 750 points, $10 for 1,500, and $20 for 3,000. Unused points expire 12 months after the last account activity, with that window resetting each time points are earned or spent.
TCL has released the Note A1 Nxtpaper tablet, a device that blends a full-color 120Hz LCD screen with a matte, low-glare display and a pressure-sensitive stylus designed to mimic the scratch of pencil on paper. Rather than a standard Android home screen, it opens to a note-and-calendar interface inspired by devices like the Remarkable, though it still allows full access to the Google Play Store.
Google has started rolling out Motion Assist, a new Android 17 feature that displays motion cues on screen to help reduce motion sickness while using a phone in a moving vehicle. The feature, previously tested internally as Motion Cues, is appearing gradually on Pixel devices, with some units already showing it while others on the same Android version do not yet have it.
Code inside Google Play Store version 52.8.55-34 reveals that the Ask Play conversational search feature will soon accept image attachments from a phone's camera or gallery. Users could upload a screenshot of a home screen widget or app feature and ask Ask Play's AI to identify it or find similar apps. Google also appears ready to drop the separate 'Ask Play about this app' section, replacing it with scrollable suggested-question chips.
Breezy Weather, a free and open-source weather app praised for its features, is not listed on Google Play. Users can instead download its APK directly from GitHub, granting installation permissions manually to sideload the app.