Apps

Nine new features coming to Android

New Emoji Kitchen combinations and a Google Keep widget

Published

February 28, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

A lot of news from MWC 2023 will showcase the evolving world of hardware. However, software gets its chance to shine under the spotlight, too. During the conference, Google announced a handful of new features coming to Android today and in the near future. Here are some new features to look out for:

Available now

New Emoji Kitchen combinations. New emojis are always a welcome sight with every software update. With the Emoji Kitchen, Google has this in spades, allowing users to create new emojis by combining existing ones. This update, the feature is adding more combinations including basketball- and spring-themed combinations.

Page zoom for Chrome. Starting today on Chrome Beta, users can increase the size of content on Chrome by up to 300 percent. It’s a big step for accessibility.

Noise cancellation on Google Meet. Google’s teleconferencing platform is making a huge case to compete against other platforms like Zoom. Today, the platform can now filter out distracting background noise from calls.

Better annotation on Google Drive. Starting today, users can now annotate PDFs on Google Drive using their stylus or their finger. Writing on PDFs create notes for reading. Meanwhile, the highlighter tool allows users to save text from a document.

Coming soon

Google Keep widget. Soon, users will be able to organize and create notes right from their Home screen using the upcoming Google Keep widget. The widget will also let users customize the looks and added images from the Home screen.

Google Keep on Wear OS. Adding to the previous update, Google Keep will soon have better integration with Wear OS. In an upcoming update, users will be able to dictate new notes and to-do lists with a single tap on their smartwatch.

New accessibility options for Wear OS. Staying with Wear OS, users will soon have more options to help with accessibility on their smartwatch. A new mono-audio mode will reduce the disorientation caused by split-audio configurations. Plus, color-correction and grayscale modes will help visually impaired users.

New animations in Google Pay. Starting next week, Google Pay users will be able to customize the app’s animation whenever a payment goes through.

Fast Pair on Chromebook. Users on Chromebook will soon be able to connect to their Bluetooth headphones with just one tap. Plus, if they already connected it to their Android phone, the settings will automatically save for Chromebooks.

Related Topics:Android Android 13 Google

Apps

WhatsApp will introduce usernames to hide your phone number

Hide your number from others.

Published

June 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

WhatsApp is about to get an extra later of protection. After thriving on number-based chatting, the platform will soon add usernames, eliminating the need to share your number with strangers.

Usernames are the standard way of maintaining your anonymity online. Though most platforms today require users to log their email addresses or phone numbers, establishing a username can prevent other users from seeing this information way too easily.

Today, Meta has started rolling out reservations for WhatsApp usernames. The feature itself isn’t available yet, but early adopters can grab theirs as soon as the setting becomes available on their app.

To access the reservation, users can go to Settings > Account > Username. Of note, this isn’t available for everyone yet. But if you want to take dibs on a specific name, be on the lookout for the setting.

As for the username itself, users can reserve anything as long as it’s unique. Business owners and creators can also use their Facebook or Instagram handles as their WhatsApp usernames.

The feature, once it launches, will stop users from accessing your phone number when messaging. Similarly, other users will now need your exact username to start a conversation. Users can also set a separate code to protect conversations further.

Apps

HONOR, Xiaomi are working on their own Privacy Displays

Samsung’s Privacy Display is apparently very popular

Published

June 24, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Normally, a smartphone brand’s blatant copying of another brand’s feature is not a good practice. Today, however, there is a new feature that we wish other brands would copy: Samsung’s Privacy Display. Thankfully, some brands, like HONOR, have finally gotten the message and are working on version of the feature.

As reported by Digital Chat Station on Weibo, HONOR is reportedly working on a privacy screen for its smartphones. Likewise, Xiaomi is working on the same thing, potentially launching the feature for the Xiaomi 18 Pro.

For the uninitiated, the Samsung Privacy Display is a built-in feature that blocks visibility of the screen at certain angles. If you’re not looking at the screen from the front, all you’ll see is a black void. It’s a built-in version of those protective screens that you can buy separately. Besides adding a nice layer of protection against scratches, it’s also meant to prevent snooping from your shoulder.

Samsung’s take was widely acclaimed for being insanely useful. When it arrives, this feature will be a godsend to more brands. Even better, users will no longer need to rely on third-party screen just to enjoy the privacy.

That said, there’s still no indication as to when these features will arrive on either HONOR or Xiaomi.

Apps

Meta is reportedly experimenting on a gambling app

Users can spend virtual points on Arena.

Published

June 24, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Meta does not have the most stellar of reputations. Despite offering the world’s most popular social media platforms, the company, through its various experiments throughout the years, continuously proves that it has other priorities than just providing the best for its users. Today, another reported experiment wants to take Meta to a new market that its users might fall into: the prediction market.

If you haven’t heard of the prediction market, consider yourself lucky. These apps, such as Kalshi, are basically just gambling platforms without the glitz of playing cards or the rigor of the stock market. Users gamble on mundane circumstances like the weather and more serious ones like war.

Today, as reported by The New York Times, Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly asking Meta to develop a prediction app of its own. Interestingly, the experimental app, supposedly called Arena, will use virtual points, rather than real money. However, Meta has not ruled out real money — and hence, real gambling — in the future.

Meta is entering the industry at an extremely volatile time. The world is starting to crack down on prediction markets. Some users, for example, have been accused of using insider information to get easy wins on these platforms. Some markets have also accused these platforms of subverting anti-gambling laws.