How to get unified search in Pixel Launcher on stable Android 13?

Throughout the beta test of Android 13, Google was working on unifying Google Search on the home screen and on the device search in the app box. But in the final release we got the same search as on Android 12.1.

Google has said to 9to5Google that it is aware of the problem and that it will be resolved "in an upcoming release." However, you can try it now with a simple set of ADB Commands. But with one caveat, the current implementation may be randomly missing some search functions, like shorcuts and etc.

adb shell 

cmd device_config put launcher enable_one_search true

am force-stop com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher

In fact, this is the same solution that Mishaal Rahman provided during the first beta. This change disappears after a reboot, but you can activate it again.

Google News | En

The new version of the Play Store app fixes problems with Google Play system updates.

About a week ago, people started having problems accessing the Google Play system updates page. On Pixel devices, nothing happened when you clicked on the appropriate item, and on Samsung, the item could disappear altogether.

Google has released an update for the Play Store app, version 31.9.20-21, which fixes the problem.

H/T Hiren Vasani via Mishaal Rahman

New update for Play Store app fixes themed icon.

At the end of July Google updated the play store icon, but forgot to update the themed icon.

Play Store version 32.0.20 fixes this flaw. (only on Android 13)

Google News | En

YouTube app on Android is experimenting with the player's page interface.

Now, when playing a video in a dark theme, the page background is colored black, while the device status bar and the area under the video are dynamically colored according to the current color scheme in the video. This is not observed in the light theme.

It looks nice, but it's controversial. What do you think? Share your opinion in the comments 👇🏻.

Google News | En

Google Arts & Culture will soon get a new logo.

Two new Google trademarks appeared on the Internet, each featuring a "stylized ampersand." One is in Google's signature four-color design, while the other is simply black. The text of the trademark application for the logo confirms the proposed rebranding of Google Arts & Culture, with mentions of existing features such as virtual galleries, VR tours and more.

In addition, Google itself seems to have posted the new logo on the Arts & Culture Wikipedia page, listing it as the logo for 2022.

🔗 9to5Google

Google Maps is starting to have a transparent system navigation bar.

Yes, it may seem like a small thing, but for every Android user it is a painful topic. The transparent system navigation bar applies to all the screens of the app: from the pop-up place cards to the settings.

Unfortunately, it doesn't fix the color mismatch in the bottom navigation bar container (this was broken in late July). If you're not happy with that either, you can follow this link to Issue Tracker and click +1.

Google News | En

Google Contacts is starting to feature a filter carousel.

Now there will be a carousel of three possible filters at the top under the search bar: Phone contacts, Email contacts and Companies. It looks just like the filter carousel in the Google Messages app, which is only available in certain regions.

We don't see a similar feature in the 3.75.24 version of the app, so Google is again distributing everything in waves through the server.

Thanks @panduu221

Google News | En

Google has released Developer Support images for rolling back the Pixel 6, 6 Pro and 6a to Android 12 and 12.1.

As you may recall, the update to Android 13 for the Pixel 6, 6 Pro and 6a carries a bootloader update that closes a security hole and increments anti-rollback counter.

There are various reasons to go back to Android 12, first and foremost it's good for developers. To that end, Google has released "Android 12 Developer Support Images for Pixel." These are images of Android 12 and 12.1, with a new version of the bootloader. They do not pass CTS, "are for developers only and are not suitable for general use."

🔗Android Developers

The Google Wallet app got a themed icon.

In rebranding Google Pay to Google Wallet, the company somewhat forgot about the themed icon.

Fortunately, the Google Wallet update version 2.153.469766798 corrects this flaw.

Google News | En

YouTube Music updates its themed icon.

It is now larger, which is more consistent with the original icon. The updated icon appears with YouTube Music v.5.22.54 and will only be visible on Android 13 because it uses the new API.

Google News | En

Google created a video, showing a physical interpretation of Material You and the Android interface.

Someform studio and Zelig Sound created a video clip, commissioned by Google Design team, where we can see the familiar Material You elements recreated in the form of 3D objects.

We can see the references to the widgets, themed icons, interface adaptivity to different screen sizes and recently presented Roboto Flex. Also, at the end of the video, we see the Pixel 6.

Google News | En

Android 14 beta test will begin in April 2023. Android 13 QPR will end in March.

Google has updated its FAQ section to indicate that Android 13 QPR beta updates continue through March 2023, after which the Android 14 beta test will begin. This coincides with this year's Android 13 timeline.

Most likely, the company shortened the Android 13 QPR program to avoid confusion when two beta tests were conducted simultaneously, like this year. No, QPR3 is not canceled, just that there will be no public test.

🔗 Android Beta FAQ

Pixel 4 and 4 XL will not be included in the Android Beta 13 QPR1 program.

The FAQ section of the Android Beta site has a new list of eligible devices, which presumably refers to Android 13 QPR1 (Quarterly Platform Release). The Pixel 4 and 4 XL are not included. And there shouldn't be any surprises here. Android 13 QPR1 is due out in December, and support for the devices ends in October.

The Pixel 4 and 4 XL were released in 2019, and 3 years of support was announced back at launch. After October, the devices may receive 1-2 more updates with a few fixes, but still based on Android 13 with the October patch.

Hurry... the end of support is coming.

🔗 Android Beta FAQ

Android 13 permission prompts will soon get "Protected by Android" badge.

As Mishaal Rahman has learned, "Protected by Android" badge will soon appear in the Android 13 permissions dialog. Presumably this change will be part of the new unified Security & Privacy settings page, which is still missing from the final release of Android 13. Notably, the "Protected by Android" badge is also present on this updated page, which further reinforces this assumption.

🔗 Mishaal Rahman

Android 14 will support satellite connectivity.

Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google’s Senior Vice President of Platforms & Ecosystems, said that the next version of Android (14) will include built-in support for satellite connectivity.

This statement follows the announcement from T-Mobile and Starlink of the 'Coverage Above & Beyond' – a direct Starlink connection to existing phones that will bring cellular connectivity anywhere in the world, regardless of how close you are to any cell tower. T-Mobile aims to totally eliminate mobile dead-zones by integrating their existing mid-band PCS spectrum into Starlink V2 satellites. This will allow phones to connect directly to the satellites, without any changes needed to those phones.

The initial beta version of this service is targeted for late 2023.

🔗 Hiroshi Lockheimer

🔗 Space Explored

The world's first Pixel 7 Pro unpacking video has already appeared online.

Facebook group Gadgetfull BD (Bangladesh) has posted the world's first unboxing video of Google Pixel 7 Pro. This time we can already see the "G" logo on the back of the device, unlike previous engineering samples.

As you can see, the box packaging has not changed much since last year: white film on the display, Type-C to Type-C cable, OTG adapter, and a book with instructions.

🔗 Gadgetfull BD (Facebook)

Google News | En