Play here, play there, play anywhere with Android

I still remember my first gaming console. For months I was hooked on blocky 8-bit scenes with a repetitive soundtrack of bloops and bleeps. Back then the graphics were primitive, the choice of titles was limited, and gaming was strictly an indoors activity. Today, things are different.

We recently launched Nexus Player, the first streaming media and gaming device that brings Android to your TV. Thanks to thousands of games and free online multiplayer, Android is already the first choice for many casual and experienced gamers. And with Android now on screens big and small, you can sneak a quick game while you’re out on the road, then keep playing at home on your HDTV. 

Nexus Player makes the perfect holiday gift for family fun and immersive play on the biggest screen in your home. Here’s a quick look at some upcoming titles and a round-up of recently-launched favorites.

Rayman Fiesta Run brings Ubisoft’s classic, wacky and lovable character Rayman to your living room. Jumping and rolling through this beautiful fantasy world looks incredible on your TV. And if you grew up like me, spending countless hours collecting video game stars and coins, you’ll quickly fall for this title with a Gamepad for Nexus Player.

New games are coming in every week and there are now more than 60 titles available on Google Play. Some of our favorite new arrivals include:

  • Bike Rivals: an adrenaline-packed stunt racing game that uses the Nexus Player remote 
  • Prime World: Defenders: a classic tower defense game with awesome 3D graphics 
  • Goat Simulator: because who hasn’t dreamt of causing chaos as a goat? 

And coming soon:

  • NBA Jam: a classic, reborn – slam-dunk on your friends with multiple gamepads, phones and tablets
  • Valiant Hearts: a thoughtful warrior’s journey through World War I, realized as an action game 

If you’re looking for a great way to spend the holidays, or to level up your love for Android gaming, grab the Nexus Player and Gamepad for Nexus Player in the Play Store. Nexus Player comes with Badland and a $20 Google Play credit that you can use for games, movies and more.

Enjoy the holidays, whatever (and wherever) you’re playing!

Posted by Jamil Moledina, Games Strategic Partnerships Lead and in-office gamer, Google Play
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Google Keep: Share ideas with friends and family

Sticky notes on refrigerators were once the preferred way to say, “We’re out of bread - could you pick some up?” Now with Google Keep, not only can you jot down ideas or put together shopping lists, you can also share them with friends and family and work on them at the same time. So next time you create a list, share it on Keep and watch as items get checked off in real time! No need for text messages back and forth—get things done together, quicker.
Searching for your notes is simpler now too. You can filter notes by color and other attributes such as whether they’re shared, have a reminder, are lists, or have an image or audio. Find what you’re looking for even faster, and let Keep do the remembering for you.


Google Keep is available for free on Google Play for your Android phones (Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich and above). For existing users, the sharing feature will start rolling out today on Google Play and is already available on the web and the Chrome Web Store.

Posted by Ken Thai, Software Engineer and Chief Listmaker
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Curved glass and stitched leather: ASUS ZenWatch powered by Android Wear

Every new Android Wear device makes it easier to match your style, and today we’re introducing another great watch into the mix: the ASUS ZenWatch!

For starters, the stitched leather strap and curved, stainless steel body make the ZenWatch both comfortable and attractive to wear. It also has a curved glass display, which provides a smooth surface for easy gestures, and a beautiful window for watch faces. Finally, the ZenWatch includes a unique set of sensors that help you keep track of your heart rate, step count, and even relaxation levels.

The ASUS ZenWatch is available to buy now for $199.99 from Google Play and Best Buy.

Posted by Jeff Chang, Senior Product Manager, Android Wear
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A classic watch with Android Wear: LG G Watch R

With Android Wear you can choose the watch that best fits your personal style, then add your favorite apps to customize even further. This ability to make your watch your own is made possible by an amazing community of manufacturers and developers. And today we’re welcoming another exciting addition to the family: the LG G Watch R.


With a matte black stainless steel bezel, a leather strap, and a fully circular screen that’s the first of its kind, the LG G Watch R combines the timeless design of a traditional watch with the sensor-rich experience of Android Wear. It also includes a range of watch face styles that display beautifully on its P-OLED screen.

The LG G Watch R is available to buy now for $299 from Google Play and AT&T.

Posted by Jeff Chang, Senior Product Manager, Android Wear
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The NBA, live on Android TV

2014 is shaping up to be an awesome year for professional basketball. Cleveland gets The Homecoming. Charlotte welcomes back the Hornets. And San Antonio tries to repeat as it goes for its sixth Championship. With the season only a few days old, you can now watch live NBA games on Nexus Player.


Our friends at the National Basketball Association have just released the NBA Game Time app on Google Play. In the United States, you can now follow your favorite teams and catch every pick, roll, dunk and long-range three, live with an NBA League Pass. While you’re at it, grab the Android apps for your other devices so you can cheer on your team from your couch, on your tablet in bed, and on your phone under your desk at work.

MLB.TV is also now available for Android TV on Google Play. With an MLB.TV Premium subscription, you can catch up on full-game archives and recaps from every 2014 regular-season and postseason game. And on April 6, you can watch Opening Day and follow the 2015 MLB season live (subject to blackout restrictions).


NBA Game Time and MLB.TV are now live in Google Play. Get them for Nexus Player and stay tuned as we continue to build out our live sports offering on Android TV.

Posted by Serge Kassardjian, Android Media Partnerships Lead
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Designing the perfect Lollipop.

If you’re like me, you jump between a number of different devices throughout the day—reading a magazine on your tablet, checking the time on your watch, chatting with your friend on the phone, even plotting your route in the car. More and more, our screens work together, each helping make your life a little bit easier. But if design is the way they communicate with us, it often feels like each one is speaking a different language. That’s why we unveiled material design earlier this year: one consistent design language flexible enough to span devices across mobile, desktop, and beyond. Design is a major focus for Lollipop—the latest version of Android—which begins to roll out today.

Material design: tactile surfaces, bold graphic design, fluid motion 
When you think about mobile, an important aspect is the feel of the devices in your hand. Because of this, touch is one of the primary elements of material design, which is inspired by real life materials like paper and ink.

With material design we also based our work on the foundations of good graphic design, using strong colors and bold typography to create clear hierarchy and focus attention on content.



Motion brings the material and the graphic together, explaining how the system works, and adding moments of delight that move you through the system, easily and fluidly.



Extending material design throughout the apps you love 
A number of apps that you know and love have been working hard to build material design into their framework. It is important that every app be able to take on its own unique personality and experience while fitting in the larger system. A few of our favorites are launching updates shortly:    

The Wall Street Journal, Tumblr and BuzzFeed with material design.


Bringing the design conversation to you 
While we first introduced material design this summer, today’s updates are just the beginning of delivering a modern design language for the next wave of devices in your life. It’s a conversation we’d like to keep going. Starting tomorrow, we’ll be gathering some of the best design thinkers from around the industry at FORM, a cultural event for wide-angle design conversation. And we’ll be continuing the conversation with you online, on Google+ and Twitter and at google.com/design. We look forward to working with you to help push the limits on what’s possible through design.

Posted by Nicholas Jitkoff, Designer
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Browse, skim, study your favorite nonfiction books more easily with Google Play

Have you ever had breakfast for dinner? Or checked the score of the big game before you watched it? Traditional ebook reading is great when you want to read books from start to finish—but what if you want to skim through recipes; jump between questions and answers, researching a topic; or read chapters out of order? Today we’re launching a new version of the Google Play Books app for Android phones and tablets with a redesigned reading experience that’s optimized for nonfiction books. This new reader lets you easily skim an entire book, browse all your notes and highlights, and quickly jump back and forth between different spots. And it’s still great for fiction ebook reading, too.

Imagine you’re cooking two recipes from the same cookbook— roast chicken and bruschetta from Around the Table. No problem. Take a peek at the new table of contents view to skip straight to the “Bountiful Tuscan Feast” chapter. Once you’ve found your recipes, you can easily jump between them using new Quick Bookmarks.


When you’re planning your next trip, pick up a Fodor’s travel guide and use Skim Mode to browse the whole book and get a sense of which destinations you want to be sure to visit. Bookmark your favorite spots for easy finding later.


If you’re a student, you can highlight text and take notes while you’re reading, then refer back to them later with Skim Mode—the perfect study buddy.

Of course, all the things you loved about Google Play Books before are still here:

  • Tap on any location name in a book to get a Geo Card with links to access Google Maps, Wikipedia or Web Search 
  • Tap and press on any word to look it up in the dictionary 
  • Select text to highlight in four colors, take notes or translate from any language 
  • Don’t lose your place! Your reading position is synchronized across all your devices: phone, tablet and web 

Ebook reading has always been great for getting lost in a well-crafted story (in the dark using night mode is my favorite!), but now it’s a good fit for any type of book. Visit the Google Play store to have a look for yourself—just add any free sample to your library to start reading. Plan a trip, prepare a meal, research a topic or study for an exam—we’ve got you covered with the new reader app for Google Play Books.

Posted by Scott Dougall, director of product management for Google Play Books 
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Movie night made better with the new Google Play Movies & TV app

After a long day, you want to sit back, kick up your feet and watch a hot new release. With today’s updated Google Play Movies & TV app for Android, your dinner and a movie—at home—is about to get a lot better.

Now when you cast your favorite movie or show to your TV using Chromecast or the new Nexus Player, you’ll get actor or soundtrack cards on your phone or tablet while you are watching, with extra information about what’s playing on screen. Next time you’re burning to know where you’ve seen that actress before, or want to remember a song for later, you don’t have to hit pause or fumble with your controller. It’s at your fingertips—just like your popcorn. Look for the Info Cards badge on the Google Play store to find movies and TV shows that offer this feature.
Google Play Movies also has a new look and feel inspired by Google’s material design with bigger images and smoother transitions. And the redesigned “Watch Now” tab makes the experience of finding a movie as pleasant as watching the movie itself. Now you’ll see more movie recommendations in Watch Now, and you’ll be able to watch a trailer directly in the app.
The new Android app will rollout to everyone over the next week. We hope this update helps make your living room closer to the at-home theater of your dreams. Cue the opening credits!

Posted by Ben Serridge, senior product manager for Google Play Movies & TV
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Google Fit: An effortless, comprehensive view of your fitness.



When it comes to improving our fitness, every little effort counts. That’s why we’ve created Google Fit – a fitness app that helps you to start tracking your activity effortlessly and become more active, aware and motivated.

Google Fit uses sensors already built in to your Android phone to automatically detect walking, biking and running. And you can set and monitor your fitness goals based on your activity levels. It’s a great tool to discover how active you are and check in on your progress as you work on your fitness goals. In fact, you can check in just about anywhere, including your phone, the web, tablet and Android Wear devices.



You can also connect your favorite fitness devices and apps like Strava, Withings, Runtastic, Runkeeper and Noom Coach to Google Fit and we’ll surface all of the relevant data in one spot, giving you a clear and complete view of your fitness. No need to check one app to see your weight and another to review a run – with Google Fit, that data will all be surfaced in one, simple place.

Just keep your Android phone with you and we’ll make sure your activity counts – whether you’re cycling up steep hills, going for a morning jog or walking the dog.

Google Fit is available starting today on Google Play for devices running Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich and above.

Sabrina Ellis, Director, Product Management, Android 
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A sweet Lollipop, with a kevlar wrapping: New security features in Android 5.0.

With each new release of Android, we try to stay two steps ahead of the bad guys. When it comes to security, Lollipop is the biggest update for Android to date. From the moment you turn on a device running Android 5.0, you’ll have a wealth of new security features protecting you, like encryption by default and a lock screen that’s easier and more powerful than ever.

The simplest way to stay safe is now even easier 
What’s the simplest way to keep the data safe and secure on your mobile device? Use a screen lock! Lost and stolen devices are the number-one security issue affecting smartphone users. Still, a lot of people using mobile devices don’t use a pin or password because it takes too long to unlock, dozens of times per day. We’re making it easier than ever with Smart Lock, which lets you tell your phone to unlock using Bluetooth pairing, NFC, or simply your smile—faster than before. Plus, you can allow certain notifications to be accessible from the lock screen, helping you quickly get at the information you need while still keeping your device protected.

More secure, from the first time you turn it on 
People use safes and combination locks to protect their physical goods. With digital information, encryption acts like a safe to protect your information from thieves and snoops. That’s why we’ve worked hard to provide this added security for our users, which will now be the default from the moment you power on a new device running Lollipop, keeping your data safer without needing you to fiddle around in the settings. Full device encryption occurs at first boot, using a unique key that never leaves the device. This is the safest way to encrypt your device, which is why it’s how we’ve built encryption on Android since it first launched three years ago.

SELinux, making Android secure enough for the most demanding customers 
Android has had a strong application sandbox since the very beginning; Security Enhanced Linux (SELinux) pushes enforcement of the Android security model further into the core of the OS and makes it easier to audit and monitor so there's less room for an attack. With Android 5.0, SELinux Enforcing mode is required for all applications on all devices. Multiple vulnerabilities have been prevented since we first introduced SELinux last year; by strengthening it even more, Android becomes a top choice for enterprise customers that have really strict security standards, such as the government. This is a feature that the broader security community helped us build, and is an example of how Android’s open nature helps make your device more secure every day.

There are a number of other features that were added to the platform to keep your devices secure. So, not only is Lollipop is the sweetest update of Android to date, we also built in a rigid (security) Lollipop stick for the core and and kevlar wrapping on the outside—to keep you safe from the bad guys, inside and out. Posted by: Adrian Ludwig, Lead Security Engineer, Android

Update: In September, we announced that all new Android Lollipop devices would be encrypted by default. Due to performance issues on some Android partner devices, we are not yet at encryption by default on every new Lollipop device. That said, our new Nexus devices are encrypted by default and Android users (Jelly Bean and above) have the option to encrypt the data on their device in Settings ---> Security ---> Encryption. We remain firmly committed to encryption because it helps keep users safe and secure on the web.
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