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What's New
1. You now have the Installed and All tabs you can swipe between. The former one is what we used to have before - it lists all apps installed on your device. The latter lists all apps you've ever installed in case you want to download them again or travel down the memory lane. This is quite handy, and I've seen this list before in the Play Store on the web, so it's great to get it here in the mobile app.
2. The All tab contains a handy dropdown with all your accounts (if you added more than one) and lets you switch between them very easily (as opposed to clicking Menu, etc).
3. The list of apps you have purchased but uninstalled or haven't installed yet has moved to the All tab... which means it's now mixed in with the free apps you no longer have on the device. I'm not sure how I feel about that - on one hand, I like that it's gone from the first list, but ideally there should be a way to filter paid apps from free in the All list. Maybe someday...
4. A few of the stock apps that apparently never got linked to the Play Store before got identified and picked up this time, and updates to such orphans were waiting for me when I fired the Store up. I've complained about this very bug in my last rant, and it looks like someone listened.
5. Just like in the web Play Store:
- reviews now show the device used by the reviewer
- reviews can now be sorted by Most Helpful first or Newest first
- you can now filter reviews to show ones for the latest version of the app as well as made by only the device you are using
Thanks to androidpolice.com
Now download and enjoy!
Some screenshots would help
Sent from my Xperia neo V using SwiftKey!
Thanks, but one thread is enough
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1549660
Here is the Link, http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25795010/com.android.vending-3.5.15.apk
Thanks Android Police.
Whats new:
You now have the Installed and All tabs you can swipe between. The former one is what we used to have before - it lists all apps installed on your device. The latter lists all apps you've ever installed in case you want to download them again or travel down the memory lane. This is quite handy, and I've seen this list before in the Play Store on the web, so it's great to get it here in the mobile app.
The All tab contains a handy dropdown with all your accounts (if you added more than one) and lets you switch between them very easily (as opposed to clicking Menu, etc).
The list of apps you have purchased but uninstalled or haven't installed yet has moved to the All tab... which means it's now mixed in with the free apps you no longer have on the device. I'm not sure how I feel about that - on one hand, I like that it's gone from the first list, but ideally there should be a way to filter paid apps from free in the All list. Maybe someday...
A few of the stock apps that apparently never got linked to the Play Store before got identified and picked up this time, and updates to such orphans were waiting for me when I fired the Store up. I've complained about this very bug in my last rant, and it looks like someone listened.
Just like in the web Play Store:
- reviews now show the device used by the reviewer
- reviews can now be sorted by Most Helpful first or Newest first
- you can now filter reviews to show ones for the latest version of the app as well as made by only the device you are using
hahahahaha....I always love threads like this, they'll be about 100 of these by the end of the day!
Also you should search before posting ESPECIALLY with a thread like this.....
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1534295
When I saw that Google had a new version of maps available last night I was really excited. However, that excitement died down really fast when I saw how much they'd stripped from it. Just read the 1- and 2-star rating comments that this app is now getting on Google Play if you don't take my word for it.
Here's just some of the big disappointments:
- No more Google Latitude, though in fairness this isn't really a problem with Maps per se, because Google is SHUTTING DOWN Latitude on August 9th. They want us to use Google+ and its Locations feature as a replacement, but Locations is mere toy compared to what Latitude was able to do. It's a sad joke. To make matters worse, the location sharing feature of Google+ only works if the app is a SYSTEM APP. If your phone didn't come with it and you initially installed Google+ from the Play Store, Locations WILL NOT WORK. You must have a rooted phone on which you can assign Google+ to a system app using a tool such as Titanium Backup.
- No more Labs functions. One of the features I used to adore on my S4 was the "Larger Text" lab. This worked great on phones with 1080p screens, as the native text was just too small. The new maps app has small text, especially on a 1080p screen.
- No access to "My Maps". I read somewhere that this will be restored IN THE FUTURE, but until then you won't have access to your custom routes and maps if you upgrade to 7.0.
- No more zoom buttons on the map, though it is apparently possible to double-tap, and the swipe up or down to change the zoom. However, this still isn't as convenient under some circumstances.
- No more scale on the map. Okay, not everyone used this, but I liked knowing how far 1 km (or 1 mile) was on the map at the current zoom level.
- The Pegman in Streetview is gone and overall this feature seems less usable than it was before.
- Offline maps are still available, but they've been hidden. It's rather like an Easter Egg now, in that you must type (or say) "OK Maps" to get it to cache what you are zoomed in on at the time. However, it doesn't store as large an area as before and there is NO WAY to list or administer your cached local maps.
- Many people have reported that Navigation is now quite buggy, though I haven't had a chance to try it myself.
- You can no longer create navigation shortcuts and no Navigation icon appears on your phone. To use Navigation you must start Maps first and go through that.
- No more Terrain layer.
------------------------------------------------
So, if you are curious about trying Maps 7.0, then I strongly recommend that you backup your copy of the older maps first (if you have Titanium Backup or another apps for backing up your apps). Failing that, Google has made the old version available for downloading, if you can find it.
If you have Titanium Backup, use it to remove Maps from Play Store list so that it won't keep popping up as an update. You might accidentally install it.
Double tap, hold and swipe over the screen to zoom with one finger. Worked in maps 6.x and still works with maps 7.
To get access to your places, you just have to simply press the icon on the right side of the search bar, and there they are.
neluba said:
Double tap, hold and swipe over the screen to zoom with one finger. Worked in maps 6.x and still works with maps 7.
To get access to your places, you just have to simply press the icon on the right side of the search bar, and there they are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was not aware of the double-tap shortcut for zoom, but I tried it and it certainly does work. I edited the original post to reflect this.
However, I think you might have misunderstood what I meant concerning the second issue. I'm not so much interest in "My Places", but the sub-category of that called "My Maps". These are custom routes and maps you can create with the desktop version of Maps and they were loadable on Maps for Android prior to version 7.0. I double-checked to make sure they weren't there on 7.0, and they definitely aren't. I edited the original post to say just "My Maps" to clarify this point.
You can still launch navigation by voice, but it opens maps then navigation. What I'm not liking about this is that I often launch navigation by voice and like being able to change my route and check off avoid tolls and/or highways. This now has to be done from maps before launching navigation. A bit inconvenient.
Steve Punter said:
- You can no longer create navigation shortcuts and no Navigation icon appears on your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still have a separate Navigation icon? Takes me right to the 'choose destination' screen in Navigation...?
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
Another thing to note which is now missing (I believe) is the separate "Car Mode" Maps display.
This was a quasi 3d display, similar to the old all-in-one GPS units, that followed the car movement from behind. This used to pop up automatically when my 'car mode' was activated. This mode would not screen time-out. Now it just pops up with the standard maps display, which will time-out and not follow along/scroll with your car position.
The offline maps feature has been added back in a small update. Still not done right, but it's at least accessible and not an easter egg.
I think latitude's features are supposed to be rolled into G+ before latitude itself is shut down.
Hadn't heard about the rest, but several sound like serious leaps backwards.
Well that's 3 google apps I'm leaving old versions now, all within the last few months I had to stop applying updates, I gave it a try and I agree, it sucks
Maps, GMail, and Talk.
I'm so disappointed in Google lately, nothing good has come out of their updates. I bought in to their infrastructure and now they're just ****ing around with me as they please. I wish they had a competitor worth a damn (Bing's worse imo).
Fire their new UI guys and let engineers develop apps again, sick of this design first philosophy that doesn't work.
what's remained ???
i will update and see what happens
waylo said:
Another thing to note which is now missing (I believe) is the separate "Car Mode" Maps display.
This was a quasi 3d display, similar to the old all-in-one GPS units, that followed the car movement from behind. This used to pop up automatically when my 'car mode' was activated. This mode would not screen time-out. Now it just pops up with the standard maps display, which will time-out and not follow along/scroll with your car position.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is mainly what I use Google Maps for in my car, had to downgrade to 6.x to get this back
I used Latitude a lot... now I have to use a separate (broken) app to see my latitude contacts? Shouldn't that be in the MAPS program?
Double tab to zoom,, it works to my phone in this last maps..:good::good:
Everyone talking about the update but how come I still can't get it!!! I'm on ICS 4.0.4 ...usa
Sent from my C5170 using xda premium
I also have the difficulty to see the tiny street name on the map. Why won't Google make the font size user adjustable.
I probably have to keep using the old version of Google maps unless a larger text is allowed.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Steve Punter said:
I was not aware of the double-tap shortcut for zoom, but I tried it and it certainly does work. I edited the original post to reflect this.
However, I think you might have misunderstood what I meant concerning the second issue. I'm not so much interest in "My Places", but the sub-category of that called "My Maps". These are custom routes and maps you can create with the desktop version of Maps and they were loadable on Maps for Android prior to version 7.0. I double-checked to make sure they weren't there on 7.0, and they definitely aren't. I edited the original post to say just "My Maps" to clarify this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just installed version 7 and no ``My Places``, how do we downgrade to the old version?
Downgrade?
raczyk said:
Just installed version 7 and no ``My Places``, how do we downgrade to the old version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I concur but don't know how to do that. I want the old version back. Anyone?
Thanks
Hey guys, I've been a longtime member of xda-developers and I've been working on this app for the past few months with a team. I'd love to get your feedback on it.
Bento is an intelligent android launcher with a personalized stream of cards (similar to Google now, but we think its better) http://www.bentoapp.com/
Sign up for the beta here
Features:
Search including apps, contacts, play store, locations and Google
Ranked and organized notifications
Dock with recently used apps
Personalized Yelp, Uber, concert, Soundcloud and Youtube recommendations
Local weather card
Calendar card
and many more cards!
Signed up for the alpha. Will respond as soon as I can download.
Very nice idea. Reminds me of aviate launcher mixed with Google now launcher, but looks way awesomer. Signed for the alpha too. Very interested in this project
Chillz88 said:
Very nice idea. Reminds me of aviate launcher mixed with Google now launcher, but looks way awesomer. Signed for the alpha too. Very interested in this project
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're absolutely right. Also, Aviate has changed a lot since the acquisition by Yahoo. This project looks great.
Waiting for download link to appear
Signed up... Waiting for the alpha version.
We just launched our website and put up a blog post
We also launched version 0.3 today which includes the following changes:
- A YouTube Music card personalized to your music preferences
- A brand new on-boarding experience for new users
- A new Settings area to let you add, edit, and delete Saved Locations
- Major algorithmic improvements for the Contextual Apps card
- Bug fixes
-- Fix cards flashing when stream updates
-- Fix bug that allowed swiping card to left
-- Fix for swiping away of cards when scrolling vertically
-- Fixes for Notification card syncing and ranking
If you signed up for the alpha but for some reason never got in please PM me.
Signed up to test it out
Signed up for Beta, however says it is not on Play Store as of yet. Got an APK we can download by chance?
Signed up as well looks promising, joined group just getting 0 of 0
Nooblet said:
Signed up for Beta, however says it is not on Play Store as of yet. Got an APK we can download by chance?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you try going here http://www.bentoapp.com/ and clicking join the beta? We've changed the sign up a bit. You should be able to immediately access the beta google group from there. Once you've joined the google group, you should see a link to the beta. Let me know if this doesn't work for you.
There is no link shows up for me also. Just a blank Group Page.
Blank group for me as well. Also tried to use desktop mode. Brings me to the welcome message in the group with a playstore link. Playstore link does not work.
Download link not working
Download link after joining beta from your website is not working.
edit: Works after manually copying and pasting link!
can't download from play store, item not found
edit: downloaded, some playstore or phone bug
Looks promising.
Signed up but it's just an empty Google groups page. Um, what do I do?
EXV said:
Signed up but it's just an empty Google groups page. Um, what do I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here.
Sent from my LG G2 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
We're really sorry about the blank google groups page. This is the link to download the app. https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.bento.launcher . There have been multiple issues with the way play store beta membership groups work and we have tried to fix all of the issues.
If clicking on the above link takes you to a page that says "App doesn't exist" or "Page not found", you could try a few things:
Please wait a few minutes and open the link again.
Ensure that the default account you used to sign into your browser is the same as used to sign up for the Bento Beta Google group.
Ensure that your play store account is using the same email you used to sign up for the Bento Beta Google group
If all else fails, please email [email protected]
Joined beta group from site without at hitch, got from Play, installed and ran. Playing with this, looks quite interesting. Later, google+ did not have me in the "community" so requested that as well.
First and second reactions:
1. Intriguing concept. Looks like it belongs in Ubuntu.
2. Weather card should be location-based (maybe it is). Default units should be locale based. How to set up?
3. To facilitate testing, might be better as a launcher overlay rather than a full launcher. But it is very easy to switch homes from settings (was not always the case). Actually, it will run as an app except that the app-drawer or screen from which it is run remains visible behind the app folders.
4. App runs as app from app-drawer or folder. Runs (and labeled as) Bento Settings from Bento's app drawer. So found how to get my Celcius and km. Cannot place Bento Settings on the folders.
5. A refresh (or "more") button on cards pane might be in order. Can be mostly blank for long periods of time.
6. Got a "tomorrow" card. Never got "today."
7. Quickly learned how to arrange the folders, add, remove apps. More-or-less just like current stock launchers.
8. Like it or not, we are still part of the Google universe (though Cyanogen/Microsoft and Rational would like to change that). So normal calendar, maps, google+ will be around and should fit in. Google Now should also fit into this scheme.
9. Problem on my ArmV6 dinosaur: Cannot use Google's off-line speech recognition which will crash. I get text into Google Now using a voice search wrapper widget which links with older VoiceSearch on-line recognition (that app also did phone searches like Bento!). Voice input to keyboards, most apps crashes. There is a settings->language&input->voice-recognition choice which should be polled and respected. When Bento has more traction, might persuade the wrapper's dev to do a version that feeds Bento's searchbox intent.
10. The thing has no clock. On other launchers I use chronus so took the clock off status bar. Bento runs immersive mode anyway. (Another reason this is more and app than a launcher.)
11. Getting typed text into search bar is problematic sometimes. KB comes up but does not enter.
More to come ...
Hello,
(not sure if this should be posted here, or in Q&A forum)
I've been using alternative Android ROMs on my Linux phones for the last 10+ years (mostly CM/LOS). Recently, after watching some YT videos, I found that the concept of fully de-Googled is more than a concept these days. Since I don't really use Google's apps other than Play Store, and everything else should be taken care of by microG (which if I understand correctly is FOSS implementation of Play Services, that should also supposedly pass SafetyNet check), I decided to give it a go.
As far as I can tell, the most popular de-Googled / privacy-focused ROMs are GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, and /e/. In my case, /e/ is the only one I can officially use on my target Poco F1 device.
The issue is, that I still have to get apps from somewhere (and I'm not that much into FOSS, to use just F-Droid apps). Here the main choices are:
1, App Lounge (FOSS, built-into /e/ ROM, downloads apps from both Play Store and F-Droid) --> https://doc.e.foundation/app-lounge
2. Aurora Store (FOSS, downloads apps from Play Store only) --> https://auroraoss.com/
3. F-Droid (FOSS, dedicated for F-Droid apps only) --> https://f-droid.org/
The problem is, that it is really difficult to find any credible resource that would compare those; I'm especially interested with security aspects of those solutions (first 2 ones in particular). I mean don't get me wrong, I don't think that FOSS app can just inject malicious code without anybody noticing it (especially the one ones that are up in public for t hat amount of time with so many potential eyes on it), but I'm more afraid of external resources they may or may not be using (more on that later) or some incidental bugs. Just to be clear, I can live with certain app being updated a little later, but I find being completely locked out of updates for eg. my baking app (!) or downloading it from unknown/malicious source (!!!) to be completely unacceptable. In other words, I'd like to get apps from Play Store from as-official source as possible, with as minimal in-the-middle tampering as possible, any third-party user-based manual apk upload (like APKMirror) is out of the question. For FOSS apps, I can continue using F-Droid (having 2 stores for 2 separate app sources on one phone is not an issue for me).
That said, here's what I was able to determine so far; note, that I'm not a dev or security expert, just an enthusiast, so feel free to correct any misconceptions.
App Lounge
At first glance, this is a perfect choice for me, it supports both sources (Play Store and F-Droid). However it seems to be using something called `CleanApk` to obtain them, and here's when things become really confusing to me:
- The official doc claims that it is a source for closed-source apps. It even mentions the possibility to create store page for your app (!) as well as it asks users to report malicious apps (!!!). Call me paranoid, but to me it looks like anybody can just create scam banking/Facebook/whatever app and get it published (as there is 0 mention of any verification process, be that automatic or manual). Also, I don't see any info as to where those closed-source apps actually come from, and the entire info page really lacks any detailed info. Not to mention, that source / motivation / community / author / anything about this API is a mystery to me.
- When it comes to official App Lounge's doc, it seems like it does NOT in fact use `CleanApk` for Play Store apps (?), but if that is the case then I'm confused as to why they are using it for F-Droid ones:
- This part from official App Lounge doc also kind of confuses me, because it mentions that verifying app's signature is not easy when it comes to Play Store, but it is under the `CleanApk` question, which should not be used for Play Store apps (?); on the bright side, it seems like they working towards ditching `CleanApk` altogether, but AFAIK it hasn't happened yet.
- There is a lengthy 2-part article (actually the only external piece about App Lounge I could find), which doesn't exactly inspire me with confidence to App Lounge (actually /e/ rom in general...) --> https://nervuri.net/e/apps ; the upside is, it shows some progress over time in general, but the fact that anybody at any point thought that using shady API (that might supposedly be using `APKPure.com` as a source...) makes me really worried; note that even though it is written by "somebody from the internet" his concerns make sense to me (though again, I'm not any sort of expert). Also I don't want to have to read change-log or analysis after every system update to potentially find out that they flipped and started using something different again.
Aurora Store
The upside of Aurora Store is, that it is older, was posted on XDA and github couple years before App Lounge; it is based off some other project, that is even older. It is also independent from /e/, in fact it has been used in other ROMs (eg. CalyxOS), so I think it may be more stable and tested. However, here the issues are:
- As opposed to questionable resources/doc for App Lounge, there is basically almost no info about Aurora Store. The page itself has only download links, there is also a Github page, that links you to FAQ, that doesn't exist, and to XDA page that seems to be outdated. Generally, every official resource seems to be inconsistent in some way (like XDA page mentions work in progress when it comes to some features of V3, when 4.x.x was released years ago), so it's hard to determine how it actually works. I am about 99% sure, that it uses Google Play API as a source (which is mentioned on YalpStore page which Aurora is forked from) but I haven't found it explicitly stated anywhere in Aurora Store (the best we get is that it is "FOSS client to Google's Play Store"). That said, I hope this is just my nitpick, as it is FOSS and is used by some other ROMs, so I hope that somebody read this code.
- Last commit is from 2021, so it seems not to be in active development. It is fine with me, as long as it is safe and works, but I'm afraid it might be abandoned, and break in case of any changes to Play Store API (as opposed to App Lounge, which seems to be in active development alongside /e/ ROM itself).
- Since this app is completely independent from /e/, I wonder how would system apps in /e/ itself get updated without App Lounge active.
Practical tests
I have decided to use my secondary cheapo Pixel 3a as a playground for /e/ ROM, installed Aurora and F-Droid on the top of pre-existing App Lounge, and started comparing the behavior. Since both are supposedly using Google Play Store (though again, not 100% sure), you would think, that results for "closed" apps will be the same. Well, mostly yes, but there seem to be some edge-cases / exceptions.
Notes:
1. I'm not promoting any of those apps, those are just examples.
2. All tests done on the same physical device (Google Pixel 3a), around the same time, using the same network.
3. Device rebooted, and all apps force-closed right before the tests.
4. F-Droid: 1.16.3; App Lounge: 2.4.8; Aurora Store 4.1.1.
5. Checked version and sometimes update date, I wasn't interested in description, comments, etc.
6. Obviously I haven't checked every possible app, just some examples that I though might be problematic.
Results were:
1. First I tried a few "big" apps, no surprise here, the all seem to return the same version (checked FB, YT, Netflix, FB, Steam etc. not that I use all of them). For example, Steam returned 3.5 (2023-02-24) in both clients.
2. The only exception that I was able to find, was actually TikTok, 28.9.4 in App Lounge, and 29.0.3 in Aurora Store; maybe this has something to do with ban or source of this app, but again, I'm checking on exact same phone using the same network.
3. I decided to check some lesser-known but frequently-updated app, and the only one I could think of, that would fit that criteria was FairEmail. This example is also interesting, because it is hosted in both Play Store and F-Droid. It turned out, that both Aurora Store and F-Droid featured the same version (1.2060), but App Lounge had only 1.2052. I should also point out, that this app gets very frequent updates sometimes, so it is strange that App Lounge seems to have missed probably ~8 versions (albeit over short period of time).
4. I started checking some Poland-specific apps (though quite popular ones), and I was able to find at least one irregularity being Allegro app: 8.11.1 (2023-03-21) in App Lounge and 8.13.1 (2023-04-05) in Aurora Store.
5. I also checked some older and lesser-known apps, and for example Cyberlords game exists in both stores in the same 1.0.8 version (last updated in 2020).
6. On the other hand, quite ancient ADW Launcher (last updated in 2018) does not exist in App Lounge at all (it cannot be found), but can be installed from Aurora, I also confirmed that it actually still exists in Play Store.
7. I also checked some very niche Polish-specific app Semafor, it exists in both stores, can be found, the same version.
8. I was also able to find that one of the old games Move the Box by Exponenta (last updated in 2017) exists in Aurora Store, but is nowhere to be found in App Lounge.
9. The same goes for Rss Reader by Svyatoslav Vasilev, which is not even that old (and includes commercial/donate version) exists in Aurora Store, and is missing from App Lounge.
Link to screenshots -->
https://imgur.com/a/v6BquUG
Conclusion/questions
1. Which store would you recommend based on everything I provided? From my side, I'm leaning towards either Aurora Store, or coming back to Google Play Store.
2. Where do those apks come from in the end, am I understanding correctly that in the end they should come from Play Store API in both cases?
3. When it comes to my tests: am I missing something here? If the official descriptions (or rather my assumptions) are correct, and both of those clients are using official Play Store apks accessed using likely the very same API, them how would that disparity in versions or visibility would even be possible?
4. Any other Play Store alternatives, that I missed?
Small pushup topic
I am very suprised that no one has any comment about this topic. Specially when it is very wellwritten and documented.
I've been using App Lounge with e/OS but I am not able to answer to your question although as you well say, App Lounge unite very well both F-Droid and Play store App.
Great topic, thanks. For the last few years, I use a combination of Aurora Droid + Aurora Store for open source and normal apps. The big downside is that paid apps aren't supported with an anon login through Aurora.
Right now I'm on a stock ROM, but with no google account. Previously I did a more hard-core degoogling with a custom rom wirh no google play services and MicroG. I found it to be too flaky for me (for example, I need uber to work on my phone 100% reliably). So this level of just not having a google account but still leaving play services installed seems like the right middle ground.
Also, Aurora Store is under relatively active development, not sure where you see no updates since 2021. It's at https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore
Note that just in the last few days there's been a breaking issue where the pool of anon accounts needs to be rebuilt, so until that gets fixed you probably won't be able to get started with Aurora Store.