[Update: Now in Search results] It’s now free for any business to list products on Google Shopping

Update (6/29/20 @ 10:50 AM ET): After allowing all businesses to list products on Google Shopping for free, these listings are now appearing in Google Search results.

While many people have probably used Google Shopping, it’s one of Google’s lesser-known services. On the surface, it seems like a simple aggregator for online shopping, but there’s actually more going on. Previously, businesses had to pay to appear in Google Shopping. Now, the company is letting any business owner list products for free.

It’s critical for businesses to get their products to appear in Google search results. Appearing in the more specialized Google Shopping results, where people are actively looking to spend money, is even more important. Google says they know “many retailers have the items people need in stock and ready to ship, but are less discoverable online.” This change means more exposure for those businesses and more options for shoppers.

The new free option will begin rolling out on April 27th in the US and worldwide over the next few months. Businesses can still pay for higher placement, but Google says the results will consist primarily of free product listings. Those businesses that were already paying to list products will immediately be able to list their full inventories. New users can apply for free listings through the Merchant Center.

As part of this news, Google is announcing a new partnership with PayPal to allow merchants to link their accounts and accept online payments. Google says this will speed up the onboarding process and “ensure we’re surfacing the highest quality results for our users.” The company is also working with Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce to make sure they can shift easily to Google Shopping.

Google says they have been working toward this change for a while. The COVID-19 pandemic and a huge shift toward online shopping accelerated those plans. This change puts Google Shopping more in line with Amazon, who similarly only charges merchants to promote products for higher placement. Obviously, Google isn’t doing any shipping, but it could mean more people starting to go to Google instead of Amazon to find products.

Google Shopping: Discover, compare prices & buy (Free, Google Play) →

Source: Google

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Update: Now in Search results

In April, Google announced it was allowing all business owners to list products on Google Shopping for free. Now, Google is bringing those free listings to Google Search results. Not only will businesses be able to get their products in front of more Shopping users, but also the millions of people who use Search every day. These free listings will initially appear in a product knowledge panel that shows buying options for a particular item. Users can still go to the “Stores” tab in the panel for more buying options.

Source: Google

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Waze reveals a new logo, bright new colors, and icons

New logos are often controversial, but they can revitalize a service and bring new attention to it. Waze is a service that has been around for a long time, 14 years to be exact, and it’s getting its first major brand refresh in a long time. Along with a cleaned-up logo and new wordmark, the service is getting bright colors and playful in-app icons.

As mentioned, Waze has been around for a long time. It was bought by Google back in 2013, about 6 years after the company started. The service has pretty much retained the same identity from the beginning. Now, the cute little car icon is getting cleaned up and the wordmark font has been updated. The car is rounder and even more friendly, while the font is a little more “professional” looking. As you can see from the image above, this is really the first big refresh the brand has seen.

To go along with the new logo, Waze is introducing a new color scheme and playful in-app icons. The colors are much brighter and they really pop out with the new thicker black borders. The in-app icons themselves have also been given black borders, making them much easier to see. Everything is much flatter, bolder, and more expressive.

The mobile app will soon be updated to match this new design, Waze didn’t say when to expect it. I always felt the Waze app looked a little outdated and that was reflected in the old logo. The new design isn’t a gigantic change, but it is enough to make the service feel modern. Waze is an excellent alternative to Google Maps (which also recently got a new logo) and it’s worth a try if you travel often.

Waze - GPS, Maps, Traffic Alerts & Live Navigation (Free, Google Play) →

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Source: Waze

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5 Skills Every Developer Should Have in Their Back Pocket

Many people dream of working as a high-flying developer. Those who put in the hard yards are rewarded with an exciting career, with the opportunity to earn big at an innovative tech company. However, aspiring developers need to do plenty of learning to unlock such rewards. Here are some of the key skills, along with some affordable courses and tools that you can get at the XDA Developers Depot.

A Deep Understanding of Python

One of the most popular programming languages used today, Python is both easy to learn and versatile. Featuring 12 courses from top instructors, this bundle shows you how to deploy Python in data science, machine learning, cybersecurity, and other fields. The courses are worth $2,385, but you can grab the bundle now for $49.99.

Know the Cloud

With 90% of businesses now using cloud services, knowledge in this niche is invaluable. The big players are Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services; both offer certifications for skills developers.

The Complete 2020 Microsoft Azure Certification Prep Bundle includes 10 courses, covering practical skills and working towards the official exams. You can order now for $39 to get lifetime access, worth $1,839.99.

The 2020 Ultimate AWS Certification Training Bundle does the same job for Amazon, with 89 hours of training on the cloud, big data, SysOps, and more. It’s worth $274, but you can get the bundle now for $59.99.

VMWare is a slightly different platform, which allows companies to deploy containerized apps in the cloud. Rated at 4.5 stars on EDUCBA, The Ultimate VMware Mastery Bundle gives you a guided tour, with 26 hours of training for just $19.99. 

Web Technologies

With tons of sites launching each day, there’s work to be found as a web developer.

The Complete Full Stack Web Development Master Class Bundle helps you grow your understanding of this art, with 46 hours of video training. It covers a range of key frameworks, including React, Angular, and Node. You can get the bundle now for just $19 on a special price drop.

The Comprehensive JavaScript Bundle is another great option. Focusing on the primary programming language of the web, this bundle provides 46 hours of beginner-friendly tutorials. Usually $1,492, the training is now only $31.

Cybersecurity Chops

If you want to work as a developer, it’s handy to have at least some grasp of cybersecurity. 

The A-Z Cybersecurity Developer Bundle provides this knowledge on a plate, with over 120 hours of training. The videos cover ethical hacking, pentesting, InfoSec, data security, and much more. Order now for $39.99 to get the courses, worth $999.

Offering 300 hours of training working towards key exams, The Complete 2020 CompTIA Certification Training Bundle can help you prove your knowledge. Along with cybersecurity, it covers IT, cloud computing, networking, and more. This mammoth bundle is worth $3,486, but you can get it now for $69.

To secure your own system, you might want to grab The KeepSolid App Bundle. It includes two-year subscriptions for VPN Unlimited and the KeepSolid Private Browser, along with two useful business tools. Worth $603.42, the bundle is now only $59.99.

Automate Your Workflow

As a developer, you are paid to write code — not waste time on simple tasks like backing up your work. For this reason, automation is your friend.

With 2TB of storage space and AES-256 encryption, Polar Cloud Backup is one of your best options. The app lets you schedule backups, so you never lose a draft again. Worth $590, lifetime subscriptions are now just $49.99.

Prices subject to change 

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Alleged Xiaomi Redmi 9A official renders show up online a day before the launch

Despite a wide range of products, Xiaomi truly excels when it comes to its budget offerings. The company’s entry-level Redmi A series is fairly popular in several parts of the world including Southeast Asia, LATAM, and Europe. Xiaomi launched Redmi 8A back in September last year and the phone – like its predecessor – offers great value for its price of just about $100. Now, Xiaomi is gearing up to unveil its successor – the Redmi 9A – along with another budget device – the Redmi 9C tomorrow i.e. on June 30th. But just a day ahead of the launch, official renders of the Redmi 9A appears to have slipped out and leaked online.

Xiaomi Malaysia recently took to Facebook to confirm the launch of Redmi 9A and Redmi 9C in the country. The creative used for the status update represents a generic display with a V-shaped notch. While the A series has been going strong for several years now, the Redmi C series is new.

Although the purported specifications of the Redmi 9A and the 9C have been making rounds on the internet for some time, the phones have evaded any visual expose. This seemingly changes today, just a day before their launch, as Playfuldroid claims to have sourced official renders of the Redmi 9A. The phone appears in three different colors – Midnight Grey, Peacock Green, and Twilight Blue – in these alleged renders.

Although we would suggest taking these renders with a grain of salt, they coincide with the block diagram from the listing on FCC of a Redmi phone with model number M2006C3LG, which can be confirmed to be the Redmi 9A by looking up the EMEI number registered in the FCC filing. The listing also reveals that the Redmi 9A will feature 4900mAh battery with 10W charging, and run on MIUI 12 out-of-the-box. In addition, the Redmi 9A has also been certified by Thailand’s NBTC but the listing doesn’t reveal much about the phone.

Redmi 9A’s block diagram from FCC listing, image by Telegram channel @Xiaomiui

Other specs of the phone are yet to verified by the tipster known by their Twitter alias @Sudhanshu1414 claimed to know the key specifications of the Redmi 9A, Redmi 9C, and the Redmi 9. Out of these, the Redmi 9’s specifications suggested by the tipster have turned out to be accurate, giving us some confidence in their tip for the other two devices.

The Redmi 9A is expected to be powered by a MediaTek Helio G25 chipset and feature a single 13MP camera on the back with a 5MP selfie shooter. The phone is also expected to sport a 6.5-inch HD+ display and be available in a 3GB/32GB arrangement. The Redmi 9C, on the other hand, is expected to be powered by a Helio G35 chipset, also powering the Realme C11 that launches in Malaysia on the same day as the Redmi 9A and 9C.

Since there’s not much time left to the official reveal, we won’t have to spend much time contemplating the authenticity of these leaks.

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[Update 2: Coming Back] The Google Play Store will no longer show notifications for updated apps

Update 2 (06/29/2020 @ 9:25 AM ET): Google Play Store notifications for app updates appear to be returning.

Update 1 (02/28/2020 @ 01:54 AM ET): We’ve found strings in a new version of the Google Play Store that indicates that update notifications may be coming back. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on January 16, 2020, is preserved below.

Late last month we came across an issue with the Google Play Store which prevented some newly published apps from showing up in search. The bug only brought up related search results when searching for new apps, even though they were definitely live on the platform. Google addressed this issue shortly thereafter and users were once again able to look up new apps in the store. At the time, some users also reported another bug on the Play Store which stopped showing app update notifications in the notification shade. The bug was noticed shortly after Play Store version 17.4 rolled out to users and since then, more and more users have come up to share the issues on Reddit and Google’s Support forums.

Now, as per a recent report from Android Police, it seems like the missing notifications in the Google Play store is intended behavior. A Google spokesperson reached out to the publication to provide further clarification on the issue and revealed that the missing update notifications were a feature and not a bug. Even though the issue was fixed briefly early in December last year, it remerged earlier this month. As of now, there’s no further information from the company regarding its decision to remove Play Store notifications. Users who wish to check the app update status will now have to navigate to the My apps & games section in the Play Store and manually check for updates. Do note that Google won’t push notifications after app updates are successful.

Via: Android Police

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Update 1: Play Store’s App Update notifications may be coming back

The Google Play Store no longer shows any notifications for when your apps are updated. This change hasn’t exactly been well-received since a lot of people do want to be notified on which apps have recently received an update on their phone. It could be this reason why Google may be planning to bring back the notification.

An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by the developers in a future build.

As spotted in Google Play Store v19.0.12, the strings relating to app update notifications have been added back in, indicating that the feature might be brought back.

<string name="updates_completed_notification_channel">Updates completed</string>
<string name="updates_completed_notification_channel_description">Notify when an app is finished updating</string>

This is no guarantee that the feature is destined for a return merely because we spotted these strings in the newer version of the app. However, the existence of these strings is a pre-requisite in case the feature is to be re-added back in. We hope Google has had a change of heart.

Thanks to PNF Software for providing us a license to use JEB Decompiler, a professional-grade reverse engineering tool for Android applications.

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Update 2: Coming Back

Google appears to be finally reverting a very annoying decision. After purposefully disabling app update notifications from the Play Store earlier this year, it was later discovered that Google may be bringing them back. That appears to be happening now as some users are seeing the notifications and associated settings once again. As per usual, the roll-out seems to be a server-side switch, so all we can do is wait. Hopefully, this isn’t simply a small test and Google really does bring them back for everyone. Many people were resorting to 3rd-party apps to make up for the feature removal.

Source: Twitter | Via: Android Police

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Download: Xiaomi rolls out the first MIUI 12 beta with Android 11 for the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro

Xiaomi’s latest flagship smartphones, the Xiaomi Mi 10 (review), and the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro (unboxing & hands-on), run MIUI 11-flavored Android 10 out of the box. The device duo has recently received the taste of Android 11 Beta 1, but there are some caveats. You can’t find the signature MIUI skin there, because the initial beta builds are based on vanilla Android. The company also offers them in the form of Fastboot ROMs only, which means there is no way you can sideload the builds using the recovery environment or MIUI’s built-in updater.

The good news is, Xiaomi is working hard to integrate all the features of MIUI on top of Android 11. The OEM has now released the first set of MIUI 12 beta builds (China) that are based on Android 11 for the Mi 10 and the Mi 10 Pro. Remember that these closed beta builds are targeting the Chinese variants of the Mi 10 family, so you can’t find Google Play Services or any pre-installed Google apps inside them. Compared to the Android 10-based MIUI 12 builds, some features might be incomplete or missing altogether. Lastly, the language options are very likely limited to Chinese and English only.

Download Android 11 Beta 1 with MIUI 12 for the Mi 10/10 Pro

Warning: The builds linked below are strictly meant for developers only. They are likely to be very unstable for daily usage scenarios. MIUI 12 is relatively young at this moment, thus combining its features with the beta version of Android 11 might trigger various system instabilities. Once again, users are advised to exercise caution before flashing. Xiaomi has also not yet detailed any rollback procedures to downgrade.

The update packages are regular recovery flashable ZIP files, but an authorized Mi Account for Beta testers is still required to sideload them. The restriction can theoretically be bypassed by flashing via TWRP. Transitioning from one major Android version to another is an utterly complex process, so it is highly recommended that you back up your data before proceeding.

Sr. No.	Device, Device Codename, XDA Forum Link	Build Number and Android Version	Download Link
1.	Mi 10 (umi)	20.6.28 (Android 11)	Download Recovery ROM
2.	Mi 10 Pro (cmi)	20.6.28 (Android 11)	Download Recovery ROM

The aforementioned builds were compiled on yesterday (June 28). The Android security patch level (SPL) of them is June 2020. Judging from the trend, the POCO F2 Pro/Redmi K30 Pro 5G might also receive a similar Android 11-based MIUI 12 beta build in the near future. We’ll update this article when we get more download links.

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MIUI 12 adds a Sound Assistant for controlling media volume from multiple apps

Xiaomi’s custom Android software – MIUI – looks strikingly different from stock Android. Other than appearance, MIUI also features a slew of extra features added on top of AOSP builds to make the user experience more convenient. The update cycle of MIUI, however, doesn’t coincide with that of Android and Xiaomi focuses on improving the existing Android features while adding its own new features in discrete updates to MIUI independent of the Android version. MIUI’s next incremental version update – MIUI 12 – has just started rolling out for select smartphone models globally and it brings aesthetic improvements and enhanced security features over MIUI 11.

With the MIUI 12 beta ROMs in China, Xiaomi is testing a new Sound assistant feature that allows users to play audio from multiple sources simultaneously. Similar to the Volume Mixer on Windows, the feature also allows adjusting the volume of multiple audio sources that are playing at the same time instead of controlling the entire system’s volume at once.

To toggle the feature, users can enable it from Settings > Sound & vibration and then tap on the round music icon placed opposite the volume slider. The activates a grid of multiple sliders for each app that’s playing audio.

Some of the use-cases for separate volume controls for separate apps include ensuring audio from an app running in the background – Music, for instance – isn’t paused when you’re scrolling through social media and a video post comes up or while you are viewing a received media in a messenger like WhatsApp. At the same time, you can also disable volume ducking i.e. lowering of volume when a notification arrives. In addition, the Sound assistant can also be useful for individually managing the volumes of parallelly opened apps in multi-window or using MIUI 12’s new floating window feature.

Besides the MIUI 12 China beta ROMs, the feature has also been ported to Xiaomi.eu, a custom ROM based on MIUI’s Chinese beta build. The feature will also be available for the stable versions of MIUI 12 globally. XDA Senior Member kacskrz adds this feature will come to Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO devices running Xiaomi’s Android skin but only those supported processors including the Snapdragon 865, Snapdragon 855/855+, Snapdragon 845 and Snapdragon 765/765G.

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Source: Mi Community

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