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How to use one-handed zoom on Google Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 10, 2016

Yesterday, iDownloadBlog detailed a cool new one-handed zoom gesture during video capture which Snapchat's latest update has implemented.

This incredibly convenient shortcut permits you to zoom in and out as you're shooting video with Snapchat's camera, in real time. As one of our commenters pointed out, Google Maps has long had a similar shortcut on its native iOS app.

With it, iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users can zoom in and pan around in one-handed mode, without needing to use a two-fingered pinch-zoom gesture. Here's how one-handed zoom mode works on Google Maps for iOS.

Tip: stop YouTube’s annoying video autoplay ‘Up Next’ feature within iOS app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 26, 2023

My colleague Anthony recently vented his frustration with YouTube's default handling of the 'Up Next' feature on the web. Autoplay in YouTube is one of the banes of my existence, too, but as Anthony states in his write-up, YouTube for iOS lacks a switch to disable auto-play videos.

Not anymore, though: the latest version of Google's native YouTube client for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad includes an easily overlooked switch that lets you stop an endless stream of recommended videos from being spoon-fed down your throat with a single tap.

If you watch a lot of YouTube through your iPhone's cellular connection, you're wholeheartedly recommended to disable 'Up Next' on the iOS app, here's how.

Google+ gains search autocomplete, Reply button on posts and more in latest update

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 9, 2016

Google+, the search giant's social thing, introduced a few new features in its mobile application for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, which can be downloaded at no charge from the App Store. Google+ 5.5 for iOS now includes search autocomplete, allowing you to search faster with suggestions appearing as you type.

The new Reply button on each comment lets you respond to posts with fewer taps and you can now create and delete circles from within the app's People tab.

YouTube planning to launch a live TV subscription service in 2017

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 5, 2016

Google has accelerated efforts to beat Apple to market with a live TV service on YouTube, dubbed “Unplugged”, Bloomberg reported yesterday. Work on boosting YouTube's infrastructure is already underway as launching the service has taken on a high priority.

For a yet-to-be-determined monthly fee, YouTube users will be able to subscribe to so-called skinny bundles of television programming, streamed over the Internet.

These bundles should include some of the most popular offerings from major U.S. broadcast networks and cable services.

Google Photos gains revamped search with emoji support, customizable movies and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 5, 2016

After introducing smarter albums with text, maps and locations back in March, the search giant Google today issued a refresh to its mobile Photos application on the App Store. Now available as a free download for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, Google Photos version 1.10 packs in a redesigned search experience with support for emoji search (it really works) and Spotlight integration, better movies with the ability to add your own music to them and other perks.

On the web, Google Photos has gained a handy overlay with keyboard shortcuts and new features when uploading images to the service.

LogDog for iOS lets you monitor the security of your online accounts

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 2, 2016

LogDog, a service originally made popular on the Android platform for keeping your various online accounts safe from unauthorized activity, is now launching for iOS.

With LogDog, you can actively monitor your online accounts and keep an eye on where the most recent logins came from, what operating system and web browser was used, and more.

If you're always worried about your security, or even your privacy, this is an app you'll want to check out.

Google Maps for iOS gains Travel Times widget, Night mode and other new features in latest update

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 28, 2016

Google yesterday pushed an update for its native Maps application on the App Store, bringing out a few newsworthy features and enhancements.

Google Maps 4.18 for iOS introduces a new Travel Times widget which lets commuters check a live travel time estimation to their home or work right within the Notification Center's Today view.

In addition, the app's gained a new built-in option for sharing directions with contacts. Plus, there's a brand new Night mode and distance units settings in navigation.

Android TV now plays nice with iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 27, 2016

If you're invested in Android TV and own a compatible TV set or set-top box, you'll appreciate that you can now control your Android TV from the comfort of your couch with an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, as Google was kind enough to release the official Android TV app on the App Store.

The free of charge app works with all Android TV devices and includes remote functionality much like Apple's own Remote app lets you control Apple TVs with an iOS device.

YouTube’s revamped Home feed is smart, too, thanks to Google’s deep neural network algorithm

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 26, 2016

Google just said that YouTube's mobile apps for iOS and Android are gaining a revamped homepage design today. The newly redesigned Home feed within the mobile app has a clean look and a simple format “that invites you to discover and enjoy,” said Google.

More importantly, the overhauled Home feed now does a better job spotlighting content you might be interested in with smarter recommendations based on deep neural networks and larger high-resolution video thumbnails which make it easy to identify videos you want to watch.

Hangouts 9 for iOS drops with Low Power Mode support and share extension

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 26, 2016

Google's Hangouts application wants to become a unified communications solution for all your messaging needs despite not seeing new features in months. Now we know why: Google's been busy working on a major new version.

Now available on the App Store, the new Hangouts 9.0 brings a pair of new features, including one that'll automatically suspend video sharing during VoIP calls when an iPhone enters iOS 9’s Low Power Mode.

You can now attach Google Drive/Dropbox files and GIFs from Tumblr to emails in Yahoo Mail

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 13, 2016

The failing Internet pioneer Yahoo today announced a major update for its mobile email application.

Bumped to version 4.3, Yahoo Mail for iOS introduces new third-party integrations allowing you to add cloud files directly from your Google Drive or Dropbox to your messages as attachments, or add animated GIFs to your emails from Tumblr, which is another Yahoo-owned property.

The compose interface makes it easy to choose among Tumblr's most popular GIFs of the moment, search for that perfect GIF or browse GIF categories including Love, LOL, Cute, Cheers, Fail, Happy and more. GIFs are added to your emails as attachments.

Google Calendar can intelligently find time on your schedule to work on your personal goals

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 13, 2016

Yesterday, Google announced a cool new feature to mark the tenth anniversary of its online calendar service: Google Calendar will now scan your calendar intelligently to find the time on your schedule to work on your personal goals.

According to Google, the updated Google Calendar app lets you add a personal goal to your calendar.

These can be things like “run three times a week” or “hit the gym every day except weekend”. After parsing your natural language input, it'll schedule time automatically for you and help you actually stick to it.