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In this week’s top stories: Google Pay is getting a massive overhaul and new app, Android TV is unofficially arriving in a perfect way for older Windows PCs, Nvidia Shield TV is getting an update, and more.
The bigger story this week is that Google Pay has had a complete overhaul, which is actually an entirely separate app, based on the “Tez” version of Google Pay available in India. Teased on Tuesday and released on Wednesday, the new Google Pay is much more like PayPal and other payment apps, offering person-to-person payments and cash back offers.
What about NFC payments? The heart and soul of the old Google Pay is still very much available, but in a different sense. At the top of the UI there is a card indicator for your primary card and by tapping on it you can redeem cards, view tickets, and access gift cards or loyalty cards. It’s a bit heavier, however, which might irritate some users. At least Android 11 makes it easier to access Google Pay.
Half the story of the new Google Pay is that Google has announced that it will offer “Plex” bank accounts through Citibank and Stanford FCU next year. These Plex accounts will be able to be opened for free and have no monthly fees, and, more importantly for vanity enthusiasts, will use Google-branded debit cards.
Savings, along with the ability to create customizable goals, is the other big mast. The app offers a header image for your specific task with milestones to break and make the task more manageable. One option is to “round off transfers” on all purchases to help meet the goal, while another is to “repeat transfer”.
If you have a spare Windows PC that you want to reuse, an interesting option has appeared, as the developers have unofficially created a version of Android TV for x86 (Intel / AMD) computers. There are a few caveats, but the idea is certainly a solid one and could at the very least make a fun weekend project while on vacation.
Since this is an unofficial port, however, it has a few known issues. Some users will notice that a “Detecting Android TV” message is stuck on a non-EXT4 partition. Chromecast built-in also doesn’t work without DRM support, and Netflix is broken except on the mobile version. This version also doesn’t have the Widevine L1 certification, so services like Netflix won’t stream in HD.
The Nvidia Shield TV received an update this week, and while there aren’t any major new features, the update includes a wide variety of quality of life improvements. In particular, the Shield TV remote has upgraded its infrared blaster by opening it up for use with more devices and even controlled by Alexa.
Some notable bugfixes include resolving audio issues when using a USB DAC, fixing an issue where AI scaling was not working on some content and should fix an issue which prevented Shield devices from showing on a Google Chromecast list.
Finally, Google has been slow this week honoring beloved Jeopardy host Alex Trebek. In a new Easter Egg, Google started suggesting “Did you mean: who is Alex Trebek ”when searching for“ Alex Trebek ”, an allusion to the rules of Jeopardy.
[…] It’s incredibly healthy to see Google honoring Trebek and his Jeopardy heritage in this way. Considering how quickly they were able to make this Easter Egg available, it’s clear how Trebek has undoubtedly impacted the lives of many Googlers.
The rest of this week’s top stories follow:
Android |
Applications and Updates |
Google Chrome |
Made by Google |
OnePlus |
Stadia |
Videos |
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