Google Contacts makes it easier to manage custom ringtones

The Google Contacts app is rolling out a new, dedicated section to help you set and manage custom contact ringtones on your Android device.

As spotted in development late last year, Google Contacts is now rolling out “Contact ringtones.” This new section found under the “Fix & Manage” tab shows any existing contacts with custom ringtones, and lets you easily set a custom ringtone for contacts. On Pixel, this uses the Pixel Sounds app to change the ringtone, but also supports importing your own ringtones.

Prior to this, setting a custom ringtone through the Contacts app required going into each individual contact, tapping the overflow menu, and then selecting “Set Ringtone” before selecting the ringtone of your choice.

The new flow is faster, and also makes it much easier to manage contacts that have a customized ringtone set.

This feature is rolling out now via a server-side update on top of Google Contacts 4.27. We were able to immediately use the feature on force-stopping the app. TheSpAndroid first spotted the rollout.

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Google’s Surprise New Update Brings Unique iPhone Feature To Android Phones

Android and iPhone users may jealously protect their phone platform of choice, but secretly, both camps know there are some features the other phones have that theirs do not. Google is now, it seems, addressing one place it underperforms, by improving Google Wallet so it can be better at something the iPhone does brilliantly: digital tickets and boarding passes.

March 21 update below. This post was first published on March 18, 2024.

Both Apple Wallet and the equivalent on Android phones, Google Wallet, are good when it comes to housing digital versions of credit and debit cards. But the iPhone version has always been stronger for passes—it’s no coincidence that it originally used to be called Passbook.

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Because it’s done this for longer, apps for airlines, theaters, concert halls and others routinely include a button designed to add them to the Wallet where they’re easily found.

It now looks like the passes that slide so easily into the iPhone Wallet app could pop into Google Wallet just as smoothly. Android writer Mishaal Rahman posted on X that files in the .pkpass format used by Apple can now be imported into Google Wallet.

And 9to5Google has followed up by saying that other users have confirmed that they have been able to do the same, though this doesn’t seem to have rolled out to everyone yet.

When it is more widespread, this will be a significant uptick in convenience. Those websites and apps with buttons inviting users to click to add passes to Apple Wallet all too often did not include an equivalent for downloading to Google Wallet.

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Google Play Store rolling out new Search tab in bottom bar

Following testing in December, Google is moving Play Store search to the bottom bar with a new tab.

Instead of a search bar at the top of the screen when you’re viewing the “Games” and “Apps” feeds, Google Play is switching to a “Search” tab at the center of the bottom bar. 

When you open the new tab, the search bar appears at the top like before, which is somewhat anticlimactic and doesn’t do anything for reachability.

You get a grid of “You might like” and “Explore games” search terms. The latter grouping is accompanied by icons, while the former just has a magnifying glass icon. Visually, it’s not a very interesting page and a bit too text heavy. Meanwhile, making search a two tap/stage process feels unnecessary.

With this change, the app bar in Games and Apps will just show the Play logo in the top-left corner, while the notification bell and your profile avatar remains. The empty space in-between feels rather wasted. 

Meanwhile, the new Search tab is only for application queries. There are no changes to the Books tab, which feels tacked on to the Play Store at this point, with the field remaining up top. (It follows Play Books widely rolling out its Material You redesign this week.)

This is rolling out with version 40.1.19-31 of the Play Store via a server-side update. It’s not yet widely available, but Google looks to be committing to this design.

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Audience, Marketing, Ads & Social Commerce

In just a few years, TikTok, the social media and entertainment platform owned by ByteDance—which also owns Chinese sister app Douyin—has risen from obscurity to become perhaps the most influential social media platform of the moment. Aside from its rapid growth, the platform is notable for its high engagement and powerful algorithm. 

TikTok’s business model follows an Amazon-like flywheel that hinges on media, advertising, and commerce. This guide looks at how TikTok came to be and how marketers, creators, and retailers can leverage the platform to connect with audiences and shoppers.

History of TikTok in the US

In 2017, ByteDance bought lip-syncing platform Musical.ly for an estimated $1 billion and merged it with TikTok to create the current platform. The merger allowed TikTok to acquire Musical.ly’s users, who were already somewhat comfortable with TikTok’s combination of short videos attached to sound clips.

TikTok’s popularity exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, attracting users who were otherwise quarantined and looking for creative outlets. Between 2019 and 2021, the number of US TikTok users more than doubled from 35.7 million to 86.9 million, according to EMARKETER’s May 2023 forecast.

At its launch in 2016, TikTok’s maximum video length was 15 seconds. The social media platform allowed 60-second videos beginning in 2017, then upped its maximum video length to 3 minutes in 2021, then to 10 minutes in 2022, and, in October 2023, began allowing 15-minute videos for certain creators.

In 2023, TikTok released TikTok Shop in the US, creating a social commerce tab directly in the app for marketers and brands to sell directly from the app

The rise of TikTok meant its prominence as an advertising channel has also grown. While marketers are spending more

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Android Tablets From Google, Samsung and More See Monster Savings in Amazon’s Spring Sale

Buying a new Android tablet just got cheaper thanks to a clutch of Amazon Big Spring Sale deals that can save you a bundle on some of the most popular Android tablets around. Google, Samsung and Lenovo are all represented with prices starting from just $100.

Whether it’s a flagship Google Pixel Tablet or a bargain Lenovo tab that you’re buying, these deals aren’t going to stick around for long. Amazon’s special event ends in just a few days which means acting now is the only way to make sure you lock these discounted prices in before they’re gone for good.

Those looking for the cheapest tablet available as part of this deal need look no further than the Lenovo Tab M9, a $150 tablet that’s now available for just $100. It sports a large 9-inch display and 32GB of storage and includes a folio case so you can stand it up and enjoy your favorite TV shows and movies.

Those shopping at the opposite end of the market can choose the Google Pixel Tablet from just $399. That’ll get you the model with 128GB of storage and a $100 saving while a 256GB model is also available with a whopping $150 off. Both models come with an 11-inch display and are powered by Google’s Tensor G2 chip. Looking for something in between these two? The Lenovo Tab M10 Plus is just $150 while the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is down to $350, a $100 saving.

Don’t worry if Amazon doesn’t have the right offer for you at the moment. Our list of the best tablet deals covers the length and breadth of the internet and is regularly updated to make sure you always get the best price available.

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Ad:tech Forum 2024: Unpacking influencer marketing in an ever-evolving landscape | Advertising

Day two of Ad:tech 2024 saw an engaging session around the burgeoning creator-led economy and the influencer marketing which is increasingly marking its space in brand’s media mix today. You can read all about day one here.

 

The panelists included marketers from diverse product categories and industries such as FMCG, Finance and AlcoBev and comprised Ankit Desai, head of media, digital marketing and brand PR, Marico, Vishal Gaba, former associate director for marketing, Bira and Megha Manchanda, senior vice president and head of marketing at DBS Bank. 

 

Hari Krishnan, managing director, content & groupé marcomm, Publicis Groupé India moderated the session.

 

The discussion centred around ‘secrets of successful brand and creator economy collaborations’,  and spotlighted the evolution of the influencer space, with brands now collaborating with different cohorts of macro and micro influencers simultaneously. The panel endeavoured to uncover strategies for driving efficiency in this ever-evolving landscape, even as it redefines the way brands influence and sell.

 

The evolution 

 

Krishnan highlighted how the influencer space has grown dramatically in the last only three to five years, to the extent that the Prime Minister himself  has recognised and felicitated influencers in the country (and some outside) through the recently held national creators economy. He underlined how this was a clear indicator of the potency of the medium, and a reason enough as to why the cohort must not be taken lightly, especially in the wake of the upcoming general elections in the country.

 

Krishnan kicked off the session by asking the marketers to share their experiences with the influencer medium in the past four years—from when it began exerting its influence on the markets to its evolution today as part of several brands’ marketing media mix. 

 

Gaba admitted that initially at Bira they started off with skepticism regarding the emerging creator

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