SwiftKey Beta adds new slide out settings menu straight from the keyboard, throws logo on space bar for kicks

Keyboard competition in Android is fierce. With so many virtual keyboards options out there looking to become your default, SwiftKey has long been the keyboard we trust to handle our erratic screen taps. It was nearly a year ago, SwiftKey went full-on free in the Google Play Store, offering up instead paid themes users could download to change up the look of the keyboard. It was a great move to be sure and — despite having already paid for the app years before that — one we had no problem getting behind.

But new changes headed to SwiftKey are leaving us feeling… well, not quite as enthusiastic. As detailed on their blog, the keyboard replacement is now adding “SwiftKey Hub,” their all new slide-out settings menu that essentially replaces the previous settings interface by making it available straight from the keyboard itself.

It’s broken up into 3 man tabs: Personalize (stats, support, SwiftKey Cloud login), SwiftKey store (themes), and Settings Menu (resize keyboard, advanced settings, etc.). We also noticed the SwiftKey logo appearing on the space bar. Ew.

SwiftKey also briefly talked about Dashlane integration for the secure storage of passwords. Dashlane uses AES-256 encryption and works with SwiftKey (Beta-only for now) to auto-insert passwords. Since all your passwords are store in Dashlane, you wont have to worry about SwiftKey having access to them. But in order for everything to work, you’ll need to also have the Dashlane Android app installed.

We’re not entirely sure if adding a slide-out settings menu makes the most sense for a keyboard, but SwiftKey says additional features will arrive at some point in the future. In the meantime, you can grab the latest beta here to try out the new settings interface for yourself, or simply wait until it goes live in the Google Play Store after it’s been tested for a bit.

SwiftKey Keyboard + Emoji (Playboard) | SwiftKey Keyboard + Emoji (Play Store)

Google Play’s new search box with integrated hamburger menu button is starting to roll out

Quick, open up your Google Play Store! Seeing the old version with a search button in the upper right? Close the app (force close it if you need to) and open it again. You’ll likely see that a new search box is neatly squared at the top of the app. This is opposed to the old small search button that existed in the upper right of the status bar and could be hard to miss for some.

This new update should make it easier for folks to find the search box and begin looking for all the apps and games they crave. Inside the search box is a hamburger menu button that will bring up the standard Google Play menu for switching between different categories, sections and menus.

You’ll see the white box fade away as you dive deeper into Google Play’s goods, but a search button will persist at the upper right as you scroll through apps and descriptions. Press it and it’ll expand to bring the search box right back up. Intuitive, beautiful and easy — just how we like it.

This is a server side switch so there’s no updated APK to download. Let us know if you’re seeing it in the comments, and be sure to leave your thoughts on the new design while you’re at it!

Pushbullet listens to feedback, fixes annoying share menu after user backlash

On yesterday’s Mobile Roar podcast we talked briefly about the latest Pushbullet update and how it somehow broke the one feature many of us use it for in the first place: easy sharing to our Android devices.

Pushbullet is seemingly going through a weird transitional phase where the app now mimics a messaging app more than anything. But that’s not even what bothered us. When sharing links, photos, or files to your devices, the app required an extra button press (I know, GASP!) to pull up your devices. You’d pick Pushbullet from the Android share menu, then select yourself, then select one of your devices. It wasn’t so much an annoyance as it was less convenient and convenience is exactly what Pushbullet has been selling this entire time.

Listening to feedback from users — just like us — who weren’t pleased with the new update, Pushbullet announced on their blog that they’ve updated the Android app with a new bar that displays all your devices. They’ve also made a few changes to their Windows and browser extensions based on feedback as well. Can’t remember the last time we’ve seen an app developer address so many user concerns so quickly, but there you have it. You can find an update to Pushbullet waiting for you on the Google Play Store right now.

[Pushbullet]