Android L is bringing a whole new look to Android later this year, and we've already seen the new Material Design language popping up in small amounts in various Google apps. We don't yet know how other developers will take to Google's new design, but designer Emmanuel Pacamalan has put together a concept of what Instagram could look like.

Frankly, we really hope that designers jump on the Material Design wagon, because what Pacamalan has mocked up looks beautiful. The animations are playful, and the overall look makes the app feel alive. It's unclear exactly how long Instagram will take to update its app with Material Design, but it may not be too long, because Instagram did update its app for iOS 7 pretty soon after the official update went out.

Watch Concept [Video]

Google has just updated the Google Now Launcher to version 1.1.0.11 on the Play Store. This new version brings some minor bug fixes and makes the Launcher available to all Devices running Android version 4.1 or Higher. Before this update this Launcher was exclusive to Nexus devices and Google Play Edition devices.

The Google Now Launcher is just an APK that lets the Google Search app become the home screen, but Google was holding back official compatibility until now. The Launcher should offer to import the layout from your old launcher as well. You can download it directly from the Play Store from the link below, but first make sure you updated your Google Search App to the latest version too.

Google Now Launcher [Play]

You can Now try out the latest App version of Facebook For Android version 15.0.0.0.12 Alpha Build. This Alpha version will show you what Facebook is preparing for you, take a sneak peak at the new features and User interface changes. Current Facebook stable version is 13.0 and Beta version is 14.0 and you can roll back to the official version or beta version at anytime via Play store.

Facebook version 15 packs many UI changes, lots of bug fixes and performance improvements. So you'll be running a version that is supposed to be released 3 months from Now.

After downloading the latest Alpha build, Facebook suggests turning on automatic updates as it plans on updating the app a few times a week. Doing so will ensure you're always running the latest version. The APK file provided below is the official APK from Facebook ALPHA program and hasn't been modified.

Download Facebook v15.0.0.0.12 [APK]

Swiftkey was recently updated with a Theme store and a FREE price tag. While Swiftkey offers good autocorrect, emoji, and swipe input, it also lags pretty noticeably in some instances. The new update will fix that.

The keyboard has had a nasty habit as of late where it would hang for a fraction of a second when you started getting up to speed, which can really throw you off. There was also an unnecessarily long delay in opening the keyboard too. The update should be live in the Play Store. Here's the full change-log for v5.0.2.4:

- Improved typing performance
- Improved translations
- Improved keyboard loading time
- Improved Flow performance
- Fix for the bottom row being hidden in some devices
- Fixed Yahoo! personalization
- Fixed background disappearing issue in some themes
- Fixed various other force closes and crashes

Swiftkey Keyboard 5.0.2.4 [Free]

If you have an Android phone, you can now use your phone or tablet as a gamepad for your PC games. The latest update for Ideum's GestureWorks Gameplay virtual remote application will let you use an Android phone or tablet to play games on your Windows 8 machine.

You'll be able to create your own fully customizable virtual controllers, and the newest update provides support for additional graphics standards, so hopefully you'll be able to enjoy more of your favorite games with the application.

The full version of the app will cost you $15 only, which means you'll need to cough up the cash in order to use the virtual gamepad. It seems like a lot of money for what is, essentially, a mobile app, however, if you factor in all of the updates and support for Gameplay, combined with the fact that you won't need to pay for additional windows gaming peripherals, then it definitely starts looking like a smarter buy.

via