With Android Wear, you can wear what you want with watches from 12 different brands and thousands of interchangeable watch faces. And while you can change your watch face with just a tap, it has not been as quick and easy to change your watch band. Starting today, updating your style is as easy as “snap-and-swap,” with new MODE watch bands in partnership with b&nd by Hadley Roma.

Change your look with one click
MODE snap-and-swap watch bands feature a simple slide button so you can attach and detach your band in one click.
MODE bands are versatile—they come in four widths, fit most Android Wear watches, and work on mechanical watches too. This first collection comes in a rainbow of colors, and is available in leather and silicone, so you can easily go from the office to the gym to a night out.

Starting today on the web and rolling out on Android in the U.S. and Canada, we’ll connect you with podcasts based on what you’re doing, how you’re feeling and what you’re interested in. Similar to our contextual playlists for music, we want to make it easy to find the right podcast—whether you’re a podcast aficionado or listening for the first time.

Try “Learning Something New” to talk about at a dinner party and listen to our favorite episodes from Stuff You Should Know or How To Do Everything. Enjoy a Sunday afternoon by “Getting Lost in a Story” with episodes from Radiolab or Reply All, or relax after a long day by “Laughing Out Loud” to Marc Maron’s WTF or Chris Hardwick’s The Nerdist. If you find something you love, subscribe to download the last several episodes automatically on your device or choose to be notified every time a new episode comes out.And to all you creators who want to make your podcast available in Google Play Music, check out the podcast portal for more details.

Thanks to our invaluable partners without whom the world would be a boring place. And to all you podcast lovers, keep listening!

This week’s episode is brought to you by Google Play. With Google Play, you can get millions of apps, games, songs, movies & TV shows, books and news sources—all your favorites, all in one place.

These days there are few things more personal to you than your phone – with all your photos, messages and handpicked apps at your fingertips, it’s almost like a reflection of yourself. Starting today, we're giving you a new way to make your phone even more you. My Live Case lets people create their own snap case for Nexus 5X, 6, and 6P phones, by customizing it with a favorite photo or map.

Our design studio on the Google Store allows you to personalize your phone case with either your favorite photo or a special place on Google Maps. Then, with dozens of filters, you can make your design fit your style – be it vibrant and bright or polished and chic. Along with your signature case, you get a live wallpaper to bring your design to life on your home screen.


Photos Live Case, designed with your favorite photo
Showcase a shot of your family, dog, or any other fave photo. Just upload a pic to the site, choose a style, and you’re done. Snap on your case to see your home screen turn into a slideshow of poses that you handpicked from Google Photos. To add more shots to your wallpaper, simply tap the shortcut button on the back of your case to launch your camera.

Places Live Case, styled with your happy place
Fashion your phone with a stylized map of your favorite location from around the world – whether it’s your dream vacation destination or hometown. Your live wallpaper will show a map of your whereabouts as you go about your day. With a tap of the shortcut button, the app will show you what’s nearby on Google Maps.

Check out some cool cases that The Dogist, Dan Rubin, Marques Brownlee and others have made for Nexus phones.

Now, go forth and customize! Visit the Google Store to make your own.

Whether you like watching Despicable Me on Google Play Movies & TV, streaming “Sorry” on Play Music, battling your friend in Clash Royale on Play Games or reading John Grisham’s latest on Play Books, Google Play is your home for the best apps, games and digital entertainment. Since launching Google Play four years ago, we've always had dedicated apps in addition to the Google Play store. Today, all our icons are getting an update to provide a consistent look across the entire family of Play apps.

You’ll start to see the new Google Play icons across devices and online in the coming weeks. We hope you’ll continue enjoying the Play family of products—now with a new look.