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Harry Potter Dreams Come True: Magical Spells for Android Users

Tracy Shapley Towley

Staff Writer

Tracy is a freelance copywriter, all-around ne’er do well, very-adult graduate of the University of Iowa, and occasional waterer of plants. Her hobbies include writing fiction, reading fiction, mixing together various flavors of soup, and typing letters to her friends on an old red typewriter that doesn't have a working period so all sentences must end in questions marks or exclamation points? She has read every Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and has a lot of thoughts on them. Her old Iowa farmhouse is shared by her husband Sean, a pair of cats, a pair of dogs, and the ghost of Kurt Vonnegut.

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It’s a good day to be a Harry Potter fan – that is, if you have an Android device.

This morning Google announced that they’ve paired up with Warner Brothers to offer three brand new Harry Potter spells that allow Android users to “magically” control their devices: Lumos turns on your phone’s flashlight, Nox turns the light back off, and Silencio turns off your phone’s volume. All three spells require you to say, “OK Google,” before they work.

::infomercial voice:: But that’s not all! Google also announced that they’re adding additional sites in Google Street View that lets users explore the world of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, including Magical Congress of the USA, Steen National Bank, The Blind Pig, and the apartment of Tina and Queenie Goldstein.

::even more annoying infomercial voice:: But wait, there’s more! Google’s messaging app, Allo, will soon have a free Fantastic Beasts sticker pack for download. I’ve never heard of that messaging app but you can bet your behind I’ll be downloading it now. Well played, Google!