The second-generation Nest Hub in the past has added many health tracking features including the ability to detect when you’re snoring when noise occurs in your environment while you sleep, and well, how you’re sleeping overall. This is possible because the device’s sensors capture and process information securely on the device without sending anything to […]
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Android 13 Beta 2.1 patch rolling out now with bug fixes for Pixel phones
Android 13 began its public beta exactly a month ago, giving Android enthusiasts an early look at the new features the new iteration of the OS has to offer. These features include new notification permissions, a brand new photo picker, more support for themed app icons, improved localization, and more language support. Beta 2 followed […]
Continue ReadingApex Legends Mobile would be a perfect fit on Chromebooks, but it won’t install
There’s no reason to hide it: I’ve been loving Apex Legends Mobile since the day it came out. While I only tinkered with the desktop version from time to time using GeForce NOW, I am fully invested in this game on mobile. The character system, modes of play, and general feel of the game are […]
Continue ReadingThe Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 finally lands the Google Assistant
After months of confusion and a lot of back and forth, Samsung has unexpectedly and surprisingly updated the Galaxy Watch 4 to support the Google Assistant. Early on, it wasn’t entirely clear as to when or even if the tech giant would officially support the Assistant but later reports and even a carrier leak informed […]
Continue ReadingNiantic wants to mix Pokémon Go with Pikmin Bloom to maximize the cuteness with Peridot
Peridot is an upcoming real-world AR (augmented reality) adventure pet game where you care for creatures that feel like a cross between Pokemon and Pikmin, raise them to adulthood (instead of evolving, I guess), and explore the real world together. The goal of the game is to re-diversify the Peridot population and protect them from […]
Continue ReadingGoogle and Match Group reach temporary agreement but still fighting in court
The disagreements between Match Group (parent company of dating apps such as Tinder, Match, and OkCupid) and Google continue in a court battle over whether imposing in-app payments on the Play Store to use Play billing is considered anti-competitive. In the meantime, a temporary agreement has been reached at the court’s request, but that agreement […]
Continue ReadingYouTube rolls out Most Replayed, Single Loop, and more to its video player
On the heels of recapping at Google I/O all the AI-based features that YouTube gained over the past year, YouTube is now announcing even more improvements to the platform. These new features aim to make it easier for viewers to find and get to the content they are most interested in watching. Among these improvements […]
Continue ReadingAndroid 12 QPR3 Beta 3 breaking Pixel Launcher app search for some
Android 12 QPR3 Beta 3 was made available to beta testers earlier this month as the third and final build before moving on to stable. The release was reported to include a few bug fixes pertaining to a white line on the screen of Pixel 6 Pro devices, a crashing issue with the NHS COVID-19 […]
Continue ReadingAndroid 13 brings Camera Roll to the ChromeOS Phone Hub
At last week’s I/O developer conference, Google announced a handful of new “Better Together” features that tighten the bonds between our Android phones and our Chromebooks. Some of these features are tied directly to the ChromeOS Phone Hub. We have been tracking these features for months and today, we finally get our first look at […]
Continue ReadingGoogle resurrects the Pixel Android tablet
Long ago, before ChromeOS tablets were a thing and Samsung wasn’t quite yet poised to own the market, Google produced what was arguably the best Android tablet of the decade. Sadly, I’d wager that the majority of consumers have never even heard of the Pixel C. With its premium build, sleek aesthetics, and a really […]
Continue ReadingGoogle responds to Match Group’s lawsuit over Android’s in-app payments
News broke yesterday of a lawsuit that the Match Group (parent company of dating apps such as Tinder, Match, and OkCupid) filed against Google over what it called “anti-competitive” behavior by imposing its own billing system via the Play Store. Google has since then responded to the allegations via a post on The Keyword, providing […]
Continue ReadingAndroid 12 QPR3 Beta 3 available now for Pixel phones
The third and final Beta build of Android 12 QPR3 (Quarterly Platform Release) was released yesterday and is rolling out to eligible Pixel devices via an OTA (over-the-air) update. Beta 3 (S3B1.220420.005) includes May’s Pixel security patch and additional bug fixes. For those not aware, the Android 12 QPR Beta program was launched in March as a […]
Continue ReadingGoogle is one step closer to killing the password with new FIDO ‘passwordless sign-in’ on Android
Google has been working to kill off the traditional password as a means of account access for some time, but until now, it hadn’t revealed how it planned to do so beyond enforcing 2SV (two-step verification) on millions of more accounts and encouraging users to perform the occasional security checkup. Today passwords are essential to […]
Continue ReadingNearby “Self Share” now working in ChromeOS Beta, works with Android’s latest Google Play services
Nearby Share has become an indispensable feature of the Google ecosystem and Google’s answer to Apple’s “Airdrop” when it comes to sharing files between Android and ChromeOS devices. I use it on a regular basis, and it makes my workflow so much more efficient. However, there is one small hurdle that Google decided needn’t be there: […]
Continue ReadingAndroid’s Google Translate widgets get Material You makeover
Last week, Google announced via Twitter the debut of a new Translate widget on Android that adopts the “Material You” aesthetic. Unfortunately, when this was announced, the feature had not rolled out widely yet, so we could only discern what it would look like based on Google’s tweet and some of the pictures shared by […]
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