Items tagged with Google
If you own a Google Home device and have been craving some Bluetooth audio action, then you should be really happy to know that as of right now, an update is being rolled out to the devices that will remedy a very long-standing request from consumers. Up to this point, those wanting to listen to music through their Google Home have had to use one of the supported platforms, which have included Spotify, Play Music (of course), and Pandora. That's great if you want one of the services, but if you have another app to play your own local music, or some other streaming service, you've been...
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After hearing rumblings over the weekend that Android O was poised for an August 21st debut, we received official confirmation of that date today from Google. The internet giant has launched a new teaser site that is counting down to Monday’s big day, which also coincides with solar eclipse that will sweep from the northwestern United States down to the southeast. Given that the official reveal will take place on Monday, the Android O site is chock full of information relating to solar eclipses, and how Americans are banding together to film continue footage of the event using the Eclipse Megamovie...
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A smart speaker that does not allow you to make phone calls does not seem very smart, does it? Google agrees, and so the Mountain View outfit is bringing hands-free calling to its Google Home speaker. Starting soon, the AI assistant powering Google Home will allow users to make voice-activated phone calls for free to anyone in the United States and Canada, Google confirmed in a blog post. Call anyone (at their home, on their mobile or at their office). It’s easy to use, and it’s free," Google says. Being able to make hands-free phone calls brings Google Home one step closer to parity with Amazon's...
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The latest beta version of Chrome, version 61, has just dropped, and it brings with it a healthy collection of enhancements and new features. This beta is relevant seemingly for every platform it's regularly offered for, except iOS. Android, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, and of course Windows are all taken care of with this update. Arguably, the most notable addition to Chrome 61 is support for the Payment Request API, which will let websites send a payment request to the browser (securely), allowing people to pay via Android Pay on the desktop. Ultimately, when a wide rollout happens, it means that buying...
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Google has been making run at the smart home speaker market with its Google Home device, though it has not reached parity with Amazon and its growing number Alexa-powered Echo products. Perhaps in time Google Home will become just as fleshed out and capable. In the meantime, Google Home owners can gain access to experimental features by enrolling in the speaker's Preview program. The program is relatively new. It first showed up in an updated help page on Google's website a few weeks ago, though at the time there was no way of signing up to participate. Google must have been getting things in order...
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The sleuths over at reddit have dug around inside the FCC documents library and unearthed what appear to be details on the Google Pixel 2 smartphone, which is built by HTC. Much of the details that the FCC offers are mundane testing reports that shed little information on what the device will offer consumers when it lands. However, there does appear to be at least one link that offers scant detail on the device. The information includes some screenshots from the Settings menu of the smartphone that show us how to get to the FCC labels inside the menu. What we can glean from those setting is that...
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The sun is not the only thing getting eclipsed this month—the next major version of Android is launching next week, according to a source who is plugged into the pre-release scene. Evan Blass, otherwise known as @evleaks on Twitter, has a solid reputation for posting information on mobile products before they are officially announced. In this instance, he says Android O is scheduled for release next week, and most likely on Monday, August 21. If that is indeed the case, Android O will arrive a little earlier than several previous Android builds, though only a day ahead of when Android 7.0 Nougat...
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Android 7.x Nougat was first made available nearly a year ago; August 22nd 2016 to be exact. Since that time, we’ve seen a slew of new smartphone ranging from budget devices to mid-range models, to chest-thumbing flagships like the Galaxy S8 and LG G6. However, despite the fact that Android is the most popular operating system on the planet, the number of devices running the most recent publicly available version is relatively small. Google recently updated its developer portal, which indicates that Android Nougat is installed on just 13.5 percent of all devices. At this point, the most popular...
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New phones are on the horizon from several manufacturers. There is the iPhone 8 looming in the horizon from Apple, the Galaxy Note 8 from Samsung, and second generation Pixel and Pixel XL handsets from Google. In regards to the latter, leaked photos of a Pixel XL 2 phone have found their way to the web and provide some clues as to what Google has been cooking up.One of the photos shows a whole bunch of stickers on the back of the device. This is likely because it is an early developer prototype. Exactly how early and how close to the finalized design is not known. Assuming the phone in these photos...
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Patience is not only a virtue, it is also a good tool for saving money. Consider this—if you waited all this time to finally decide to buy a Pixel or Pixel XL handset from Google, you will be rewarded for your patience with up to a $200 discount from the original price. Not bad, right? Google will even toss in a free Daydream View VR headset. Both the discount and free VR headset offer is part of Google's Back to School promotion.The biggest discount ($200) applies to the Pixel XL. Originally priced at $769, it can now be bought from Google starting at $569 for the 32GB model, and $669 for the...
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Google is just a few months away from revealing its 2017 Android flagships, which are codenamed Taimen and Walleye. We’ve seen speculative renders of the Pixel XL 2 (Taimen), and that device looks to minimize its display bezels, opting for a design that is becoming increasingly common in 2017-era Android flagships. However, new images from seasoned leaker Evan Blass suggest that the smaller Pixel 2 (Walleye) won’t be too far removed from its predecessor when it comes to design. Although it may be a little difficult to tell from the grainy images, the Pixel 2 still features rather large bezels framing...
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Google is trying to do it best to ensure that Android users have an enjoyable app experience. The company has ramped up efforts to irradiate spam apps and malware from the Play Store, and now it is bolstering efforts to disincentivize apps that are known to crash or cause other problems on Android devices. In this case, Google says that it has “enhanced [its] search and discovery algorithms to reflect app quality”. Google has found that the majority of users that leave 1-star reviews for apps complain about instability issues, leading to frequent crashes. As a result, Google is using a combination...
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If you’ve been following the exploits of ASUS’ ZenFone AR smartphone, then you’ll be happy to know that it is now available to order in the United States. If you want to go the carrier route, Verizon Wireless will happily sell you the device for $648 outright, or for $27/month for 24 months. ZenPhone AR smartphones purchased from Verizon come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, 6GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, and a 5.7-inch WQHD (1440 x 2560) AMOLED display. However, you can bypass the carrier altogether and go with an unlocked version of the ZenPhone AR. And this is where the RAM/storage...
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Being tracked when you are online is a everyday reality for many of us. While there are ways that you can hide your online shopping and surfing habits from tracking devices and marketers, the majority of us don't care if Google knows that we bought new pants from Amazon. Google's latest shopper tracking program is a bit creepier though and has been around since May of this year, but you probably didn't even know about it. Google's new purchase tracking program is called Google Attribution and the search giant says that the purpose of the new program is to let marketers know if their efforts...
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