Items tagged with pixel xl
One thing you do not expect when updating the software on your smartphone is to lose critical abilities, but it appears that is exactly what is happening for some first generation Pixel XL owners. Over at Google's Issue Tracker site, Pixel XL owners report a bug in the final version of Android 9 Pie that is preventing them from fast charging their device. "I have 4 chargers. 1 is unofficial. 2 is official. 1 was the packaged 6p charger and the other bought from Google Store. None of these work. I either get 'Charging' or 'Charging Slowly'. This never happened before [Android 9] Pie. I also have a battery backup that no longer fast charges my phone. The only charger that works is the charger that...
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A new class action lawsuit was filed this week against Google by owners of the original Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs claim that the microphone in the original Pixel devices was defective from the start. The suit alleges that Google knew about the defect and continued to sell the devices anyway. The complaint implies that Google knew of the microphone defect from launch due to widespread complaints. Another allegation in the lawsuit is that some of the smartphones were replaced under warranty due to the mic issues, but the replacement devices suffered from the same defect. A Google employee posted previously on the support forums that the problem with the mic...
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Estimating your available battery life on your Pixel smartphone is getting a lot smarter. A New York-based Google product manager just revealed that the company has made changes to the way that that Pixel devices determine how much battery life is remaining once you unplug from the wall. According to Google, Pixel smartphones previously used rigid assumptions to calculate how much battery life was remaining at any given time. "If you’ve used about 10% per hour over the past few hours, we would guess you will keep using 10% per hour," wrote Michelle. "As you might expect, this wasn’t always very accurate." Google has now switched to an on-device model that will continually monitor...
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One the primary benefits to owning a Google-branded phone is that new versions of Android are made available immediately, as opposed to waiting for a third-party manufacturer to customize and qualify the code. Unfortunately for some owners of Google's first generation Pixel phones, this perk turned into sideways with the release of Android 8.0 Oreo, which seems to have busted the ability to receive text messages. This has been an issue for affected users for nearly a month, dating back to September 20 when a frustrated Pixel XL owner on Verizon complained of the "absurd issue." The user went on to explain the troubleshooting steps he had taken, including the uninstallation of all apps that were...
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News broke Wednesday morning that HTC had suspended trading ahead of a major business announcement, and now we're learning the details of this blockbuster move. While Google is definitely the other party in this new venture, it's not exactly the arrangement that was rumored earlier this month. Google announced that it will give HTC a $1.1 billion cash infusion in exchange for some key members of the company's smartphone team. According to Google, many of these HTC employees have already gotten a taste of the “Googler” life as they have been involved in the development of its flagship Pixel family of smartphones. If you recall, HTC manufactured both the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones that debuted...
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Hurricane Harvey decimated the Houston, Texas area with many people losing everything they own. It is still a true disaster area and many people are still wading through flooded areas. Google wants to do its part to help those hurricane victims using its Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones to communicate regularly with loved ones and emergency assistance if needed. Google has announced that it will be offering free repairs of Pixel and Pixel XL devices that were damaged by flood waters for owners in the Houston area. Google is working with uBreakiFix to repair the devices; this is the same company that Google has been working with to offer same day repairs across the U.S. and Canada. Both the Pixel...
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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 version of Android among all devices is Marshmallow, which is holding firm with 32.3 percent. Lollipop...
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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 128GB SKU. If desired, you can tack on a 2-year device protection plan for another $99. It comes in...
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When it comes to Google’s next generation Android flagships, we’ve covered plenty of leaks on the devices’ rumored specs and features, but we haven’t seen much with regards to what the actual smartphones will look like. Thankfully, a new leak is giving us our first look at the overall design language of the upcoming devices. Android Police has just posted a speculative render of the second-generation Pixel XL (which we’ll simply call Pixel 2 XL from here on out) based on information received from its sources. While the Pixel 2 XL (codename Taimen) might not come out looking 100 percent identical to this render, the publication has a confidence rating of 8 out of 10 on this report, and its past...
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It looks as though Google is trying to unload any remaining Pixel XL handsets it still has before launching its next generation of Pixel phones. Or the Mountain View company finds itself in a giving mood. Either way, you can score a Google Home smart speaker for free with the purchase of a Pixel XL smartphone, though you will have to act fast—the offer is good while supplies last.The Google Home speaker is a $129 value. It is similar to Amazon's Echo products, in that it listens for a wake phrase ("OK Google") and can respond to various commands. The speaker's built-in Google Assistant can provide a weather forecast, scour the web for information, fire up music playlists, and more. It can also...
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The Google Pixel and Pixel XL were launched to great fanfare late last year. The flagship Android Nougat smartphones were praised for their build quality, crisp displays, and excellent rear cameras (despite the lack of image stabilization). However, all good things must come to an end in Android land when it comes to software support. Back in June, Google provided the following guidance for updates relating to its first-party Nexus hardware: Nexus devices get security updates for at least 3 years from when the device first became available on the Google Store, or at least 18 months from when the Google Store last sold the device, whichever is longer. After that, we can't guarantee additional...
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If you’re having microphone issues with your Google Pixel or Pixel XL smartphone, you are not alone. A quick trip over to the official Pixel support forum shows over 800 replies in a thread dedicated to the problem. “After a few hours of use and set up the microphone stopped working entirely, except when recording video upon which it'll record audio fine as if nothing were wrong,” wrote Joseph, the thread originator. “I factory reset the phone and the issue still persists everywhere but the camera app.” Numerous other users have chimed in with their own microphone issues that either mirror Joseph’s experience, differ ever so slightly, or are even worse. The reason for the varying degrees of severity...
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Google launched its own-branded Pixel and Pixel XL Android 7.0 Nougat flagships this past fall to generally favorable reviews. More recently, however, Google has sought input from users on how to make future Pixel devices even better. This week, Google SVP of Hardware Rick Osterloh confirmed that the second-generation Pixel flagships will arrive this year, likely carrying the flag for "Android O". “There is an annual rhythm in the industry. So, you can count on us to follow it,” said Osterloh. Even though he didn’t give a specific date, he added, “You can count on a successor this year, even if you don’t hear a date from me now.” For reference, the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X were announced on September...
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Google’s first generation Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones were generally well received by the media and the enthusiast community. Powered by the best hardware available at its launch in Fall 2016, the Pixel smartphones offered excellent screens, good performance, great build quality and a clean Android 7.0 Nougat experience. But no smartphone is perfect, and Google clearly understands this. So, Krishna Kumar, Product Lead for the Pixel family, took to the Pixel User Community to get some feedback on the current lineup of devices and what it could do to improve upon them in the future. “Developing a design is an exhilarating and at the same time a terrifying (Oh God, did we make the right choice???)...
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When Google set out to develop and market its first Phone by Google branded device - not co-branded with a partner - and spiritual successors to its legacy Nexus brand, the company drew a line in the sand. Not only was the target to develop smartphones that demonstrated best of breed functionality and performance for the Android platform, but these devices would have features and capabilities not found in other Android devices on the market. To date, very few other smartphones, save for the LG V20 for example, are running Android 7 Nougat and there are only a handful of phones on the market currently that support Google’s Daydream VR headset technology. Google Daydream VR is a compelling...
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It appears that the initial euphoria stemming from the launch of Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones may be starting to wane for some owners. There have been growing complaints of hardware problems with the smartphones, with the latest being attributed to complete system freezes that leave the devices unusable. In some instances, the device freezing lasts for just a few seconds, which can be a minor annoyance. However, some report that their devices are locking up for as long as several minutes. A common thread among many of the members that have posted in Google’s product support forum is that they have the Life 360 app (which keeps you in close contact with friends and family) installed. In fact,...
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Google did a good designing (and HTC building) its Pixel and Pixel XL handsets. Perhaps too good of a job. That's evidenced by how difficult it has been obtaining one of Google's hot new flagship smartphones based on its equally new Android 7.1 Nougat operating system. The larger Pixel XL has been especially difficult to grab hold of, though as of this writing, both models are in stock from the Google Store. That is, if you're okay with 32GB of onboard storage.The Pixel and Pixel XL come with two onboard storage options: 32GB and 128GB. Unfortunately, the significantly more capacious 128GB option is listed as "Out of stock" for both phones, while the 32GB models are readily available. There's...
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If you own a Google Pixel, Pixel XL or supported Nexus device, Google has a new build of Android Nougat available for you to download — Android 7.1.1 to be exact. You can obtain the new software via an over-the-air (OTA) update, or you can download the full factory images directly from Google. Android 7.1.1 brings enhanced support for app shortcuts, GIF searches from the keyboard (similar to functionality we’ve seen with the Gboard app for iOS), new emojis, enhances virtual reality performance for Daydream VR-compatible smartphones, and improved support for live wallpapers. You will also find a fix for the Dirty Cow Linux exploit (along with 40 others) that are baked in with the included December...
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Google has impressed both the media and the smartphone enthusiast community with its new Pixel and Pixel XL flagship Android 7.0 Nougat flagships. The phones features blazing fast processors and are backed by excellent cameras which rival images produced by flagship Samsung and Apple smartphones. Today, we’re learning that people that have purchased the Verizon versions of the Pixel and Pixel XL can now unlock the bootloader on their smartphones. Using a tool called dePixel8, the process to unlock the bootloader on Verizon Pixels has been automated. With an unlocked bootloader, you are then free to root the device and install your own custom ROMs on it. The developer explains: Our software works...
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T-Mobile isn’t too happy that Verizon is the exclusive wireless carrier partner for the hot new Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones in the United States. While it’s true that anyone can buy a Pixel smartphone from the Google Store unlocked (at full price) for use on any carrier, only Verizon customers can take advantage of attractive leasing options and installment payment plans. To combat the misconception that Google’s Android Nougat flagships are only available from Verizon, T-Mobile is offering a new promotion that will give any Pixel owner who brings over their phone a $325 credit when you sign up for T-Mobile ONE. And it doesn’t have to be a Pixel that you bought from Verizon; you can...
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Google unveiled its Pixel and Pixel XL Android 7.0 Nougat smartphones earlier this month, and the first round of reviews for the two devices have been refreshingly positive. Praise for the devices has been especially concentrated on the main camera, which while not incredibly competitive on the specs front, actually uses some special software magic to spit out excellent photographs. Now that some of the first customers that pre-ordered the Pixels are starting to receive them, it should come as no surprise that the folks at iFixit are already tearing into the device. In this case, iFixit has turned its attention to the larger Pixel XL, which features a 5.5-inch QHD display. Before iFixit even...
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Last week, many people were taken aback when it was announced that Verizon Wireless would be taking control of Android OS updates for Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. Given that carriers are notoriously slow when it comes to providing major OS updates for smartphones, news that a Google-branded phone could be at the mercy of Verizon for updates was met with utter shock. While those initial fears were definitely warranted giving past performance, it appears that everyone was getting worked up over nothing. Verizon confirmed in a statement today to Ars Technica that Verizon-branded Google Pixel devices will receive OS updates at the same time as unlocked versions that can be purchased directly...
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