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Remembering LG's finest (and strangest) phones
LG has never been the biggest, most important smartphone maker, but consumers always benefit from more competition — it drives smartphone makers to innovate faster, and to make those innovations more affordable. But nothing lasts forever. Rather than sit around all glum, though, I think our time is better spent remembering some of the truly great — and truly wild — phones LG has made over the years.
After Math: How we survived CES 2019
As cleanup crews descend on the Las Vegas Convention Center and the events attendees reluctantly make their ways home, it's hard to believe that the weeklong technology expo is already over. We saw autonomous bread machines, self-driving semis, and even self-heating razors amidst the gaggle of cutting edge gadgets. Here are some of the coolest tech toys that we got to play with at CES 2019.
Uber partner reveals air taxi design at CES
Bell, one of Uber's flying taxi partners, revealed the design of its vertical takeoff and landing air taxi at CES, a five-person hybrid-electric powered vehicle with six tilting ducted fans. The company showed off the cabin of its air taxi at CES last year, and this year, it's debuting a scale model of the vehicle now dubbed the Bell Nexus. "As space at the ground level becomes limited, we must solve transportation challenges in the vertical dimension -- and that's where Bell's on-demand mobility vision takes hold," Bell CEO Mitch Snyder said in a statement. "The industry has anticipated the reveal of our air taxi for some time, so Bell is very proud of this moment. We believe the design, taken with our strategic approach to build this infrastructure, will lead to the successful deployment of the Bell Nexus to the world."
Google Lens comes to the Pixel camera apps (update)
Google has rolled out a more straightforward way to access Lens and its visual search features on Mountain View's own devices. You used to have go through Assistant to take advantage of the AI-powered tool, but now the tech giant has added Lens right into Google Camera app for the Pixel and Pixel 2. According to 9to5google, Lens functions as another mode within the application, so you can choose it in navigation next to AR Stickers.
Google's phone app will boot spam calls to voicemail automatically
Google is taking spam calls seriously. An upcoming update to the default Android Phone app devices will send potential spam calls directly to voicemail, as spotted by 9to5 Google. The feature works like this: A potential spam call comes in, and automatically goes to voicemail. You won't receive a notification for the missed call, and your phone won't ring. However, calls will still show up in your call history and voicemail. Presumably, Google is using AI to filter these calls, much in the way it does spam messages in Gmail.
Google's Duo voice chat app is about to become Android's FaceTime
When Google's standalone video calling app Duo came out last year, we wondered if it would become another niche app, a flash in the pan. Why do we need another communication app in a crowded market? Today's news shows us that we can't always be right, as Google takes the first steps to integrating Duo into its Android operating system, much like Apple's FaceTime is an integral part of iOS.
How Google’s smartphones have evolved since 2007
Google is expected to show off a ton of new hardware at a press event in San Francisco this week, and -- as expected -- most of the hype is centered around a pair of new Pixel phones. Now, the Pixel line itself is only a year old, but Google's smartphone ambitions have been part of the company's vision for over a decade now, and we felt that was worth celebrating ahead of Wednesday's big reveal. Join us as we take a look at Google's surprisingly long history in smartphones, starting with a device many of us had forgotten about completely.
Android's phone app automatically shows GPS info during 911 calls
A lot can happen during a car accident. Between the initial shock from the impact, airbags going off and general disorientation, when you reach for your phone to call 911 you might not know where you are. Couple all that with cell phones' notoriously flaky ability at transmitting your exact location information to emergency service operators, and getting an ambulance to the scene of your accident can be incredibly difficult. To help sidestep that, Google has updated its Phone app to automatically display your location when making a 911 call.
Google reveals when it'll stop supporting Pixel and Nexus phones
Wondering when you should upgrade your Nexus or Pixel? Google has updated its support page to reflect when it will no longer offer telephone and online support for the devices, and you can use that info to make a decision. In the past, the big G promised that its phones will get Android updates for at least two years and security updates for at least three years after they're released. Once it security updates stop, phone and online support stop, as well.
Google fixes random Pixel freezing with latest update
Google's Pixel and Pixel XL phones debuted to strong reviews, but not all has been perfect since -- supply has been a problem, as has quality control. Case in point -- some smartphones have been freezing at random times, requiring a complete reboot to clear the problem. Luckily, Google has just released a new OTA update that "should address many of the freezing issues that have been reported."
Google experiment promises clean nighttime shots from your phone
Many modern smartphones can take decent photos when the sun goes down, but their noisy, washed out images still don't hold a candle to the shots from a high-end DSLR. Google researcher Florian Kainz might have a way of closing that gap at least some of the time, however. In response to a challenge from one of his team members, he wrote an experimental Android app that helps take exceptionally clean photos in even the darkest conditions. The software gives you manual control over exposure, focus distance and ISO sensitivity, all of which are crucial to low-light photography. When you tap the shutter button, the app takes a burst of up to 64 photos. After that, it's a matter of some calculation: Kainz eliminates the noise by computing the mean of the frames, and can remove artifacts by subtracting the mean of frames shot with tape over the sensor.
Lawsuit takes aim at Google, Huawei over Nexus 6P battery issues
A federal class action complaint has been filed accusing Google and Huawei of fraud, breaching warranty and improperly handling customer complaints after a number of Nexus 6P smartphones unexpectedly shut down and became trapped in "boot loop" cycles. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, and it claims Google and Huawei have never publicly admitted there were issues with the Nexus 6P, even while they continued to sell the phone.
Android's instant tethering is now officially available
Instant tethering started making its way to some Android users in late January, allowing them to set up an automatic hotspot connection between devices. Now that the feature is officially available, more people should have access to it -- but it still only works with Pixel and Nexus devices. The new FAQ section dedicated to the feature confirms what was reported before: Pixel and Nexus phones running Nougat can act as hosts or the source of internet connection. Tablets like the Pixel C and Nexus 9, as well as phones running Android Marshmallow, however, can only use shared data connections and can't act as hosts.
Android's latest update doesn't patch major security flaw
The November Android security update is live and it fixes 15 critical vulnerabilities, but it doesn't patch a major Linux kernel exploit that can give hackers quick and complete access to devices running on Google's OS. Researcher Phil Oester discovered the flaw (CVE-2016-5195) in October, though he believes it's existed since 2007. The exploit is known as "Dirty COW" because of its basis in copy-on-write systems (and maybe because that name is adorable).
The Pixel's release doesn't mean your Nexus is completely toast
Google unveiled its fancy new Pixel phone during a press event on Tuesday. If you haven't seen it yet, it's an impressive handset, with VR capabilities, a fast-charging battery, supposedly the best-ever phone camera, a super-smart AI assistant and Android 7.1. It's also the harbinger of death for the current line of Google Nexus smartphones.
The Engadget Podcast Ep 9: What's he building in there
Managing editor Dana Wollman and senior editor Devindra Hardawar join host Terrence O'Brien to dig through all the big Google news from the week, including the launch of the Pixel phones. Plus they take a brief detour to talk about what makes the PlayStation VR better than its competitors.
A look back at Google's Android flagships: the Nexus family
Android purists have always had the same response to new smartphone announcements from the likes of HTC, Samsung or LG. "I'll just wait for the next Nexus." And why not? For years, Google's Nexus line served both as its official flagship products and as public reference devices for the latest in Android phones and tablets. Now, Google has replaced the brand with a new top dog: the Pixel. At first blush, it's everything users loved about the Nexus line and more -- but before we close the casket on Google's first series of smartphones, let's look back and talk about what made the Nexus brand so special.
Huawei reportedly turned down Google's new phone strategy
You may be wondering why Google appears to be going with HTC for this year's Pixel phones instead of Huawei. Wasn't the Nexus 6P a rousing success? Apparently, Huawei and Google aren't getting along quite as well as you might think. An Android Police source understands that Huawei bristled at Google's plan to take more control over its Android hardware, which included erasing any mentions of the phone builder's name. Huawei wanted a larger footprint in the US, and it wasn't going to get that by being reduced to a contract manufacturer.
Google Pixel render shows off its software tweaks
Along with its leak of the 4K Chromecast earlier today, VentureBeat is showing off this picture that it says is of Google's upcoming Pixel phone. Along with the larger Pixel XL, it's expected to be the successor to previous Nexus devices, with a 5-inch 1080p screen and 32GB of storage onboard. A potential $649 starting price is also raising eyebrows, but previous leaks from Android Police indicate that the most notable feature will be software built to maximize Google's new Assistant AI.