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Google's predictive 'Smart Compose' is coming to chat apps in Pixel phones
Google is sharing a few updates coming to Pixel phones, including tweaks to Recorder, an underwater upgrade for photography and Smart Compose coming to more apps.
Google taps your phone cameras to measure your heart rate
Like many of us, Google is getting more interested in our health. The company is announcing today new features that will allow those without wearable sensors to get a read on their respiratory and heart rates. Starting next month, Pixel owners will be able to use their phone cameras to measure their pulse and breath rates via Google Fit.
The Google Pixel 4a vs. the competition: The midrange heats up
How does the Pixel 4a measure up under the hood to the iPhone SE and Galaxy A51?
Key researcher behind the Pixel's camera left Google in March
Marc Levoy left Google in March. He was the main force behind the Pixel's impressive cameras and imaging software.
Our readers think the Pixel 3a is a first-rate budget phone
Our user reviews share what they love most about their Google Pixel 3a phones.
Google yanks March security update for AT&T Pixel 4
Google has pulled the latest Android security update for Pixel 4 owners using AT&T after the supposed bug-fix created some major new headaches. Suddenly users have been unable to use Google Pay and instead have been greeted with a warning that their phone "doesn't meet software standards."
Google's powerful Recorder app now works on older Pixel phones
Over its last few Pixel cycles, Google has made a point of bringing some features of its most recent phone to other devices. This week, for instance, Pixel 4's live audio captioning tool expanded to Pixel 3 and 3a devices. Now, owners of older Pixel handsets can check out one of Pixel 4's niftier aspects: the Recorder app that can capture and transcribe audio simultaneously.
Stadia hits Google's Play Store ahead of its debut this month
Google is set to flip the switch on its Stadia game streaming service this month. While you can play through Chrome or your TV (with Chromecast Ultra), you'll also be able to run games like Destiny 2 and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey on some Pixel devices. To help you get ready for the big day on November 19th, Google has added the Stadia app to the Google Play Store.
Google Pixel 4 and 4 XL review: A slightly flawed taste of the future
After Google started making its own smartphones in 2016, it quickly fell into a predictable pattern: Those devices would pack clean software, take surprisingly good photos and launch sometime in October. Sure, Google added features here and there over the years, but it never strayed too far from that original formula. Until now, that is. With this year's Pixel 4 and 4 XL, Google is charting a new path for itself. Beyond those hallmark features -- which we still see here, by the way -- these new Pixels respond to hand gestures in addition to just taps on a screen. They're better at interpreting and acting on your voice commands. They even have super-fast screens, so the things you do on them just look better. I don't think Google has ever been this ambitious with a pair of Pixels before, and if some of its gambles pay off, there's a chance the company could reshape what it means to use a smartphone entirely. That's a pretty big "if," though. I can't say Google got everything right here, but I do know that these Pixels are fast, weird and very much worth a closer look.
We're live at the Made by Google 2019 launch event!
It's a beautiful, Fall day in New York City, and there's no better way to start it off than with a coffee, a long queue of journalists outside The Shed, and the promise of some new Google hardware.
Android 10 review: Good today, better tomorrow
To celebrate the next big version of Android, Google did the unthinkable: It killed its fanciful dessert-themed release names and gave its smartphone OS more conventional branding. Say hello to Android 10. Not everyone loves the change — it means I couldn't devour an entire dessert for our review video — but it speaks to a pretty dramatic shift in Google's priorities all the same. It's no surprise, then, that I could say the same about Android 10 itself. On the surface, it's a grab bag of interface tweaks, usability enhancements, privacy changes and more. In some ways, Google is even using this release to play catch-up with the competition. More broadly, though, Android 10 feels very much like a transitional state — an attempt by Google to lay the groundwork for a smartphone future that's coming at all of us fast.
Android 10 goes live for Google's Pixel phones today
Android 10 might not have a delicious, dessert-themed name (and for good reason), but some of you can take solace in the fact that it's available to install today. As usual, Google Pixel owners are getting first crack at the update, and we wouldn't be surprised if other phone makers announce their own Android 10 upgrade plans throughout the day. That's no guarantee of news, though: OEMs like Samsung, Sony, Lenovo and others often handle these announcements at their own pace, and all Google will say on the matter is that it's "working with a number of partners to launch or upgrade devices to Android 10 this year."
Google Duo's low light mode brightens your nighttime video calls
Following May's update that enabled eight-member video calls, the latest change to Google Duo allows users to better see each other in low lighting. Google cites homes in less affluent locations as the motivation behind this new feature. "In many places, electric lighting is a significant challenge... People often light their homes with a single bulb when electricity is expensive, and even then, power outages remain common in many areas," says Niklas Blum, Senior Product Manager for Google Duo.
Our readers tell us what’s wrong with the Google Pixel Slate
Though he's well-known around the Engadget office for being a Chromebook enthusiast, deputy managing editor Nathan Ingraham found little to recommend about Google's Pixel Slate. It would appear, given the responses from our user reviews page, that many real-world owners feel the same. Despite having a lovely 12.3-inch display, a comfortable keyboard folio and solid battery life, the Pixel Slate floundered on the software side: Its poor implementation of Android apps ultimately earned it an embarrassing score of 69. However, the Pixel Slate owners in our user reviews section were a bit more forgiving, giving it an average of 77.
Google is adding time-lapse mode to every Pixel camera
Pixel phones are getting a new camera mode. Google announced today during its I/O developer conference that a time-lapse option will be coming to all Pixel smartphones. The feature is available out of the box on the new Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL, and will be made available in the camera app on Pixel, Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 devices following an upcoming update.
Here’s what our readers think of the Google Pixel 3 and 3XL
With last year's release of the Pixel 3 and 3 XL Google answered the call of competing smartphones by adding some significant software upgrades, and subtle hardware changes, to its flagship line-up. Aside from the addition of the controversial notch to the XL, the Pixel's body didn't change much from previous iterations; the company also switched to a glass back and provided a full HD+ HDR screen. Indeed, most of the real developments were on the software side. While these were substantial enough to wow reviewer Cherlynn Low and earn the phones scores of 90 and 89 respectively, users were less enthusiastic.
Google’s lower-cost Pixel phones may have been revealed in FCC filings
Filings made with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may have revealed two upcoming smartphones from Google. Documents posted by the government agency today show two new devices from the company, quite possibly the Pixel 3 Lite and Pixel 3 XL Lite handsets that have been rumored for months.
Google's Pixel 2: By the numbers
Google really turned on the new product firehose during its Pixel 2 event in San Francisco on Wednesday. We saw two new phones in two new sizes and five new colors, an updated Google Home, a pincushion-shaped "Home Mini", a Home home stereo (suck on that, Sonos), a 4-in-1 laptoblet called the Pixelbook, smart wireless headphones, an updated Daydream, and an automated clip-on camera accessory that decides what memories will matter most to you. Numbers, because how else will you know how badly you're about to blow your budget?
