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Android 12's power button doesn't activate Assistant by default — yet
The power button change is an option in Beta 1, but it's disabled for now
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Google is planning a radical design change with Material You. But it won't stop at the visual interface. According to announcements at the Google I/O developer conference, Android 12 will repurpose the power button in a way that's familiar to users of other devices. Long-pressing the power button will activate Google Assistant's voice control, at least by default.
How do you feel about Google's big Wear OS (and Tizen and Fitbit) news today?
Google's announcement at I/O will shape the future of Android wearables
Wear OS isn't great. That's an opinion that seems to be fairly universal (with the usual exceptions), especially when you start comparing Android-powered wearables to those from Samsung, Fitbit, and of course, Apple. Google knows this, and they're working on it. Never has that been more apparent than at today's Google I/O developer conference keynote.
Fitbit devices will run Wear OS in the future
Signature Fitbit features will be available on existing Wear devices soon
Ever since Google bought Fitbit in 2019, we've been waiting to see what kind of effect that combination would have on both Fitbit's fitness-focused wearables and Google's own Wear OS. Today we know. At Google I/O, a Fitbit representative said it flat out: future Fitbit wearable devices will be running Wear OS.
If you've been itching to get your hands on the absolute latest version of Android, you'll be able to later today. Google said during I/O that the latest beta build will be available today, May 18th. Pixel phones will absolutely be at the top of the list, but other devices from other manufacturers are also in the pipeline.
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Android modding isn't the hot scene that it used to be, mostly because Android phones have gotten good enough that few people feel the need to modify them. But a brave new world for tinkerers just opened up, right when a decent chunk of people might need it. A developer has released a basic tool for gaining root access on a Roku TV, dongle, or set-top box, and it's ready to try out.
Google I/O features the triumphant return of 2020's hottest blob-based music act
Blob Opera returns, backed up by some boring humans
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Don't call it a comeback ... actually, yeah, it's a comeback. Google's Blob Opera digital experiment, a curiosity that became a brief sensation last December, will be back for tomorrow's Google I/O keynote speech. Google took to Twitter to make the announcement:
This phone has a huge 1" camera sensor and it's from a manufacturer you probably forgot existed
Sharp's Aquos R6 flagship boasts impressive specs and a jaw-dropping Leica camera
At the moment the arms race in mobile phone cameras is all about the number of them, with two, three, or four rear lenses and sensors being commonplace. Sharp is bucking that trend with the Aquos R6, which features just one massive rear camera bump. It's a 20.2 megapixel sensor with a massive surface area of one square inch, f/1.9 lens made by Leica, and it's paired to a phone that's no slouch in other departments, either.
Big changes are coming to Chrome's settings menu
Changes in Canary indicate it should be a lot easier to use soon
Do you sometimes find it hard to locate a specific setting in the Chrome browser's ever-expanding Settings menu? You're not alone. The developers of Chromium feel your pain, and they're doing something about it. A redesigned, more compartmentalized Settings menu was spotted in the Chromium.org developer discussion, coming soon to a browser (or lightweight operating system) near you.
Amazon's new streaming video service is totally free, but there's a catch
miniTV is only available in India, and only on your phone screen
The streaming wars have never been more heated, and Amazon isn't backing down in securing exclusive content for Prime Video. But it's also working on another video streaming service, and this one's totally free and supported by ads. Unfortunately, it's also limited to India.
Xiaomi's brand-new fitness tracker is already discounted on Amazon
Take $10 off an already-low price
It's only been a couple of weeks since we saw the Xiaomi Mi Band 6 pop up on Amazon for US-based buyers. At $60 it was a little more expensive than you might have expected, since the non-NFC version is only about $35 in China. Today the Amazon listing has chopped its price by a considerable margin, down to $49.95. That makes it a fantastic deal compared to most other budget fitness trackers. The Mi Smart Band 6 can handle always-on heart rate and pulse oximetry tracking, sleep tracking, thirty different workout modes, and 50 ATM of water resistance, with a color OLED screen that's 40% larger than the last model. It includes notification syncing to your wrist, and the Xiaomi Mi Fit app can sync data to Google Fit as well. Xiaomi claims up to 14 days of use on one charge. The band only comes in black on Amazon, despite being offered with different colored silicone straps elsewhere.
The lower price comes from an alternate Amazon seller which imports a large amount of Xiaomi and Huawei hardware. (The Mi Band fitness trackers aren't sold on Xiaomi's US store.) It's not clear if this is a temporary price drop, or the new base price for the Mi Smart Band 6.Buy: Amazon
Moft's X Tablet Stand is the incredibly portable kickstand your tablet deserves
Origami-inspired design makes it an excellent companion to any large slate
I love kickstands. Everything should have kickstands, and the fact that everything doesn't is a damn tragedy. That's especially true for tablets, little slabs of fragile glass that are designed for media consumption. Despite some sterling work from Microsoft, Lenovo, and (occasionally) Samsung, tablets with kickstands as an integral part of their design are still rare. But with this cheap add-on from Moft, you can give almost any tablet the kickstand it deserves.The Moft X Tablet Stand is essentially cardboard, fabric, a bit of glue, and a few magnets. But all that unassuming stuff is assembled in such a way that it's an origami kickstand for your tablet. And unlike the other various small stands on the market, it's happy to travel with your tablet wherever it goes, stuck onto the back and folded down to about three millimeters flat.
With two unfolded positions, plus an extra fold in the triangular portion, the X Tablet stand has a total of four different angles at which it can rest. You can add an extra two for viewing your tablet in portrait mode, for a total of six positions. Technically there are four more options (reversed horizontal and vertical, but the extra cutout doesn't change those angles), though honestly you're unlikely to use those.
And that's it! It's a little add-on that unfolds when you need a stand, and disappears when you don't. While it's practically weightless and won't get in the way of any normal tablet grip, it's juuuust thick enough that it won't work with a protective case. But no worries: you can stick it to the outside of the case instead. In addition to being perfect for movies and music, I've found myself holding onto the unfolded stand when I'm carrying it around, for comfortably playing games like Hearthstone.
The stand's magnets keep it open and stable when unfolded, such that you'll never accidentally collapse it with an errant finger, and it stays nice and flat when folded up. The only tricky part is figuring out precisely where to place it on your tablet's butt, because it's hard to judge exactly where the "sweet spot" will be to optimally balance it when deployed.But here again, Moft's excellent design is on display. The adhesive square on the back is some kind of magical mystery glue: it's sticky enough to stay in place without budging, but giving enough to come loose with enough pressure and leave no residue. I've used this thing on four different tablets (an HP Chromebook x2, a Pixel Slate, a Lenovo Chromebook Duet, and the iPad Air in these photos), years apart, and it still has no problem coming off cleanly and going onto a new one.
The Moft X Tablet Stand is a little pricey for what it is, at $30. With a size of 150x210 milimeters, it's ideally sized for 10-inch tablets — bigger ones work fine, but an 8-inch tablet is too small. There are mini options for phones, though I can't say I need to prop one up often enough for it to appeal to me.But it's worth it. Dollar for dollar, the X Tablet Stand might just be the most useful mobile accessory I've ever purchased. Pick one up and forget your travel stands forever.Buy: Amazon
Roku Originals (that TOTALLY aren't just a bunch of repackaged old crap that killed Quibi) go live on May 20
30 shows streaming for free on The Roku Channel with a healthy dose of deja vu
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There's something of an arms race going on for free, premium streaming TV content, and Roku is hoping to win it. The company already offers ad-supported movies and TV shows on its Roku Channel app, but after acquiring shorts made for the now-defunct Quibi service, it's finally ready to offer up some Roku-branded shows. The first batch of Roku Originals is made up entirely of rebranded Quibi content, all of which you can check out when the shows go live on May 20th.
Samsung phones are even better at Bitcoin now
You can move bitcoins and other math money from hardware wallets to your phone, and vice versa
If you're all into the crypto like the cool kids (I am not, money was hard enough before it was literally made out of math), then you want a Samsung phone. Since the Galaxy S10, they've been able to store Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency via encrypted storage in the Samsung Blockchain Wallet. With the latest update to the app it's even easier to store decentralized coins, because you can do it right from a cryptocurrency hardware wallet. What's a hardware wallet? It's a dedicated gadget, like the Ledger Nano X/S or Trezor Model T, with encrypted storage and basic controls to keep and transfer cryptocurrency in person. Now you can transfer coins between a compatible Samsung phone (most new models have access to the Samsung Blockchain Wallet) and a hardware wallet with either Bluetooth or a USB cable.This is useful for the tiny number of users that actually keep cryptocurrency as, you know, currency, for purchasing goods and services, instead of simply throwing money at it and hoping to get rich. But Samsung hasn't forgotten about the investors: the new version of Samsung Blockchain Wallet includes a cryptocurrency newsfeed from CoinDesk.The updated version of Samsung Blockchain Wallet is available as a download from the Galaxy Store, and it's also live on APK Mirror.
Take $100 off this loaded convertible Chromebook at Best Buy
The new Asus Chromebook Flip C536 is the cheapest one around with a touchscreen and 8GB of RAM
Chromebooks are, almost by design, mostly cheap devices. It's hard to find one with more powerful specs, harder still to find one with decent hardware and a good price to go along with it. If you're ready to step up to a Chromebook with more RAM and a spacious convertible touchscreen, mozy on over to Best Buy. It's offering a 15-inch convertible Asus model with 8GB of RAM for just $469. The Asus Chromebook Flip C536 features an 11th-gen Core i3 processor, 8GB of memory, and 128GB of storage, all well above the median for a Chromebook. It's also sporting a snazzy 15.6-inch 1080p touchscreen, which means it's above average size for laptops in general — make sure it can fit in your bag before you press "buy." Normally $569, Best Buy is offering $100 off for the moment.
At the time of writing, this is the least expensive Chromebook with 8GB of memory on Best Buy's site. Anything in this range of hardware is hard to find on Amazon at this price, too, though last year's HP x360 comes close with a smaller screen.
Google's latest Search Easter egg lets you relive a classic moment from The Office
Pam claims she saw it one day when she was alone in the conference room. Okay.
Gather 'round children. I'll tell you a tale of a forgotten time, before the first tweet was tweeted, before the first yeet was yeeted. Back when people still went to movie theaters, then waited an eternity — sometimes four or five months! — before they could watch that movie in the comfort of their own homes, basked in the glow of a 32-inch CRT television.
Hey Google, set a timer for "Timely is shutting down"
The popular alarm clock is disappearing from the Play Store 7 years after Google bought the developer
Wow, talk about a blast from the past. The gorgeous Timely Alarm Clock showed up on the Play Store in the summer of 2013, an example of what well-designed Android apps should look like in the Jelly Bean era. Just a few months later, Google gobbled up the developer Bitspin, and made all of the pretty add-ons for Timely free.
The Galaxy A32 5G is the cheapest Samsung phone on Google Fi, but not the one you should get right now
Promotional discounts and some tempting Motorola and Pixel options make this deal less appealing at the moment
The Galaxy A series represents an excellent intersection of performance and price, and now there's a new option sold straight on Google Fi. Google's offering the Galaxy A32 5G, announced at the start of this year, sold directly from the Fi store. It's $280 outright, which is only a little more than you'll find the phone unlocked. But as good a deal as that is, new Google Fi customers probably shouldn't pick one up.
Wyze announces Buds Pro with ANC, then teases an even cheaper set
The Buds Pro will cost $60 and ship in July
Wyze has made a name for itself by selling dirt-cheap stuff that works surprisingly well, notably security cameras, lightbulbs, and other smarthome gadgets. It's recently expanded into more mobile-adjacent tech, including a full-sized set of noise-canceling headphones. The next logical step for the company is in the exploding segment of true wireless earbuds, and so here we are: the Wyze Buds Pro.
Facebook's new couples app keeps things between you, your partner, and Mark Zuckerberg
Tuned is just for couples, none of you dirty single people allowed
The New Product Experiments team at Facebook is a way for the company to try out new apps and services without the, um, complication of actually attaching Facebook to them. For example, its latest app is Tuned, a platform designed specifically for couples. Yeah, that's a pass from me.
Spruce up your Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL with a fresh coat of LineageOS 18.1
The open source ROM based on Android 11 is now available for both phones
Custom ROMs are the saviors of old Android phones. Google's Pixels get quite a lot of after-release support, but with the Pixel 2 series hitting end-of-life back in December, the writing is on the wall for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. So if you're ready to say goodbye to official software updates a little early, why not hop on the Lineage train?