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Google might not have sold as many Pixels as we might have imagined, but it's trying to up those numbers. Earlier this month, Google started offering a $75 statement credit when you bought a Pixel with financing, but now it's swapped that deal out for a free Google Home ($129 value).
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Ah, Niantic. The Google spin-off had a hit on its hands last summer with Pokémon GO burst onto the scene. Slow updates and a poor reliability in the early days probably hobbled the game, but it's still chugging along. Niantic's next update will add some neat features, but it also requires all gyms to be disabled during the rollout. Something tells me people won't like that.
No longer will you have to choose between Quick Charge 3.0 and USB-PD—Tronsmart has a new adapter that supports both. The latest 2-port charger has USB-PD over Type-C and QC 3.0 over USB-A. It's usually priced at $27.99, but we've got an exclusive discount code for you that takes the price down 20%.The QC 3.0 port supports up to 18W of power for devices like the LG G6, HTC U11, and Galaxy S8. The USB-PD port is there things get interesting. It'll fast charge the Pixel, of course, but it can output as much as 30W of power to charge laptops like the 2016 MacBook. Since there are two ports, you can have cables plugged in and ready for either standard. That saves you from filling up a second outlet if you do need both (it supports 48W total).
Amazon began its existence as an online entity that siphoned business away from brick-and-mortar stores, but there's only so much you can do online. Amazon has been tinkering with more real world services like Prime Now local deliveries and its experimental grocery store in Seattle. Now, Amazon is taking a shortcut to building out its own presence; it's buying Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. Coincidentally, that's about what I spent the last time I went to Whole Foods.
It's getting increasingly hard to justify a smartwatch purchase when so many of them are launching with such high price tags. Paying $400 or $500 for a watch that works the same as one that costs half as much is a tough sell, not that a cheaper watch is an easy sell either. That's what makes the ZTE Quartz intriguing. This is an Android Wear device that costs less than $200 and has a dedicated cellular connection on T-Mobile.
We learned a few months ago that T-Mobile spent big in the FCC's recent 600MHz spectrum auction. The carrier dropped $7.99 billion on the spectrum licenses, which it has now officially been granted. It's wasting no time putting them to use. T-Mobile says it will begin rolling 600MHz coverage out to select markets over the summer.
Razer, are you okay? You need help? I only ask because this new power bank doesn't have any unnecessary glowing LED accents, which is sort of your thing. This unusually understated battery has a capacity of 12,800mAh, which is on the large side. The real selling point here is that Razer's power bank can fast charge any phone, or even a laptop with USB Type-C.
Google appears to be rolling out an interesting new feature in the Play Store phone client. Knowing that connectivity is not always guaranteed, the Play Store will now fail gracefully when you try to load a page without data. Not only does the error look nicer than the current one, it offers to notify you when you have a connection again.
Sphero got itself recognized for making neat little toys that roll around. However, its next product doesn't move. It's an app-enabled Spider-Man toy with LCD eyes, speech recognition, and games in the companion app. We don't have all the details on this device yet, but retailer John Lewis accidentally pushed the product page live too soon, and Sphero published its app. That's good enough for a basic overview.
Google Now was a big deal when it debuted years back, but now Google is all about Assistant. The Google Now pane got its last redesign in 2015, but Google appears to be testing something more radical currently. Some users are starting to see a transparent Google Now pane.
Most new phones come with USB type-C ports these days, and that has brought with it a number of different fast charging standards. It can be hard to know if a particular cable will fast charge a given phone, but the Satechi USB-C power meter takes the guess work out. This neat little gadget is on sale right now for $22.95, which is $7 off the regular price.The Satechi USB-C power meter has a Type-C plug at one end and a female Type-C port at the other. Simply plug it into your phone and attach the charging cable to the power meter to see how much juice is flowing. Type-C is a more versatile plug than microUSB was, so you can even attach the power meter to a Type-C adapter outlet and run a Type-C cable from the power meter to your phone (see below).
A small monochrome display lights up when the meter is active that shows the voltage, current, and total milliamp-hours sent to the battery since the last time the power meter was plugged in. Wattage is not shown, but you can figure that out by multiplying the voltage and current.
We have a few of these devices floating around at Android Police, including the one we used for our hands-on. You may even have seen some photos of it pop up in other reviews. The $7 discount works out to 23% off the usual $30 price tag. It's not huge, but that's a good deal for the Satechi USB-C power meter.Source: Amazon
Instagram makes it easy to share your photos. So easy, in fact, that you might share things you later regret. You don't have to delete those posts anymore, though. Starting now, Instagram has an archiving option.
Google recently revamped the Editors' Choice section of the Play Store, and now it's adding a new feature called "Android Excellence." This section will include apps and games that Google thinks are particularly good, and it'll be updated every quarter. The first set of Android Excellence picks is out now in the Play Store and after the break.
Google Maps has a lot of data, some of it contributed by users. Google is keenly aware that you can get people to contribute to a service rather easily as long as you give them points. The points don't even have to be good for anything, although Local Guides points do come with some rewards. Today, Google is adding new levels to the Local Guides program and offering new ways to earn points so you can reach these higher levels.
Netflix added download support for a large chunk of its library late last year, which is great. It was long overdue, but still a much appreciated addition. However, Netflix's downloading functionality comes with a nasty catch that many people have just recently started running into: some content can only be downloaded a certain number of times. The worst part is Netflix doesn't tell you about that until you're almost out of downloads.
HTC is doing some weird things with its latest generation of phones. They're shiny, rounded, and there's no headphone jack. So, how's HTC's new design when it comes to durability? JerryRigEverything on YouTube has put the U11 through its paces, and it didn't go well. This phone did not survive the tests, so it goes on the shelf of shame. I'm not sure if that's a real shelf, but the point is the phone is broken.
The Logitech Circle cameras have been some of the best options for keeping an eye on your home thanks to the competitive price. Logitech has even pushed updates that added substantial new features that made Circle more competitive with Arlo, Nest, and others. Still, you can't do everything with software. Today, Logitech is announcing the Logitech Circle 2 cameras. There are two versions, one wired and the other wireless. Plus, both can be set up in the great outdoors.
Android 8.0 is shaping up to be a cool update with features like notification dots, autofill apps, and of course, picture-in-picture video. There haven't been many apps that properly support Android O's PiP mode, but now you can count VLC among them. Well, as long as you've got the new beta app.
The latest Humble Mobile Bundle is halfway through its run, and you know what that means. Yes, free stuff. We're giving away ten codes that unlock the full bundle of games. Even if you don't win, this is a pretty excellent value.
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You have to hand it to Sony. After failing time and time again to break into the US market, it's still launching phones here. The Xperia XZ Premium is now available for pre-order at Best Buy (and Amazon soon) for a whopping $799.99. For that bundle of cash, you get a 4K display, Snapdragon 835 SoC, and no fingerprint sensor. Because that makes sense, Sony.The XZ Premium packs a lot of high-end hardware, so let's do the spec thing.