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Magic Eraser returns to the Google Pixel 6
After a brief and accidental hiatus, Google Photos restores its most exciting feature
Software development is a precarious business, as Google knows probably better than anybody else. One of the company's most recent blunders saw the nifty new Magic Eraser tool disappear from Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones when a borked version of Google Photos was rolled out. You could avoid losing the feature by simply not updating the app, but Google's latest update fixes the issue and restores the tool to its former glory.
The Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are the most impressive phones yet from the company. However, just like the previous Pixels, these phones have a myriad of early issues that negatively impact the user experience. Among them, the device randomly auto-dialing contacts is easily the most annoying and frustrating one, especially when it happens in the middle of the night. Google Assistant's hotword detection feature was found to be the culprit since turning it off disabled the ghost-dialing problem of the new Pixels. Another temporary fix was to clear the Google app's settings and cache, but it only worked for about a day or so before the random outgoing calls started up again.
Some Pixel 6 phones are ghost dialing random contacts, Google is working on a fix
Butts are not to blame this time
The Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro only started shipping to lucky pre-order customers last week, but we're already seeing several issues being reported by users. First, the phone exhibited a weird screen flicker problem, and then there were some problems with Always On Display. The latest one to join the list is probably the weirdest and most annoying one yet, but thankfully, Google is already working on a fix.
Google squashes Android Auto location bug so you can search for services near you again
It no longer thinks you're always at home
One of the little Google features we probably all take for granted is being able to easily find services near to us via Maps, Assistant, Search, etc. Unfortunately, some Android Auto users have been encountering a bug that meant searching for anything "near me" or "nearby" would return results close to the users' homes, rather than their current location. Thankfully, Google says it's rolled out a fix.
The Google TV recommendations bug has been squashed so we can all sleep easy now
It was fixed in record time, too
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Great excitement accompanied the launch of Chromecast with Google TV, much of it around the new interface and what looked to be a much more robust recommendations system. The watchlist syncs with your Google account and, in theory, the For you screen should show you closely-matched content based on your search history, likes, and past viewing. There's even a screen where you can train it to know your taste better, but it's completely borked right now.
Google can't seem to fix (or doesn't care about) broken app update notifications
The Play Store toggle doesn't seem to work at all on Pixel phones
When Google removed the ability for the Play Store to notify users of app updates, people were understandably miffed. This even led to a third-party solution being developed, before Google eventually saw sense and brought it back as an optional setting (albeit off by default). This functionality appears to be broken now on various Android phones.
Chromecast with Google TV has an annoying Bluetooth audio issue, but there's a simple fix
Get rid of stuttering performance while using YouTube or YouTube Music
The Chromecast with Google TV is a brilliant product, as noted in Ryan's review, but it's not without its flaws. Since getting one a week ago, I've found Google's new Android TV skin to be a delight, so much so that my far more powerful Nvidia Shield has been relegated to the bench. The experience isn't perfect, however, and I've had to close misbehaving apps on several occasions. The most notable issue I've faced relates to Bluetooth audio, but thankfully there's an easy fix.
Some Pixel 4a units are exhibiting a touchscreen bug on Android 11
A screen protector seems to make the issue worse
We've all been awaiting Android 11 eagerly, but now that it's there, a subset of Pixel 4a users doesn't have the experience they were hoping for. Some people have taken to Google's and XDA Developers' forums, complaining about touchscreen sensitivity problems such as unresponsive scrolling and phantom touches.
Android stability flaw is causing some phones (mostly Pixels) to freeze up completely
When certain apps misbehave, the whole OS suffers
Several of us at AP, myself included, have noticed a concerning stability issue on Google Pixel devices in recent weeks that causes the whole system UI to become unresponsive. According to the many replies to Artem's tweet on the subject (below), users of phones from other OEMs also complain about the issue, so it might be a more widespread Android bug rather than one limited to Google-made devices.
Google Photos v4.38 fixes bug preventing edited H.265 videos from being saved (Updated)
And it's not the first time this bug's reared its ugly head
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Some Android phones offer a nifty video solution called HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) that records your creations in the H.265 format instead of H.264. This takes up less space on your phone and in your cloud library, so it's something many people toggle on (it's not on by default on a Pixel, for example). Unfortunately, Google Photos isn't currently able to edit and save these H.265 videos, much to the dismay of many users.
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The ability to snooze notifications is a divisive feature, with some (like me) using it fairly often and others at AP saying they never do. If you fall into the first camp and have installed the third Android Q Beta that became available yesterday, you may have noticed that snoozing is no longer possible.
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You're all busy people, and that's why being able to set a reminder with the Google Assistant on your phone is such a godsend. Unfortunately, a few people are experiencing an issue whereby those reminders aren't triggering a notification as they should.
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The newest OnePlus 6T update pushed out by T-Mobile appeared to be pretty bland, with only support for an "additional domestic roaming partner" in the changelog. However, according to a number of disgruntled users on Reddit, the update is breaking Google Play certification on the device.
Some of you may have recently encountered an annoying bug in Google's SMS app Messages (formerly Android Messages) whereby the search function would no longer work — ironic when your company is primarily known as a search engine. Thankfully, a fix has now been released and the issue should no longer present itself.
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- Google has reportedly acknowledged the existence of this problem and says that a solution is incoming:
You've may have heard about the bug affecting Pixel phones whereby photos taken with the camera are not saved — well now it appears there's a similar issues with texts as well. According to a tip we've received, the latest security update (Nov 5th) could be causing text SMS messages to disappear for some.
Pixel 3 bugs have been taking up far too much of our time recently, but thankfully this is one that is very easy to fix. Some users have been noticing that while recording video, their Pixel 3 will still vibrate for incoming notifications, causing the video to distort along with the buzz. This is something that should be prevented by default, and the solution is simple.
The notch on the Pixel 3 XL is probably one of the most derided smartphone features in history, or, judging by our comments section, the worst thing to ever happen in the history of the universe. A wonderfully apt bug experienced by a small number of users manifests itself as an additional notch on the right side of the display, and it could hardly be funnier.
Every year, a new version of Android is released, and every year, lots of improvements are made. That's a given, but sometimes useful features fall by the wayside as well. In Android 8.0 Oreo, you can easily see a list of the apps for which you have blocked notifications. In Android 9 Pie, that list has vanished.
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Back in October, we reported on a change in the Android 8.1 release that made the proximity sensor behave differently. Unlike before, it wouldn't turn Ambient Display off when you covered the sensor, something we saw even in 8.0 for the newer Pixel 2s. That may or may not have been intentional, but it seems there were also other issues relating to the proximity sensor in 8.1, more about which you can read in this mega thread on the Pixel User Community forum.
Long before Google Lens could be used to understand text and objects in photos you take, a feature called Now on Tap was introduced to analyze what was on your screen and bring you relevant search results relating to what it found. Of course, Google Now is no longer, and Now on Tap has morphed into a screen search function as part of the Google Assistant. It appears to be broken for some people at the moment, however.