Latest Articles
Say goodbye to your grandfathered YouTube Premium account
Google is sending an email to those with cheaper plans to give the bad news
Google raised prices for YouTube Premium and YouTube Music this week, now asking for $14 and $11 per month, $2 and $1 more, respectively. People immediately wondered if this increase would also affect grandfathered YouTube Red accounts, which have been paying a lower rate since the company rebranded the service to YouTube Premium in 2018. Thanks to an email sent to one such account holder, Android Police can confirm that the new price is coming to those users, too.
Google inches closer to replacing third party cookies with a fresh set of APIs
The Privacy Sandbox’s relevance and measurement APIs are going stable in Chrome 115
Third-party cookies are a privacy nightmare, making it possible for advertisers and bad actors to sniff through big chunks of your browsing history, all in the name of providing more relevant ads. While third-party cookies provide some benefits to websites and users, the consensus is that we need alternatives that are easier to reign in, control, and understand. Google has been pushing its Privacy Sandbox as an alternative to third-party cookies for years, and now, a few more features from said sandbox are shipping in the latest version of Chrome, 115.
The Play Store will help you see how an app behaves on all your devices
New chips might come to the Play Store that will let you filter details and reviews by device type
Android started out as a mobile OS for phones, but it has quickly expanded to run on more form factors. These days, you can use Android apps on the best tablets out there, TVs, watches, laptops and computers, foldables, and of course phones. The Google Play Store accommodates for all these form factors, but it also means that shopping for new apps on a different device may sometimes not show you the full picture of what expects you on one of your other handsets. That’s where new filtering chips for app listings might come in handy.
Google Photos will pester you to turn on notifications and backups
You’ll get a persistent banner at the top of the app’s home screen if you don’t
Google Photos is a great service. It was the first to truly make it easy to find images in your library and offered a straight-forward way to walk down the memory lane. Google has started monetizing its excellent tool more aggressively in recent years with a prominent printing service link, no more free storage, and exclusive Google One and Pixel features. The company has added one more way to pester you to turn on certain features: A persistent banner at the top of the Photos home page.
Google kills Album Archive today, the last remnants of Hangouts
You could view images and videos shared via Hangouts in Album Archive, among other files
A few weeks ago, Google sent a scary-sounding email to some of its account holders. The company warned that its “Album Archive” would be discontinued soon, and that you would have to back up any data from it that you want to retain. Reading on in the mail, it becomes clear that this mostly only affects some images and videos you’ve sent via Google’s defunct messaging service Hangouts, and doesn’t have anything to do with Google Photos. The July 19 shutdown date has now arrived, so if you want to see what data you’ve got in your Album Archive and if you’d like to export it, now is your last chance.
These government programs threaten to break the internet as we know it
In the name of fighting crime, the EU and the US might end up breaking end-to-end encryption
Encryption is among the most important building blocks of the internet today. It makes it possible to transmit all kinds of information securely, no matter how you're getting online. End-to-end encrypted messages, no matter which encrypted chat app you're using, are particularly important, ensuring the privacy of individuals communicating with each other. Not everyone's a fan of strong encryption, though, and critics point out how bad actors can take advantage of the privacy they afford, as well, allowing them to discuss and plan crimes and exchange information without a chance to surveil them.
Don’t trust that airline hotline number on Google Maps
Scammers are changing the support phone number and ask you to pay up
Many big companies make it increasingly difficult to find and reach their support hotlines, likely in an effort to forward people to FAQ sites and other measures to answer questions before they’re asked. One place that makes it easy to find phone numbers straight away is Google Maps, which usually prominently features a hotline in the business listing. It looks like you shouldn’t blindly trust that it’s correct, though. Crafty scammers have replaced some airline hotlines on Google Maps with their own.
Reddit kills one of its easiest revenue streams after switching to paid API
The company is getting rid of useless awards that Redditors were happy to throw money at
Reddit recently caused turmoil when it introduced steep prices for access to its API, effectively killing many excellent third-party Reddit apps out there that augmented the core experience in often significant ways. The company cited its desire to become profitable and cut off GPT scrapers as a reason why it took this step. It previously all but lost money on providing and updating the API. Reddit’s next move then could strike you as odd, as the business has announced that it will discontinue coins and awards, which likely provided the company with a small but steady stream of revenue.
Proton Drive is finally becoming a viable alternative to Google Drive
The company now offers a Windows app for easier file syncing
Proton is a privacy-first company that promises to take good care of your data. It all started with its email client Proton Mail, but the company has since expanded its portfolio with a VPN, a calendar, one of many excellent password managers out there, and a cloud storage solution. The latter lacked an option to sync local files for a long time, though, which is something the company is now finally fixing for Windows users.
Bluetooth hearing aid compatibility: Which phones have it
When you buy hearing aids, make sure you have a compatible phone to get the most out of them
More and more people have some form of hearing impairment in this increasingly loud day and age. Chances are your hearing also isn't the best if you stumbled upon this guide. You may remember hearing aids as bulky devices sitting behind your ears that are barely good enough to make people hear again, but this is far from the truth today. Most hearing aids support some form of audio streaming. Still, for most of them, you must have a compatible phone.
What’s new in Chrome 115: Google’s Reading Mode is here
Plus work on visual improvements for Memory Saver
Google Chrome 115 has been released in early stable on July 12, 2023, with the broader rollout beginning on July 18. The new release is just a tad late, but it makes this up with some choice improvements to the browsing experience, particularly on desktop computers. There are a few new features to dive into, such as the new Reading mode or improvements to the Memory Saver.
Google Bard enters the EU as it gains Google Lens support
The company left out the bloc initially due to privacy concerns
With the rising popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT language model, Google saw itself forced to react quickly with a similar product, Google Bard. The large language model was launched at a dedicated event and expanded to many regions of the world after Google I/O, leaving out one significant area citing privacy concerns: the EU. Google is now fixing this oversight along with launching some hotly anticipated features.
The Google app is getting a snazzy new At a Glance widget
Prepare for a much-needed redesign on third-party Android devices
Google’s At a Glance widget is a staple feature on Pixel phones that has evolved a lot over the years. On Google devices, it shows you all kinds of timely information, upcoming calendar events, and even lets you turn off your flashlight. This same widget is also available on virtually all other great Android phones, but it’s a lot more rudimentary and looks outdated, still sporting the look and feel it had on Android 11 with its centered style. That’s about to change, with a completely novel design different from what Pixel users get.
Android 13 review: The update we need, not the one we want
Iterative improvements refine the big update that was Android 12
As we all look forward to this year's big next release, Android 14, we shouldn't forget about what's currently running on our phones in a stable version. Android 13 came out in August 2022, and only shortly after, the Google Pixel 7 Pro and the smaller Google Pixel 7 were the first phones to launch with the new OS.
13 best Prime Day tech deals under $50
Amazon Prime Day is in full swing, and these are our favorite affordable tech deals
Amazon’s annual shopping event Prime Day is in full swing, and there are tons of ways to save money on some of the best tech out there. In fact, Prime Day doesn’t even have to break the bank with some super affordable deals. To make it easier for you to navigate all the hundreds of sub-$50 offers out there, we’ve created this list to highlight just the crème de la crème of cheap and quick grabs, relating to smart home, entertainment, storage, fitness, and charging.
Skip the Pixel 7a — a $250 Pixel 6a is the only Prime Day phone deal to consider
Google is eating every other sub-$300 phone’s lunch
This Prime Day, the new Google Pixel 7a is finally discounted to the price it should have launched at, $450. This is the same price that its predecessor, the Pixel 6a, was released at. The Pixel 7a is an excellent phone, even more so with its $50 rebate. However, a killer deal on the Pixel 6a is changing this equation once more, with Amazon offering last year’s a-series phone for just $250. If you’ve ever wanted to get the Pixel experience on the cheap, now is your chance. Heck, even if you’re shopping for a new phone this Prime Day, this is the one to get.
Why Anker’s 2-in-1 charger and battery pack is a must-buy this Prime Day
I have a charger and battery combo just like that, and it makes traveling so much easier
Two-in-one devices often offer a poor compromise rather than a good solution for all use cases they want to hit. Dual-purpose devices like the Microsoft Surface and other tablet-laptop hybrids are a good example, especially with Windows on them. There is one category where I’m convinced that, if executed correctly, they offer the best of both worlds: 2-in-1 chargers and battery packs. One such device is currently on sale for Prime Day: The Anker 521 PowerCore Fusion, down to $35 for a limited time, perfect if you are planning a vacation this year.
Skip the Pixel 7 and grab a Pixel 7 Pro with this huge Prime Day discount
At $650, the Pixel 7 Pro costs just as much as the Pixel 8 is rumored to be launched at
The Google Pixel 7 Pro is one of our favorite phones, and it only got better in recent months thanks to three big feature drops that came as part of Android 13. With its predecessor waiting to be released in the fall, Prime Day 2023 sees the Pixel 7 Pro at its lowest price yet — $650, which is $250 off with no strings attached. At that price, it's almost down to the Pixel 7's MSRP, which is $600.
Prime Day steal: Google Pixel 7a costs as little as Pixel 6a’s launch price
$450 is more clearly budget territory than $500
The Google Pixel 7a is one of our favorite budget phones, even if we experienced some problems with our review unit. It brings the most important features to the table and then some. It’s just a bummer that Google decided to raise the price by $50 compared to its predecessor, which pushes the Pixel 7a way too close to the regular Pixel 7. For Prime Day 2023, Amazon is fixing Google’s oversight with a $50 discount, bringing the Pixel 7a down to $450.
The Google Pixel 8 might get more expensive
A leaker pins the launch to early October at a starting price of $650
Google launched the Pixel 7a with a small $50 price hike compared to its predecessor, so one of the first questions asked was: What will this mean for the rest of the lineup? If the latest rumors are to be believed, the Google Pixel 8 will see a similar price adjustment, becoming just a tad pricier than its predecessor at launch.