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Opera is getting really desperate about where you can use its browser
They're talking about the Android version, installed from the Play Store
The people at Opera really want you to use their browser. That's been true for over 25 years, but today they'd really like you to use Opera on Chrome OS. If that seems a bit incongruous — "Isn't the entire operating system the browser?" — what they mean is that the Android version of Opera has been optimized for Chromebooks and other Chrome OS devices. You can install it via the Play Store.
You can now log into Twitter on Android with your 2FA key alone
It can now be your only two-factor authentication method
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Twitter has had two-factor security based on physical keys, like the Yubikey or Google's Titan keys, for a long time. You've been able to log in with said keys on your phone (assuming your key works with your phone) for a few months. But what if you have to manage your company's PR Twitter account while on the go? Or more typically, what if you have a USB-A key for your desktop and an NFC key for mobile usage?
Galaxy Watch4 Classic surfaces in three sizes and with (yes!) one rotating bezel
Huge leaks indicate that the first smartwatch with the new Wear OS isn't far away
While we were disappointed that Samsung didn't want to show off any hardware at its MWC non-event, it's safe to guess that we'll soon be seeing more leaks of its upcoming Galaxy Watch4, now confirmed to be the first device to run the next-gen Wear OS developed by both Samsung and Google. Patience pays off today, as a bevy of what appear to be retail renders of the Galaxy Watch4 Classic have come out.
Shed a tear, folks: there's another tombstone in the Google Graveyard. Today's dearly departed is Google Poly. What's that? You've never heard of Google Poly? Join the club. Despite covering Google products for over a decade, this one passed through the Android Police radar with nary a blip.
HBO Max is offering a 50% discount to those who sign up in new regions
39 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean have been added
HBO Max is spreading rapidly, in both width and breadth. After introducing (very slightly) cheaper plans with advertising, the service is expanding to a ton of new markets today. According to a press release, the streaming movie and TV service is coming to "39 territories across Latin America and the Caribean." Unfortunately it didn't say precisely which countries and territories those actually were, but that should cover almost everyone living south of the United States.
Google says it will give Nest devices longer software support than Pixel phones
Five years of bug fixes and security updates, at the very least
Software updates are important for all electronics. But for smart home equipment, it's the difference between having a working, cohesive system, and a big collection of useless hunks of plastic. Perhaps aware of some recent high-profile issues along those lines, Google has promised software support for all Nest devices for at least five years after purchase.
The new Zoom PWA for Chrome OS is now available on the Play Store
You can even access it on Windows or install it on Android
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It's odd that after a year of both video conferencing apps and Chromebooks having an absolute boom, the official Zoom app for Chrome and Chrome OS is still so much of a bust. Users frequently complain of missing and relatively simple features, like displaying the contact list and starting direct messages, or the ability to call out to VOIP phones. Zoom has heard your frustration, and it's planning on introducing a new Progressive Web App this week.
The Google Phone app is getting a much better way to search for numbers you recently called
Previously-dialed numbers that aren't in your contacts now show up in search results for the Google Phone app
There's a small quality of life tweak we've been waiting for in Phone by Google for a long time. When you're entering a new number from the dialer, the search function automatically populates with items from your contacts that match the number you're entering. In the beta version, some users are now seeing previously-dialed numbers (which haven't been saved to Contacts) in these results.
When the wireless charging Pixel Stand was released back in 2018, people were excited about the Pixel 3's new wireless charging capability, and the way the stand turned Pixel phones into tiny digital photo frames. What people weren't so thrilled about was the price: at eighty bucks, it was several times more expensive than a standard Qi charging pad. Woot is selling the Stand for just $38, a match for the lowest price we've ever seen, and maybe even worth actually buying.
Samsung unveils One UI Watch interface, but leaves us hanging for new Wear hardware
Those leaked watches will probably show up in an Unpacked event this summer
At a digital Mobile World Congress event today, Samsung is showing off its designs for a new generation of Galaxy wearables. But it's sticking to the One UI software side of things, declining to debut new wearable hardware, or even talk very much about that new combined Wear OS platform that it will be running on. It's a bit of a downer after those recent leaks of a next-gen Galaxy Watch 4 from last week.
There are now 4 billion smartphones on Earth (only 3.9 billion with cracked screens)
An analytics report claims that half of the planet's population owns a smartphone
The last decade or so of worldwide culture has been defined by one thing: immediate and growing access to data. The biggest change is, of course, the shift from old-fashioned cell phones to smartphones, giving users in every geographical and economic niche access to the width and breadth of the internet everywhere they go. A recent analytical report has put that cultural shift into clear focus: half the people on the planet now own a smartphone.
Watch Samsung's virtual Mobile World Congress event here
We might get our first glimpse at a revitalized Wear OS today
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Google raised eyebrows back at the I/O developer conference, saying that the next iteration of Wear OS would be developed alongside Samsung. The company's Galaxy-branded smartwatches have eschewed Wear OS for years in favor of its own in-house Tizen operating system. Our first real glimpse at this hybridized Wear OS might just come later today when Samsung shows off its "vision for the future of smartwatches," and you can watch it right here.
Lenovo makes the Smart Clock 2 and its wireless charging add-on official
Along with a bunch of new tablets, including that massive one with an HDMI-in port
Lenovo's Smart Clock series looks like something that fits right into Google's smart home lineup, and it does, despite being third-party hardware. The second generation of the Smart Clock has been leaked more than once already, but today it gets official. the design looks a lot like the original, with the biggest change being an option for an add-on wireless charger for your phone.
SHIELD TV users are mad as hell, and they're taking it out on the Play Store
The Android TV Home listing has been bombed down to 1 star
Google is an advertising company. Most of its products make money either by serving up ads, or by collecting data to make those ads more effective. But throwing ads into a product that people pay actual money for is something that they tend to feel pretty passionate about — just ask Samsung. So when Google started serving up advertisements via the Android TV Home interface, it didn't take a genius to guess what would happen next.
Uber Pets lets your dog take advantage of gig economy workers too
Though it might be tricky to find an Uber Pets driver near you
Traveling with pets can be a major hassle, and it doesn't help if you're somewhere without access to your own vehicle. Uber is here to help. The app and service now allow pets to come along on at least some rides, for a nominal fee. Of course.
Google says it's hanging on to cookies for a while longer
FLoC is now scheduled to replace tracking cookies by late 2023. Maybe.
It turns out that reinventing one of the cornerstones of the modern web is, um, hard. Google initially promised that it would stop using cookies to track users for advertising purposes in Chrome by early 2022 as part of the Privacy Sandbox initiative. So yeah, that's not happening: Google is now updating its target to "late 2023."
Venmo isn't the only digital payment platform that wants a bigger slice of the pie. Its owner PayPal is getting in on the action, with a widespread change of its rates set to go into effect on August 2nd. Barring a few small adjustments to currency exchange and charity rates, almost all of these are increases in processing fees. Most notably, the standard PayPal checkout merchant fee will increase from 30 cents plus 2.9% to 49 cents plus 3.49%.
It's annoying the way that pretty much every single social network will eventually try to become every other social network. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, NextDoor, even those that are ostensibly about something else, like TikTok and LinkedIn: once a feature shows up on one, it'll show up on the rest. The latest box on the checklist is "reactions," that collection of little emoji thingies that you can use to reply to a post if you don't feel like using real words.
A few months ago some new code was spotted in the Chromium repository, indicating that the multi-function light bar seen on devices like the Chromebook Pixel and the Pixel C would be making a return. It looks like the first device we're seeing with that functionality is Lenovo's newest Chromebook. The IdeaPad 5i, announced before an all-digital Mobile World Congress, features a light bar on the front of the laptop to display battery charge without needing to open it.To be clear, Lenovo isn't claiming that this light bar is using that specific feature, and I suppose it's technically possible that the tool could be built in almost pure hardware. But the multi-color battery indicator works in the same way that it did on those older designs, shifting colors from red to green to indicate how much battery remains.
This is a mid-range Chromebook design that maxes out with the latest Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and up to 512GB of storage, though its 14-inch IPS screen is only offered in 1080p resolution. The laptop will come in grey or sand (sort of a dull yellow) color choices, with dual USB-C ports, an optional backlit keyboard, and Wi-Fi 6.The Ideapad 5i will cost €399 (about $475) when it launches next month.
Lenovo is also announcing a new convertible Chromebook model, the IdeaPad Flex 5i. This 13.3-inch model has a 1080p screen that folds back on itself, but alas, there is no color-changing battery bar. Internal specs are approximately same, including the 10-hour battery, but the Flex 5i will have an optional OLED upgrade. That's rarely seen on Chromebooks.The IdeaPad Flex 5i will also start at €399, available later this month in at least some territories.
In accessory news, Lenovo is showing off the L15 mobile monitor, a bigger 15.6-inch version of the excellent M14 USB-C-powered screen. With an integrated kickstand base, USB-C ports on both sides, and pass-through capability for charging your laptop via an adapter, the 1080p IPS display will even work with phones and tablets that include DisplayPort over USB capability. The L15 will go on sale in September for €229 ($275).
Venmo is introducing new fees, and you're not going to like them
Fees for more goods and services will go into effect next month
Venmo is a popular user-to-user money transfer service, which gained a lot of ground for being easy to use and essentially free. But ever since PayPal bought the company back in 2013, the writing was on the wall for the first part of that. Soon the latter will start to look more like the former, with a series of increasing fees for some money transfers beginning next month.