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After launching in the US, Google Play Family Library started expanding and is now available in over 20 countries. The official list doesn't mention India, but if you live there, you may start seeing the Family option pop up in your Play Store. For some, signing up for it and making purchases on the account is a smooth process, for others though, an error might show up. The feature could be in its early stages of rollout, or it's possible someone pulled the plug very prematurely.
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- Here is v2.6.0 on APK Mirror. Grab it and let us know how it works for you.
It may not be the most loved music service on Android, but Apple Music is certainly an appealing choice, especially for those who live in countries where YouTube Music (né Google Play Music) and Spotify aren't available. When I reviewed it back in 2015, I loved a lot of its features, but I eventually had to give up on it because it wasn't compatible with many other things I often use: Android Auto, Chromecast, and Google Home. But there's hope on the horizon, at least for the first one of those three.
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Smart displays aren't for everyone. They're not exactly tablets, but they look like ones and are both less and more useful, depending on how you look at them. With far superior sound and always listening mics, they act as a smart speaker for your home; but without real apps or a fully functional browser, you hit some roadblocks while using them and wish they could do just a little bit more.
Our entertainment setups are getting more and more complicated nowadays. You start with the TV as an essential, then can expand to include sound systems, DVD/Blu-Ray players, cable TV and other set-top boxes, gaming systems, and more. If you don't want to juggle remotes and lose half of them to the hungry couch, you need something like the Harmony remotes. They replace all your remotes with one and, today, you can grab one for a smidgen over $50.Harmony's Smart Control bundle comes with the All In One remote as well as the Hub and an extra IR extender for the latter. You teach it to replace all your remotes for various InfraRed electronics (TV, cable box, set-top box, etc) on the hub and then can either use the remote or the phone app to control them. You can also use the Harmony app on Google Assistant to issue voice commands. Direct integration with Assistant has been promised since May, but there's no sign of it yet.The Harmony Smart Control used to cost over $130, but its MSRP was very recently dropped to $59 on Amazon, close to the best deal we had seen on it. Now it's down to $52.99, not a huge discount on the new MSRP, but the lowest price so far and bordering on impulse-buy territory. If you're interested, you can grab yours from the link below.Source: Amazon
Appfour are one of the most prolific Wear OS (né Android Wear) developers. Their solutions for the smartwatch platform have spanned from the useful (like this WiFi manager) to the why-and-why-not (like this video player, PDF viewer, browser) and so much more. Now, they're bringing six new mostly GPS-based utilities to our smartwatches.
Having a Google Assistant Smart Display, such as the Lenovo, JBL Link View, or LG ThinQ WK9, is very convenient around the house. But if you don't pay attention, you may end up with unwanted privacy concerns because of the mere fact that these displays don't differentiate between people looking at them. They know voices and will only respond to you, but they don't know faces. If there's a personal card on the homescreen, anyone can read it or tap it to see more. Which is how you may end up revealing your surprise party plans to your spouse and your full calendar to boot. There's a simple solution for it though, you just need to know where to look.
One day bootleg pants are all the rage, the next it's considered a faux-pas to wear one and everyone moves to skinny leg pants. A couple of years later, bootleg pants are back in style and you feel like you understand nothing about nothing because you just threw yours in the trash. Just like clothing fashion, smartphone design goes through cycles. A few years ago, the Note 3 started the trend of using faux-leather with stitching on the back and so followed the Note 3 Neo, Note 4, and Note Edge. Not to be outdone by it, LG carried on the torch with the LG G4 and its middle stripe stitch, but the style pretty much died with it. Once others were doing it, it wasn't cool anymore. Or was it?
The third-generation Google Pixel leaks continue. At this point, the company doesn't seem to have anything hidden from us — unless you believe the wild conspiracy theories about a mystical notch-less Ultra Pixel. Even Google seems to have given up on hiding things and, in a teaser for the new Pixels on its Japanese site, has revealed a potentially third aqua/mint color.
Along with the three BackBeat Fit models that I reviewed a few days ago, Plantronics announced on Monday two new Go headsets: the in-ear Go 410 and the over-ear Go 810. The governing idea behind the two units is to bring wireless noise cancelation to the masses at a more affordable price. The company says it conducted studies with users and came away with the conclusion that 28% are looking for noise cancelation in their headsets, but 65% of them won't pay more than $150 for that. That seems about right, as I don't imagine many users have the spare cash to pay $300 or more for a pair of earbuds or headphones. That's midrange smartphone money.The new Go 410 and 810 aren't supposed to be high-end choices, but aim to bring down the entry price of noise cancelation in both of their form factors. They're targeted at commuters, workers, and travelers who want ANC (Active Noise Cancelation) and don't plan on breaking the proverbial piggy jar to get it. Both are subtle and minimalistic in design with monochromatic colors, and they're packed with neat features. I've spent a bit of time testing them and I'm here to let you know what I think and whether Plantronics fulfilled its promise or not.
Gboard has a built-in search functionality, but you might have forgotten about it. Don't worry though, as Google is currently testing a way to make you use that search more by transforming the G logo when it finds content that's relevant to what you're typing.
Google has been testing more language support for Assistant in several countries including Denmark and Norway. Now, it seems that those two languages are either going live for everyone or nearly about to do so.
Back in May, Google announced that it would be bringing its Home smart speakers to seven new countries, including South Korea. Now, the wait is almost over as the Google Store in Korea has began listing the Home and Home Mini as coming soon. The official launch should happen next week.
I've owned and reviewed plenty of Bluetooth headsets over the years, but the brand I keep coming back to again and again is Plantronics. The company balances quality, sound, and price very well and has produced some of my favorite and most-used earbuds. For years, you couldn't see me anywhere without the red BackBeat Go 2 draped around my neck as I listened to podcasts while walking, doing chores, shopping, and more. But it was the BackBeat Fit that stole my heart. It was the perfect sports headphones and after four years of 2-3 weekly runs and gym sessions, it still looks like I bought it yesterday. If you don't trust me, check out the Wirecutter's comparison write-up: they chose it as their pick for running and said it delivered the best sound for unsealed earbuds.Plantronics has been expanding its Fit line-up since the original, but today, the company has announced three new models to encompass most use cases. The Fit 3100 are true wireless sports earbuds geared toward outdoor use, the Fit 2100 is a remake of the original Fit with some improvements, and the Fit 350 is an in-ear option for indoor exercising. All three iterate and expand on the Fit's promises: stability, comfort, sound, and value for money. All three also still use Micro-USB for charging. I know how vocal some of our readers are about this, so I thought I'd get it out of the way first. Personally, I would prefer USB-C any day, but it's not a deal-breaker when the rest of the features get it right.I've spend the past couple of weeks with the three models and I'll walk you through them one by one, sharing my thoughts and opinions on each.
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- Google now says this feature works only if your Google Assistant language is set to English US, English UK, Canadian English, or French Canadian.
If you have one of the fancy new Assistant Smart Displays, be it the already available Lenovo or the soon-to-be-released JBL Link View, odds are you're going to set up Duo on it and use it for video calls. One neat feature that you may not be aware of, though, is that you can video call your display from your phone, with both set up to use the same Duo account.
Very few smartphone makers can eke out as much value from a device as Xiaomi. We often look at the company's line-up and wonder how small its margins must be if it can delivery such high specs at such low prices. This is especially true of the low-end and mid-range market, where others scramble to offer minimum usable specs and Xiaomi's devices are impressively better.
It's been less than three months since Snap Inc. introduced its second generation Spectacles, but the company is now iterating with two new styles for its video-recording eyewear. The new designs, dubbed Nico and Veronica, look more like regular sunglasses and would pass off inconspicuously if you didn't notice the two large circles on each side.
Last week, Google officially rolled out bilingual support for Assistant, but as with everything related to Assistant and languages, there were limitations. You can only choose between six main languages (and a few country variants) as the main option, and you're restricted even further when it comes to your secondary language. Turns out there's a small trick to make Assistant understand more than these, but only on your phone if it's set to that other language.
One of the easiest ways to find new products nowadays is to follow brands on social media and see what they're up to. Of those social networks, Instagram is probably the most appealing — it's all about the pictures and videos, and there's nothing better than visuals to spot what's new and cool. Instagram has been monetizing this aspect through shopping tags in posts and in stories, but the company is reportedly making a standalone shopping app.
It's been over twenty months since Razer acquired Nextbit, but the gaming hardware manufacturer has made good use of this time. It released the Razer Phone last November and got applauded for its 120Hz display and high-end specs. A second generation phone was pretty much a given — it only makes sense to use the Nextbit acquisition and talent to build more mobile hardware — and now it's been confirmed.
When you need to find something on the internet, you Google it. But "Googling" has started to expand beyond just looking for articles online, it now also searches for your personal information and shows it only to you. This happens when you look for a name of a contact you frequently email (you get some Gmail conversations), for an appointment's title, or for destinations you've received flight/hotel information for, and more. Soon, it may also start including your own browsing history.