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Like last year, Google is working with smartphone makers to expand access to the latest Android beta. So, you won't need one of Google's Pixel devices to get a look at Android Q Beta 3. Google is working with 12 OEMs to support a whopping 21 phones on the Android Q Beta.
Google Lens made a splash at I/O a few years ago, but the final product was barebones and hard to find. Google has worked to surface Lens in more places, and it's getting more useful. At I/O today, Google showed off several impressive new features of Lens. However, you still have to remember to use them.
It's that time again—Google has dropped the latest Android Pie builds for your Pixel devices. You can get the OTA the old-fashioned way on your phone, but the files are available for direct, immediate download right now.
Google released Android Auto more than four years ago, and what we have today looks and works almost the same. That will change this summer, though. Google has just announced a massive redesign for Android Auto that makes it easier to manage notifications, access apps, and control media.
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Google got in bed with Verizon to launch the Pixel lineup in 2016, and Big Red has been Google's exclusive carrier partner ever since. However, a new report claims that T-Mobile is about to get its chance to sell Google's latest Android phones. That suggests T-Mobile could have more Pixel phones in the future.
OnePlus is all set to unveil its latest phones on May 14th, and the company has even dropped a few tidbits like the faster storage and bucket-based water-resistance. That's not all—most of the pertinent details have been leaked, as is tradition. There will be a OnePlus 7 Pro in several colors, and there's also the non-Pro version. Previously, we only got a third-party render of this phone, but now the official press renders are out.
Selling consumers on smartwatches has proven much more difficult than selling them on smartphones a decade ago, but the market is gaining traction. Counterpoint Research says that smartwatch shipments grew by 48% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2019, but most of that is thanks to Apple, Samsung, and Fitbit. Fossil, and therefore Wear OS, has seen its market share decline.
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Motorola has released its budget-oriented G phones for 2019, so now it's on to the Z-series. Or, at least that's what we'd expect based on past behavior. There was a leak early this year that purported to show the Moto Z4 Play, but now it's not completely clear what that was. A newly leaked render claims to show the Moto Z4, but it looks like the same phone. Whatever this thing is, it has a Moto mod connector.
The Samsung Tab S4 is a nice piece of hardware if you're into Android tablets, but it's very expensive. The new Tab S5e has some of the S4's features but drops the price to $400. It turns out it also drops the WiFi signal when you touch the corner. Maybe we're all just holding it wrong.
Nokia unveiled a few new devices at Mobile World Congress 2019 including the somewhat disappointing Nokia 9 PureView. It also had a few budget offerings that got less press, including the Nokia 4.2. That phone is now available for pre-order in the US for a mere $189.The Nokia 4.2 packs a Snapdragon 439, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. Up front, it has a 5.7-inch 1080p LCD with a small notch at the top. However, there's nothing small about the chin at the bottom—it's a real chonker. On the back, you get a dual 13+2MP camera setup and a fingerprint sensor. One notable bummer: it's microUSB instead of Type-C.
The 4.2 is an Android One phone with Pie, just like all Nokia's other recent releases. That means two years of full update support and another year of security patches. You can pre-order the 4.2 from Amazon or Best Buy (listing not yet live) with the expectation that it'll ship on May 14th.Buy: Amazon
LG has released its latest quarterly results, and you're never going to guess what happened. It's getting to be an old story at this point: LG makes money, but the smartphone segment drags it down. That's the case with LG's latest Q1 2019 results.
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If memory serves, being forced to sign into Slack for all eternity is one of the circles of Hell in Dante's Inferno. Even if that's a completely fabricated statement (which it is), it drives home the point of how annoying Slack sign-ins can be. Now, it's slightly less terrible on Android thanks to Smart Lock support.
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Every large company has its fair share of customer service issues, but Google seems to always find the most perplexing ways to screw up. Case in point, one Reddit user has posted a story in hopes of getting Google's attention. After returning a defective Pixel 3, Google didn't issue a refund. Instead, it sent ten Pixels when the user bought a replacement.
The BlackBerry Key2 came out last year, giving hardware keyboard stalwarts something to get excited about. The phone is getting a bit long in the tooth, but now there's a very slightly upgraded version. That's not really the important part, though. What's important is that it's red. It looks pretty nice.The Blackberry Key2 Red Edition sports 128GB of storage twice as much the last one. There's still a microSD card slot, too. The rest of the specs are the same with a Snapdragon 660, 6GB of RAM, and a 4.5-inch 1080p display. It is, unfortunately, still running Android 8.1 Oreo.[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/BBMobile/status/1119254668893413376[/EMBED_TWITTER]This phone has a dark red finish on the sides and front but the same black rubberized back as the old Key2. The Red Edition launched in China last month, but now it's available in the US at Amazon and Best Buy. You'll pay a slight premium over the existing Key2, which is already spendy. The red Key2 can be yours for $699.99.Buy: Amazon, Best Buy
Google wowed everyone when it unveiled Night Sight photos alongside the Pixel 3. Many OEMs have since tried to replicate Google's witchcraft, but none have been able to match it. Samsung is the latest to try with an OTA on the Galaxy S10. You probably don't have the update yet, but it's coming.
Most of the methods we use to wake ourselves in the morning are jarring and unpleasant, but Google Home might be able to help. Starting today, Home supports Gentle Sleep & Wake, a feature that integrates with Philips Hue smart lights. Just tell Google to enable this feature, and you can ease into the day in a more natural way.
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T-Mobile has been using every possible opportunity to talk up its plans to acquire Sprint, hoping to amass enough support to push the deal through. It's not a matter of public sentiment, though. The fate of the deal rests with government regulators, and the US Department of Justice has reportedly told the carriers it is unlikely to approve the $26B deal.
Waymo grew out of the self-driving car project at Google X, but it's now a separate company under the Alphabet umbrella. Waymo's service still isn't available to everyone, but it's in semi-open trials in the Phoenix area. Now, those testers can get the Waymo app from the Play Store.
Google makes more hardware than it did in the past, so it has naturally considered opening retail stores from time to time. The company has purchased shipping containers and renovated lofts, only to cancel its plans. The only initiatives that have come to fruition are a few pop-up stores. Last year, we heard Google was on the verge of opening its first permanent flagship retail store in Chicago. Now, it looks like the deal has fallen through.
Google has posted an interesting Avengers-themed page on the Google Store today. According to Google, something "big" is coming to the "Pixel universe" on May 7th. Yeah, this isn't the best teaser, but it's almost certainly referring to the Pixel 3a and 3a XL.