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The Essential Phone had a lot going for it at launch, but the camera experience definitely didn't live up to the hype. Essential has done what it can to improve camera performance over time, and it has gotten better. Today, there's yet another update rolling out, but this one is just the camera app in the Play Store. It won't change the fundamentals of the camera, but there are some new features.
It almost goes without saying that Wear OS is not developing as fast as we had hoped. Let's say it anyway, though. Google has been slow to add new features and even had to roll some changes back in the developer preview. There's also at least one bug that has plagued users for months. Since late 2017, many users have been unable to route call audio through their watches. Even having the feature enabled breaks call audio. There might be some progress in the latest Android P preview, but many say things are still busted.
Home security systems used to require professional installers to string wires throughout your home, but no more. Several consumer electronics companies have launched new "smart" security systems. Ring announced its security platform last year, but the launch ran into legal issues. Now, it's finally available for pre-order with an expected ship date of July 4th.Ring announced the system as Ring Protect, but now it's going with Ring Alarm instead. That's a bit on the nose, don't you think? At any rate, the $199 starter kit is available for pre-order today on Ring's site, Amazon, Best Buy, and more. The kit uses Z-wave technology to keep the base station connected wirelessly to the included keypad, contact sensor, and motion sensor. There's also a range extender in the box. If you want more sensors, those are also available for pre-order.[EMBED_YT]https://youtu.be/6j7ij3TmLIk[/EMBED_YT]Ring is looking to stress the value of its system. It doesn't seem as fancy as, for example, Nest Protect with its all-in-one sensors and NFC tags. However, even with the recent Nest price drop, the Ring Alarm is half the price. The add-on sensors are cheaper, too. Ring says its professional monitoring and LTE backup plan is just $10 per month, and that includes unlimited video storage on all Ring cameras and 10% off future Ring device purchases.Source: Ring, Best Buy, Home Depot, Amazon
Google has made a few moves to get more people using Google Express, not all of which have been popular. Remember when Assistant's shopping list moved to Express? The latest change is only temporary, but it comes free of drawbacks. For a limited time, the threshold for free delivery on Express has dropped to $15 at most stores.
With the Pixel 2 release, Google enabled an automatic dark theme in the Pixel Launcher and quick settings. This was a bit of a half measure seeing as everyone has been begging Google for a dark system theme for years. Annoyingly, if you had a preference for the dark or light theme, you couldn't manually select it. That will change soon—possibly in the next Android P build.
Hisense announced some new TVs back at CES in January, but we haven't heard a peep since then. Today, the H9 Plus Series 4K TVs are available for purchase. Why is this relevant? These TVs have Android TV and Assistant built-in.
Vivo wowed us at Mobile World Congress this year with its almost bezel-free Apex concept phone. Unlike so many other 2018 smartphones, this one had a screen that got all the way up to the edge without a notch. Now, the concept phone is a real device called the Vivo Nex. Try to control your lust, though. This phone is only launching in China.
We did not learn much about the future of Wear OS at Google I/O this year despite the company putting on a "what's new in Wear OS" session. One of the few truly new things discussed in that talk was the team's new focus on battery life in Android P. Now, Google is rolling back the battery-saving features in the developer preview following a flurry of developer feedback.
The Nest Secure is a smart security system that's super-easy to set up. However, it was also really expensive at launch. Today, Nest has knocked 20% off the price of the full Secure system, and this is a permanent price drop. If you want extra Detect sensors, those are a little cheaper, too.
Fitbit has been in the business of making fitness trackers and wearables for years, but they've all been designed for adults. Now, there's a kid-specific fitness tracker called the Ace. It's available for purchase now, and it'll cost you $100.
It's becoming a bit of a running gag that Bethesda will put Skyrim on anything as it continues to milk the popular game for all it's worth. So naturally, everyone thought the Alexa version of Skyrim Bethesda demoed in its E3 press event was a self-aware joke. Nope, it's completely real, and you can play it right now.
Essential is one of the many smartphone makers that has eschewed the headphone jack, but what's this? You can get your headphone jack back thanks to Essential's modular accessory ecosystem—an ecosystem that will consist of two devices as soon as the new headphone jack adapter comes out.
Google showed off its vision for gesture navigation in Android with the second preview release at I/O, and it was... not great. With the new dev preview 3 release, Google has made a few tweaks to gesture nav functionality, plus there's a basic tutorial.
Nest makes some truly excellent security cameras, but they're not cheap. Today, they're at least a little cheaper on the Google Store. The Nest Cam IQ, IQ Outdoor, Cam Outdoor, and indoor camera are all on sale for the next ten days.
Netgear's Arlo cameras have traditionally lacked some features that you get with competing wired cameras. The completely wireless nature of Arlo cameras makes things like person detection tricky, but Netgear announced it was working on that and more last summer. The "Arlo Smart" add-on service has been in beta testing for months, but now it's finally rolling out to customers. Not only do you get person detection but activity zones, rich notifications, and more.
BlackBerry used to rule the smartphone market, and well, it doesn't now. However, there are still people who crave the feel of a physical keyboard under their thumbs. Last year, they got the KEYOne, and rumors of the KEY2 have percolated in recent months. Today, BlackBerry and TCL have made the KEY2 official. It has a refined keyboard, a dual camera, and it's coming your way later this month.
Android P is going to add important new features like digital wellbeing tools and proper support for notches, but not everything can be that important. With that in mind: there's a new fingerprint enrolling animation in DP3. It's colorful and buttery smooth. Neat!
Google used to give Android releases strange version numbers. We went through a phase were each new dessert name was just a 0.1 version increase—like Google was afraid of running out of numbers or something. All major Android releases for the last few years have added one whole number to the version, and it looks like Android P will be no different. The new DP3 release includes 'Android 9' in several places.
Amazon has crammed its Alexa virtual assistant into a myriad of different devices and form factors. The strangest is the fashion-focused Echo Look camera. You can now find out just how weird it is for yourself. Amazon has opened general sales of the Look, and it can be yours for $200.The Echo Look is a standard Alexa device with voice control features. However, it also has a camera. Just ask it to take a photo (or video), and it'll tell you how hot or not your outfit is. The "Style Check" feature uses machine learning to judge your ensemble based on the colors, fit, and current fashion trends. You can even have Echo Look compare two outfits and tell you which one is better. This is, of course, only useful if you trust Alexa's opinion.[EMBED_YT]https://youtu.be/Zss2uj-mMw0[/EMBED_YT]Amazon launched the Echo Look as an invite-only device like the original Echo. That's been going on for a few months, and Amazon has added additional features to beef up Look's offerings before making it generally available. One of those features lets Echo Look remember clothing items you own, and then suggest them as alternatives in the outfits you show it.Echo Look will run you 9.99, and it ships immediately.Source: Amazon
Things have changed dramatically for ZTE in the last few weeks. It went from one of the world's largest smartphone makers to effectively shutting down in the wake of US Department of Commerce action that blocked it from buying technology from American firms. Now, Reuters reports that ZTE has signed a preliminary agreement with the US agency to lift the ban.