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The Google Pixel 6 will refuse to charge if you use a low-quality USB-C cable or charger
And that's a good thing
The Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro come without a charging adapter, controversially, but at least they come with a USB-C-to-C charging cable. It should be common knowledge that the cable that comes with your phone is the best one to charge it with, but it seems like Google's latest flagships will straight up refuse to charge if you try to use a cheaper cable.
The Pixel Buds A-Series are low-key one of my favorite Black Friday deals — here’s why
One of Google's most delightful little products
This year’s Black Friday sales may not be as exciting as usual, with global supply chain issues sadly limiting what’s on offer. Even so, there are some decent deals floating around on tech products and beyond. One of my favorites may not appear to be that compelling at first glance, since the discount isn't huge, but I’d argue it's one of the best products you can plump for this sales season.
Sony's best headphones are the cheapest they've ever been on Black Friday
Best-in-class noise cancellation for less
In recent years, Sony and Bose have been battling it out to make the best noise-canceling headphones, but Sony is widely considered to have pulled ahead with its most recent models. The WH-1000XM4 over-ear headphones are simply the best around, and while the competition is stronger in the true wireless earbud space, the almost identically named WF-1000XM4 are also top of the tree.
Roku's cheapest streamer is just $15 in this insane Black Friday deal
You'll struggle to find a cheaper smart TV solution
If you're looking for the cheapest possible smart TV streamer this Black Friday, look no further than the Roku LE at Walmart. This bare-bones streaming device is the most inexpensive Roku device currently available, perfect for a secondary TV where you don't care about having all the latest features.
The excellent Beats Studio Buds are down to $100 for Black Friday
That's an all-time low, so it's time to pull the trigger
Black Friday is in full swing and we're naturally seeing lots of good deals in the personal audio category. When we reviewed the Beats Studio Buds, Taylor's main gripe was that the price was a little high at $150. We've seen them go down as low as $125 since, but this latest deal smashes that out of the park.
Spotify's latest music video feature reminds us of something but we're not sure what
A vertical video feed — now where have I seen that before
Since TikTok rose to prominence, other apps have been scrambling for any sort of short video content they can get their hands on in order to shove it into a vertical video feed in a bid to get you hooked on its wares. Instagram has its Reels, YouTube peddles Shorts, and even Netflix gives us Fast Laughs. Not to be outdone, Spotify has arrived somewhat late to the party with its new Discover tab.
Nab a future-proofed TicWatch E3 or Pro 3 for 30% off, but you need to act fast
These deals run out today so don't hang around
When Google and Samsung partnered up to announce the next evolution of Wear OS, we were all wondering just how many existing Android smartwatches would be upgraded to the new platform. As it turns out, very few will get the update, but two of Mobvoi's most recent wearables are among the lucky ones. The TicWatch E3 and Pro 3 belong to an exclusive (read: short) list of Wear OS watches we'd actually recommend buying, and they're currently 30% off, but only for the next 14 hours at the time of writing.
Google Wallpapers gets three stunning new 3D designs
Celebrate National Native American Heritage Month with these new backgrounds
There's only one section of the Google Wallpapers app that's regularly updated with fresh backgrounds and thankfully it's got plenty of good stuff in it. Google uses the Curated Culture collection to celebrate various holidays, and the latest selection of three new walls coincides with National Native American Heritage Month.
The OnePlus Nord 2 Pac-Man Edition could be the best smartphone collaboration ever
This playful limited-edition phone even glows in the dark
OnePlus is no stranger to limited-edition devices, with several McLaren-branded phones under its belt as well as eye-catching tie-ins with the likes of Star Wars and Cyberpunk 2077. Its latest collaboration with Japanese game publisher Bandai Namco has spawned the most fun smartphone of the year. Announced a few days ago without being fully revealed, we've now had a chance to go hands-on with the OnePlus Nord 2 x Pac-Man Edition, and it's another welcome blast of video game nostalgia.
Notification badges, or dots, have long been a feature of Android homescreens, allowing you to easily see which apps have new things for you to interact with. Indeed, most operating systems have some version of this, sometimes with unread counts baked in, as is the case with iOS. A new test found as part of Google Messages seems to show that the Mountain View company is looking to add a similar unread dot inside the app to better highlight chats that demand your attention.
Latest Google Camera update brings Pixel 6 settings to older Pixel phones
Timer light, optional exposure controls, and a clearer settings shortcut are among the changes
The Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro launched with plenty of exciting new camera features, and while not all of those will trickle down to older Pixel phones, some improvements to the Google Camera app usually do arrive at some point. That time appears to be now, as the latest version of the app brings a few little quality of life changes to the camera experience on Pixel 5 phones and earlier.
Magic Eraser returns to the Google Pixel 6
After a brief and accidental hiatus, Google Photos restores its most exciting feature
Software development is a precarious business, as Google knows probably better than anybody else. One of the company's most recent blunders saw the nifty new Magic Eraser tool disappear from Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones when a borked version of Google Photos was rolled out. You could avoid losing the feature by simply not updating the app, but Google's latest update fixes the issue and restores the tool to its former glory.
Everything I hate about Google's new Material You design system
Google's new design system still has a long way to go
Android 12 has been lauded as the biggest redesign to the OS since its inception, largely thanks to Google’s new Material You design system. It’s all about big, rounded shapes and bold dynamic colors — a quintessentially Googley design language that looked as though it would be an exciting update, at first glance. And while there are lots of positive aspects to Material You, as Manuel points out, I believe there are also a few reasons to be less enthusiastic.
Latest Google Docs feature would have been really handy while writing your thesis
Automated citations are coming soon
The Google Workspace team is adding a nifty new feature for Google Docs that will sure come in handy for anybody writing a long piece of school or college work. Adding citations to your thesis will soon be an absolute breeze thanks to a new online search function that automatically fills in attributes, saving you a bunch of time.
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Google Home returns as a smart home platform that's actually exciting
The new name for Google's smart home developer platform and tools
It's been a couple of years since Google started to retire the Google Home branding in favor of Google Nest, which has even led to its own employees getting the names mixed up. Not content to leave it at that, the company is now bringing the Google Home name back, but this time it's not for a physical product, but rather a rebranding of its smart home developer platform and tools. While this may be confusing, there are actually some exciting aspects to talk about.
These Pixel 6 Magic Eraser real-world demos are starting to look a little more impressive
We'll still need to try it for ourselves
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Ever since Google first demoed its smart object removal feature back at I/O in 2017, we’ve been dying to get our hands on it. After some setbacks and more than four years of waiting, it’s finally arrived as Magic Eraser on the Pixel 6 series. Reviewers are technically not allowed to share photo samples from the new phones just yet, but the first example has already surfaced, and it’s not especially good news.
Real Tone on Pixel 6 tries to make smartphone photography finally not suck for people of color
Google takes on historical racial bias in camera technology after admitting past failures
Google has just fully unveiled its latest flagship smartphones, and the Pixel 6 series comes with a number fascinating new software features to enhance the camera experience. As well as headline tools such as Magic Eraser and Face Deblur, there’s one feature that stands out as even more important — it’s called Real Tone, and it’s designed to deliver photographs that are fairer to everyone, no matter their skin tone.
Google is reportedly hoping to double its phone shipments with the Pixel 6 series
That’s quite the increase, but still pales in comparison to the iPhone
According to a new report, Google is hopeful that the Pixel 6 series will help it roughly double its smartphone sales in 2021. The Mountain View company only produced 3.7 million phones last year, but it has apparently ordered 7 million units of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, so it’s optimistic about the success of its latest flagships.
Nokia's latest budget phone has a monstrous screen and two-day battery life
It's the Finnish company's cheapest 5G phone and the largest at this price point
HMD Global just keeps on pumping out reasonably-priced Android phones, with its latest model being the Nokia G50. It's immediately clear which niche this handset is targetting — it's the company's cheapest 5G phone yet, and with an HD+ display measuring 6.82 inches diagonally, it's the largest of its kind in this budget price range.
OnePlus Nord 2 review, one month later: Good phone, bad cameraphone
Inconsistent cameras scupper an otherwise decent experience
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The original OnePlus Nord launched with much fanfare, promising a return to the flagship killing days the company had long since left behind. That first phone delivered excellent value for money, but subsequent devices in the Nord series have mostly left us scratching our heads (with the possible exception of the N200). Nord 2 5G is a true successor that comes at us from a slightly different angle. It’s the first OnePlus phone with a MediaTek processor and — at least on paper — it doesn’t seem to imbue the same excitement as its predecessor.