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The amount Google must pay the European Commission for its latest antitrust fine has now been revealed as a record 4.34 billion euros ($5.06 billion). That figure dwarfs the $2.7 billion fine Google previously received for giving preferential treatment to its own shopping comparison tools in searches.
At the moment, it's possible to sync the payment cards you have in Google Pay with Chrome's autofill feature. This is incredibly handy for when you make purchases online, especially on sites that don't have Google Pay as a payment option. Unfortunately, it's not possible to sync your data the other way, from Chrome to Pay, but it looks like that functionality will be added in the near future.
Finding the right job is pretty hard, as I'm sure we can all attest to. It's also not an easy task for employers looking to find the best candidates, as proven by the statistic that 75% of them struggle to hire people who are the right fit. In the US, Spain, and some parts of Africa, Google has offered a service built right into Search that aids users in their job hunt. It's now coming to the UK.
It only started out three years ago, as a celebration of Amazon's 20th birthday, but Prime Day has now turned into the summer's biggest day for deals. With plenty of other retailers now joining in to grab a slice of the lucrative pie, the discounts are even beginning to rival those we see on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
If you don't entirely keep track of all the designer labels and their various smartwatch releases (like me), you may not have been aware of the Emporio Armani Connected Wear OS device. Well, now we know, and just in time to learn about the latest watch from the Italian fashion house.
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Canary is known for its popular smart home security cameras, but it's now adding a new feature to its app that'll help keep you safe when out and about, too. It's joining forces with Noonlight, a service that integrates with other connected platforms such as Google Home, IFTTT, and Alexa to trigger emergency responses when you're in danger.
A couple of months ago, we reported that Twitter was testing a bottom navigation bar in its Android app. This came as no surprise since many apps from Google and others have been following this UI trend in response to the ever-increasing size of our smartphones. Twitter has now announced, on Twitter, that the test is over and the bottom navigation bar is here to stay.
At the start of the year, Sony unveiled two new mid-range smartphones in the Xperia XA2 and XA2 Ultra. They offered familiar Sony stylings, with chunky bezels and squared off corners, but the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chips and rear fingerprint sensors represented a considerable improvement over their XA1 predecessors.
Since Android 8.1 (even 8.0 on Pixel phones), the OS has had a divisive prompt that warns you if you toggle mobile data on or off using the quick settings toggle. Personally, I find this useful, since I never turn data off intentionally. If I do, it's probably by mistake, so this extra step is a good way of mitigating against that risk.
It's been a while since there's been any excitement surrounding Wear OS, the artist formally known as Android Wear, with no notable recent hardware releases outside of expensive fashion products. The OS itself is feeling dated and has arguably never really been fit for purpose; the platform really needs some attention from Google if it's to escape a slow, boring death.Peering through all the doom and gloom, however, Google-backed Mobvoi is launching a follow up to its well-received, affordable S and E smartwatches. Both the Sport and Express were sub-$200 models made from plastic and rubber, but the TicWatch Pro we first heard about in May is a different proposition. This is a premium wearable device with a premium $249.99 price tag.
Build quality is clearly superior this time around, with a stainless steel (SUS) bezel and rear cover, a glass fiber-reinforced nylon case, and a hybrid silicone/Italian leather strap. There are two hardware buttons that can be used to call up the Google Assistant, open the app list, activate Google Pay, and more (through various taps or long-presses). The lower button can also be customized to launch an app of your choice.The headline feature of the TicWatch Pro is its Layered Display, composed of a transparent FSTN (Film compensated Super Twisted Nematic) LCD display that sits on top of the main OLED panel. This allows certain information — time, date, step count, and heart rate — to be visible at all times without much impact on battery life.
If you want to eke out the most longevity possible, Essential Mode uses only the low-power secondary display. According to Mobvoi, that can achieve battery life of somewhere between 5-30 days, although the cost is not having any "smart" features at your disposal. In Smart Mode, a more usual 2 days of battery life is expected, and Essential Mode can be set to turn on at low battery, much like Battery Saver on an Android phone.
With the launch of the second developer preview of Android back in May, Google added a surprising and useful feature to the Overview interface. You could highlight and copy text and also make use of Android's smart text selection functionality. Optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities meant you could also pull text from images.
Towards the end of last year, Netflix raised its prices in the US, with the most expensive option (Ultra HD, 4 screens) increasing from $11.99 to $13.99. In Europe, that top tier costs €13.99 (£9.99 in the UK). Thankfully, it doesn't look like Netflix is planning to hike its current subscription prices any further, but a new even higher tier could be on the way.
A couple of months ago, we heard that Google was working on an updated UI for Chrome's omnibox. Colorful images and brief descriptions were being tested when you searched something in the Chrome URL bar, and this was a welcome change from the sea of white and gray that would normally be seen. Further improvements are also on the way, with favicons being introduced next to bookmarked pages.
At the start of this month, WhatsApp added some new features to group conversations in the beta version of the Android app. Those features and more are now rolling out to everyone in the stable channel, and they include expanded admin controls, group catch-up, and participant search.
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- We've now got the Uber Lite APK over at APK Mirror. We also have its Play Store link, though it's not live to the public yet. If you're in the US, don't bother downloading it; all you'll see is the screenshot below (with some rather poor English).
Scaled down versions of apps are nothing new; Google has made plenty of "Go" apps specifically for emerging markets where internet connections are unreliable, phones are generally less capable, and plans offer less data. Uber is now getting in on the act, too.
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If you use Instagram, there's a good chance you've tried out Stories, which lets you send timely updates to your followers in photo or video form. It's probably to blame for the waning interest in Snapchat and has had a steady stream of feature updates such as sharing from other apps. So it's not at all surprising to learn that Instagram Stories now has 400 million daily users.
At the start of the year, Harman announced a slew of new audio products from sub-brands JBL, AKG, and Harman Kardon. To us, the most interesting of those are the three that integrate the Google Assistant, and they're now available to pre-order on the JBL site.
Many of us are perfectly happy with the fingerprint scanner positioned on the back of our phones — where there's plenty of room even as bezels on the front shrink. However, under-display sensors continue to be heralded as the next great innovation in mobile tech. Vivo has shown everyone else what's possible and other OEMs are sure to follow suit, hoping that the wow-factor alone will move consumers to get on board.
After the immense popularity of Pokemon Go, it's no surprise that the next game in the 22-year-old series has been hotly anticipated. Already out for Nintendo Switch, Pokemon Quest has now been released on Android (and iOS), and it's free to install. As with many games of this type, monetization is handled via in-app purchases.
Last month, Samsung announced four new Galaxy phones for the Indian market, including the A6, A6+, and J6. The fourth model, the Galaxy J8, will be available to purchase from tomorrow. For just INR 18,990 (around $277) you get a 6” HD+ super AMOLED Infinity display (18.5:9), dual rear cameras, and a design not dissimilar to Samsung's more expensive handsets.