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Google's AI-powered Duet features are now available for Workspace accounts — and they're expensive
Taking some of the work out of your work for $30 a month
Duet AI for Google Workspace is Google's suite of generative AI tools for its Workspace apps, including features like AI-generated text in Gmail and Google Docs, or bespoke generated imagery for Google Slides, meant to eliminate some of the drudgery from increasingly bloated white-collar jobs. Introduced in at I/O this spring, the features have had a waitlist for early access for quite some time. Today, Google's announced that general availability for Duet AI for Google Workspace has begun.
Listening to Spotify with Bluetooth multipoint headphones sucks
Two convenient features butt heads to create a very inconvenient user experience
Multipoint connectivity is supposed to let you connect one audio device — generally a pair of earbuds or headphones — to two audio sources at the same time. The audio device then chooses which source to tune into based on which one most recently started playing media. For instance, if you're watching a YouTube video on your laptop, then start a music stream or answer a call on your phone, your headphones automatically pause the YouTube video and swap to the audio on your phone. This all happens without much user intervention. In cliché tech parlance, it just works — or at least, it's supposed to.
Google will soon tell you the cheapest time to book your flight
Feel more justified in waiting until the last minute
One of the most useful features of Google's flight shopping tool has always been the ability to estimate when booking a given trip will be most economical. Now, Google is leaning into that use case with a new feature that explicitly spells out when flights are expected to more affordable.
Here's our first look at Google Photos Locked Folder backup in action
Video of the upcoming feature confirms it'll be opt-in
In summer 2021, Google Photos introduced a feature called Locked Folder that hides select photos from your timeline so you don't accidentally share sensitive info, either in person or online. Photos moved to Locked Folder aren't currently backed up, however, so if you move to a new phone without manually moving those images over, you risk losing them forever. But back in February, we learned that Locked Folder would eventually be getting a cloud backup feature — and now, we've got a sneak peek of backup in action.
Amazon's new, wider-angle Blink Outdoor 4 security cam is available now
A wider field of view and on-device image processing for $120
Amazon's Blink Outdoor (3rd Gen) has been one of our favorite outdoor security cameras for some time. Now, as that camera approaches its third birthday, Amazon's releasing an updated version: the Blink Outdoor 4 is available starting today for $120. The new model is largely the same as the last one, sporting updates like enhanced night vision, better motion detection, and on-device image processing that can identify people — but that hardware-level feature is, annoyingly, limited to Blink Subscription Plan holders.
The Find My network is one of the biggest perks of the Apple ecosystem. With it, you can track the last known location of practically all of your Apple products. You can quickly and easily see on a map where your iPhone, AirPods Pro, or Apple Watch is, often in real time, and for tracking anything else, you can set up an Apple AirTag.
Google Pixel Buds Pro vs. Pixel Buds A-Series: Which buds are best for you?
Do the Google Pixel Buds Pro's upgrades over the Pixel Buds A-Series justify the steep price increase?
Last year, Google introduced a premium tier for its true wireless earbuds lineup with the Pixel Buds Pro, following up three generations of Pixel Buds that never quite hit their stride. With the new flagship, Google's Pixel Buds lineup takes its place among the best wireless earbuds.
New Google listing gives us our most official look at Pixel Watch 2 specs yet
We've heard most of this before, but not from a Google source
Leaks around Google's upcoming Pixel Watch 2 are heating up. Google is yet to publicly confirm that its first smartwatch is getting a sequel at all, but this morning, as reported by 9to5Google, a smartwatch under codename Eos showed up in an official Android developer resource, seemingly confirming a number of high-level details about the wearable's hardware and software. There are no bombshell revelations here, but given the source on this info is Google itself, it's the most credible information about the Pixel Watch 2 we've seen so far.
Samsung Galaxy A53 vs. Google Pixel 6a: Which is better?
Mid-range phones from Samsung and Google, head to head
Even though the Google Pixel 7a and Samsung Galaxy A54 5G have been released, the Pixel 6a and Galaxy A53 still provide impressive value, as the mid-rangers of last year become available at a budget price this year. These phones were among the best budget Android phones of 2022, but which one should you choose for 2023?
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch: Substance or style?
It really depends on your priorities
Google and Samsung have collectively spearheaded the Wear OS renaissance we're currently living through. Both company's new offerings are excellent smartwatches, but for very different reasons.
Google's cooking up a new way to interact with Assistant on Wear OS
Quick access to custom Assistant actions, right on your wrist
Wear OS will soon be getting a new Google Assistant app Tile, according to an APK teardown from 9to5Google. Judging by strings found in the latest version of the Assistant app for Wear OS, this new Tile will show "chips" for custom Google Assistant actions, letting users create a list of shortcuts to their most-used commands.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra review: The best big Android tablet
A killer media machine, but you'll pay for the privilege
Samsung's hardware seems to have peaked recently: the company's phones, smartwatches, and tablets all get just a little better with each new release. The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is no exception. It's almost indistinguishable from the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra Samsung released in early 2022, with the same 14.6-inch AMOLED display, the same size and shape, the same quad speakers... you get the idea.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 vs. Tab S7: Should you upgrade?
Money isn't the only factor when selecting a shiny new tablet
Samsung makes many of the best Android tablets you can buy, but for the past few years, a lot of Samsung's generation-to-generation hardware updates have been very iterative. The company's 2022 tablet release, the 11-inch Galaxy Tab S8, is still a great pick if you're in the market for a new Android tablet right now, but if you have a Tab S7 lying around, you may be curious whether springing for an upgrade would be worth it. The unsatisfying short answer is that it depends on what you expect out of your tablet and how well the one you already have is holding up.
After a premature announcement and a short delay, the beta for Samsung's One UI 6 is now open to users with S23-series phones. Based on Android 14, One UI 6 brings a number of small improvements to Galaxy devices: new widgets, tweaked functionality, and plenty of updated visual elements. One UI 6 is shaping up to be yet another incremental step forward for Samsung's Android skin, but many of the changes being introduced are solid — and with a lot of aesthetic changes, One UI is feeling fresher than it has in years. Here are all the big changes we've spotted so far.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic review: Iteration with a twist
Mostly minor improvements from the Watch 5, but a fan-favorite feature returns
Back in 2021, after years of stagnation, Samsung and Google jointly kicked off a sort of relaunch of Wear OS with the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. The watches were both Samsung's first to run on Wear OS and the first watches from any manufacturer to feature the redesigned Wear OS 3. With great performance and exciting new software, the wearables were a hit.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch 5: It's all in the margins
Samsung's newest wearable is great, but so is last year's
Another year, another generation of Samsung wearables. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series has been officially unveiled at Samsung's Unpacked event in Korea, and it offers what looks like moderate upgrades over last year's Watch 5 devices. That's not necessarily a bad thing: the Galaxy Watch 5 has been our favorite Wear OS watch for nearly a year now, and a better version is, well, better. If you're wondering whether the year-over-year differences are worth springing for an upgrade, you're in the right place. Here's how Samsung's new Galaxy Watch 6 stacks up to last year's Galaxy Watch 5.
Samsung announced a whole mess of new hardware at its Galaxy Unpacked event in Korea today, including two foldable phones, and not one, not two, but three new tablets. It also unveiled its newest wearables: the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. There's no new Pro watch this year; the higher-end Galaxy Watch 6 model is a sequel to 2021's Galaxy Watch 4 Classic — and the leaks were right, it does come with a clicky, rotating bezel. Thank goodness.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6: News, specs, price, and release date
Everything you need to know about Samsung's latest watches
We've been eagerly watching leaks and rumors for months, but the wait is finally over: Samsung has taken the wraps off the Galaxy Watch 6 series at its Galaxy Unpacked event in Korea. As a follow-up to the excellent (if predictable) Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 series, the Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic have a lot to live up to. Here's everything you need to know about Samsung's latest wearables.
How your car uses Bluetooth, UWB, NFC, and similar wireless technologies
New cars are basically big computers on wheels, complete with tons of wireless radios
Automotive tech has come a long way in the past couple of decades. From Bluetooth media playback to ultra-wideband-powered virtual car keys, new cars are brimming with all kinds of wireless technology. Here's the lowdown on what technologies like Wi-Fi, NFC, and UWB do in cars.
Chromecast turns 10 today: Google's first-gen streaming dongle launched on July 24, 2013. Chromecast hardware has taken a few forms over the years — several TV streamers with and without Google TV, and even the one-off Chromecast Audio — and the occasion has us wondering where Google will take it next.