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You've been able to install a launcher shortcut for Google Assistant from the Play Store for a while now, but we've started receiving reports that the icon has been showing up unexpectedly in the launchers of people who haven't done that.
Nokia-branded devices accounted for 3.5 percent of European smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2018, according to industry analysis firm Canalys. That puts Nokia in fifth place with 1.6 million devices shipped. This is despite an overall decline of 6.3 percent in smartphone shipments during the same period.
Google has released a set of tools that help developers more easily create apps in line with both their own brand identity and the evolving Material Design guidelines. The Material Theme Editor, available as a plugin for the macOS design app Sketch, automatically applies consistent thematic changes to things like buttons, fonts, and color palettes throughout an app.
The fine folks over at 9to5Google are reporting that the Pixel Buds have gained a feature that allows for spoken notifications to be toggled on or off on a per-app basis. Spoken notifications could already be broadly enabled or disabled, but previously, it'd been a one-size-fits-all situation.
Gmail Smart Compose, a nifty new feature that predicts what you're going to type and fills it in with a press of the tab key, is going live. It's only available on the desktop version of the new Gmail, and to use it, you'll have to enable experimental features in Gmail's settings.
In 2016, we called the JBL Everest Elite 700s' $300 MSRP "a decent price point." Then, in February of this year, refurbished models were going for $120 on Woot. That was a good deal. Now they're $69.99 on Woot, which is a heck of a deal.
When Android P's first developer preview dropped in March, we noticed a number of changes to the app info settings page. Among the more bizarre was that the option to force stop an app had been relegated to the three-dot overflow menu in the top-right corner. Developer Preview 2 is out today, though, and good news, everyone: it's back to where it makes sense.
Google wants to make Maps a more personal experience. The platform is getting some new features focused on highlighting places and activities Google's algorithms think you'll like, including a new "For you" tab that's an automatically-populated list of spots you might want to check out.
Qualcomm announced today that it's working with Google to get Android P to more devices, sooner. The chipmaker had early access to the new OS version, allowing it to optimize its Snapdragon 845, 660, and 636 processors "to ensure readiness for OEMs to upgrade to Android P at the time of launch."
You don't have to be nice to AI assistants. As long as they can understand you, they'll generally do what you ask, regardless of how you ask it. Some parents have been concerned that that might encourage their kids to be rude and demanding to actual people, so Google came up with a way to safeguard against that. It's called Pretty Please.
Anker's latest addition to its Soundcore line of audio products, the Flare, is available now. The Flare is a cylindrical Bluetooth speaker that pumps out sound in all directions. It's water resistant and has a customizable light strip around the base, if you're into that sort of thing. Anker purports the Flare can manage up to 12 hours of continuous use on a charge.
Back in March, ever-determined to give users multiple ways to do everything, Google rolled out the ability to subscribe and listen to podcasts directly in the Google app. Now, you're conveniently able to download clips for offline listening by tapping a "Download episode" button in the episode's description.
Adobe Photoshop Express has added a handful of useful new features. In an update this week, the mobile photo editor got the ability to automatically adjust the perspective of wonky photos with a single tap, as well as a vignette slider and a couple of quality-of-life improvements.
It looks like Google's got a new direction in mind for its News platform. Sources tell Ad Age that the service is set for an overhaul that will incorporate more videos, functionality similar to that of Google Play Newsstand, and behind-the-scenes changes to make articles load faster. The changes will affect the Google News website on desktop and mobile, as well as introduce an updated app.
In the market for an action cam? Here's something: the YI 4K+/60fps Action Camera is on sale at Amazon for just $229.99 with a coupon code. It even comes with a waterproof case so you can safely capture all your whitewater kayaking high jinks.Enter coupon code 4PV2NDFC at checkout for that sweet, sweet savings. Amazon reviews of the camera are largely positive, with more than half giving it a five-star rating. We reviewed the non-plus version of this camera in 2016 and concluded that GoPro should be worried—and it probably still should be. The GoPro Hero 6 is also capable of 4K video at 60fps, but it's currently sitting at about 400 bucks on Amazon, so this comparable Yi model really is a bargain.There's a companion app on the Play Store that functions as a live viewfinder for the camera and has some photo and video editing tools, plus social features that allow you to "Enjoy interesting works" and "find charming persons," if you're into that sort of thing.[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xiaomi.xy.sportscamera[/EMBED_APP]Source: AmazonVia: Slickdeals
Autodesk SketchBook is now completely free. Up until this month, certain features—the majority of the app's brush presets, for example—were only available as part of a subscription plan that cost $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year. The full feature set does still require an Autodesk account, but that's also free.
Sling's $5-per-month Cloud DVR service is expanding to a number of new devices. Subscribers can now watch their stored shows in the Chrome browser and on any screen that functions as a Chromecast receiver, as well as on Xbox One, LG smart TVs, and Samsung smart TVs from 2016 or later.
Before Amazon became the go-to place to buy literally anything you want, the company made a name for itself largely by selling physical books. Now, the online retail giant has a neat new service in keeping with its history: Prime Book Box is a subscription plan that will send you a box of either two or four child-friendly books every one, two, or three months for $22.99 per box—at a savings of "up to 35% off List Price."Shoppers can choose the age range the child they're shopping for is in; the box for the youngest range, baby to two years, comes with four board books per box. The others—three to five, six to eight, and nine to 12—all come with two hardcover books. Books are curated for the age ranges by Amazon, and parents can choose specific books for each box from a list or opt for random selections.[EMBED_YT]https://youtu.be/nCBomyfIQDM[/EMBED_YT]Amazon bills Prime Book Box as "The love of reading, delivered." Plans don't require a commitment—except, of course, an Amazon Prime subscription—and you can skip a scheduled box or cancel your subscription whenever you want.Three cheers for encouraging kids to read.Source: Amazon
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Samsung announced today that customers in the US will soon be able to purchase its Galaxy S9 and S9+ phones with more storage. Variants of the phones with both 128 and 256 gigabytes of internal storage will be available to pre-order beginning tomorrow, May 1, and will be on sale May 18.
Sony's follow-up to 2016's Xperia Ear, the Xperia Ear Duo, is available to pre-order right now on Amazon, and will be on sale there and at b8ta on May 25. Introduced in February, Xperia Ear Duo is a fully wireless headset with a unique under-ear design.The Duo supports actions you'd expect of any Bluetooth headset, like controlling media and answering incoming calls, plus accessing Google Assistant. Like other fully wireless headsets, the set comes with a charging case that provides up to three full charges, each charge powering up to four hours of usage or 22 hours of standby time. They're designed to allow ambient sound in, sort of like open-back headphones—which is good for safety, but not so good for shutting out a noisy environment.Sony Xperia Ear Duo shown with charging case, USB cable, and multiple sizes of tips.