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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.
Does your new car support wireless Android Auto?
Our compatibility list for cars with untethered infotainment
Android Auto, Google's smart driving companion software, is an invaluable tool for drivers. It allows you to seamlessly pair your phone to your car's infotainment screen and stay connected while on the road, all with a familiar, easy-to-navigate interface. While many vehicles that offer Android Auto require a wired USB connection between your car and phone, many newer models offer a wireless alternative to access the interface.
Nothing's first phone, aptly named Nothing Phone 1, was available in the UK, Europe, Japan, and India. As a US tech nerd, I was jealous. Competition in the Android space isn't quite as diverse here as it is in the places you can easily buy the Phone 1, and beyond its unique styling, Nothing's inaugural phone was widely praised as a good device at a good price. It felt like we were missing out.
My go-to Wear OS recommendation is an absolute steal for Prime Day
The best price on the best Wear OS watch
Wear OS is more exciting than it's been in years, with great watches available from a number of manufacturers. But Samsung, who kicked off the ongoing Wear OS renaissance back in 2021 with the Galaxy Watch 4, still leads with its Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 series. With killer performance and build quality, up-to-date software, and a quality 60Hz display, the Galaxy Watch 5 is my absolute favorite Wear OS watch right now — and at a new low price of just $152, it's a crazy good deal for Prime Day.
The Nothing Phone 2 has me excited about midrange phones again
Hands-on with Nothing's promising new $600 phone
After months of hype-building leaks and teasers, Nothing has finally launched its second phone, the Nothing Phone 2. The Phone 2 marks a big step forward for Nothing: while the company’s previous phone, the Phone 1, was only available in the UK, Europe, Japan, and India, the Phone 2 is the company’s first to be officially available in the infamously tough-to-crack US market. I’ve been using the phone about a week and a half, and while I can’t share a full review just yet, I do have some early impressions.
This $250 Prime Day deal finally makes the Pixel Watch worth buying
Distinctive hardware and the latest Wear OS for just $250
Prime Day is a fantastic time to pick up discounted tech — especially gadgets that might feel overpriced at MSRP. In the Wear OS space, the Google Pixel Watch is a prime example (eh?). While we like Google's first smartwatch quite a bit, we also know that at its full price of $350, it's not a practical option compared to lower-cost alternatives. But for Prime Day, the Pixel Watch is down to $250. That's a whole $100 off, making this the lowest price we've ever seen on the wearable and one of the best Prime Day smartwatch deals this year.
How to set up Google Maps on your Fitbit Sense 2 or Versa 4
The Sense 2 and Versa 4 don't have Google Assistant, but they have Maps
The watch-style Fitbit Sense 2 and Fitbit Versa 4 were released in 2022, just months before the Google Pixel Watch. Sporting high prices compared to most fitness trackers and limited functionality compared to full-fledged smartwatches, the Sense and Versa aren't as easy to recommend as many of our favorite fitness trackers. However, they have a unique and useful feature among fitness trackers. They come with Google Maps integration that delivers detailed navigation directions to your wrist. Here's how to set it up.
One UI 5.1, Samsung's newest Android 13-based software experience, debuted on the Samsung Galaxy S23 series and has since made its way to phones in the Galaxy S22 and S21 series, among others. Samsung has become something of a software update hero in the Android world. Samsung's previous mobile software, One UI 5, wasn't a big change coming from One UI 4.1, and One UI 5.1 is an even more iterative update. Given that, you might be wondering what's changed. Here's everything you need to know about One UI 5.1.
WiiM Pro review: The Chromecast Audio Ultra we never got
Add all kinds of streaming smarts to your dumb speakers
Smart speakers are a dime a dozen anymore, and a lot of them sound great. But many of us still have regular ol' dumb speakers kicking around, plenty of which easily outperform their smarter cousins on audio quality. The $149 WiiM Pro streamer bridges that functionality gap by adding support for streaming audio through Chromecast, Alexa, AirPlay, and more to legacy audio setups. It won't appeal to everyone, but I think this thing is great: it's more or less the Chromecast Audio Ultra I've always wanted Google to make.
Google purchased fitness tracker legend Fitbit in 2019. In September 2022, Google announced that beginning in 2023, standalone Fitbit accounts will be phased out. This means Fitbit users eventually need to transfer their data to Google accounts to continue using Fitbit services. If you have a legacy Fitbit account, you still have time before you have to make the switch. But you can do it now. If you intend to use Fitbit in the future, you might as well get a head start. Here's how to transfer your Fitbit data into your Google account.
Google Pixel Tablet review: That first-gen feeling
It's a fine midranger, but the Pixel Tablet's best ideas are half-baked
We're all familiar with Google's rocky relationship with tablets: after early success with the affordable Nexus 7, the company struggled to maintain momentum. Following poor commercial and critical reception of 2018's ChromeOS-based Pixel Slate, Google gave up on tablet hardware altogether for quite some time.
The Google Pixel Watch's long-overdue blood oxygen tracking is finally here
An update that activates the watch's blood oxygen sensor is rolling out starting today
Google's Pixel Watch, like much of Google's hardware, has been sold partially on the promise that Google would continually improve the device with software updates that bring new and enhanced features over time. Today, as part of June's Pixel Feature Drop, Google's making good on that potential with a couple of crucial new features, including one that we expected to be ready months ago.
Google Photos is getting on-demand cinematic photo effects
You'll be able to add that fake zoom to any photo you want
Google started rolling out a "cinematic photo" effect in Google Photos back in 2020. The feature uses machine-learning smarts to add simulated depth and motion to static photos, ideally giving them a cinematic feeling. Until recently, Google Photos automatically applied this effect to whichever pictures it saw fit. But now, as reported on the Google News Telegram channel, some users are starting to see the option to create cinematic photos on demand.
Apple brings HomePod one step closer to full-featured YouTube Music support
Siri support for AirPlay is coming to YouTube Music
Apple's WWDC event kicked off yesterday. The majority of the keynote event was, of course, news for Apple's core audience, including details about new Mac hardware and the hotly anticipated (and wildly expensive) Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset. But tucked away in the corner of a single slide was a little morsel of good news for YouTube Music subscribers: as spotted by an eagle-eyed Redditor, Google's music streaming service is picking up support for Siri playback on HomePod speakers.
Early this month, Samsung announced that its next smartwatches would launch with a new version of the company's wearable software, One UI 5 Watch. At the time, Samsung also said that a beta of One UI 5 Watch would be available on Watch 4 and Watch 5 devices, with sign-ups set to begin before the end of May. Now, though, on the last day of the month, we're learning that that's not the case: the One UI 5 Watch beta has been delayed.
This Google Pixel Watch 2 upgrade could solve the first model's biggest problem
We could be in store for longer-lasting battery in Google's next wearable
On balance, the Google Pixel Watch is a great Wear OS device, but it's not entirely practical. The watch looks great and performs well, but battery life is a major miss, with the Pixel Watch struggling to make it a full day away from a charger. According to a report from 9to5Google, though, that could be changing in the next model, thanks to a new chipset from Qualcomm.
Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 review: Battery bliss
The TicWatch Pro 5 offers great performance and battery life, but it's not without its flaws
The past couple of years have been equal parts exciting and frustrating for Wear OS fans. While Samsung’s Wear OS-based Galaxy Watches and Google’s Pixel Watch have breathed new life into the platform, options from other players have stagnated, offering late and incomplete updates to the modern Wear OS 3.
The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 launches today with Wear OS 3.5 and monster battery life
Mobvoi promises 80 hours between top-ups
Late last month, a juicy Amazon leak told us pretty much everything there is to know about the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5. Per the leak, the watch was set to be the first to market with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chipset, sporting Wear OS 3 and a refreshed design featuring a rotating crown. Now, Mobvoi's confirmed that it was all true: the TicWatch Pro 5 is the watch we were expecting, and you can buy it starting today.