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113

Five notable times Google probably pissed you off
Why do you hurt us like this, Google?

Ryan Whitwam Ryan Whitwam
Five notable times Google probably pissed you off

There's a reason Google has become one of the most important companies on the internet: its core products like Gmail and search are great—when was the last time you looked something up with anything other than Google? And then there's Android, which under Google's stewardship has become the largest computing platform on Earth with devices ranging in price from dirt cheap to obscenely expensive. But Google doesn't always make the right call. In fact, it has royally screwed up on numerous occasions. Here are five of the worst Google missteps, as chosen by the AP staff in a spirited Slack debate.

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268

The Pixel 5 costs way too much, and I don't care
It's been a long time since I loved a phone like this

Michael Crider Michael Crider
The Pixel 5 costs way too much, and I don't care

I've been using the Pixel 5 I bought for myself for about half a year now. I'm kind of in love with it. Which is weird, because I'm in a definite minority among the Android Police staff. I'm going to take a few minutes to completely disagree with my editor-in-chief's assessment of the latest Google hardware… it's not like it would be the first time.

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41

The smart light bulb problem no one is talking about
A certified lack of consistency

Ryne Hager Ryne Hager
The smart light bulb problem no one is talking about

Kitting out my new house with smart home gadgets has been a blast coming from the rigid confines of a rented apartment. But one particular issue affecting the simplest of all smart home hardware is driving me a little nuts. I was actually a little shocked to see it hasn't been talked about more, and while I wrestle with trying to get hardware that behaves a little better, I'd like to rant for the public record about how inconsistent smart bulbs are.

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26

Is it too late to buy a Pixel 4a in 2021?
Hell no

Ryne Hager Ryne Hager
Is it too late to buy a Pixel 4a in 2021?

The Pixel 4a has been out for seven months now, and leaks for a successor are beginning. It's usually at around this time that a phone starts to be a bad deal. Halfway through the typical year-long retail-available life, the launch price value proposition for most phones starts to wane. But the Pixel 4a bucks that trend, and I don't think it's too late to buy one. In fact, based on the leaks for the Pixel 5a, many of our readers may even want to pick one up now rather than wait.

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All the new movies and early theater releases you can watch at home right now
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Let us send you a free smartphone wallpaper every week
74
Google has announced the Pixel 5a 5G, but most of the world won't get to buy it
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27 temporarily free and 42 on-sale apps and games for Friday
21

This is the only way I can keep my sanity while doomscrolling on Twitter
Dogs (and cats) galore!

Rita El Khoury Rita El Khoury
This is the only way I can keep my sanity while doomscrolling on Twitter

My relationship with Twitter has ebbed and flowed a lot since I first joined the service in 2008. There were years when I was happily engaging with every follower and forging beautiful friendships that transcend time and distance, and years when I nearly disconnected completely, preferring to invest my time and efforts in in-person relationships. Now I live somewhere in the middle: I check Twitter a couple of times per day and I engage every now and then. I'd love to avoid using Twitter altogether, but sadly, doomscrolling is the best way to stay in touch with what's happening in Lebanon (the local news are a joke) and catch up on other tidbits of tech and medical news.

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47

The best smart home control apps for your Android phone
For those times when using your voice isn't an option (or you don't want it to be)

Hagop Kavafian Hagop Kavafian
The best smart home control apps for your Android phone

This story was originally published and last updated . 

Controlling your smart devices with a speaker is very convenient, especially when you're busy cooking or are far from your phone. Most importantly, Alexa and Assistant work with a great number of devices and allow you to control all of them without worrying about which bulb or plug works with what platform.

Sadly, there are times when using your voice isn't a great option, either because your "smart" speaker isn't so intelligent and doesn't get what you're saying, or you just want to be keep things silent.

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96

Should you buy a Chromebook?
Maybe. But you need to be knee-deep into Google's ecosystem to get the most out of it.

Manuel Vonau Manuel Vonau
Should you buy a Chromebook?

This story was originally published and last updated . 

Chromebooks are on the rise. Chrome OS machines have been selling like hotcakes since 2020, and they've proven to be reliable and often affordable laptops for anyone learning or working from home. But many people are still asking themselves: Is a Chromebook really a good choice for me? In this article, we're exploring when you should buy a Chromebook, what limitations there are, and what has improved over the last year.

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148

Switching from MacBook to Chromebook: A year later
It's the little things

Manuel Vonau Manuel Vonau
Switching from MacBook to Chromebook: A year later

This story was originally published and last updated . 

A year ago, I decided to retire my aging 2013 MacBook Air in favor of an HP Chromebook x360. I haven't turned my back on Apple completely and I'm still using a 2019 iMac at my desk, but for my mobile needs (well, more like working-from-the-kitchen-table needs given the pandemic), I've been using my Chromebook. Chrome OS changed quite a bit since I got the machine, and there are a lot of features I genuinely enjoy, but there's still a few little things that itch me enough that make me want to switch back to a MacBook.

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34

Opinion: It's too soon to tell what Android 12 will be, but it will be big

Ryne Hager Ryne Hager
Opinion: It's too soon to tell what Android 12 will be, but it will be big

Yesterday, we got our very first glimpse at the latest version of Android, but if someone handed a Pixel running it to you right now, you'd be forgiven for confusing it with Android 11. Beneath that lightly altered exterior, with its developer-facing changes, notification tweaks, and subtly adjusted colors, a whole lot more is waiting to happen. And with the unfinished nature of those hidden changes, it's way too early to tell precisely what kind of an impact Android 12 will have — but it will be big.

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152

Samsung Pay is just not worth using without MST
The end of MST payments is the end of good reasons to use Samsung Pay

Max Weinbach Max Weinbach
Samsung Pay is just not worth using without MST

The title says it all: Without MST support, there's just no reason to use Samsung Pay. Over the past year or so, Samsung has effectively stripped Samsung Pay of its most compelling features, but its saving grace was MST — the technology that allowed Samsung phones to mimic a magnetic credit card strip, making them compatible with legacy payment terminals. But Samsung's latest smartphones, the Galaxy S21 series, debuted without MST this year — and all that's left of Samsung Pay is a bloated, ad infested app that compares poorly to Google Pay.

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