Category: Google

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Why Google’s Pixel 4a still has a chance

Not so long ago, Apple caught almost everyone by a surprise with their latest iPhone, the iPhone SE. The formula is very simple: old-school hardware, upgraded internals for cheap. And in an era where a $900 OnePlus 8 Pro is considered a great value for the money, a $400 brand new iPhone looked like the bargain of the century. I, for one, believed that Apple might have stolen Google’s thunder before even releasing their own Pixel 4a. But, as the dust settled, I began to think otherwise. Without further ado, here is where the Google Pixel 4a could give the iPhone SE a good run for its money.

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The Pixel 5 might not be a flagship, and that’s a good thing

Despite newer generations of mid-range smartphones proving to suit the needs of more people, some people still find the urge to shell out some extra cash on flagship hardware inexcusable. In the past, there was a gulf between both tiers in terms of some crucial aspects, most notably in terms of performance. Fortunately, this difference started to diminish gradually over the years, with mid-range processors becoming more and more capable every generation, and manufacturers bringing more premium features to its mid-range phones lineup. Curiously, Google and LG seem to have recognized how capable newer mid-range processors have become. And if the latest rumors are to be believed, it looks like Google’s upcoming Pixel 5 will be a “premium mid-tier” smartphone instead of being a fully-fledged flagship. While that might upset the tech enthusiasts or the so-called power users a bit, I think this might have just made the Pixel 5 a more appealing offer to the overwhelming majority of average consumers. 

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How to install Android 11 Developer Preview on the Essential Phone

Last month, Google pulled the trigger and released the first Developer Preview build of Android 11 a little bit earlier than much of us anticipated. While it was an exciting prospect to be on the very bleeding edge, it was a bit of a mixed bag more than anything. Shortly after, Google released another Developer Preview build, ironing out some of the bugs reported in the initial release. This indeed is the ultimate gift to entertain all of the geeky owners of the Pixel 4, 3a, 3 and 2 devices during their quarantine (may the Pixel 1 rest in peace). And despite Essential pulling the plug on the PH-1, declaring no further support beyond the February security update, it’s fair to say Essential’s engineers were a bit too stubborn to let it go, treating their geeky users with the biggest surprise yet: Android 11 support. Here is a simple procedure to install the latest Developer Preview build of Android 11 on the legendary Essential PH-1. 

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Google acquires Fitbit for $2.1 billion, still commits to investing in Wear OS

Chances are, you’ve heard of Fitbit. They’re one of the leaders in the wearable market for health and activity trackers. Today, Google announced that it will be buying Fitbit as a whole for $2.1 billion. It’s also important to note that this isn’t Alphabet, Google’s parent company, acquiring them. Fitbit will fall under the Google brand, just like Nest and all other Google products.

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Weekend Poll: What is your favorite Made by Google product of 2019?

Nearly two weeks ago, Google announced its new lineup of Made by Google hardware. This included Stadia, Google’s cloud gaming service; Pixel Buds (2nd Gen), truly wireless earbuds; Pixelbook Go, a premium yet traditional clamshell Chromebook; Nest Mini, a more powerful and versatile Home Mini; Nest Wifi, a Google Wifi router and Google Home speaker combined; and, of course, the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, Google’s latest flagship smartphones.

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Opinion: Android 10’s new gestural navigation is far from ideal

Back in 2017, Apple kickstarted a new trend of UI navigation on our phones via dedicated navigation gestures instead of using on-screen buttons (or a dedicated button tucked in the bottom bezel in the case of the iPhones). There’s no denying the fact that there was a somewhat steep learning curve to go through before getting used to the new navigation gestures on the iPhone X. But ultimately, this became the new trend going forwards that all OEMs sought to join. Google had a go at it the following year, though Android Pie’s navigation gestures looked like a hasty attempt to announce Android as a native supporter of gestural navigation. This year though, Google went back to the drawing board and gave it a more serious thought.

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Redditor details how to enable RCS messaging on any carrier and device with Google Messages

RCS (Rich Communication Services) deployment over the last 3 years seems to have been progressing at a snails pace. Just recently, the big four US carriers announced the formation of the “Cross-Carrier Messaging Initiative” (CCMI) with the goal of bringing RCS to Android by 2020. Most frustratingly, there are plans for a new app and the carriers don’t seem to be collaborating with Google at all.

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