News and notes on the latest from Google.
Google has consistently released the first developer preview for the next version of Android well before Google I/O for the last two years so that developers can get a good idea of it before the conference, and this year is no different. This week, Google released the very first developer preview for the next Android version, Android P.
It’s March already, and another round of Google’s monthly security updates for its devices has arrived—this time with a functioning “check for update” button.
Last year, the Mountain View giant had its first go at making its own SoC in collaboration with Intel. The result was a creation called “Pixel Visual Core,” a co-processor aiming at further enhancing the image quality and the overall camera experience. However, this SoC has been dormant since the Pixel 2 launch and was only recently unleashed by Google after the Oreo 8.1 update, promising better HDR+ processing and dramatic increase in processing speed. While that sounded like music to our ears at first, many apps did not support it just yet, until now.
Continue reading “Google adds Pixel Visual Core support to major social media apps”
Google’s new Pixel 2 phones have an assortment of third-party cases made specifically for them. However, Google has also gone ahead and designed a few of their own. The one I decided to get to go along with my current 2 XL is the fabric case that they offer. I’ve been using it daily now for about two weeks and here are my thoughts.
Everyone is raving about the Google Pixel 2 XL’s screen burn-in issues. People who have never even touched a Pixel smartphone, much less owned one, have been obnoxiously quick to hop on a bandwagon riot against the second-generation Mountain View device. Some of the most ardent haters are, as you may expect, Apple groupies. But is this new evidence that Google phones suck?
The new generation of Google Pixel phones, the Google Pixel 2 and Google Pixel 2 XL, have recently been subject to extreme controversy from both users and reviewers alike. This is mainly because of the biggest one of the bunch, the Pixel 2 XL (which is manufactured by LG), featuring an LG-made 6″ pOLED QHD+ panel that looks… well, rather underwhelming for the $849 starting price of the 2 XL. Said display, aside from the overall dull look, is also apparently running into several QC issues, one of them being that it’s absurdly prone to image retention and even permanent burn-in.
Android 8.0 Oreo officially landed just two months ago, and today, we’re already getting a glimpse of the latest and greatest version of Google’s Android OS: Android 8.1.
Continue reading “Google announces Android 8.1 Oreo; developer previews now available”
Google’s yearly hardware event launch is now over and Google’s Pixel brand of devices has now expanded. There have been a couple of big announcements. In case you have missed these, here’s a quick recap about all the releases this week.
Continue reading “Recap: Here’s all the new hardware Google announced this week”
So now that it is official, if you are buying a Pixel 2, you will have to deal with the fact that there is no headphone jack present on this device. This means that you either stick to the USB-C earphones provided in the box purchase your own USB-C earbuds, use Bluetooth, or use the dongle that is provided. A Google employee recently took to the Google Forums, trying to explain the situation at hand. However, Google’s response is flimsy at best, and /r/quityourbullshit at worst.
Continue reading “The official list of supported headphones for the Pixel 2 is underwhelming”
Ever since the iPhone 7, there has been an addition to the list of things smartphones can usually endorse as features – the inclusion of a headphone jack. Not that Apple was the first to exclude what for years has been considered a mandatory part of any personal computing device from their smartphone. But because it’s Apple and the iPhone is the most popular phone in the world. So it sets the standard.
