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Google is infamous for killing beloved projects. It has Google Reader to thank for this reputation, which was many people’s preferred RSS feed reader all these years ago until the company killed it out of nowhere. Google went on with discontinuing other beloved projects, like its innovative Gmail client Inbox or its social network Google Plus, which garnered a small but loyal following over the years. In 2022, the company kept at it, killing a bunch of famous and a few not so well-known services, just like last year.
Google makes solid hardware, so why aren't more people buying its products?
2022 might mark a change in Google's hardware fortunes
Google's hardware history is short but turbulent. After a few failed attempts to enter the hardware market, Google released the first Chromecast streaming dongle in 2013 to massive success. Since then, Google has expanded into laptops, smart home devices, earbuds, phones, and now, smartwatches with the Google Pixel Watch.
Google Pixel 6: How to use the Action Pan and Long Exposure features
Google's great new phones come with fun new camera tricks
The Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro were the first Pixels to receive a major camera upgrade. While Apple and Samsung have closed Google's once monolithic lead, the Pixel 6 series is still the most fun and reliable point-and-shoot camera available. Combining Google's software magic with an updated sensor has worked wonders and has enabled Google to come up with new software tricks like Action Pan and Long Exposure. Each of these mimics a tricky camera technique far too complicated for most casual photographers, especially on a phone. But this is a Pixel, and what was once a tricky maneuver is now possible with a button tap.
It's high time to think about going used for your next smartphone
Last year's flagships have more than enough power
If you are somebody who cares about using the latest software releases as soon as possible, your options were historically rather limited in the Android universe. You could either buy the newest flagship from Samsung, LG, Motorola, HTC, or the usual suspects and hope that they wouldn’t abandon their flagships within the next few months, or you basically had to go with Google’s Nexus and later Pixel phones.
Google's Little Signals experiment finally has me excited about Digital Wellbeing
I would buy all of these silly little robots
I've never been acutely aware of so-called notification fatigue in my own life; my devices' beeps and buzzes are just a part of everyday background noise. Even so, the Gmail icon on my iPad Air shows a five-figure unread message count (we get a lot of emails here at AP), and despite my Nest Hub reminding me for the past several days that my dad's birthday is coming up, I still haven't made any plans with him (don't worry, I will). No joke, as I was writing this, the Echo Show 15 behind me chimed to remind me to review a recent Amazon purchase (I probably won't). I may not feel like my notifications are out of hand, but they're clearly no longer compelling me to actually do anything much of the time.
Tensor is Google's most important launch of 2021, not the Pixel 6
This chip represents Google's plan for the future
The Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are indisputably landmark phones that we’ll be talking about for years to come. They bear a bold and immediately recognizable style, and are setting a new bar with their combination of cameras and post-processing capabilities. While these qualities are great for attracting customers, Google likely sees its first custom-designed Tensor chip to be the most important part of this launch. Not only does it factor into ambitious features like live translation and ambient computing, but this chip also signals a strategic shift for Google as a hardware manufacturer, and perhaps hints at greater plans for the future.
The 'best' Pixel experience now only comes in one size
This generation may be doubly disappointing for compact-phone fans
We're all abuzz over the announcement of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. Thanks to a prolific leak cycle, we more or less knew everything about them already, but with official confirmation of both specs and price, we can start to get officially excited — and officially annoyed. The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro represent the biggest gap in functionality between Google device sizes since Pixels have been around, and I'm really not here for it.
Google Pixel 6 Pro hands-on: Shaking up the formula with big, beefy changes
The big camera strip stares down on a brand new hardware design
Today is Pixel day, but I can’t tell you too much about the experience of actually using the Pixel 6 Pro just yet. (Sorry, embargo.) You know the specs, you know the features, and you know what it looks like in the abstract, but those are all promotional renders meant to paint the phone in the best possible light. What does it actually look like, in real life? How do the shapes meld and blend in reality? Our early first-look gives you a quick overview of Google’s changing design language and the physicality of the Pixel 6 Pro. And the elephant in the room is the elephant strapped to the back of the phone.
The Google app's dark theme is officially rolling out in stable this week, but only on Android 10
Dark theme is stepping out of beta and into the light
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Last year, both Google and Apple added dark theming options into their mobile operating systems, with many system apps supporting the feature. Some apps took longer than others, though, like Google's own search app. We reported that its dark theme was available through the Play Store Beta program earlier this year, and now the feature is rolling out to all users on Android 10.
Count yourself lucky if you have a phone that can keep its display on to show you the time or a late notification without the need to blast all of the screen with light. Well, except for when you pull your phone out of your pocket — the panel goes on blast and your eyes are the worse for it. Plenty of people do and one such person has gone out of their way to request always-on display palm rejection from Google — and they're going to get it.
The rumor mill churns and, having churned, moves on. The big story today is that according to sources familiar with the matter, reports have leaked that lead us to believe that an employee who asked to not be named has told Digitimes that sources say the next Nexus may have already been patented by Apple as the subject of the latest lawsuit to come out of Cupertino.