Dash cams are incredibly handy to have in your car, potentially saving you loads of cash in the event of a crash. But it looks like Google wants to reduce your reliance on a standalone dash cam by turning your Android phone into one.

Google seems to have mistakenly pushed out an internal beta version of the Personal Safety app (version 2023.04.27.532191641.8-dogfood), and 9to5Google dug into this version to find and enable a dash cam feature.

Android phones bring loads of accessibility features to the table, from Live Caption and Sound Amplifier to Live Transcribe and more. But Apple is stepping up its game in this area by announcing a raft of upcoming features, and we really want to see one particular option on Android.

Personal Voice functionality is perhaps the coolest upcoming feature revealed by the iPhone maker today. Apple says people can generate their own voice on an iPhone or iPad by simply reading 15 minutes of randomized text prompts. Your Personal Voice is created locally rather than making use of the cloud, therefore safeguarding your privacy.

Over the last two months, there has been a slew of rumors and leaks about the Razr 40 series popping up here and there. But Motorola has finally given us something official today.

On the company’s Twitter page, Motorola revealed the launch date of its upcoming foldable phones in a short video snippet. The video features two clamshell foldable phones shrouded in shadow. That shot is then followed by the tagline “FLIP THE SCRIPT” with the date below it reading June 1, 2023.

Update, May 16, 2023 (2:44 PM ET): Google announced that it has brought the Live tab to Android TV. Like Google TV, Android TV will have access to free channels from Tubi, Plex, Pluto TV, and Haystack. Google is also including free built-in channels from Google TV that can be viewed without downloading or launching the app.

Original article, April 11, 2023 (1:00 PM ET): Google TV users are getting a nice surprise starting today. The platform is introducing over 800 new free TV channels. And the service is making it easier to browse through content via a revamped Live tab.

As the AI war rages on between Microsoft and Google, Microsoft is the latest to announce new features coming to its Bing AI product. These features will be coming to Bing on both mobile and desktop.

Today, Microsoft announced on its blog that it will be releasing a collection of new features to the Bing experience. The features in question will bring videos, Knowledge Cards, graphs, better formatting, and social sharing capabilities to Bing Chat.

Update, May 16, 2023 (12:40 PM ET): This hub has been updated with info regarding the Pixel 8’s Tensor G3 chip.

Original article: The Google Pixel 7 series made quite the splash in October 2022, earning both our Editor’s Choice and Reader’s Choice awards. We can definitely see why, as the phones delivered respectable performance, polished software, and a great camera experience (as usual for a Google phone).

If you have a Google account and haven’t logged on in a while, you may want to do a quick check-in. Google plans to start deleting inactive accounts later this year.

In a blog post, the Mountain View-based firm announced a change to its inactive accounts policy. Back in 2020, the company said it would remove content stored in an inactive account, but would keep the account. According to the blog, Google says it will now delete accounts along with the content if the account has been inactive for two years or longer.

We expect to see the iPhone 15 series launch in September 2023. We already have plenty of leaks for those models, but what about the 2024 series? Believe it or not, leaks are already coming in for those phones, presumably to land as the iPhone 16 family.

Now, a trusted leaker says the iPhone 16 Pro models — presumably the 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, unless Apple changes its naming strategy — could become much larger. Leaker Unknownz21 (via MacRumors) says the iPhone 16 Pro could have a display size of around 6.3 inches, while the 16 Pro Max could land at a hefty 6.9 inches. This would be about 0.2 inches larger than the expected dimensions of the iPhone 15 Pro series, which we expect to be the same as the iPhone 14 Pro series (6.1 inches for the Pro and 6.7 inches for the Pro Max).

We’re only a couple of days out from Global Accessibility Awareness Day. To celebrate the occasion, Samsung is enhancing a Galaxy Buds 2 Pro feature that should prove useful to people who are hard of hearing and the average user alike.

Today, Samsung announced that it will be upgrading the Ambient Sound feature on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. Previously, the feature offered three levels of customization. The new enhanced version of Ambient Sound will add two additional levels of amplification.

From cracked screens to power issues, problems with your phone can happen at any time. Fortunately, there’s always the option of sending your phone in for repairs. But have you ever wondered what happens when the company has your phone? Well, you don’t have to wonder anymore; Samsung just pulled the curtain back on its phone repair process.

In a video released today, the company’s Customer Care department revealed how it handles your phone repairs. The video focuses on Samsung’s walk-in and mail-in repair centers in Texas and points out that customers have three options from which to choose. Those options include walk-in, mail-in, and at-home.

MediaTek has long relied on chip kingpin Arm for its CPU and GPU needs, but it sounds like the Taiwanese chipmaker could soon turn to a graphics giant for future mobile processors.

Digitimes reports (h/t: WinFuture) that MediaTek could use an NVIDIA GeForce GPU in its next-generation flagship processor for smartphones, citing “industry sources.” It’s believed that this processor could debut as soon as 2024.

Each year, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) releases a report surrounding opinions about the best smartphones in the United States. Last year, we saw Americans’ views on Samsung and Apple being pretty much equal. Each company received a score of 80/100.

However, the ACSI 2022-2023 report tells a different story. It looks like consumers in the US think Apple is doing a slightly better job as its score went up to 81/100. Samsung, unfortunately, did not make an equal gain, so it is stuck with last year’s score. This means that, officially, consumer sentiment towards Apple is stronger than Samsung, in the US at least.

A crazy Facebook glitch reared its head last week, as searching for people on the platform resulted in friend requests automatically being sent to them.

The glitch has since been fixed, and Facebook has now shed more light on the problem in an alert to users.

Update, May 16, 2023 (04:45 AM ET): We’ve updated this Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 rumor hub with new details about a possible early launch for the phone.

Update, May 16, 2023 (04:44 AM ET): We’ve updated this Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 rumor hub with new details about a possible early launch for the phone.

Samsung usually holds an Unpacked event in Q3 each year where it announces new foldable phones and plenty more. We’ve heard rumors that the company could bring this year’s event forward by a few weeks, and now a new report seemingly corroborates these rumors.

The Korean Chosun outlet (h/t: SammyFans) reports that Samsung will hold an Unpacked event on July 26, where it’ll reveal the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 foldables.

Update: May 16, 2023 (3:48 AM ET): Samsung will reportedly hold its next Galaxy Unpacked event on July 26. According to Korean media outlet Chosun, Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 at an event in Seoul, two weeks earlier than the previous Unpacked event that brought us the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4.

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 phones are pretty versatile devices, with the S23 Ultra in particular being one of the most feature-packed phones of the year. What if you’re in the military and the Galaxy S23 family just isn’t cutting it, though?

Well, it turns out that Samsung is offering two new Tactical Edition smartphones. These are the Galaxy S23 Tactical Edition and Galaxy XCover 6 Pro Tactical Edition. The devices are positioned as “military smartphones,” coming with a host of extra features. And no, a hidden knife isn’t one of them.

WhatsApp has introduced a new Chat Lock feature designed to keep your conversations more private. It allows you to hide individual chats in a folder that can only be accessed with your device’s password or biometric unlocking system, like a fingerprint. Chat Lock also automatically hides the contents of your conversation in notifications.

Update, May 15, 2023 (10:10 PM ET): Kyocera reached out to Android Authority to clarify that the original news described below is inaccurate due to translation errors. Instead, Kyocera is restructuring its consumer strategy in Japan to more closely align with its business-first strategy in North America.

Here is a Kyocera statement from Vipul Dalal, Vice President of the Communications Equipment Group at Kyocera International, Inc. of San Diego:

Update, May 15, 2023 (07:26 PM ET): Google has issued a statement related to the battery drain and overheating issues described in the article below. A Google spokesperson said:

Since last year, Microsoft has had its hands full, trying to convince regulators to accept its purchase of Activision Blizzard. On the heels of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) rejection, Microsoft just got a much-needed win.

Today, the EU’s regulatory body, the European Commission (EC), announced that it has approved Microsoft’s bid to acquire Activision Blizzard. According to the EC, this approval is conditional on “full compliance with the commitments offered by Microsoft.”

If you use Google Drive (and really, who doesn’t?), you’ve no doubt been hit with spam shares from people you don’t know. Right now, I have hundreds of shares from users like “Baby69” and “SeCret ParTner NeeDed,” all of which are likely scams. To make this matter worse, Drive, by default, notifies users of each new share, which forced me to simply shut off all share notifications from the app.

Now, finally, there is a Google Drive spam folder to catch this garbage. Google announced this new feature pretty quietly via a blog post during Google I/O, so you might have missed it. Regardless, I now have the feature live in my Drive app, so it’s clearly rolling out at a solid clip.

For years now, one of the most popular T-Mobile perks for subscribers has been an annual subscription to MLB.TV. This is the place you can watch out-of-market home and away games as well as pre- and post-game content. Typically, this service costs $149.99 at the start of each season.

Back in March, T-Mobile once again offered free MLB.TV to customers. However, if you missed the opportunity to grab it then, you have another chance. On May 23, 2023, T-Mo will re-open sign-ups for the baseball streaming service, once again at zero cost.

Update: May 15, 2023 (11:23 AM ET): We’ve updated the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE rumor hub with possible release window information. Read on for all the latest information.

Original article: We’ve become so accustomed to Apple’s iterative smartphone launches each year that the iPhone 14 event represented one of the most exciting in recent memory. Sure, the base model was practically identical to its predecessor, but Apple gave us a Plus instead of a Mini, and the Pro devices introduced a brand-new punch hole display.

The instantly memeable Dynamic Island (Apple’s fancy name for the screen cutout and its corresponding software enhancements) is the biggest shakeup to the iPhone design in years. In many ways, it made up for a lack of innovation elsewhere in Apple’s flagship phone lineup, with plenty of consumers deciding there was no need to upgrade just yet. Will 2023’s iPhone 15 series offer more than just superficial improvements and convince more people to make the jump? Let’s find out.

Samsung really wants you to get your hands on a good Galaxy flagship, and it’s back again with another week of exciting offers. This time, you can get up to $750 of enhanced trade-in and up to $50 of Samsung Credit on devices like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy S23 Plus. There’s also a sweet deal on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which makes it an absolute steal.

Reports of OPPO wiping off products from its German website started doing the rounds over the weekend. Indeed, there is no OPPO device listed on the company’s official website in Germany. Instead, the page displays a banner that reads (machine translated), “No product information is currently available on our website. Some of the products are also not available in Germany, including Reno 8 Series, Find N2 Flip.”

The next OnePlus flagship phone could bring a significant camera upgrade. According to Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station, the company is currently testing a periscope camera on the “SM8650” product line. The said model number allegedly belongs to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. That means it is highly likely that the OnePlus phone said to be coming with a periscope camera arrangement is the OnePlus 12.

Update: May 15, 2023 (3:20 AM ET): HTC has officially announced a launch date for its new U series phone. The company tweeted on May 13 that the device would launch later this week on Thursday, May 18.

2023.5.18#HTC #VIVERSE #areUready pic.twitter.com/2Y9FIOQaGQ

Google has agreed to pay a sum of $8 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the company used deceptive radio ads to market the Pixel 4, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Friday.

Every year, smartphone fans look forward to the latest flagship Android phones from Samsung. In 2023, those flagships were in the Galaxy S23 series. Next year, however, we expect to see the Samsung Galaxy S24 series. We know it’s a long way away, but rumors surrounding these phones are already ramping up!

Below, you’ll find all the latest credible rumors surrounding the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus, and Galaxy S24 Ultra. We’ve also included a wishlist, which is made up of things we hope to see but don’t have any evidence for yet.

Welcome to The Weekly Authority, the Android Authority newsletter that breaks down the top Android and tech news from the week. The 244th edition here and it’s that time of year again, Google I/O! If you missed Wednesday’s big event, we’ve got all the updates. Also in this week’s TWA, we’ve got loads of Motorola Razr 40 Ultra leaks, Sony’s Xperia 1 V launch, the latest on Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal, and Google and Wendy’s AI drive-through makeover — plus pricing, specs, and a release date for the ASUS ROG Ally.

Since hearing about Sony’s shutdown of PixelOpus, I’ve started playing Concrete Genie, and it’s such a colorful, addictive little game; plus, it’s currently included with PS Plus Premium.

There are many ways to customize your Pixel phone to have it match your personality. One of those options is your ringtone. If you’re a fan of smooth jazz, then Google may have just provided you with the perfect ringtone.

As spotted by 9to5Google, the Mountain View-based company just updated its Sounds app to version 3.1. If you own a Pixel phone, you can update the app in the Play Store. The update coincides with the launch of the Pixel 7a.

On Thursday, Elon Musk teased on Twitter that he had found his replacement as CEO of Twitter. However, the billionaire did not reveal who he had chosen for the role of Twitter CEO. But now we know who will be running the social platform going forward.

Today, in a congratulatory tweet, Musk revealed that his replacement will be Linda Yaccarino. As he mentions in the tweet, she will take over as CEO and will focus primarily on business operations. Additionally, Musk makes it known that his role with the company will change from CEO to chief technology officer and executive chairman.

Google’s latest hardware just launched this week during Google I/O. Now that people have had some quality time with the Pixel 7a, some discoveries are being made. One of those discoveries is a new feature not found on any other Pixel phone.

Hiding in the Settings of the Pixel 7a, neatly tucked away in Vibration & haptics — found in Sounds & Vibration — is a new feature. As spotted by Android Police, the new feature is called Adaptive alert vibration.

Update #1, 12 May, 2023 (11:16 AM ET): It appears as though Facebook’s auto-friend request bug has been fixed (phew). We’ve checked several unfollowed profiles on different accounts and didn’t see any unwanted friend requests being sent. Meta has yet to comment on what the issue was, but for now it seems safe to peek at your crush once again.

Yikes. If you’re in the habit of stalking profiles on Facebook you might want to respect people’s privacy for a little bit. According to many reports from disgruntled users across social media, Facebook is sending unintended friend requests to other users just by looking at their profiles.

Google announced at its I/O developer conference that its Bard chatbot would be broadly available in 180 markets. It marks a major expansion for the platform, which saw a very limited release at first.

Canada and Europe are missing from the list of supported markets, though. Now, Google has hinted at a possible reason for these omissions in an emailed response to an Android Authority query.

Update: May 12, 2023 (4:42 AM ET): It looks like there might be some good news for those wanting to emulate Nintendo Switch games on their Android phones. A new emulator from two of the Skyline developers will pick up where the discontinued emulator left off.

In an FAQ post on the Strato Discord channel, the team notes that Strato is a “continuation” of Skyline by two of the four main Skyline developers. The FAQ notes that this is still an open-source project, but that there’s no APK available just yet. Nor is there a timeline for the emulator to be released.

Update: May 12, 2023 (4:17 AM ET): Tipster Evan Blass has posted even more Razr 40 Ultra renders. This time, the renders show off several color options while also revealing the Razr 40 Ultra moniker.

The leaker also posted even more images on his (locked) Twitter account if you’d like to view more. Nevertheless, this is certainly looking like the biggest cover screen on a clamshell foldable.

OPPO got into the custom chip game in 2021 when it announced the MariSilicon X imaging NPU, shipping in the Find X5 series and several other handsets. The company followed up with the MariSilicon Y Bluetooth audio chip, but there’s some bad news for the firm’s chip design efforts.

OPPO confirmed to Android Authority that it’s shutting down its ZEKU chip design unit, responsible for the manufacturer’s custom chips.

We first spotted a listing and private video for the Fairbuds XL headphones last month. This suggested that Fairphone was bringing its sustainable and repairable approach to the headphone segment.

Google’s Health Connect brings plenty of power to one of the smallest members of the wearables market, the Oura Ring. As was announced at Google I/O, Oura now adds integration with a number of popular health platforms. This includes Peloton, the cult-favorite fitness app for at-home workouts.

Each time you sweat through a Peloton class wearing your ring, you can now open the companion app to see your details and biometrics on the home screen. You can even dig into further details by tapping on the workout summary. To maintain Oura’s holistic approach to well-being, users’ Readiness and Activity Scores will also automatically reflect the effort expended during Peloton workouts.

In our experience reviewing the Oura Ring 3, these scores, as well as a Sleep score, facilitate a balanced approach to wellness. Oura tailors the scores according to users’ goals and habits, providing a personalized tracking experience with digestible insights.

The Oura Ring already boasted integration with Strava, a widely-used social platform for runners and cyclists. Integration with Peloton is the second option to allow users to directly import workout data into the Oura app. It’s an exciting step for the device and for Oura users interested in a more dedicated fitness tracking tool.

Google revealed its Android 14 schedule in February 2023, with the first developer preview going live the same day as the reveal. The timeline the company has planned out is very similar to the one the tech giant had for Android 13.

On May 10, Google released the Android 14 beta 2, which is now the latest version of the operating system. This latest beta is designed to be tested by the public. If you have a supported Pixel phone, you can install Android 14 beta 2 now.

Judging from the organization’s release date graphic, the next few updates will be iterative updates. If everything goes as planned, Google expects to reach platform stability sometime in June.

Android 14 timeline

Since the Android 14 release schedule is so similar to Android 13’s, it’s fair to assume Google will follow a similar approach. Last year, Google had two developer previews and eight beta releases for Android 13 before it launched the official update. If Google does something similar this year, there’s a good chance we may see an Android 14 launch sometime in August. However, there’s no guarantee there won’t be delays.

As for which phones will get the new OS, you can expect all versions of the Pixel that haven’t reached their major OS update limit yet, which is every Pixel after and including the Pixel 4a 5G. The same can be said for Samsung’s recent handsets. If you don’t know if your Samsung phone is still eligible, check out our list, which includes every Samsung device getting four major OS updates.

The Android 14 release date for the Pixel will likely precede others, like always. Predicting the OS release date for Samsung is a little trickier to pin down, though. One UI 5 was the fastest OS release Samsung has done, and the company has said that it wants the next update to be even faster.

Here are the significant Android 14 schedule milestones we’ve seen in 2023, so far:

• February 8, 2023 — Android 14 DP1
• March 8, 2023 — Android 14 DP2
• April 12, 2023 — Android 14 beta 1
• April 26, 2023 — Android 14 beta 1.1
• May 10, 2023 — Android 14 beta 2

Off the heels of Warner Bros. Discovery announcing the merging of merging of HBO Max and Discovery Plus, Disney will follow suit and merge two of its streaming platforms.

On Wednesday, Disney held its Q2 earnings call. During the call, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that the company plans to combine Disney Plus and Hulu into a “one-app experience.”

While we continue to offer Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus as standalone options, this is a logical progression of our DTC [direct-to-consumer] offerings that will provide greater opportunities for advertisers while giving bundle subscribers access to more robust and streamlined content, resulting in greater audience engagement and ultimately leading to a more unified streaming experience

Before you get too excited about the move, there is a caveat. Along with bundling the platforms together, Iger also revealed that there will be a price increase for ad-free tier subscriptions.

Meanwhile, the pricing changes we’ve already implemented have proven successful, and we plan to set a higher price for our ad-free tier later this year to better reflect the value of our content offerings.

As of the time of this writing, an ad-free plan on Disney Plus costs $10.99. This subscription price was raised just last year, along with Disney adding an ad-supported tier. Although Iger mentioned a price hike is coming in the future, he didn’t say how much the new price will be.

The launch of the combined service is scheduled to happen by the end of the year. Disney will reportedly provide more information as we get closer to the combined app’s rollout.

If you’ve been waiting to know more about the ASUS ROG Ally, today’s the day we got almost all of the pieces to the puzzle. ASUS held its launch event stream and gave us everything we needed to know about the ambitious PC handheld.

As we learned from previews and other confirmations, there will be two versions of the ROG Ally, and they’ll both run on Windows 11. The lower-spec variant will be equipped with an AMD Ryzen Z1 chip, capable of delivering 2.8 teraflops of processing power. While the beefed-up model contains an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme SoC, which provides a whopping 8.6 teraflops.

Both versions sport a 1080p display that has 500 nits of brightness and a variable refresh rate ranging from 30Hz and 120Hz. We also knew some other general stats like Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi 6E, UHS-II microSD storage, and having a quieter fan than the Steam Deck.

However, the launch event did a deep dive into the handheld’s specs. But it mostly focused on the Z1 Extreme model.

	ROG Ally (Z1 Extreme)
Operating system	Windows 11
Processor	AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme Zen 4 architecture, 8-core/16-thread
RAM	16 GB dual-channel LPDDR5 RAM
Memory/ storage	512 GB NVMe m.2 SSD
Display	7-inch IPS panel 1080p FHD 120Hz refresh rate 500 nits
Ports	3.5mm audio jack, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 combo port with DisplayPort 1.4 support, UHS-II microSD card reader
Battery	40 WHrs
Weight	608g

One of the most notable specs revealed is the processor. The processor is a eight-core/16 thread chip based on AMD Zen 4 core architecture with RDNA 3 graphics tech. This would be an upgrade from the Steam Deck’s Zen 3/RDNA 2 APU. According to ASUS, it’s capable of hitting CPU clock speeds up to 5.1GHz and GPU clock speeds up to 2.7GHz.

It was revealed that the Z1 Extreme version will sell for $699 with pre-orders starting today on Best Buy’s website. The system will release next month on June 13. However, the more cost-effective option, which will sell for $599, only received a launch window of Q3. As an added perk for buying the ASUS ROG Ally, you’ll get three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free.

At Google I/O 2023, Google announced a massive overhaul coming to Android’s Find My Device network in the coming months. This overhaul includes opening up the network to third-party Bluetooth trackers. On the back of the announcement, Chipolo announced its lineup of Bluetooth trackers, and now Pebblebee is also announcing its latest products in the space.

Pebblebee’s newest products in the Bluetooth tracker segment are the Clip, Card, and Tag for Android’s Find My Device network. The names are simple and give you a good idea of what each product is.

Pebblebee also has a simple price tag of $30 for each of these, and they are available for pre-order right away on the company’s website. Each of them can be purchased in packs of one, two, and four, with some discounts along the way.

Pebblebee already sells the Clip and Card as part of the Apple Find My network at the same price. The big change in the Android version is obviously compatibility with Google and Android’s Find My Device network. Note that the products are not cross-compatible, so you will have to purchase the correct version for your OS.

Pebblebee says the Android trackers are also compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

The Android versions of the Clip, Card, and Tag work with Android via Find My Device or the Pebblebee app. These trackers are IPX6 water-resistant and have up to 500 feet of range. The Clip, Card, and Tag last 12 months, 18 months, and eight months per charge, respectively. The trackers can also be recharged through the included magnetic cradle, which has USB-C on the other end.

It is not immediately clear when pre-orders end, and the products begin shipping. If we had to take a guess, we would say they will go on sale around the same time frame as Chipolo’s Bluetooth trackers, which is currently scheduled for a July 2023 release. Both of them will potentially make for great AirTag alternatives for Android users.

Google I/O season is upon us, and the company has pushed out the Android 14 beta 2 for Pixel phones ahead of the Android 14 stable release later this year. The company is also bringing the Android 14 beta program to partner OEMs, but here’s what’s new with the Android 14 beta 2 for Pixel phones.

Android 14 Beta 2: The announced changes

Support for 10-bit HDR

Android 14 is adding support for 10-bit HDR (aka Ultra HDR), allowing it to retain more information from the sensor when taking photos and opening the door for more vibrant colors and greater contrast. This Ultra HDR format is fully backwards compatible with JPEG, allowing apps to seamlessly interoperate with HDR images and display them in standard dynamic range as needed.

Health Connect

One of the bigger user-facing changes in Android 14 is the addition of Health Connect as part of the out-of-the-box experience. Google describes it as an on-device repository for health and fitness data. It opens up data sharing between health apps and integrates privacy controls into system settings.

With Android 14, users no longer have to install Health Connect separately. This massively improves the reach of the app, as few users know that such an app exists in the first place and would be worth using. An increase in users reached will also make the platform more enticing for other app and service developers to come on board, benefitting the ecosystem.

Health Connect will also remain automatically updated through Google Play System Updates and will therefore not require a separate download or update from the user.

Health Connect is also gaining support for exercise routes, allowing users to share a route of their workout on a map. Users will also be able to log their menstrual cycles in an easier manner.

Data sharing updates

Android 14 is changing the way data-sharing updates are highlighted and presented to users. If an app changes its data-sharing practices after a user has installed the app and given it permission, there will be a new dialog box that prompts users about this change. Users can also access the new location data-sharing updates page from within the device settings.

Improved Camera extensions and support for in-sensor zoom

Android 14 is upgrading and improving the Camera2 and CameraX extensions, allowing apps that use them to handle longer processing times. This will help improve use cases like low-light photography that rely on compute-intensive algorithms.

There is also now support for in-sensor zoom, allowing for zoom control even before other camera controls are ready.

Lossless USB audio

Android 14 now gains support for lossless audio formats over USB-wired headsets, enabling audiophile-level experiences over the wire.

Miscellaneous changes

There are some more changes, such as improvements to the Predictive Back gesture (this remains gated behind a developer toggle for now), improved graphics through custom meshes, and more.

Unannounced changes in Android 14 Beta 2

Apart from the stuff that Google discloses, users trying out the new beta also uncovered some unannounced changes. Some of them are highlighted below, courtesy of journalist Mishaal Rahman:

• Ringtone and notification volume sliders are now separated.
• There’s a new PIN unlock animation as well as support for auto-confirmation of PIN.
• You can now see a minimized clipboard overlay when you copy something while the keyboard is visible.
• Android 14 is adding support for setting a different live wallpaper on the lock screen and the home screen.
• Android 14 is building up support for a partial screen-sharing feature which lets you record a single app without recording notifications and your status bar.
• Android 14 Beta 2 brings in new gestures for built-in external trackpads on physical keyboards.

Download Android 14 Beta 2 for Pixel devices

Looking to try the latest beta? Check out our guide on how to install Android 14 on your Pixel devices.

If your Pixel devices are already enrolled in the Android 14 beta program, they will automatically receive an OTA update to Beta 2.

Note that the newly launched Google Pixel 7a and the Google Pixel Fold are not yet eligible for the beta program.

Google traditionally kicks off or expands the Android beta program at its annual I/O developer conference, allowing non-Pixel phones to preview the upcoming version of Android.

2023 is no different and Google has announced that phones from a number of brands can now download and install the Android 14 beta. Can you install the Android 14 beta on your phone? Read on for more details. Just do keep in mind that this software might not be suitable for daily usage and that many functions won’t work.

It’s also worth noting that ASUS, Nokia, and Samsung are all missing from the list for some reason, despite offering the Android 13 beta last year.

Lenovo

The Chinese brand is the only one on the list to offer the Android 14 beta on a tablet. Yes, you can install the preview on the Lenovo Tab Extreme. This applies to the Wi-Fi edition only, though. Otherwise, you can download the software, view instructions, and more via this link.

Nothing

True to an earlier claim by the company, the Nothing Phone 1 is indeed part of the first wave of Android 14 beta devices from OEMs. The company posted instructions and download links on its website. It also included a list of known issues, such as fingerprint unlock, face unlock, glyph features, and reverse wireless charging not working.

OnePlus

The Chinese brand confirmed that the OnePlus 11 is part of the Android 14 beta program. The company has a list of known issues and restrictions (e.g. no support for carrier variants) in an official forum post.

OPPO

OPPO usually offers Android betas on its Find X series of smartphones, but that’s changing with the Android 14 beta. The company confirmed that the Android 14 beta will be available on the Find N2 Flip clamshell foldable. OPPO says you can download the software, view instructions, and check out known issues via its developer website.

Realme

Wallet-conscious brand Realme is also getting in on the Android 14 beta action. Expect to find the first Android 14 beta on last year’s Realme GT 2 Pro. There are two key restrictions though, namely that this only applies to the Indian variant and that the company has no plans to provide subsequent Android 14 beta updates. You can read all the details in the official forum post.

TECNO

This isn’t the first time we see TECNO getting in on the Android beta fun, but it’s still somewhat of a novelty at this point. Nevertheless, the company says its Camon 20 series is getting the Android 14 preview. Visit the company’s website for more details and download links.

vivo

The camera-focused manufacturer is offering the Android 14 beta on the vivo X90 Pro. But the company is also bringing the preview software to the performance-focused Iqoo 11.

Either way, the vivo developer website has links to download the Android 14 beta for each phone. The website also offers instructions and lists known issues.

Xiaomi

Wish your Xiaomi phone had access to the Android 14 beta? Well, Xiaomi is offering the preview software on the Xiaomi 12T, Xiaomi 13, and Xiaomi 13 Pro. You can check out the Xiaomi website to download the software and view installation instructions.

Sony’s Xperia phones have long earned a reputation as being the devices of choice for photographers and audiophiles. That’s in large part due to features like restrained image processing, a 3.5mm port, support for a variety of audio standards, and connectivity with the company’s Alpha cameras.

Now, the company has announced the Sony Xperia 1 V, being the company’s flagship smartphone for 2023. And it looks like the company is continuing to tick these boxes, and then some.

Cameras: Sony gets with the program

Perhaps the biggest change affects the main camera, as Sony finally decided to ditch the 12MP primary sensor in favor of an ultra-high-resolution shooter. More specifically, Sony is using a 52MP Exmor T series sensor for the main camera (f/1.9, 1.12-micron pixels), with the company saying this 1/1.35-inch sensor is actually 1.7x larger than the Xperia 1 IV‘s sensor.

Sony says this new sensor doubles low light sensitivity compared to the Xperia 1 IV’s main camera, adding that it should deliver minimal noise in dark areas of a scene.

The 52MP sensor adopts a 4.3:3 aspect ratio as opposed to a more conventional 4:3 ratio, but the phone only uses 48MP for photos and videos. Furthermore, the phone defaults to 12MP pixel-binned snaps as you’d expect. Oddly enough, Sony says you can also shoot 4:3 video with this camera.

Otherwise, Sony is retaining the Xperia 1 IV’s 12MP variable telephoto camera. This still delivers 85mm to 125mm shots (3.5x to 5.2x), so those hoping for even longer range zoom might be disappointed. The Sony Xperia 1 V also packs a 12MP ultrawide camera (f/2.2, 16mm).

The company is bringing plenty of camera-related additions here too, such as an S-Cinetone option for “cinema-like” video, a Night Shooting feature for improved low-light snaps, focus peaking in the pro apps, and Creative Look functionality (effectively different video styles). Sony is also offering an improved experience when paired with an Alpha camera, allowing you to record the camera’s output to the Xperia handset’s storage while still using the phone as an external display.

There’s also a product showcase setting for accurately focusing on a product when vlogging, as well as voice priority microphone support (using a microphone in the camera housing to capture audio from the subject you’re shooting). Sony has also finally updated the Photo Pro, Video Pro, and Cinema Pro apps with vertical UIs for portrait orientation.

Flagship features abound

The Sony Xperia 1 V wouldn’t be a flagship phone without a flagship processor, and the phone indeed sports a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. The company says the processor helps to reduce power consumption by 20% when using the camera. Sony also claims that it’s increased the volume of its heat diffusion sheet by 60% compared to last year. That’s good news as the Xperia 1 IV suffered from overheating and poor sustained performance.

This chipset drives the same 6.5-inch 4K 120Hz OLED screen (21:9) seen on last year’s phone. Sony confirmed that this isn’t an LTPO panel, only capable of dropping to a minimum of 60Hz rather than 10Hz or even 1Hz seen on rival flagship phones. In any event, this is one of the few phones with a 4K screen on the market.

Other core specs include 12GB of RAM, 256GB of expandable storage (yes, it supports microSD cards up to 1TB), and a 5,000mAh battery. Sony claims that the battery maintains 80% capacity after roughly three years of use, although the firm adds that this is equivalent to 1,180 charging cycles. By contrast, recent OPPO, realme, and OnePlus phones claim 80% battery capacity after 1,600 charging cycles.

Nevertheless, the Sony Xperia 1 V also ships with 30W wired charging (there’s no charger in the box, though) and 15W wireless charging.

The phone is pretty durable too, owing to the use of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both the screen and textured rear glass cover. Furthermore, the company is offering an IP65/68 rating for some peace of mind.

Other features worth knowing include a headphone jack, dual stereo speakers, a shutter key, and sub-6GHz 5G (no mmWave here). Unfortunately, the company didn’t reveal any specific software update pledge at the time of writing. We hope the firm is offering more than the pittance that was two major OS updates and three years of security patches.

Sony Xperia 1 V price and availability

Sony’s high-end phones cost a pretty penny, and the Xperia 1 V is certainly no exception. Expect to pay $1,399 for the phone when it launches in the US in July, with the device available in Black, Khaki Green, and Platinum Silver color options. Pricing and availability details for Europe weren’t mentioned at the time.

Sony is also offering an optional case (seen above), featuring a thicker chin for a camera-like grip. You’ll also find a kickstand inside the chin, enabling you to prop the phone up in portrait or landscape orientations.

One more Xperia phone

This wasn’t the only phone announced by Sony, as the company also revealed the Xperia 10 V. This phone has plenty in common with last year’s model, such as a middling Snapdragon 695 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of expandable storage, an IP65/68 rating, and a 3.5mm port. Sony adds that this is the lightest 5G phone with a 5,000mAh or higher battery, coming in at 159 grams.

Otherwise, the Xperia 10 V sports a 6.1-inch FHD+ OLED screen (Gorilla Glass Victus, 21:9, 60Hz), front-facing stereo speakers that are apparently 20% louder than the Xperia 10 IV, and a flexible triple rear camera system (48MP main with OIS, 8MP 2x telephoto, 8MP ultrawide). An 8MP camera is on tap for selfies. It’s worth noting that the phone’s processor doesn’t support 4K recording, unfortunately, so you’re stuck with 1080p quality.

Sony hasn’t issued pricing or availability details for the Xperia 10 V just yet. But last year’s model retailed for €499 (~$548) and wasn’t available in the US, so we’re expecting a similar price tag and a European release this time as well.

Between all the talk of AI (boy, was there a lot of it) and fancy new devices like the Google Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold, it was easy to forget a missing device we expected to see at Google I/O 2023. The Mountain View company’s I/O portfolio was heavily leaked prior to the big day, and those leaks included hints at a bonafide Apple AirTag alternative from the Big G reportedly called the Nest Locator Tag. Sadly, that wasn’t to be, but the newly-revamped Find My Device service won’t go without a compatible location tracker thanks to Chipolo’s Android-centric Chipolo ONE Point key finder and Chipolo CARD Point wallet finder.

The two new trackers are available to pre-order from today on Chipolo’s store page with shipping promised for, “the second half of July 2023.” The ONE Point (the tiny circular model) and CARD Point will retail for $28 and $35 in the US, respectively, with the latter undercutting the AirTag by a singular buck. In the UK and the rest of Europe, the two will cost £30/€34 and £35/€39, again respectively. They come in a new Off White finish which will please fans of Chipolo’s typically colorful designs.

Chipolo’s new trackers are particularly notable as the first location tracking accessories to work with Google’s enhanced Find My Device network. The refreshed service now goes far beyond tracking lost Android phones and will now take advantage of the vast network of Android devices around the world to ping the location of compatible tablets, true wireless earbuds, and, of course, anything attached to a supported item finder device. This operates in a similar way to Apple’s Find My network, as well as similar solutions from Tile and Samsung, though Google’s version won’t be restricted to Google devices, with JBL and Sony headphones already confirmed for future support. According to Sameer Samat, the service will, “be powered by a network of billions of Android devices around the world.” Google’s Vice President of Product Management also took a moment to allay fears about privacy violations, stating that “from the start, we designed the network in a privacy-preserving way.”

Keeping track of devices can be hard. Later this year, Find My Device will help locate products other than your phone, like headphones, tablets, & more. PSA: The Find My Device network ensures that location data is encrypted, so your info is for your eyes only. #GoogleIO pic.twitter.com/4XKLo1KVsD

— Google (@Google) May 10, 2023

Chipolo already makes equivalent Find My-specific trackers called the ONE Spot and ONE Card, so it’s great to see the company offer a similar option for Android users using Google’s expanded network. The devices will be compatible with Android devices running Android 9 or later. The ONE Point will draw obvious AirTag comparisons, but it should be noted the round location tracker only has a one-year-rated battery, though you can replace it. The CARD Point, meanwhile, will last for two years, but you can’t replace the battery. Instead, Chipolo will offer a renewal program.

Both trackers are water resistant and will play a sound on command if you’re in a 200ft range to help locate them, as well as whatever you’ve got them stored in or attached to. The Chipolo ONE Point and CARD Point also have a function that alerts anyone with an unregistered tracker on their person. The Apple AirTag has a similar anti-stalking feature which, as of last week following a joint announcement, will alert Android users if they are being tracked by an AirTag.

It’s great to see Chipolo coming out swinging in support of the new Find My Device feature, as well as confirmation that Tile and Pebblebee won’t be far behind with similar products. But it’s baffling that Google didn’t have its own AirTag competitor ready for prime time. We’ll also have to wait and see the full extent of the promised “privacy-preserving” strategy from Google considering how much controversy has surrounded AirTags and their potential for malicious tracking (much like with any location tracker).

Will you be buying a Find My Device-enabled Chipolo tracker?

Announced today at Google I/O, a partnership with Oura adds new usability to the nutrition-based health service Lifesum. Thanks to Oura, the maker of the Oura Ring smart ring fitness tracker, Lifesum will now offer a sleep-tracking feature with personalized insights and guidance. The feature offers users important access to the complex relationship between nutrition and sleep.

The new partnership between Oura and Lifesum integrates via Google’s Health Connect for Android platform. According to Lifesum CEO, Markus Falk, the aim of this partnership is to help users gain more insight into how their diet may be affecting their rest and overall well-being, a connection he explains is “key to weight management and overall health.” To help users manage the relationship, the feature will streamline data into actionable insights. These will include everything from suggestions on how your sleep may affect your cravings to tips on what to eat to counter a bad night of rest.

Simply put, the partnership and new feature add important tools to an already robust platform. We were very impressed by Oura’s sleep tracking data during our Oura Ring 3 review. As of now, the device tracks everything from sleep stages and duration to overnight movement and latency. It is one of many fitness trackers compatible with the Lifesum platform.

If it’s not clear yet, the theme of this year’s Google I/O event appears to be AI. While there has been plenty of AI products announced, arguably the most exciting reveal was its AI-first notebook concept.

Near the end of his presentation, Senior Director of Product Management at Google Josh Woodward teased a prototype called Project Tailwind. The concept is a notebook that’s aimed at students, but it could really benefit anyone who deals with a lot of text.

As Woodward describes it, the AI notebook is designed to help you learn faster. It is trained on your documents from Google Drive to create a personalized and private AI model.

Like a real notebook, your notes and your sources power Tailwind. How it works is you can simply pick the files from Google Drive, and it effectively creates a personalized and private AI model that has expertise in the information you give it. We’ve been developing this idea with authors like Steven Johnson and testing it at universities.

Reportedly worked on by five engineers at Google, the prototype was at the presentation. Although Woodward didn’t get into the details of the design, he did show a demo of what it’s capable of.

In the demo, Woodward selected a number of computer science history study notes in Google Drive. After submitting those notes to Tailwind, a new page was brought up that included the selected documents and a generated study guide based on the information. The notebook was able to pull out key topics and provide suggested questions. Additionally, Woodward was able to create a glossary of terms for specific topics.

Given that this is just a concept at the moment, it’s unknown if Google will actually launch Project Tailwind in the future. But if it does, it sounds like it would prove to be very handy for writers, researchers, and other professionals.

Google has previewed three exciting new ways Pixel phone users can look forward to personalizing their devices with brand-new wallpapers.

The first of these is Emoji Wallpapers, similar to those seen on iPhones. Each wallpaper can feature up to 14 emojis arranged in a variety of patterns such as stacked, sprinkled, and more. The demo showcased six icons in a mosaic pattern. You can adjust the zoom of your pattern and finally, choose the color combo you want. Once set, the emojis are even reactive to user taps.

If you prefer to highlight a personal image, Google also announced Cinematic Wallpapers which allows users to create a 3D image from any existing photo. Simply open your photos and tap the icon to set the selected image as an enhanced wallpaper. The device will automatically separate the subject of your image from its background to create a depth effect. The result is an attractive, dynamic wallpaper with a three-dimensional parallax effect.

Finally, if you want to push your creativity, Google also introduced AI-generated wallpapers, dubbed Generative AI Wallpaper. This feature includes structured prompts to help you create a unique wallpaper of nearly endless possibilities. After selecting a theme, such as an artistic style, you can scroll and tap the suggested topics to access examples. The tool uses the company’s text-to-image diffusion models to create one-of-a-kind images for your device.

Both Cinematic and Emoji Wallpapers will arrive on Pixel devices next month. Meanwhile, Generative AI Wallpaper will be available this fall. Either way, you’ll be able to get access to these features on your recent Pixel phone or if you buy the brand-new Pixel 7a or Pixel Fold.

Despite multiple companies shifting their focus from extended reality (XR) to AI, Samsung is still charging full steam ahead with its XR ambitions. And after Google’s I/O event, we now know a little more about the upcoming Samsung XR headset.

Back in February, during Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event, the company teased that it was working on XR devices. Outside of announcing that the hardware is in development, minimal details were given at the press conference. However, the tech giant did reveal that it was forming partnerships with a handful of companies to support the device, including Google.

Google’s reported role in the development is to provide a platform for the headset. At Google I/O, the Mountain View-based firm confirmed that the headset will run on Android.

Unfortunately, the project still remains rather secretive. Whether the headset will be VR, AR, or mixed reality is anybody’s guess. At the moment, we know almost nothing about the upcoming gadget.

However, GalaxyClub reports that the headset will be mixed reality, having both VR and AR capabilities. But the outlet did not share its source.

In addition to Google, Samsung is getting help from Qualcomm, Meta, and Microsoft. Qualcomm is said to be providing the processor the headset will run on. At the same time, Microsoft and Meta are expected to assist with providing services.

For more information, it looks like we’re just going to have to sit on our hands and wait. But TM Roh, president and head of Samsung’s mobile experience business, did say, “We’re getting there, but we’re not too far away.” So we might get more details on Samsung’s XR headset sooner than later.

Tablet cases come in all shapes and sizes. And these days, they may even offer a few features and functions. While we’ve all seen our fair share of tablet cases over the years, the Pixel Tablet‘s case, in particular, is quite interesting.

During its Google I/O 2023 event, the Mountain View-based organization showed off its long-awaited Pixel Tablet. It’s not the first time we’ve seen the device — it was first officially revealed at last year’s event — but there was something new we hadn’t seen before. This was the first time we saw the Pixel Tablet in its official case.

At first look, it seems like a pretty average tablet case. As with plenty of other cases made for electronics, it is designed to help protect against scratches, cracks, and other types of damage. Upon a deeper second inspection, however, you’ll notice it has a polished metal ring attached to the back.

This ring is meant to act as a stand for the tablet. Now a stand is not particularly revolutionary, but there is something special about it. This stand is capable of stopping at any angle, allowing you to situate the tablet however you want.

Another interesting thing about the ring is its shape and size. You may have noticed, but the ring is the same shape as the charging base but slightly larger. According to Google, the “Pixel Tablet Case was designed with docking in mind.” This means you can keep the case on at all times. If you choose to set the tablet on the charging base, the metal ring will fit neatly around it.

While they may not be life-changing features in the grand scheme of things, it’s impressive how much thought Google put into the design of the case. Additionally, Google says you’ll also have the option of a folio-style case.

Google Pixel Tablet

• Large screen
• Doubles up as a smart display
• Included dock

The Pixel Tablet is a 10.95-inch slate with Tensor G2-powered features that doubles up as a Nest Hub smart display/speaker when placed in the Charging Speaker Dock.

$499 at Amazon

Google has been teasing and testing an overhaul of the Google Home app since October last year. After spending a fair few months in public preview, Google has now announced at Google I/O 2023 that it is finally beginning to roll out the new Google Home app for smart home devices to users.

The biggest change to the Google Home app is how it lays things out when you open it up. Previously, the Home app organized everything by “room,” which may sound great at first, but you quickly notice its limitations when you start building out larger rooms with multiple smart home devices.

With the redesigned app, users can now organize Google Nest or other compatible devices with “Spaces” in ways that let them categorize devices centered around similar purposes and needs. For instance, you can have all your lighting-related devices in one space, letting you quickly see the status of all lights in your house.

Further, you can now add devices as your “favorites” and give them a center spot in the app. If you frequently toggle some devices, you will no longer need to dig deep into menus and rooms to find the toggle. This will also be greatly appreciated by users who have a whole bunch of devices.

There’s also a dedicated Automations tab that brings all your devices together and lets you easily create routines.

In the new app, there is a media widget that will auto-detect what media is playing in your house and give you the right controls for that moment, like audio controls when there is music playback and TV remote controls when you’re watching videos.

The overhaul to the Google Home app also better integrates the Nest app within itself. There’s now a better camera feed on the homepage and refreshed camera and timeline views.

As for the cherry on top, Google Home is also accessible through the browser for your camera feeds. You cannot access controls for your other smart home devices, but at least you can view your camera feed from a bigger screen now.

There’s also an app for Wear OS smartwatches for quickly toggling devices. You get improved device controls for quick adjustments, and you can even receive notifications with rich data, such as animated cam feeds.

For users who were already a part of the public preview, these changes will feel very familiar. But now the rest of the world will also be able to enjoy them.

Google announced Wear OS 3 for smartwatches way back in 2021, bringing faster performance, improved battery life, and support for software skins. We may have had to wait a while, but Google has finally revealed that Wear OS 4 is on the way.

The company confirmed at its I/O developer conference that Wear OS 4 is coming later this year, although it didn’t give a release window for the rollout. We can only speculate that the platform might debut when Samsung reveals the Galaxy Watch 6 series in Q3 2023.

Nevertheless, the Wear OS 4 developer preview is available right now if you want to update your apps or check out the new software. Either way, we hope the update eventually comes to a wide variety of smartwatches.

A major missing feature is finally here

The most notable Wear OS 4 feature has to be backup and restore support. Yes, you’ll be able to switch to a new phone or watch without having to factory reset your wearable.

The lack of a backup and restore feature was a major annoyance for Android Authority colleague Rita El-Khoury. So we’re glad to see this option on Wear OS 4, but we hope the actual backup/restore process is pain-free.

Google adds that if you’re setting up a watch on your phone, any permissions granted on your phone will automatically carry over to the watch.

Wear OS 4 will also bring improved battery life, new and improved accessibility options such as a faster text-to-speech engine, and a partnership with Samsung to bring a so-called Watch Face Format (as seen below).

This format is a new, “efficient” way to build watch faces, and Google says developers don’t need to worry about optimizing their watch face’s code or battery performance as the Wear OS platform handles everything.

What about Wear OS 3 users?

Google also had a few announcements for Wear OS 3 users, starting with improvements for first-party apps. These improvements include smart lock controls with two-factor authentication in the Google Home app and “key” Gmail experiences (such as replying to emails and inbox triaging). The company is also bringing Calendar features to your wrist later this year, allowing you to view your schedule, check/act on event details (e.g. RSVP), and check/act on tasks (e.g. mark complete).

The search colossus also touted third-party app support, noting WhatsApp’s recently confirmed availability, new tiles for Spotify (e.g. podcast playback, Spotify DJ, most-played tracks), and improved Peloton support (tracking Peloton-based workouts and a tile for weekly workout progress).

These aren’t the only announcements at Google I/O, as the company also revealed the Pixel 7a, Pixel Fold, and plenty more.

At Google I/O 2023, we finally got an official look at the Pixel 7a in all four of its colorways. But Google’s latest phone wasn’t the only device that was shown off at the event. We also got an official look at the new colorway for the Pixel Buds A series.

Through numerous leaks leading up to the event, we’ve already seen the light blue colorway more than we can count. However, there was some new information. Previously, it was expected that this blue colorway would be called “Arctic Blue.” But as it turns out, Google chose to dub this new color “Sea.”

Sea won’t only be the name of the colorway for the Pixel 7a but also for the new Pixel Buds A series color. Altogether, the Pixel Buds A series lineup now consists of Charcoal, Clearly White, Dark Olive, and Sea. It appears that Sea and Charcoal are the only colorways that share names with the colorways of the Pixel 7a.

Outside of color, there’s nothing new about these earbuds. In our review, we gave the Pixel Buds A series four out of five stars. The more comfortable fit, IPX4 water-resistant rating, spatial audio, and excellent touch controls made it stand out.

However, they are far from perfect. Most notably, we were disappointed by the lack of noise cancelation, no transparency mode, the weak bass, and the audio-visual lag on Android. They also have a tendency to drop voices when in areas with background noise. Still, at $99, these are a good buy, and the new colorway looks pretty sweet.

Google Pixel Buds A-Series

• Terrific Android integration
• Low price
• Multiple fun colors

Rich sound, for less.

If you like the Pixel Buds line but think they are too pricey, the Pixel Buds A-Series should be on your radar. They have the core features you need at a price you'll love.

$93.02 at Amazon

Save $ 5.98

$99.99 at Best Buy

$99.99 at Verizon

$99.99 at AT&T

On the day of the Pixel 7a launch, Google has given the Pixel 6a a permanent price drop to $349. That’s $100 less than the original retail price of the phone and means that it is now $150 cheaper than its successor.

This is obviously a good thing for buyers, although this pricing is not unprecedented. The Pixel 6a launched just a few months before the Pixel 7 last year, and since the new flagship came along, the Pixel 6a has at times been seen on offer for as low as $299 on Amazon.

But this is the first permanent price drop on the phone, and the other thing that’s new is that Google has always previously discontinued the last Pixel A series to make way for the next one, sometimes even shelving it before the latest Pixel A is released. The popularity of the Pixel 6a may have encouraged the manufacturer to rethink this policy.

We're not complaining about a $100 price reduction.

Credit to Google for this move, but it presents prospective new Pixel 7a buyers with a dilemma. The Pixel 7a is certainly an upgrade on the Pixel 6a in several ways; it has a higher refresh rate, more RAM, improved cameras, and the Tensor G2 chipset. But it’s evolution rather than revolution. Will this Pixel 6a price drop entice budget-conscious buyers to forgo the Pixel 7a for its older but still-excellent counterpart?

When you add the fact that the Pixel 7a price hike to $499 makes it only $100 less than the Pixel 7, the Pixel 7a has serious value competition just within its own ecosystem.

We’re not complaining about a $100 price reduction on a solid mid-range device, and we doubt Google is either. Whichever Pixel you buy, you’ll be getting a good phone and adding to the OEM’s bottom line. Check out our Pixel 7a review for our full verdict.

Google Pixel 6a

• Powerful Tensor chip
• Excellent cameras
• Great software

$349 at Amazon

Save $ 100.00

Google Pixel 7a

• The best sub-$500 camera phone
• Solid performance and plenty of RAM
• Improved 90Hz display

$499 at Amazon

The Pixel 7a has just been launched and among the features I’m most excited about is the addition of wireless charging — a first on the Pixel A series. I spent a whole year plopping the Pixel 6a on a Qi charger out of habit only to discover the battery was empty an hour later, so I am all in on this new addition. But, with this being a lower-end device, Google has skimped a little and restricted the feature in two ways compared to the higher-end Pixel 7 and 7 Pro.

First, we’ve known from previous leaks that the Pixel 7a will only wirelessly charge at 7.5W, less than the 10W of its more expensive siblings. Two, the option for reverse wireless charging, which Google calls “Battery Share” is missing from the Pixel 7a’s Battery menu. This means you can’t use the 7a as a make-do portable battery and fill up a pair of wireless earbuds or another Qi-compatible gadget.

Like many of you, Android Authority readers, I’d never touched the reverse wireless charging option on my phones, despite having devices that support it since 2020. But a few weeks ago, I was caught with a dying phone battery and an empty power bank. I was ready to spend the next four hours offline enjoying real life (ha!) until I realized my husband’s Pixel 7 Pro can charge my phone. We turned on the Battery Share option and lo-and-behold, my own Pixel 7 Pro started sipping some juice from his phone and I didn’t have to look at people or smell the flowers.

All jokes aside, this obviously isn’t the most energy-efficient way to charge anything, but it worked in a pinch and that’s all there is to it. You likely won’t need reverse wireless charging every day, but when you do, you’d be glad to have it, and it’s a (very minor) bit of a shame that the Pixel 7a won’t have it.

For more details about Google’s new mid-ranger, check out our Google Pixel 7a review.

Google Pixel 7a

• The best sub-$500 camera phone
• Solid performance and plenty of RAM
• Improved 90Hz display

The Pixel 7a delivers more premium features than ever for under $500, such as wireless charging support, a 90Hz refresh rate display, and a 64MP camera.

$499 at Amazon

$499 at T-Mobile

$499 at Google Store

$499 at Best Buy

$519 at AT&T

$549.99 at Verizon

Google I/O 2023 is underway, and Google is going full steam with announcements. While the event has had a large focus on AI, Google isn’t leaving Android behind. The company just announced some major updates to Android’s Find My Device network, opening up the network to third-party Bluetooth trackers like Tile, bringing over broadcast options to offline accessories, and introducing unknown tracker alerts.

The big news here is that Android now has an Apple Find My-like Find My Device network. This is significant because Android users will finally be able to leverage the absolute omnipresence of Android devices to locate other nearby devices, even if these lost devices are themselves offline. Android phones with Google Play Services and other products compatible with the Find My Device network will help locate each other via Bluetooth proximity.

Further, Google is opening up the Find My Device network to third-party Bluetooth trackers. So companies like Tile, Chipolo, Pebblebee, and others will be able to create trackers that can, in turn, help track and strengthen the network. In comparison, Apple’s Find My network works only with Apple devices like iPhones and AirTags. Chipolo was the first to announce compatible trackers with the ONE Point and CARD Point.

Google will also be adding these Bluetooth location proximity capabilities to its Pixel Buds. Other headphones from Sony and JBL will also be joining the Find My Device ecosystem soon.

With this introduction, Google is also cognizant of the privacy challenges it is introducing in the ecosystem. So it is also introducing unknown tracker alerts, so you can be alerted if an unknown tracker is traveling with you. You will be able to view unknown devices on a map when they are seen traveling with you and play a sound on the tracker to help locate it.

Google will also display instructions to physically disable the tracker and stop it from updating its location. The company is also building in manual scanning, so users can proactively search for unknown trackers near them. And that’s not all, as unknown tracker alerts will work with the Apple AirTags too.

Location data crowdsourced from the Find My Device network is also end-to-end encrypted.

All of these new features are coming this summer, so you still have to wait a little. But knowing how big of an impact they will have on the ecosystem, we really can’t wait.

Android’s current Find My Device network is primarily used to locate devices that are connected to the internet and have location capabilities. This upgrade opens up the network to devices without those capabilities themselves by relying on the generosity of other nearby devices.

Google just announced a host of new AI-powered features coming to the Google apps at the I/O conference, and you can help test them out. Starting today, you can head to the new Google Labs site and sign up as an early tester of different aspects of Google’s AI experience.

There are four features to try out, and you have to sign up for each one separately. There’s the new and improved Google Search, which uses AI to bring you a ChatGPT-style answer to your query at the top of the search results. Then there are AI additions to Google Workspace, built to increase productivity and collaboration.

Next, you can try out Project Tailwind, which is focused on learning and research — imagine being able to give it your study notes and ask it to test you on them. And finally, there’s MusicLM, which uses AI to turn your ideas into music.

Head to the Google Labs landing page to find out more about the projects and sign up.

RCS is the successor to the old SMS standard, and Google has been pushing this feature hard over the past few years.

Now, at Google I/O, the company confirmed that over 800 million people now have RCS on their phones. The firm added that the messaging standard is on the way to reaching the billion-user mark by the end of the year.

Apple and its iPhones are the main holdouts here, and Google couldn’t resist a dig at the iPhone maker for its refusal to adopt the standard.

“We hope every mobile operating system, gets the message and adopts RCS. So we can all hang out in the group chat together, no matter what device we’re using,” said Android vice-president Sameer Samat, alluding to the company’s Get The Message campaign.

Right now, iMessage falls back to the legacy SMS standard when texting with Android and feature phone users. That means these users don’t get high-quality multimedia transfers, typing indicators, read receipts, and other perks when texting with Apple-toting users.

This isn’t the first time Google has criticized Apple for holding out on the RCS-enabled protocol, though. Earlier this year, Google vice-president Hiroshi Lockheimer claimed that he “feels bad for iPhone users” not being able to use RCS. Back in December, the company even said that Apple’s texting was “stuck in the 1990s.”

Throughout Google I/O, the company has been eager to demonstrate its AI products. One of the many announcements today involved new AI features coming to Search.

During the presentation, VP of Engineering Cathy Edwards took to the stage to talk about how the company is incorporating AI into Search. Edwards spoke about how users used to break down their questions to find the results they wanted in Search. However, Edwards pointed out that won’t be necessary with generative AI.

An example of this was presented on stage with the Search prompt “family with kids under 3 and a dog, bryce canyon or arches?” With the new AI-powered Search, the search engine is capable of generating an integrated results page. While the traditional result are still there, an AI-generated snapshot now sits on top of those results.

The snapshot consists of a summary of the subject you’re looking for. It provides a few paragraphs of explanation, and to the right are a few links with information that “corroborates” the summary.

Additionally, users will have the option to explore further by clicking on the icon above the three links. Google calls this icon the “Bear Claw.” When clicked, the page opens a new view that separates each sentence from the summary with links showing where that information came from.

Users will also have the option to explore further and ask a follow-up question or suggested next step. If this is selected, it will bring the user to a new “conversational mode.” In this mode, the search engine will take the new question in the context of the last question, providing more specific results.

Google says these AI tools will help to make Search smarter and easier. Especially for complex questions that require a level of nuance. This new feature will be available in Seach Labs in the coming weeks.

Microsoft and OpenAI have been stealing all the tech headlines when it comes to generative AI. But Google has been hard at work on its own efforts, including the PaLM language model. Now, the company has announced PaLM 2 at its I/O conference.

Google promises that over 25 products and features will be powered by PaLM 2. The language model actually consists of four different models, namely Gecko, Otter, Bison, and Unicorn. For example, the company explains that Gecko is lightweight and supports offline inference on mobile devices.

PaLM 2 can also be fine-tuned in specific fields, such as security and medication.

The search colossus confirmed that its Bard assistant is running on PaLM 2 as of today (May 10). Google says PaLM 2 allows Bard to run tasks like improved code generation (over 20 code languages), debugging, and explaining code.

Google’s I/O event is happening today and it has announced a number of items coming to the public. One of the very first reveals of the show was a feature for Gmail that will help you write emails.

During Google’s conference, the company revealed a new AI-powered feature coming to Gmail. That feature is called “Help me write.” As the name suggests, the feature is designed to help users with writing messages.

An example was shown off revealing how the feature will work. According to the presentation, an icon featuring a pencil and the familiar Bard sparkle will appear next to the send button. When the icon is clicked, the user will be able to insert a prompt.

The demo showed a user replying to an airline, asking for a full refund. After submitting the prompt “ask for a full refund for this canceled flight,” the feature generated a full draft that pulled details from the airline’s email.

Additionally, the feature will include a “Refine” option. This refine function allows the user to adjust the wording of the message. The options include formalize, elaborate, shorten, and I’m Feeling Lucky.

According to Google, the feature will rollout as part of its Workspace updates.

Have you ever wondered what your journey would look like before you undertook it? If you answered yes, Google has an AI-powered feature for you. At Google I/O 2023, Google announced an extension to the Immersive View feature on Google Maps, letting users visualize every segment of a route before they undertake that journey.

Immersive View was announced last year for Google Maps. The feature uses AI and computer vision to merge billions of Street View and aerial images to create a digital model of the world. This year, Google is expanding the feature to Immersive View for routes, bringing all that AI magic to the route that you just chose a few seconds ago.

With Immersive View for routes, users will see a multidimensional experience when they ask for directions. You can preview bike lanes, sidewalks, and intersections. It can even help you locate designated parking spots along your journey. Google is also adding weather information to the mix, so you can visualize and check how the air quality and the weather changes through the day on that route.

Google goes one step further. By applying AI to historical driving trends, Immersive View for routes will also simulate how many cars might be on the road at a given time.

Immersive View for routes will be rolling out in the coming months in Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Paris, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Tokyo, and Venice.

Ever since the release of Bing AI and Google Bard, Microsoft and Google have been trying to one-up each other. That competition seemed to briefly tip in favor of Bing after the Head of Engineering and Product for Bing, Jordi Ribas, announced Bing and Edge would get an image generator. Now Google is leveling the playing field by giving Bard its own text-to-image tool.

Today, Google and Adobe announced a partnership that will bring Adobe Firefly and Express to Bard. As a result of the partnership, Google’s AI chatbot will gain the ability to generate images from text.

According to the announcement, users will be able to describe an image to Bard. Firefly will then take that input to create an image within the Google Bard platform.

In addition to image creation, users will also have the ability to edit these pictures. After generating an image, Adobe Express will allow users to modify the image within Bard as well.

One example that was given involved asking Bard to generate an image of a giraffe doing a yoga pose. Users will reportedly be able to use a template, something created from scratch, or use Express’s editing tools to adjust the image as they see fit.

Adobe claims that Firefly images that are safe to use in commercial settings and free from copyrighted materials. However, the company adds the caveat that this will be the case once Firefly is out of public beta.

As for when the Firefly and Express integration will happen, it’s currently a vague “in the next few months.” The companies did not reveal an exact date for the integration. So well just have to keep our eyes peeled on the Google Bard experiment updates page.

Google made a splash with Magic Eraser a few years ago, allowing you to erase objects and more with a tap. Now, the company has announced an even more ambitious feature for Google Photos dubbed Magic Editor at its I/O conference.

Magic Editor allows you to make a variety of edits to a photo that would usually require some time in Photoshop, ostensibly making use of semantic segmentation.

One example given by Google shows a woman holding her hand in front of a waterfall. Magic Editor allows you to erase the woman’s bag strap, reposition the woman in the scene, and edit the sky.

Another example shown by Google (seen above) stars a child holding balloons on a bench. Magic Editor allows users to reposition the bench along with the child and balloons to the middle of the scene.

Google says “select” Pixel phones will gain early access to the feature later this year. There’s no word on an ETA for this feature to come to other phones.

Earlier this morning, Google accidentally published an unlisted video for the Pixel Fold on YouTube. The ad featured NBA Star Giannis Antetokounmpo and several other players using the handset in different situations. Now another ad for the foldable has leaked highlighting another feature.

Google is expected to show off the Pixel Fold in all of its glory during Google I/O. Ahead of the event, however, a new ad for the device has appeared online.

Spotted by tipster SnoopyTech, the 30-second video appears to focus on a few of the Fold’s features. Most notably, its multitasking capabilities, thinness, and a Samsung Flex Mode-like feature.

“Dual Screen support coming in Fall 2023”.

lolpic.twitter.com/YKxJ9Qxda7

— SnoopyTech (@_snoopytech_) May 10, 2023

As the clip shows, the owner uses the phone for a video call. But is able to switch into a multitasking mode with the call on one panel and Google Drive open in another. They are also able to drag and drop a file from one side to the other.

In a bit of a surprise, it looks like the Pixel Fold won’t have all of its features at launch. If you look closely at the fine print, the promo says that Dual Screen support is “coming in Fall 2023.” It’s unknown what Google specifically means by Dual Screen support. But given the fine print’s appearance in this ad, we can assume Dual Screen support may refer to the multitasking capabilities seen in the video.

The Pixel Fold is rumored to launch on June 27. So it looks like owners could have to wait a few months before they’re able to take advantage of Dual Screen support.

Motorola plans on launching two foldable phones in 2023. One is the premium Motorola Razr 40 Ultra and the other is the more affordable Razr 40. Today’s leak involves the Motorola Razr 40 and gives us over 30 press renders of the device.

In a fairly sizeable leak, MySmartPrice has released new images of the foldable previously known as the Razr Lite. These renders not only give us the best look yet at the company’s upcoming phone, but it also provides a few key details.

The first aspect of the phone you might notice is the cover display. This display is much smaller than the ones we’ve seen from the Razr 40 Ultra leaked renders. The screen is much closer to that of the Galaxy Z Flip 4.

While it likely won’t be able to run full apps like the Ultra is rumored to do, it will have some functionality. The renders show the display is capable of running a variety of widgets ranging from weather and calendar appointments to quick settings and music controls.

That’s not all, however. There are a few close-up shots that give us a good look at the build of the device. In the images below, you’ll see that the back panel of the phone features a vegan leather texture. One of the renders appears to show off a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. While the far right image seems to show some level of water resistance.

Additionally, these images tell us that the Razr 40 could launch in three different colorways. According to the outlet, these colors are olive green, purple, and cream.

Outside of this recent news, earlier leaks have told us that Motorola plans to sell both foldables in the US. It’s also believed that the Razr 40 series could launch on June 1. While we don’t have a price for the Razr 40, leaks have suggested the Ultra could sell for €1,202.93 in Europe.

Welcome to Wallpaper Wednesday! In this weekly roundup, we’ll give you a handful of Android wallpapers you can download and use on your phone, tablet, or even your laptop/PC. The images will come from folks here at Android Authority as well as our readers. All are free to use and come without watermarks. File formats are JPG and PNG, and we’ll provide images in both landscape and portrait modes, so they’ll be optimized for various screens.

For the newest walls as well as all the ones from previous weeks, check out this Drive link. Want to submit your own? Head to the bottom of this article.

Wallpaper Wednesday: May 10, 2023

Another week, another set of awesome Android wallpapers for you to share! Remember that we are always looking for submissions from our readers. Head to the bottom of this article to find out how you could have one of your images featured in an upcoming Wallpaper Wednesday!

We’ve got three awesome images from our readers that would look great on your phone, tablet, or PC. As usual, we also have some images from the Android Authority team.

First, we have a stunning shot of a rock jetty in some water from Kedrig Koka. Next, we have a lake sunset by Jacqueline Landman Gay. Jacqueline shot that with a Google Pixel 6! Finally, we have a great photo of a Toronto streetcar by Zitesh Kaushal. Thanks so much for your submissions, all!

From the Android Authority team, we have a photo of an ancient temple from Adam Birney. We also have a cool colorized black-and-white shot of a taxi by Robert Triggs. Finally, we have the Toronto skyline as shot by Rita El Khoury.

Be sure to download these photos in their high resolutions from this Drive link!

How to submit your own Android wallpapers

We are very excited to see your own contributions to our Wallpaper Wednesdays project. Before submitting, here are the rules:

• Your submissions should be your own creation. That means photos you took, digital art you created, etc. Please don’t submit other people’s work. That’s just not cool.
• You must agree to let Android Authority share your Android wallpapers for free with anyone who wants them.
• We will not accept watermarked images. You will, however, get a credit and a link in the article itself. We can link to your website, your Twitter, your Instagram, etc.

Ready to submit? Send us an email by clicking here. You’ll need to include the highest-resolution version of the image you can provide, your name, and a brief description of what the image is. If you want us to link to a page you own in your credit, please provide that, too, but that’s optional.

Original article: Much of the innovation in the smartphone arena over the last few years has come in the form of foldables. Samsung has led the way, but the likes of HUAWEI, OPPO, HONOR, and Motorola have all launched devices with folding screens (with varying degrees of success). Google is about to join the industry with the Google Pixel Fold this year.

With the introduction of Android 12L, Google aims to ensure its mobile OS is optimized for this new generation of devices with larger displays and more flexible layouts. It also paves the way for the company’s first foray into the foldable market. Let’s take a closer look at everything we know so far about the Google Pixel Fold.

Will there definitely be a Google Pixel Fold?

Google’s reputation for canceling software products is well known, but the same has also been true of hardware. A shelved Pixel Book update serves as the most recent example of a planned device that will never see the light of day. We also know that the Pixel Fold has been delayed at least once before, with a 2022 release supposedly on the cards previously.

That said, the Pixel Fold launch is now a sure bet. Google has already confirmed its existence and it will launch in just a few days. It’s taken years, but the Pixel Fold is imminent!

When is the Google Pixel Fold release date?

On May 4, 2023, Google confirmed the Pixel Fold will launch on May 10 during the 2023 iteration of Google I/O. It will launch alongside the Pixel 7a. Google could also launch the Pixel Tablet at this same event, so it will be a lot of new hardware all at once!

What features and specs will the Pixel Fold have?

Up above, you’ll see the first official imagery of the Pixel Fold. That is sourced directly from Google, and gives you a good idea of what to expect. Check out a video below of the foldable opening and closing:

May The Fold Be With Youhttps://t.co/g6NUd1DcOJ#GoogleIO #PixelFold
May 10 pic.twitter.com/K8Gk21nmo8

— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) May 4, 2023

If that’s not enough Google accidentally posted an unlisted Pixel Fold video ad on May 10, giving us plenty of info to work with — check it out below.

The clip shows the Pixel Fold used in a Flex Mode-like orientation for Meet video calls (complete with Meet controls on the bottom half of the folding screen), hands-free selfies, and more. The phone even allows you to take a selfie with the rear cameras, using the smartphone screen as a viewfinder.

Previously, we were treated to renders from the ever-reliable OnLeaks (via HowToiSolve) as well as Evan Blass. We now know that these renders line up with the real design quite well. While the phone shares a few things in common with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7, such as the centered G logo and horizontal camera bar, there are also some departures from Google’s most recent design language. The rounded rectangle shape of the camera module and larger bezels around the internal screen stand out as less modern-looking features (reminiscent of the Surface Duo 2, perhaps). That said, it’s still an attractive device, with a pleasing curve to the metal frame and an inconspicuous hinge.

Modest display tech

The most up-to-date information suggests Google isn’t going all out when it comes to the Pixel Fold’s screens. We’re expecting a 5.8-inch (2,092 x 1,080) FHD+ OLED flexible panel on the inside made from ultra-thin glass. According to 91Mobiles, brightness will average 800 nits, maxing out at 1,200 nits. The top and bottom of this display will apparently feature fairly sizable bezels, with a selfie camera residing above the screen rather than under it or within a cutout. Google is reportedly not going to use the most advanced foldable screen tech, as seen on the Galaxy Z Fold 4, although both panels are said to be made by Samsung Display. Cost-saving is the likely reason for holding back here, so we hope that’s reflected in the price.

Jon Prosser dropped a substantial leak, which also gave us details about the phone’s outer display. It appears that the inner screen is an OLED that sits at 7.6 inches. This display should provide a resolution of 2,208 x 1,840. Both the inner and outer displays are said to support a 120Hz refresh rate.

The size of the bezels on the folding screen was confirmed by Google in their own images on May 4 and a video posted on May 10. The images and video also suggest that the folding screen will indeed be stubbier than the Galaxy Fold line.

Clever hinge design

There is some better news regarding the inner display. Dave 2D, who posted a video to YouTube showing off a Pixel Fold dummy model, thinks the crease is likely to be gentler than that of a Galaxy Fold. These noticeable wrinkles are often quite off-putting, so minimizing this would be a popular move.

Everything we’ve heard and seen up to this point would lead us to believe the Pixel Fold will be closer in form to OPPO’s Find N than Samsung’s long, narrow offering.

Thanks to that waterdrop hinge, we’re also expecting Google’s foldable to be completely flush when shut — this would be another plus point compared to the annoying gap you’ll find on a Samsung. Stereo speakers on the top left and bottom right of the inner display could add justification to the larger bezels and make the Pixel Fold perfect for media consumption on the go.

A report from CNBC claims the Pixel Fold’s hinge will be the “most durable hinge on a foldable.” That will be a difficult feat to accomplish with competitors like the Galaxy Z Fold and the OPPO Find N2 Flip.

Thanks to Google’s own video on May 10, we also know that the hinge is of the free-stop variety. That means it can be opened at a variety of angles, enabling use cases like hands-free selfies and more. This is in line with Samsung’s foldables but it’s still a welcome addition as some foldable phones either fully open or completely close.

Even though some corners may have been cut in certain areas to keep the cost down, it sounds like the Pixel Fold is still going to feel like a premium device. Each half of the phone measures in at 5.7mm, according to the dummy model. This means it would be thinner than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold. With the camera bump included in the measurement, the thickness increased to 8.3mm, but at least it’s in a horizontal bar format similar to the Pixel 6 and 7 series. There won’t be any table wobble here. With the handset folded, it’ll likely be 11.4mm thick without the camera bump, and 14mm with it. That’s still not too bad for a phone of this type.

Familiar specs and features

Like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, Google’s foldable is likely to have a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that doubles as a power button (via 9to5Google). This was further supported in Prosser’s leak. The fingerprint sensor would allow you to unlock it the same way whether it’s open or closed. Hopefully, there will also be some form of face unlock too, even if it’s the less useful/secure variety that Google shipped with the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro.

While digging around in the Android 13 QPR1 beta, developer Kuba Wojciechowski uncovered details about the Pixel Fold’s camera array. The code refers to a Sony IMX787 main camera, an IMX386 ultrawide, and a Samsung S5K3J1 sensor for the telephoto and outside selfie camera. There’s also an IMX355 sensor above the inside display. While the 64MP IMX787 is a new flagship sensor from Sony, the other camera hardware is all fairly familiar.

Prosser’s leak revealed that the main camera will be 48MP with a 0.8μm pixel width, ƒ/1.7 aperture, and a sensor size of 0.5 inches. The telephoto lens is 10.8MP with a 1.22μm pixel width, ƒ/3.05 aperture, 5x optical zoom, and 20x Super Res zoom. And the ultrawide is 10.8MP with a 1.25μm pixel width, ƒ/2.2 aperture, and 121.1 degrees field of view. However, it’s the software that makes Pixel photos shine, and we can expect the same computational magic here from Google.

All evidence so far suggests that the Pixel Fold will be equipped with the Tensor G2 SoC, the same chip that powers the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. There should be no concerns about performance, as even though Google’s in-house processors benchmark lower than the latest silicon from Qualcomm and Apple, they’re still plenty fast enough for a premium mobile experience. Joining that chip should be a Titan M2 security chip. We also expect 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM to ensure smooth performance while running more than one app side by side on the big internal display.

There had been speculation that the Pixel Fold may include stylus support, but that looks less certain now.

One of the largest batteries in a foldable

The Pixel Fold may be on the hefty side, according to sources close to the matter. Although there are no specifics, the rumor suggests that the Pixel Fold will not only be wider than its main competitors but also heavier. The weight is believed to be due to the size of the battery. CNBC‘s report claims that the phone could be 283g, which is further supported by Prosser.

Based on the rumor, it’s expected that Google could give the Pixel Fold the largest battery in a foldable to date. The battery won’t be 5,000mAh, but it will allegedly not be that far off. A leak provided by Yogesh Brar claims the battery will be 4,500mAh with a charging speed of 23W. However, Evan Blass claims the battery will be 4,821mAh with 30W charging.  According to Prosser, this battery is said to offer 72 hours’ worth of life.

How much will the Pixel Fold cost?

Different figures have been floated, ranging from $1,400 to $1,800. The report from CNBC we mentioned earlier claims the price will be upward of $1,700. If the specs we’ve already discussed are accurate, we’d hope Google would be aiming for the lower end of that range in order to remain competitive. Unfortunately, Prosser’s report claims the Fold will be on the higher end of the spectrum.

Reportedly, there will be two options: a 256GB model and a 512GB model. The 256GB version is expected to sell for $1,799 and will be available in Chalk and Obsidian. While the 512GB variant may only be available in Obsidian and could end up costing $1,919.

The research and development outlay for Google won’t have been cheap, and it looks like the company won’t be making any sacrifices to keep the cost down. At the very least, Prosser claims that Google will include a Pixel Watch for free to those who preorder.

The Dimensity 9200 is MediaTek‘s top-end smartphone processor in 2023, taking the fight to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Now, the Taiwanese chipmaker has announced a mid-year refresh dubbed the Dimensity 9200 Plus.

True to previous mid-year upgrades, the Dimensity 9200 Plus is the same chipset but with clock speed upgrades to the CPU and GPU. In the case of the former, the Cortex-X3 big core now hits 3.35GHz (from 3.05GHz), while the Cortex-A715 medium cores now hit 3GHz (previously 2.85GHz). Those Cortex-A510 cores are still pegged at 1.8GHz. Either way, that 3.35GHz clock speed is almost identical to the 3.36GHz peak clock speed in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy processor.

MediaTek didn’t dish out a GPU clock speed at the time of the Dimensity 9200’s release, but it says that the Plus chipset’s GPU has received a 17% boost to clock speed. Otherwise, this is still the same Mali-G715 Immortalis MC11 GPU as before, complete with hardware-based ray tracing.

Dimensity 9200 Plus: What else does it offer?

The rest of the chipset is still the same as the standard Dimensity 9200. So that means you’re getting an M80-based modem with mmWave 5G support (7.9Gbps downlink), a sixth-generation APU, support for up to 240Hz refresh rate at FHD+ resolutions, 8K recording capabilities, Bluetooth 5.3, and Wi-Fi 7.

We thought the MediaTek Dimensity 9200 was a pretty powerful processor in our vivo X90 Pro review. The phone delivered competitive single-core CPU performance while duking it out with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones in terms of GPU performance. However, the vivo phone lagged behind when it came to multi-core CPU scores and GPU stress testing. We’re not sure if clock speed boosts will be enough to address these weaknesses, but it certainly looks like a significant upgrade for peak performance.

MediaTek says the first phones powered by the Dimensity 9200 Plus will arrive later this month. There’s no word on the availability of these devices, though. For what it’s worth, the vivo X90 Pro is the only Dimensity 9200 phone in global markets.

Update, May 9, 2023 (2:13 PM ET): This article has been updated to include the full video of the TED Talk where Imran Chaudhri demos Humane’s projector-based wearable.

Original, April 21, 2023 (1:51 PM ET): You may have never heard of Humane, and there’s a good reason for that. Most of the company’s work is shrouded in mystery. But one of Humane’s cofounders just showed off an AI wearable that’s a lot like a wearable form of ChatGPT.

Humane is an AI startup founded by ex-Apple veterans Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno. As mentioned earlier, its work has stayed mostly in the shadows. But we got our first look at one of its in-development projects during a recent TED Talk.

During the TED Talk — not scheduled to be available until April 22 — Chaudhri reveals a device sitting in his jacket pocket to the audience. The device is an AI-powered wearable that doesn’t require a connection to other devices. In tweets provided by Inverse‘s Raymond Wong, we get a glimpse at what the gadget is capable of.

I obtained a video of @Humane ‘s AI-powered wearable projector in action (clipped from a video @zarifali9 sent me of the #TED2023 by @imranchaudhri)

This looks insaneee! pic.twitter.com/DDOfTMCxH5

— Ray Wong (@raywongy) April 21, 2023

In the tweet above, we see the device has a projector that’s displaying on Chaudhri’s hand. Chaudhri uses the UI projected on his hand to call Bethany Bongiorno.

In addition to calling, the wearable is also capable of translating words into other languages. Chaudhri demonstrates this feature by tapping on the device, saying a few words, and then waiting for the device to respond. What we hear is an AI representation of Chaundri’s voice speaking in French.

The @Humane wearable doing English->French AI translation in your own voice… wow. (SOUND ON)

As talk about AI continues to heat up, more organizations are trying to figure out how to use it to enhance business. As a result, we’re starting to see Bard, ChatGPT, and other AI models pop up in places we didn’t expect. For example, an AI chatbot could be taking your next fast food order.

Wendy’s plans on giving its drive-through an AI makeover, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. To accomplish this, Wendy’s has joined forces with Google to test out a new AI chatbot. That chatbot will take orders from the customers that drive up to it. Ultimately, the goal is to reduce long lines by streamlining the ordering process.

Based on the natural-language software developed by Google, the chatbot has been trained to understand the different ways customers order off the menu. This includes recognizing unique terms, phrases, and shorthand such as JBC for Junior Bacon Cheeseburger.

“It will be very conversational,” Wendy’s Chief Executive Todd Penegor said about the chatbot. “You won’t know you’re talking to anybody but an employee.”

In addition to understanding terms and phrases, the chatbot also has to recognize reasoning that isn’t straightforward. For example, a customer may request a milkshake, but the AI needs to know that they are asking for a Frosty. Adding to that complexity, the software needs to be able to cut through background noise and focus on the person making the order. “You may think driving by and speaking into a drive-through is an easy problem for AI, but it’s actually one of the hardest,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud.

To dispel concerns of this technology potentially taking away jobs, Penegor says replacing workers with AI is not part of its plans. Instead, the AI will simply take the order and pass on the information to the line cooks and cashier.

Wendy’s AI chatbot is scheduled to make its debut in June. However, it won’t be something that will appear at every Wendy’s location. It will only be available at a company-owned restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.

Update, May 9, 2023 (12:15 PM ET): We have updated this iPad Mini (7th generation) rumor hub with new info on possible specs.

Original article: Larger tablets are great, but they aren’t for everyone. Some of us prefer a smaller pad that can be easily carried but offers more screen real estate than the typical smartphone. While some good small Android tablets are out there, none are quite as convincing as Apple’s iPad Mini series. The next one we expect to see from the Cupertino giant is the iPad Mini (7th generation).

The latest iteration is the 6th generation iPad Mini. It is designed beautifully, has excellent performance, solid battery life, and you can add 5G connectivity. What could improve it, and what can we expect from the new iPad Mini? In this roundup, we’ll be gathering all the rumors and leaks, as well as our expectations on what the iPad Mini 7 could bring to the table. Let’s dig into what we know and what we want to see.

Will there be an iPad Mini (7th generation)?

The iPad Mini, as cool as it is, has never been seen as a staple in Apple’s portfolio. They tend to be a secondary addition to more significant announcements, and Apple is no longer constantly releasing one yearly. iPad Mini launches are kind of all over the place. We’ll get more into those details in the next section.

What matters is whether we will see an iPad Mini or not. If we had to bet on it, we would say Apple won’t be killing the iPad Mini series. It is the top dog in the small tablet market and still has plenty to offer. In fact, the iPad Mini (6th gen) was the second most sold tablet in Q1 2022, according to IDC. It was only second to the regular 2021 iPad.

Additionally, we’ve started to hear rumors of the next-gen iPad Mini 7, even if very few. Chances are it’s coming. It’s just a matter of when.

What is the iPad Mini (7th generation) release date?

• iPad Mini 1st generation: October 2012
• iPad Mini 2nd generation: October 2013
• iPad Mini 3rd generation: October 2014
• iPad Mini 4th generation: September 2015
• iPad Mini 5th generation: March 2019
• iPad Mini 6th generation: September 2021

You’ll quickly notice that most iPad Mini iterations were announced around October or September. The only exception was the iPad Mini (5th generation), which saw a March announcement. All iPad Minis were then released soon after their announcements. Usually, the same day, or some days after.

The iPad Mini (7th generation) should launch in September or October.

Given the iPad Mini’s launch history, we can assume the iPad Mini 7 will be announced sometime in September or October, but more likely in September, as that is the most common case in most recent launches. Of course, this is an assumption based on past history, and sometimes these dates change.

What we’re not sure of is if there will be a 2023 release, though. We might have to wait until 2024 to see the next iteration. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tweeted in late 2022 that mass shipment of the new tablet won’t commence until either late 2023 or during the first half of 2024. This means that, while there is slight hope for a 2023 launch, 2024 is more likely.

What features and specs will the iPad Mini (7th generation) have?

We haven’t seen many iPad Mini (7th generation) leaks just yet, but the few around give us a good look at what could be coming. We can also make some assumptions about what could be coming.

Processor upgrade

While smaller, iPad Mini devices are not really budget tablets. We’ve become accustomed to seeing these little pads carrying powerful processors, usually the same as their iPhone counterparts.

The 2021 iPad Mini came with the same Apple A15 Bionic processor the iPhone 13 series carried in 2021 when both launched. Similarly, we expect Apple to put a next-gen chipset in its next iPad Mini. Especially considering Ming-Chi Kuo also mentioned in his tweet that it would have an upgraded processor and that it would be a “main selling point.”

Chances are the 7th-generation iPad Mini will have either an Apple A16 Bionic used in the iPhone 14 Pro series or an A17 Bionic. Some believe it might even be an M series processor, which is what powers the more powerful iPads — like the iPad Pro M2 and iPad Air M1 — and all modern Mac computers.

Design changes?

The current iPad Mini follows the same design that kicked off with the iPhone 12 and has continued through the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 series. Apple seems fond of this design language with squared edges and a streamlined body. This was a significant change in the current iPad Mini, so we expect the design to be more or less similar. Nothing is official yet, though, but Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claims that Apple won’t do another major overhaul of the product.

We also expect the display size to stick to 8.3 inches. And since the iPad Mini (6th gen) already uses USB-C, and Apple is being forced to move away from Lightning, we assume the new iPad Mini (7th gen) will also stick to USB-C.

We might see more color options for the iPad Mini (7th generation).

Something we do think could happen is the addition of more color options. You can already get the current iPad Mini in four colors; Space Gray, Pink, Purple, and Starlight. But Apple has been getting more adventurous in this department lately. The iPhone 14 can be had in Midnight, Starlight, Red, Blue, Purple, and Yellow. Additionally, the standard iPad (10th generation) has much funkier colors; Blue, Pink, Yellow, and Silver. We wouldn’t be surprised if the new iPad Mini (7th generation) got more options too, or at least more exciting ones.

A better display would be nice

The iPad Mini (6th generation) Liquid Retina IPS LCD display is pretty good, but it could be better. We’re happy with the 1,488 x 2,266 resolution and 327ppi density, but one of the main complaints in our review was that it only had a 60Hz refresh rate. The current standard for higher-end products is 120Hz.

A 120Hz panel might happen for the next iPad Mini. Popular tech Twitter user @FromTron shared a Korean forum post in late 2021, in which it was rumored that Samsung Display shipped an 8.3-inch screen with a 120Hz refresh rate for testing. Current Apple devices with 120Hz refresh rates label this feature as “ProMotion.”

It would be nice to see 120Hz on the iPad Mini (7th generation) display, but it seems unlikely.

While we’re hoping for higher refresh rates like what ProMotion offers in other products, analyst Ross Young mentioned on Twitter that this isn’t likely the case. The iPad Mini uses an a-Si LCD, which isn’t compatible with ProMotion. Apple would need to switch the panel to an Oxide LCD.

Apple has been bringing higher-end panels to higher-end iPads. The iPad Pro 12.9 from 2022 has a Mini-LED screen, for example. We don’t expect to see this technology reaching the iPad Mini, but it’s sure nice to hope.

What will the iPad Mini (7th generation) price be?

Rumors and leaks are too few right now, and we haven’t heard anything half-convincing about the upcoming iPad Mini’s pricing. The iPad Mini already saw a $100 price increase with the 6th generation upgrade, though. It starts at $499, whereas the 5th generation iPad Mini was $399.

Given that we’re expecting a less drastic upgrade in the iPad Mini (7th generation), we can expect pricing to stay identical, or very similar to the current $499 MSRP.

Apple iPad Mini (7th generation): What we want to see

Can we get a Smart Connector?

Modern iPads now feature what Apple calls the Smart Connector. The iPad Mini is the only one missing it. This is a three-pin connection that attaches to accessories magnetically. Apple uses them to connect iPads to accessories such as keyboards. This connector can transfer both data and power, making it a very convenient addition we wish to see in the next iPad Mini.

Even the more affordable iPad (10th generation) has it, so we see no reason why it wouldn’t make it to the next iPad Mini. And if it does get the Smart Connector, chances are Apple will release other compatible accessories to go with it.

Thinner bezels

While the 7th gen iPad Mini manages to get much thinner bottom and top bezels, largely thanks to the removal of the home button, these are still pretty significant. The 2021 iPad Mini has a 77.4% screen-to-body ratio. That isn’t much compared to most other high-end devices.

That said, the bezels aren’t absolutely horrible, either. And many of you like that you have a nice area to hold the tablet without the risk of accidental touches.

Faster charging

In our iPad Mini (6th generation) review we mention that the included 20W charger doesn’t do much to juice up the device quickly. It took us about half an hour to reach from 10% to 50%, but going from 10% to 100% extended that time to about 90 minutes.

We know Apple has never been at the forefront of fast charging, but a boost sure would be nice. Since this device is actually pretty small, maybe even wireless charging would be a welcome addition.

Other smaller upgrades

Apple is likely to bring incremental upgrades throughout the iPad Mini experience. We might see improved cameras, more base storage, an upgrade to Wi-Fi 6E, and more. Of course, these are just assumptions, though. We will update this article with more spec details as they emerge.

Original article: Even if you love it and still use it daily, there’s no denying that the Nintendo Switch is getting old. Launched in 2017, the hybrid console celebrated its sixth birthday in March 2023, which means it’s getting close to retirement. With this in mind, one can’t help but wonder: where is the sequel, presumably called the Nintendo Switch 2?

Thankfully, there have been some rumors surrounding the sequel to Nintendo’s best-selling home console. We’ve rounded up the most trustworthy of them here. Towards the end of the article, we also have a few wishlist items — things we hope to see, but don’t have any evidence for quite yet.

Will there be a Nintendo Switch 2?

The Nintendo Switch is the company’s best-selling home console ever, with over 125 million units shipped to date. The only hardware Nintendo has released that has done better than the Switch is the Nintendo DS, which sold 154 million units. When you take this popularity into account, you can be relatively assured there will be a Nintendo Switch 2.

However, good luck finding any confirmation from Nintendo that that is, in fact, the case. On March 13, 2023, Nintendo’s head for the United States, Doug Bowser, discussed the success of the Switch and its possible sequel with the Associated Press. Here’s what he had to say:

As we enter the seventh year for the Nintendo Switch, sales are still strong. I think we still have a very, very strong lineup coming. As [Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa] said recently, we’re entering uncharted territory with the platform. It’s exciting to see that demand is still there. So nothing to announce on any future console or device, but we are still feeling very bullish about Nintendo Switch. I should be careful about what I personally would like to see [in a new Switch]. But what I can share is that one of the reasons that even going into year seven we feel very confident that the Switch can have a strong performance over the next few years is that it is still truly that unique device that you can play in a variety of ways, at home, on the go.

Bowser makes it very clear that the company is still hyper-focused on the original Switch. Remember, though, that this doesn’t necessarily negate the idea of a Nintendo Switch 2. The PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 have simultaneous support, a strategy that Nintendo could adopt, too (it’s done this before many times). In other words, it could simultaneously release games for the Switch and the Switch 2, with some games/features only working on the latest hardware. Eventually, it would phase out the original Switch and solely focus on the sequel.

Either way, however likely it might be that a Switch 2 will happen, there’s no confirmation from Nintendo yet.

Will it be called ‘Nintendo Switch 2’ or something else?

Sony sticks to a reliable naming scheme for its consoles. The first PlayStation was followed up by a PlayStation 2. After that, we saw a PS3 and a PS4. Even today, the newest console is the Sony PlayStation 5. It’s all very logical and reliable.

Nintendo doesn’t go this route. In fact, since the launch of the original Nintendo Entertainment System in 1983, there has never been a “2” in a Nintendo console’s name. That includes handheld consoles as well. So the likelihood of a sequel to the Switch landing with the official name of Nintendo Switch 2 is relatively low.

However, the Nintendo Switch is unlike anything the company has done before. Its ability to act as both a home console and a handheld sets it apart from Nintendo’s historical roster, and its runaway success has created some serious brand recognition for the word “Switch.” It’s possible the company could keep things simple and call the sequel a Switch 2. We think this won’t happen, though, and Nintendo would do something else. Some possible names could be Super Nintendo Switch, New Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Pro, or something really off the beaten path.

What is the Nintendo Switch 2 release date?

So, when is the Nintendo Switch 2 coming out? Nintendo hasn’t confirmed that a Switch 2 is even in the planning stages. As such, it’s impossible to determine when it could launch a sequel to the original Switch.

The original Switch launched on March 3, 2017. About 2.5 years later, the Nintendo Switch Lite launched on September 20, 2019. Less than two years after that, the Nintendo Switch OLED Model launched on July 6, 2021. Clearly, Nintendo is launching Switch hardware every two years, give or take. One would assume that 2023 would be the next big year.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case. During an earnings call discussing the fiscal year ending March 2023, executives confirmed there would be no new Switch hardware in the next fiscal year. That means Nintendo will not launch a Switch 2 until after March 2024. Of course, Nintendo is incredibly secretive, so this could be deflection. It wouldn’t be the first time the company said it would/wouldn’t do something and then went back on that statement.

What about Nintendo Live 2023, the in-person celebration Nintendo is throwing in September 2023? While this would seem to be a logical time to announce new Switch hardware, the company has confirmed that Nintendo Live 2023 will not see any new product launches. In other words, if Nintendo does launch a new Switch this year — which it says it won’t do — the Nintendo Live 2023 event is the one time we can be assured we won’t see it.

What features and specs will the Nintendo Switch 2 have?

We don’t expect Nintendo to reinvent the wheel with a Switch sequel. The original Switch is a massive hit and a cultural touchstone. Nintendo hopefully won’t mess with this success. As with the jump from the Nintendo DS to the Nintendo 3DS, we expect the company to keep the core of what the Switch is and make it better rather than wildly revamping things as it tried to do from the Wii to the Wii U.

Inevitably, though, the Nintendo Switch 2 would need to be more powerful than the original. The need for better CPU/GPU performance is painfully evident for Switch games like Pokémon Scarlet/Violet and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Both titles sap so much from the Switch’s meager processor that dropped frames, glitches, and even outright crashes are common.

The Switch sequel needs a better processor.

As such, we are confident Nintendo would include an upgraded processor with a Switch sequel. The system on a chip (SoC) in the Switch is based on the Tegra X1, which NVIDIA launched in 2015. We’d expect Nintendo to repeat this strategy for the Switch 2 and base its next-gen SoC on another, newer NVIDIA product. Keeping hardware similar would make backward compatibility easier and prevent third-party developers from needing to learn a whole new architecture. This was another mistake Nintendo made with the Wii U, which had dismal software support — and became the company’s worst-selling home console.

Outside of the SoC, we’d expect the Switch 2 to come with most of the upgrades present on the Switch OLED Model. That would include an OLED display (naturally), a dock with an Ethernet port, and at least 64GB of internal storage. However, it’s completely possible Nintendo would skip these features on the Switch 2 and save them for a Switch 2 OLED Model to launch later on down the road. At this point, that’s anyone’s guess.

Unfortunately, with zero confirmation from Nintendo that a Switch 2 is even in the pipeline, we don’t have many other rumored features to discuss. Head down further into this article for our wishlist features.

What will the Nintendo Switch 2 price be?

One reason for the runaway success of the original Switch is its price. At $299, it is significantly less expensive than a PlayStation 5 and the same price as an Xbox Series S. However, that does not mean the Switch 2 would be priced similarly.

If Nintendo does keep the original Switch in production when it launches a follow-up console — which is very possible considering Nintendo’s official statements on its continuing support for the original Switch — it could easily justify charging more for the Switch 2. For example, Nintendo could price a Switch 2 at $399. That’s still $100 less than an Xbox Series X and the same price as the digital-only version of the PlayStation 5. The success of the Switch has perhaps earned Nintendo the right to charge more, especially if it sees a ton of spec upgrades.

Nintendo Switch Lite

• Small and light
• Affordable
• Great game library

$199.99 at Amazon

Nintendo Switch with Neon Blue and Neon Red Joy‑Con

• Portable
• Huge game selection
• 4.8-star Amazon rating

$321 at Amazon

Nintendo Switch OLED

• Larger, more power-efficient display
• Dock with Ethernet
• Double the internal storage

$345.99 at Amazon

Save $ 4.00

If you think about it, that hypothetical $399 price would make a lot of sense. On the low end, you’d have the Switch Lite at $199. The original Switch would remain at $299, and the Switch OLED Model would be an upsell at its current price of $349. The Switch 2 could top the list as the newest and best model. Of course, Nintendo could make the Switch 2 feel more premium by eliminating the original Switch and dropping the Switch OLED Model to $299, too.

Regardless, we do not expect the Switch 2 to cost the same as the original at launch since both products will likely exist simultaneously. We might see price drops for existing Switch models, but the Switch 2 is going to be better and more powerful, so there’s a good chance it will be more expensive.

Nintendo Switch 2: What we want to see

A performance-boosting dock

The Switch’s dock is incredibly simplistic. Really, it’s just a plastic box with an HDMI adapter attached. The Switch OLED model slightly increases complexity by incorporating an Ethernet port, but it’s still just an adapter box. We’d love to see the Nintendo Switch 2 have a dock that also increases the power of the Switch itself.

The dock could act the same way as an eGPU, boosting the graphical abilities of the Switch when it’s connected. This could allow for higher refresh rates, higher resolutions (4K please!), better audio, etc., when playing the Switch 2 on your television. When you take it out of the dock to use it in handheld mode, the performance would drop — but it wouldn’t matter on that tiny screen. Obviously, this would increase the cost of the Switch 2 significantly, but it would make the console so much better. Even if this is a “Dock Pro” that’s sold separately, we’d love to see Nintendo do this.

Support for higher refresh rates

Whether playing on your TV or in handheld mode, all three current Switch models are capped at 60Hz. The Xbox Series X/S and the PlayStation 5 — both two years old at this point — support higher refresh rates. Even budget Android smartphones have 90Hz displays nowadays, so Nintendo needs to get with the times. We’d love to see 90Hz in handheld mode and 120Hz when docked. This would make the Switch 2 more of a modern console and would make it more future-proof. It would also help differentiate the Switch 2 and the original Switch models, as well as give it a leg up over Valve’s 60Hz-capped Steam Deck when not docked.

Better Joy-Con

Without a doubt, the weakest aspect of the original Switch is the Joy-Con controllers. The rumble tech is cool and the multiple control options are neat, but the stubby sticks, questionable ergonomics, and cheap, tiny buttons leave much to be desired when using the Switch on the go. Nintendo probably isn’t going to reinvent the wheel with a Switch 2, so the sequel console will probably have Joy-Con that are very similar in design to the originals. But there’s a ton of room for improvement there. Besides, Nintendo would need to avoid the “Joy-Con drift” debacle that still pervades to this day with Switch hardware. Once again, this could also be a simple differentiator for why the Switch 2 is more expensive than other Switch models.

Have any Nintendo Switch 2 leaks to share with us? Send us a tip, and we’ll check it out.

Peacock has been a fast-growing streaming service since its launch in 2020, with new shows and movies every week. While mostly known for its library content like The Office, Columbo, and other classic shows, along with some popular originals, it has more to offer than just on-demand programming. As streaming supplants cable TV, there’s a hunger for live channels, including news and sports. So, does Peacock have live TV? Read on for a full breakdown.

And if you’re not already a subscriber, you can sign up for Peacock by hitting the link below.

The short answer: Yes, Peacock has live TV

Peacock certainly does offer live TV. What you can access will depend on the subscription tier you opt for though.

It’s also worth noting that while Peacock is owned and operated by NBCUniversal, the live content on the streamer doesn’t just mirror what’s available from the company on its cable channels.

What can you watch live on Peacock?

You can watch tons of content on demand on Peacock. That includes titles from channels like NBC, Bravo, USA Network, SYFY, Oxygen, E!, MSNBC, Golf Channel, Universal Kids, A&E, ABC, CBS, The CW, Nickelodeon, Showtime, and more. You also get plenty of feature films from different studios.

While you won’t get those channels directly on Peacock, the service does have its own dedicated Peacock live channels, many with content only available live. By tuning in, you can watch various types of live programming as it airs. Peacock offers 54 live channels. The full list is below:

Live sporting events on Peacock

Among these live channels, you’ll see several that are dedicated to live sports. You can catch up on sporting events and commentary in real-time. That includes WWE wrestling events, the Olympics, pro golf, NFL football, and everything you’d find on NBC’s regular sports coverage.

The sports-centric Peacock live channels are NBC GolfPass, NBC Sports, NFL Channel, Olympic Spotlight, Premier League TV, and WWE.

Live news on Peacock

Because of its affiliation with NBC, Peacock offers live news, including news programming from different local markets. That means you’ll have access to national news broadcasts as well as news from closer to home.

The Peacock live news channels are The Choice from MSNBC, CNBC Ka-Ching, NBC Boston News, NBC Chicago News, NBC News Now, NBC Philadelphia News, NBC South Florida News, Sky News, and Today All Day.

Stream Saturday Night Live

All seasons of the iconic sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live are available to stream on-demand on Peacock. You can also watch the latest episodes after they air.

If you want to watch the new episodes live as they air, you’ll also be able to do that on Peacock, but you’ll need a paid Premium account.

Is live TV on Peacock free?

Peacock does offer live channels for free, supported by ads. For the most part, the free tier gives you access to channels that play library content on a loop.

Genuine live content like news is included with a free subscription, but for live sports and new, real-time episodes of Saturday Night Live, you do need to pay for either a Premium subscription at $4.99 per month or a Premium Plus subscription at $9.99 per month.