A little more than a year ago, Google revealed plans to bring one-click subscriptions to its Android TV platform. The feature has been missing in the long months since then, something that has finally changed in a small way. The company has confirmed that it is testing one-click subscriptions with "select" partners; it has also published a support document related to the feature.
The OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro are about to get a new stack of abilities for both Fortnite and Dolby sound. The Fortnite part is an update thanks to a partnership between OnePlus and the folks at Epic Games. The Dolby bit is an unofficial unlock of full Dolby Atmos equalizer settings on OnePlus 8, OnePlus 7T, and OnePlus 7 series phones.
T-Mobile USA introduced RCS (rich messaging) to T-Mobile users back in the year 2015 for their USA-based network. Here in 2020, T-Mobile USA and Google teamed up to expand T-Mobile users' ability to work with RCS "when texting with Android users on other networks across the globe." This system will be interesting to see expand, as it requires a smartphone that supports RSC Universal Profile 1.0 while the person receiving messages to have the official Google Messages app.
This week Spotify began rolling out an update that'll remove limits on "Your Library." Before now, you were limited to a total of 10,000 items in your Spotify library. Once you'd reached that point, the Spotify tracker system would send you a message - that message will no longer be sent, after this update is fully released.
Remember the almost comical incident more than three years ago when Amazon Echo speakers started ordering dollhouses because a TV anchor said so? Those things are long behind us and people have been less than enthusiastic about the prospect of making big orders without any visual confirmation from their phone at the very least. But for a certain class of users, that may be the only kind of interaction they may be able to make which is why Google is now testing an accessibility feature that would let some users confirm purchases by voice alone.
In a bit of a shock result, the May voting for June and July Pokemon GO Community Day featured monsters are... Weedle and Gastly! While the Gastly line - leading to Haunter and Gengar - has one of the biggest Glass Cannon Pokemon in the game, Weedle remains a mystery. Could it be that the Pokemon GO universe finally reached the point at which they're only trying to Catch Em All?
Google Podcasts, the company's audio show app that has steadily evolved from a barebones offering to something more sophisticated, has finally added support for Apple's CarPlay automotive platform. With this support, iPhone owners can use the Google Podcasts app to stream their favorite shows in their vehicle using CarPlay, making it a bit more useful for those who often listen to content while driving.
It's been a long time, in tech industry terms, since Google announced its second-generation Pixel Buds, and it's fair to say that the truly wireless earbud category has moved on considerably in the meantime. In all honesty, I expected to be blown away by Google's promised sound quality, comfort, and features for the Pixel Buds' $179 price tag. So at the end of the day, are they worth your hard-earned money? Let's find out.
The next major update for WhatsApp will add some real encryption for chat history in iCloud. That's not to say that WhatsApp was necessarily unencrypted in any other way in the past, but this newest update adds a key component to the mix, specifically for iOS user. There's also a QR code element that'll soon - we can only cross our fingers and hope - be added to the system to make the sending of user details faster and simpler.
Google's Pixel 4a is coming, and do you may not be surprised so see that means some great Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL deals as the last of the old stock gets moved off the shelves. Though the Pixel 3a was launched last year, and based off Google's previous-generation flagship, that's not to say it's a phone that should be off your shortlist.
It may be hard for most people to get around these days but it has always been a gamble for less able people to go out. Although mandated by many laws across the world, accessibility for those with physical handicaps hasn't always been implemented properly and uniformly in places that should. Wheelchair access, for example, is still a hit or miss, which is why Google Maps is now rolling out its latest accessibility feature so that you can check if a location has wheelchair access even before you leave home.
A series of features that first appeared on the Samsung Galaxy S20 series smartphones will soon see release on the Galaxy Note 9. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 continues to roll as one of the most reliable, solid workhorses on the market as released by Samsung in the last few years. Now, with the One UI 2.1 update, we'll see features like Single Take, a new zoom interface, and both Music Share and Quick Share.