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When people compare iOS to Android, one aspect of Android that receives nearly universal praise is how it handles app notifications. Thanks to the meticulous work Google has put into the feature over the years, Android notifications are easy to read, interact with, and manage. Android offers granular, per-app, and per-category-level control over notifications, and with every new OS release, Google has introduced new features to make managing them even easier. The upcoming Android 15 update will be no different.

With the release of Android 8.0 in 2017, Google introduced the ability for apps to create notification channels. Notification channels are essentially categories to which apps must assign notifications. For example, a shopping app might have a notification channel for order updates and another channel for promoting sales.

The Nintendo Switch is one of those products that’s almost never on sale. Seriously, the original model was released seven years ago, and it’s no cheaper now than it was then. We’ll take any discount on it that we can find, and Amazon just surprised us with a $40 price drop on the Nintendo Switch OLED. This means you can get it today for $309.99.

Nintendo Switch OLED for $309.99 ($40 off)

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If you use Google Wallet on Wear OS for tap-to-pay transactions, using the feature could soon become more tedious. The service may start requiring you to enter a PIN code before allowing you to use the quick payment method.

Normally, when using the Google Wallet tap-to-pay function on your smartwatch, you can just tap and go. Unless the device senses that it has separated far enough from your body, then it will ask for PIN. However, some users are reporting that a PIN code prompt is now popping up every time they try to use tap-to-pay, according to 9to5Google.

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Samsung has a wide portfolio of smartphones, boasting phones that can serve various needs across price points. Despite the abundance of devices, Samsung has slowly unified its design language across its lineup. This is great for brand recognition but also means that devices start looking very boring. Samsung has launched an exciting new phone with a leather back and striking colors, but you can’t buy this one if you really want to.

Samsung has quietly launched the Galaxy C55 5G in China, a mid-range device that stands out from the crowd (h/t Sammobile). This phone has a stitched leather back design, a slim form factor, and striking Orange and Black color options. The Galaxy C55 also has a flat display with thin bezels, giving the phone a unique look.

A series centered around a superhero without actual powers— leave it to anime to give us that. My Hero Academia has given us six whole seasons of action, with both heroes and villains getting satisfying arcs.

Is My Hero Academia going to enter the final arc of its manga? Are we going to get a seventh season? Find out what we know about the My Hero Academia season 7 release date and where the plot is taking us next.

TikTok has been one of the most popular apps in the world for nearly half a decade now. It has fundamentally reshaped the way millions of people consume content on the web, but all of that attention has (rightfully) also warranted concern from officials. In some countries, such as India, TikTok has already been banned for years.

Now, things have finally come to a head, with the United States House of Representatives finally passing a bill to force TikTok to sell or shut down in the US. If you haven’t been following the whole story, we’ve broken down everything you need to know about the TikTok ban, the reasons behind it, and the full timeline so far.

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Interest in good smart rings has been steadily rising, but the segment can still be considered quite nascent compared to other established product segments like smartphones and smartwatches. The Samsung Galaxy Ring could be the big break that smart rings need, but we still have to wait some months for Samsung to fully launch the product. A new leak has revealed model numbers of the size SKUs of the Galaxy Ring, but the leak creates more questions than it answers.

A report from GalaxyClub has revealed the different model numbers of the Samsung Galaxy Ring. These are:

The Skullcandy Crusher Evo got a very respectable 7.6-star review from the hard-to-please experts at our sister site, SoundGuys — and that score was based on the $200 retail price. With Amazon giving you the chance to pick up the wireless headphones for just $99.88 today, it’s a deal you won’t want to miss.

Skullcandy Crusher Evo for $99.88 ($100 off)

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If you want a flagship-level Android phone but don’t want to pay the full price, you can check out Samsung’s Certified Re-Newed store to save some money. Today would be a good time to do that, too, as the store is adding a new phone to the list — the Galaxy S23 series.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the Certified Re-Newed program, it is where the firm extends the life of popular but older products. For example, you can pick up a refurbished Galaxy S22 Ultra for only $830. These devices undergo check-ups, get new parts (e.g. batteries, speakers, and more), and go through a variety of tests before being sold so they are almost like new.

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With the launch of the iPhone 15 series last September, Apple discontinued its leather-made accessories in favor of a new FineWoven material. While the two iPhone case variants share the same $59 price tag, their look, feel, and longevity don’t quite match. As a result, customers and reviewers have been voicing their frustrations on online platforms for months, and Apple may have finally listened.

According to leaker Kosutami, Apple has stopped and removed the production line for its FineWoven accessories. The company is reportedly shifting to a new material due to FineWoven’s bad durability.

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For a long time, Apple had refrained from releasing lower-end iPhones that cater to those on more limited budgets. While we now have an SE line with a lower price tag, it’s still relatively expensive compared to cheap Android phones. Despite that, Apple reportedly has no plans to release an even cheaper iPhone anytime soon, as that would dilute its premium brand.

According to Bloomberg, Apple may need to release a more affordable iPhone to appeal to customers in emerging markets. However, the company is reportedly unwilling to do so, as that could impact its high-end status. Consequently, those on lower budgets will have to seek a low-end Android phone or opt for a used iPhone.

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We heard our first solid Galaxy S24 FE rumors earlier this month, as a Korean outlet reported that the phone was real and could launch sooner rather than later. Now, a trusted website has claimed that the Samsung phone could actually arrive much later.

Dutch outlet Galaxy Club reported that the Galaxy S24 FE was indeed in the works, also asserting that the device has the code name R12.

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Nothing is riding on a wave of good reception from consumers, thanks to impactful products like the Nothing Phone 2a, which we’ve liked for bringing something new to the budget smartphone market. But the company has also had its share of controversies, like the Nothing Chats debacle, which was a privacy nightmare. Nothing appears to have suffered an alleged data breach recently, as we could locate a bunch of information around Nothing Community profiles floating on the internet.

We have located a file on a text file-sharing website containing a data dump of several Nothing Community profiles. The data present in this dump includes already-public information, such as usernames, display names, join dates, comment counts, last-seen information, forum profile permissions, and more.

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Many smartphone brands have their own camera testing setups, allowing them to fine-tune their photo and video experience. We seldom get a close look at these facilities, though, but Google has now peeled the curtain back on its lab setup.

CNET was allowed to tour Google’s camera testing facility for its Pixel phones, and the tech giant opted for a more practical approach to its camera sets. The company showed off cafe and living room sets which were used to test the Night Sight Video/Video Boost features on the Pixel 8 Pro versus the Pixel 7 Pro.

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The Gemini assistant didn’t exactly enjoy a smooth launch, but Google has been working to improve the chatbot since then. The latest addition to the service could be faster responses for the Android app, according to a new report.

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Pixel phone users can expect a second April update with a fix for network and connectivity issues plaguing their devices. The update started rolling out to Pixel 8 and Pixel 7 devices on Verizon late last week. The carrier has also posted a changelog that confirms that the new April Pixel update “provides performance improvements for LTE call/data and network issues.”

A few weeks back, we investigated widespread reports of Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 8 series owners complaining about network-related issues following the March 2024 update. Users said that their phones randomly missed calls and that text messages arrived in batches throughout the day. We reached out to Google multiple times to get an official response but didn’t receive an update from the company.

Now, Google is also reportedly sending emails to affected Pixel users acknowledging the network and connectivity issues and informing them about the upcoming fix.

“We’re starting to push an update to Pixel 7 and newer phones. This includes network stability and performance improvements. This update will roll out globally to the regions and carriers impacted over the coming weeks,” Google wrote in its email to a Reddit user.

According to Verizon’s changelog, the new April Pixel update once again includes the month’s security patch, which rolled out to Pixel phones a while back. It comes with software version AP1A.240405.002.B1. Verizon Pixel users who received the update are reporting that the new software has fixed the issue of missed calls and slow text messages.

“So far it has fixed the connectivity and reception issues that have been having recently,” said one user.

“I sideloaded it two days ago, for now no issues with recieving calls and messages. Fingers crossed it lasts,” said another.

If you haven’t received the new April update as an OTA on your Pixel devices yet, you can manually sideload the package from here. Our guide provides instructions on sideloading an OTA.

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Samsung India is reportedly offering a free, one-time screen replacement to users with select Galaxy phones experiencing the green line issue.

Reports about a green line appearing on Samsung phones have been ramping up lately. We’ve also received multiple emails from our readers stuck with green lines on their Galaxy flagships. However, this isn’t a new issue. We found complaints on Reddit that date back to last year. More recently, Galaxy S21 series users have been reporting the appearance of a green line on their devices following software updates.

It seems Samsung has taken note of the issue, at least in one country. In India, Samsung is now offering a free display replacement for Galaxy S20, Galaxy S21, Galaxy Note 20, and Galaxy S22 phones affected by the green line issue. However, Samsung’s replacement policy only applies to these devices if they were purchased within the last three years.

Samsung India offers a ONE-TIME FREE SCREEN REPLACEMENT for select models(within 3 years of purchase) experiencing GREEN LINE issue, even if your warranty’s expired!

Applicable Models:
•S20 Series
•Note20/Ultra
•S21 Series(Excluded FE)
•S22 Ultra(SM-S908E)

Repost to help pic.twitter.com/t1Au0zthlE

ChatGPT has become an indispensable creative tool for many of us. Cutting-edge as it is, however, ChatGPT still suffers from occasional slowdowns that can leave you waiting for seconds or even upwards of a minute between responses. Switching to the paid ChatGPT-4 model won’t necessarily speed things up either. All of this begs two important questions: why is ChatGPT so slow and what can we do to improve it?

Why is ChatGPT so slow? A technical overview

ChatGPT is an example of generative AI, or artificial intelligence that can generate new content. It’s a process that requires significant amounts of computational power. Each time you send the chatbot a message, it needs to decode it and generate a new response. Internally, ChatGPT’s underlying language model processes text as tokens instead of words. You can think of a ChatGPT token as the most fundamental unit of the chatbot’s message.

Language models like the one powering ChatGPT have been trained on hundreds of gigabytes of text, meaning they’ve learned the patterns of human language and dialogue. Given large volumes of text, it can also learn context and how words and sentences relate to each other. Using this training, we can then ask the model to generate entirely brand-new text that it has never seen before.

ChatGPT's underlying tech requires large amounts of (limited) computing power.

So each time you ask ChatGPT something, the underlying model leans on its training to predict the next word or token in its response. The model can sequence these probability calculations to form entire sentences and paragraphs of text.

Each token prediction requires some amount of computational power, just like how our brains can sometimes pause to make decisions. The only difference is that AI models running on powerful servers can typically predict hundreds of tokens every second.

As for what makes ChatGPT so slow, it’s simply a matter of excessive demand for the limited amount of computational power available. The language model you pick has an impact too — more advanced models are generally slower. While OpenAI hasn’t released exact numbers, it’s safe to assume that GPT-4 Turbo will not respond as quickly as the standard GPT-3.5 model.

How to improve ChatGPT’s response speed

With the explanation of how ChatGPT’s responses work out of the way, you might be wondering if there’s a way to speed up its responses. Luckily, there are a few things you can try to improve the situation.

1. Try a different browser, connection, and device

Before assigning the blame squarely on ChatGPT, we should try and rule out any potential reasons for the slowdown on our end. A misconfigured browser or internet connection could just as easily be the reason behind slow ChatGPT responses, so it’s worth starting there.

Before proceeding, we’d recommend clearing your browser’s saved cookies and cache files. To do this, head into your browser’s settings page and look for a reset or clear browsing data button. In Chrome, for example, it’s under Settings > Reset > Restore settings to their original defaults > Reset settings. After resetting your browser, you’ll have to log into your ChatGPT account again.

2. Is ChatGPT slow today? Check OpenAI’s status page

OpenAI maintains an official status page that can tell you if ChatGPT is not working or experiencing slowdowns at the moment. It’s the quickest way to know whether the service is affected by a major outage or has difficulty keeping up with increased user demand.

If the status page indicates an issue with ChatGPT, there’s unfortunately nothing you can do to fix it. Most issues are resolved within a few hours, so you may not have to wait very long.

3. Check for an active VPN connection

While a VPN on its own doesn’t necessarily translate to slower ChatGPT responses, corporate or public ones may affect the chatbot in subtle ways. Corporate VPNs, in particular, may block or interfere with the connection to ChatGPT’s servers.

Likewise, if you use a popular VPN service and connect to a busy server, ChatGPT’s servers may detect a flood of requests from a single IP address. This could trigger anti-spam measures or rate limiting, which throttles the speed at which you can send and receive messages.

The best course of action would be to try using the chatbot without a VPN connection if you currently have one enabled. We already know that ChatGPT saves your data at the account level, so there’s no privacy benefit to using a VPN here.

4. Upgrade to ChatGPT Plus

If none of the previous solutions worked for you, it may be because you tend to use ChatGPT when it’s at its busiest. And if you use the chatbot for free, you’ll be lower on the priority list compared to a paying customer. If response speed truly matters to you, a ChatGPT Plus subscription might be your last resort, although you should consider reading the next section first.

A ChatGPT Plus subscription will set you back $20 monthly but it does offer faster responses. You also get priority access to the chatbot during periods of heavy demand, which should help with any slowdowns you may face.

5. Use an alternative chatbot with faster response times

While ChatGPT was once the only AI language tool on the market, that’s no longer the case. Take Microsoft Copilot, for example. Even though it relies on the same GPT family of language models, it may have a speed advantage depending on ChatGPT’s server load. But in my experience, Google’s Gemini typically delivers faster responses than either GPT-based chatbot.

Likewise, a handful of other generative AI-based tools like Perplexity offer faster responses than ChatGPT. This is likely because conventional chatbots need to remember previous messages for context, which can increase the complexity of token predictions. Smaller language models will also deliver faster responses but at the expense of response quality.

This is the Insta360 X4, an impressive action camera that stands out in the market. The latest action camera in the brand’s X series has seen some exciting upgrades since the X3, the most significant being its ability to shoot up to 8K. However, there’s much more to this action camera than just this feature.

As the name implies, the Insta360 X4 is a pocket-sized camera capable of capturing 360-degree video in virtually any situation. One of the best ways to utilize the Insta360 is with a selfie stick, available in the Get Set bundle. A unique feature of this camera is that the stick disappears during video playback, thanks to the camera’s ability to detect and digitally remove the selfie stick from the 360-degree video. Check the video at the top of this review to see it in action!

Despite its small size, the Insta360 X4 boasts impressive specifications. It’s waterproof up to 33 feet (about 10 meters), offers 58% faster Wi-Fi transmission speeds than its predecessor and features an upgraded USB 3.0 port. The camera also comes with a 2290mAh removable battery, which can be charged via USB-C. On a full charge, the camera can last up to 135 minutes when filming at 5.7k.

The Insta360 X4 is a pocket-sized camera capable of capturing 360-degree video in virtually any situation.

The camera offers several recording modes, including the classic 360 video that now supports up to 8K resolution, allowing for zooming in without losing quality. The camera’s app allows you to change the perspective of the video, offering unique angles and impressive first-person footage. The app also features a tracking function that focuses on what’s in front of you, simplifying the editing process.

The Insta360 X4 can also create 11k time lapses and record in 4K at 60 frames per second with a single lens option. One of the standout features is its loop recording, which allows you to set a duration for the footage to record over itself, ensuring that the memory card never fills up. This feature is particularly useful for dash cam use.

Another popular mode is “bullet time,” which centers the video around you using the selfie stick. In this mode, the camera can record up to 4K at 30fps, and the selfie stick is digitally removed during playback. All editing for this mode is done within the Insta360 app.

The Insta360 X4 also has AI gestures for easy use, especially when using the selfie stick. For instance, you can start recording by raising your hand or taking a picture by making a peace sign. Voice commands are also available for taking photos and starting or stopping recordings, making it highly user-friendly.

The Insta360 app is an integral part of using the Insta360 X4, as it offers a plethora of features. It can be used as a viewfinder, to switch modes, and to start and stop your recording. This is particularly useful when using an extended selfie stick. The app allows you to get creative with your videos. It may take some time to get used to, but once you do, you can select any angle that your Insta360 has recorded. It offers a pro mode for adding music and using a multi-viewer for more than one angle. It also includes face filters, video filters, and much more.

The app also features a quick mode for creating different clips using 360-degree video. You can manually move the video or move your phone around to view the entire 360 sphere of video. The app also offers an AI mode that automatically creates short videos from your longer clips, selecting angles and adding music.

All told, the Insta360 X4 is an incredibly versatile camera that can be used in countless ways in your video workflow. It’s a worthy addition to any vlogger’s setup, especially travel vloggers, as it can significantly enhance the quality of your videos.

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Gemini assistant has been a great substitute for Google Assistant on many fronts. However, the LLM still has some limitations, like being unable to identify songs or work with third-party music services like Spotify. But Google could soon give Gemini a feature that would drop that limitation.

Google appears to be preparing to give its chatbot a new music-related feature. According to a tip from AssembleDebug provided to PiunikaWeb, Gemini may soon get a “Music” option that allows the user to “select preferred services used to play music.” This feature was discovered within the Gemini Settings page.

In the images below, you can see the feature appears as the second to last option in the list. When you tap on Music, you’re taken to a page where you can “Choose your default media provider.” This page appears empty at the moment with no services listed.

The feature hints that users will soon be able to pick a service that Gemini can integrate with. Once integrated, this would open up the ability to get Gemini to play music with voice commands.

It’s unknown if Google will eventually expand this function to other types of media, like audiobooks or podcasts. Furthermore, there is no information on when the company plans to roll this feature out. But when and if it does, it should be a win for music enthusiasts.

The idea of voice-based social networks isn’t new. Clubhouse boomed during the Covid era and floundered soon after. However, Clubhouse’s moment of fame led to several copycats and even spurred the addition of voice to existing platforms like Twitter.

On the face of it, Airchat (Play Store) is yet another take on the old formula. So, why has it gotten so much attention recently?

What is Airchat?

In 2023, Naval Ravikant, the co-founder of AngelList and early-stage investor in companies like Uber and Twitter, introduced the first iteration of Airchat. While I never got around to using it, a quick look around suggests that the original ambition erred towards a hybrid of Clubhouse and Instagram. It bombed. But Airchat is back, and this time, the approach is decidedly different.

Airchat trades text for voice, but its Twitter and Threads inspirations are obvious.

I managed to score an invite to Airchat earlier this week and have spent a fair amount of time on the network. The newly resurrected app still trades text for voice. Yes, you read that right. You cannot input any text, and all user interactions are via voice. Still in beta, the entire vibe is more early days of Twitter than the current hell hole that X has become. Airchat’s fresh inspirations are pretty obvious, too. Launching the app drops you straight into a home page that looks like a cross between Threads and Twitter. From there, things get interesting quickly.

The app will immediately start playing back the first conversation in the feed alongside replies to the chat. It’s almost like overhearing a water cooler chat. The built-in AI is quick to transcribe voice chats and is astonishingly good at it. In fact, you can see it making corrections in real time. Tagging other users works by calling out their handles after you’ve voiced out your message. And no, there is no text input at all. It’s voice or nothing.

A small userbase and a voice-only model make Airchat an intimate network

I’ve observed that the voice-first approach adds a certain intimacy to the conversations I’m having on Airchat. It’s a stark change from the relative anonymity of platforms like Twitter, where your virtual and actual identity don’t need any correlation. And I say this as someone who has only now switched to a real-world profile pic on Twitter.

The small user base and voice-based interactions give the app a tight-knit community feel.

The incredibly small and community-like user base also fuels the casual intimacy of conversations on Airchat. It’s hard to gauge the exact number, but based on my experience, the active user base appears to be in the low thousands at best. The app is constantly being updated, and a subreddit-style community feature was launched just the other day. The fitness community, likely to be one of the most popular, currently has just over 1800 users, further signaling how small the user base is on the invite-only app.

However, where Airchat differs from other apps is in the level of engagement. I’ve come across deeply insightful conversations, and adding an element of voice to the mix makes it seem like you’re talking to an actual person instead of a talking head or internet guru.

Of course, there are restrictions. Voice posts have now been limited to 5 minutes, ensuring Airchat doesn’t get misused as a podcasting platform. It probably also helps get people off their virtual soapbox. Elsewhere, the latest update has added video support. I haven’t tried that yet, nor have I seen anyone else give it a whirl.

Is Airchat worth trying out now?

I can safely say that I’ve enjoyed using AirChat quite a bit, but despite that, I have my inhibitions about its future. A voice-based app faces one fundamental issue: privacy. Clubhouse gained steam when everyone was stuck at home and could talk freely. That’s not the case today. Sure, you can turn down the volume on your phone and read up on the latest conversations on the platform. But unlike Twitter, Instagram, or Reddit, you can’t actively participate in discussions without voice. This rules out sneaking in a conversation between meetings or even in a public space where talking aloud might not be acceptable. Late night doomscrolling on Twitter without waking up your partner just isn’t a possibility here.

Much as I'm enjoying my time with Airchat, it's hard to see it scale and compete against the existing juggernauts.

Moreover, I don’t see how this limitation can be addressed without changing the app’s fundamental ethos. And there’s no way the limitation won’t restrict the audience and scale. That said, I see nothing wrong with creating an app positioned towards a more niche and engaged audience. Airchat probably won’t be the Amazon of social media, but Etsy has a thriving user base, too.

My last four days with Airchat have been interesting, to say the least. While it’s too early to tell if it’s going to give serious competition to Big Social Media just yet, the new incarnation of Airchat might have enough staying power to become its own niche player.

If you’ve got an Apple device like an iPhone or Apple Watch, you’ll probably want (or even need) Siri, the company’s voice assistant. Here’s how to set up Siri for the first time and activate Siri on any Apple product.

Read more: The best Siri commands for productivity and more

It’s easy to delete all of your emails in Gmail, but it’s more likely that you just want to clear out the older ones that are no longer relevant. we’ll guide you through how to delete old emails in Gmail and keep your inbox streamlined. You can even make it automatic.

How to delete old emails in Gmail

To delete all old emails in Gmail, you can follow these steps:

• Search for old emails. You can use two general methods. To find all emails older than a certain amount of time, use older_than:[time period]. To find all emails received before a certain date, use before:[date].
• You only need a number and a single letter to denote the time period. d is day, w is week, m is month, and y is year. For the date, you input using the format YYYY/MM/DD.
• For example, if you wanted to find all of the emails older than two years, you would put older_than:2y into the search bar.
• If you wanted to find all emails received before March 2023, you would search before:2023/03/01.
• Add the search criteria you want and then press enter. The emails matching your search will appear.

 

• Now to delete all of the emails appearing in your search. Select them all by clicking on the checkbox in the top left.
• Note that if you have more than one page of results (more than 50 emails) you will see a message at this stage telling you that clicking this checkbox has only highlighted all of the emails on that page. It will also give you the option to Select all conversations that match this search in the results. Press this if you want to delete all of them.
• Finally, hit the Trash can icon to move all of these emails to the trash.
• They will be deleted from the trash folder automatically after 30 days. But you can remove them completely right away by emptying the trash in Gmail.

How to automatically delete old emails in Gmail

As easy as the above process is, you don’t need to go through it periodically. You can set up a filter to automatically delete old emails in Gmail. It’s really easy to do now that you have the search terms you need.

• Start by clicking on the Show search options button. It’s at the far right of the search bar and is represented by an icon of some dials.
• You’ll see various fields that you can use to filter the emails. You need to use the search terms from the section above in the Has the words field.
• In this example, I want to delete all of my emails that are more than five years old. So in the Has the words field I have inputted older_than:2y.
• Next, press Create filter.
• You now get a second menu of options to decide what happens to the emails to which your filter applies. Click on the checkbox next to Delete it.

 

You’ll return to the inbox with a message in the bottom left corner confirming that your filter was created. Old emails matching the filter criteria will be deleted automatically. Just be sure that you’re sure, as you may not be able to recover deleted emails.

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TikTok is now one step closer to facing a ban in the US if parent company ByteDance chooses not to divest its ownership stake. The ban could take effect as soon as in the next few days.

Despite massive lobbying efforts to keep TikTok in the US, the House of Representatives passed legislation today that would ban the app in the country, according to NBC News. The bill passed after 360 representatives voted in favor of the ban, with 58 saying no.

Now that the bill has passed the House once again, it will need approval from the Senate and the President to become law. It will arrive on the Senate floor next week as part of a crucial aid package for Ukraine and Israel. The measure is expected to pass, with President Joe Biden expected to sign it as soon as it reaches his desk.

This ban measure stems from bipartisan concerns about TikTok’s connection to China. There’s a fear that China could use the app to spread propaganda to the US audience. In addition, there are concerns about the massive amounts of data being collected on the millions of American users.

If the bill becomes law, ByteDance will have two options: sell TikTok or end its presence in the US. It’s likely ByteDance will exhaust all of its options before considering divesture.

I’ve been using MacBooks for almost 14 years. Call me a creature of habit, but six machines later, when it came time to upgrade my laptop, it was clear that my next machine would be yet another addition from Apple’s stable.

Previously, the decision had been easy. I’m a pro user with pro needs, and only a MacBook Pro would cut it. That’s not entirely the case anymore. Apple’s M-series silicon has flipped the game altogether and leapfrogged the Intel and AMD competition in all but gaming. The M3-powered MacBook Air piqued my curiosity.

A Pro-user needs a Pro-machine. The MacBook Air flips that thought on its head.

However, I’d burnt my fingers on a MacBook Air once. That machine barely lasted me weeks before I turned it in and upgraded to a — you guessed it — MacBook Pro. But despite my apprehensions, I decided to give the all-new MacBook Air M3 a shot over the Pro. I don’t regret it. Here’s why.

Why I chose the MacBook Air

My work requires researching, reading, and staying on top of the latest news. Opening several dozens of tabs simultaneously isn’t uncommon. Plus, I’ll usually have an instance of Photoshop or Lightroom open and Spotify and Slack running in the background. Add Notion to the mix for note-taking and a few more utilities, and the workload adds up.

In the past, this workload alone would have my old MacBook Pro huffing and puffing. In fact, I don’t remember a time when the fan wasn’t spinning at full blast. Sure, I could learn to manage my computational load better, but chaotic good tends to be my default work state. I expect my machine to keep up with me, and I don’t mind pushing the laptop to its limits.

My working style is chaotic good, and I expect my machines to keep pace.

Lately, however, I’ve felt the itch for a different machine. With more and more travel and, well, age catching up, I’ve started appreciating the benefits of a lighter laptop. More importantly, with the pandemic long behind us, I like working out of cafes or while traveling. Long battery life is essential to me. It was clear that I needed an upgrade from my hulking Intel MacBook Pro, and the new M3-powered MacBook Air seemed like the obvious choice.  I was prepared to compromise on performance if need be.

How’s the performance of the M3-powered MacBook Air?

As it turns out, I needn’t have worried. The MacBook Air runs circles around the my old Pro without even breaking a sweat. This shouldn’t surprise anyone who has used a recent M-series MacBook. But bear with me.

100 chrome tabs? No sweat. The M3-powered MacBook Air runs circles around it.

I’m a heavier-than-average laptop user. When I mention opening Chrome tabs, it’s not a few or even a dozen. I often have 50 or even a hundred tabs split across browsers and macOS desktops. I’m using the 16GB RAM and 512GB storage variant of the MacBook Air, and I’ve faced no slowdowns at all at any point. It keeps chugging along like any other day.

Sure, browser-based workflows might not paint the complete picture of a laptop’s performance, but creative apps can. Between Da Vinci Resolve, Premier Pro, Photoshop, and Lightroom, I run the whole gamut of creative apps. And that’s where the performance improvements really start showing up. Apple knows its audience, and switching to the M-series silicon gave it the freedom to build in media accelerators and NPUs tuned explicitly to the needs of its customers.

Compared to my old Intel Mac’s hour-long thermal throttled meltdown while rendering a 4K video, the MacBook Air pulls it off in seconds. The difference is night and day.

The NPU-enhancements to the M3 silicon do a lot of the heavy lifting in tasks that take advantage of it.

Before looking into the M3-powered MacBook Air, I’d briefly considered settling for an M1 or M2 unit instead. Great as the M3 version is, highlight changes like dual monitor support and a new anodized finish didn’t seem all that critical. However, the thing about building a machine so far ahead of the curve is that generational improvements don’t seem like much. For the sake of fairness, I borrowed a friend’s M1-series MacBook Air. While the M1 silicon was still leagues ahead of my Intel MacBook Pro, placing the two next to each other painted a truer picture of the noticeable speed enhancements with the M3. In fact, the M3 MacBook proved to be almost double as fast as the M1 MacBook Air in many of my daily tasks.

One of the biggest upgrades this year has been to the Neural Engine. Optimized for machine learning and AI-based tasks, it is supposed to be up to 60% faster than the one on M1 Silicon. If there’s something to be said about the Apple ecosystem, it’s the fact that popular developers are quick to build features that push the hardware’s limits. Apps like Luminar Neo take full advantage of the NPU cores to deliver faster edits and Generative AI-style features. If that’s your use case, you’ll absolutely notice the year-on-year improvements.

But three weeks on, what truly boggles the mind is this laptop’s ability to pull off incredible performance without sacrificing battery life. Apple’s 18-hour claims are a bit hard to gauge as I don’t sit at my computer with a stopwatch in hand. However, I’ve been using this laptop for the last three days without recharging. In the meantime, I’ve penned down this entire feature, ideated and scripted two videos, edited them, and watched a movie on Netflix. That’s bonkers!

Beautifully flawed

But despite all those positives, it is pretty clear to me that as far as M-series silicon has come, it isn’t perfect yet. For example, while the MacBook Air gets dual-screen support with the M3 refresh, you must close the lid to enable it.

While not a dealbreaker, that’s absurd to me as I’m used to keeping the laptop screen open as a third monitor. Additionally, it’s not just screen real estate that you’re losing out on. The MacBook Air uses its keyboard to dissipate heat. With the screen shut and the laptop presumably doing computationally intensive work across dual displays, there’s a noticeable dip in performance due to reduced heat dissipation. For example, video rendering time almost doubled for me in a quick test. It was still plenty fast, but the difference is noticeable and negates some of the advantages of the faster chip.

Even Apple must see the ridiculousness of shipping a $1100 laptop with 8GB of RAM.

Elsewhere, Apple’s penny-pinching still bites. Shipping 8GB of RAM as the default in a 2024 laptop is hilarious but not as ironically funny as Apple’s RAM upgrade prices. Here’s the thing: I can see Apple’s reasoning for the default amount of RAM. The tight software and hardware integration and fast RAM mean you probably wouldn’t run out of RAM under common use cases. I borrowed an M2 MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM and was surprised by how well it could manage a higher-than-average workload. The system seamlessly manages memory swaps, making any RAM limitations transparent to users.

In fact, it takes deliberate effort and very heavy use to drop into page swap territory on my 16GB machine. There’s also a point to be made that someone buying a base-level MacBook Air likely isn’t an enthusiast user anyway. But Apple’s choice to stick with 8GB as the default is sheer stubbornness. It would cost the company pennies to upgrade the base amount of RAM and simultaneously eliminate all the bad press stemming from it. At a time when phones ship with more RAM than your laptop, shipping the bare minimum and charging an arm and a leg for an upgrade just reeks of capitalism.

The dire port situation is made worse by the flaky backwards compatibility.

Finally, I’ve had my fair share of issues using legacy hardware with my new MacBook. For example, my mechanical keyboard tends to lag when plugged into the Air. My OWC Thunderbolt dock refuses to work with the MacBook Air. My guitar amp, too, doesn’t work with the laptop. If it were one device that acted flaky, I’d blame it on the peripheral. However, a series of devices not working correctly suggests backward compatibility issues with the Mac.

MacBook Air M3: The laptop perfected

It’s hard not to be impressed by the MacBook Air. Apple has seemingly performed magic to deliver performance akin to a high-end laptop from a machine with the form factor of a glorified Chromebook. It also represents a whole new era of portable computing. As far as Apple’s laptops go, based on my experience, the distinction between user demographics has never been more apparent.

The MacBook Air has clearly transcended from its ultrabook origins and is the obvious choice for all but professionals and big spenders.

The MacBook Air isn’t just Apple’s entry-level battery-life-focused laptop anymore. It’s got more than enough power to satiate enthusiasts. Meanwhile, the Pro lineup is genuinely for the Pros. If you’re a professional whose living depends on ultra-fast edits, capable music production, or compiling large code bases, by all means, go for the Pro. Or perhaps you want to splurge and get the best there is. There is no harm in that, either. But, by and large, the average hobbyist YouTube creator, Soundcloud music producer, and weekend photographer will find it hard to stress the limits of the current MacBook Air lineup.

Early adopters of the M-series silicon might be chuckling at me going gaga over Apple’s latest laptop. However, I’m just one of thousands, if not millions, of users who will finally be upgrading to the new MacBook about five years into the last Intel MacBook Air’s lifecycle. And with the M3 range, Apple has perfected the formula and released a laptop that caters to the 90%. I’d go as far as saying that for the sheer amount of power on hand, this is the most value-for-money machine Apple has released.

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Circle to Search, the handy Android phone function that lets users quickly search for something by circling an item on their screen, might be getting two new features. On top of that, it may also get a new look.

PiunikaWeb, in collaboration with AssembleDebug, has discovered that Google is developing two new features for Circle to Search. It appears we could soon see “Copy image” and “Share image” options when using the search feature.

Currently, Circle to Search simply allows the user to circle, scribble, highlight, or tap on anything displayed on the screen. It then brings up information about whatever is inside the selected area. However, these new options will give the feature a couple of new functions.

Just as it sounds, if you tap on “Copy image,” the selected area will be copied as a screenshot. In addition to the snapshot, an image editor will open up and allow the user to add annotations or perform other touch-ups. After this is done, the user can copy the edited image is share the screenshot on supported apps.

As for “Share image,” this option is a more direct way to share. When this option is tapped, it turns the selected area into a screenshot and allows you to immediately share it with supported apps.

These new additions to Circle to Search should help users save some time. Instead of having to take a full screenshot and then go into editing to crop out the unnecessary part, the cropping part is already taken care of.

In addition to the new options, it appears the UI may get a slight makeover. In the example above, you can see what the current version looks like on the left and the look on the right.

Earlier this month, Google brought Circle to Search to the Pixel Fold. The feature is currently available on the Pixel 8 series, Pixel 7 series, Pixel 6 series, the Pixel 7a, and the Pixel 6a. It can also be found on select Samsung phones including the Galaxy S24 range, Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Z Fold 5, and the Galaxy Tab S9 series.

Should you buy the Withings ScanWatch 2?

It’s the nature of my job to always be sporting one, if not two, overtly techy wearables, typically with colorful, AMOLED displays and gym rat aesthetics. This is fantastic for someone who keeps up with modern gadgetry, works out regularly, and can probably do a handful of pull-ups (spoiler, I cannot), but what about anyone looking to venture out of the house without broadcasting they religiously track steps? The Withings ScanWatch 2 is just the device. Its elegant, analog design suggests a cocktail bar more than a curl bar, yet it quietly tracks a handful of advanced health stats and activity data like any modern smartwatch.

The ScanWatch 2 is a beautiful, luxury wearable with an analog aesthetic and hidden smarts.

At first glance, the ScanWatch 2 is simply a stylish timepiece, and a gorgeous one at that. With clean lines and premium build materials, the watch seamlessly blends into any business casual wardrobe (though it doesn’t look out of place with jeans and a t-shirt either). Its stainless steel case features a protruding rotating crown and is available in either 42mm or 38mm, each offering a small range of color options. In the larger size, shoppers will find black or pearl white choices. In 38mm, the options expand to also include sand or blue faces with gold cases. Covered in sapphire glass, each display features a standard clock face plus a secondary dial for tracking your step goal.

And then things start to get interesting. Like the original ScanWatch, the new generation features a small grayscale OLED display, the official “window” into the watch’s undercover features. With a turn of the digital crown, users can check their heart rate, temperature variation, steps, and distance, start a workout or breathwork session, take an ECG or SpO2 measurement, and access the device’s settings. Notably, there isn’t a screen for sleep tracking, which feels like a slight oversight as the ScanWatch 2 can actually track your sleep patterns. This display space is small, measuring just .63 inches, but I find it plenty useful for completing basic tasks and checking stats.

Fortunately, the device records a ton of key stats worth checking. Like the original, the ScanWatch 2 tracks steps, distance, calories, workouts, heart rate, and blood oxygen. As mentioned, it also offers on-demand SpO2 readings as well as on-demand ECG recordings with FDA-approved atrial fibrillation detection. The latter makes the watch a particularly strong contender for shoppers antsy to keep tabs on their heart health and thanks to its timeless look, it’s a great pick for senior users who may be reluctant to wear a modern smartwatch.

The device is also a detailed sleep tracker, measuring sleep stages, duration, interruptions, and regularity. I found these sleep stats comparable to my Oura Ring 3; however, occasionally, the watch overestimates my sleep, counting time in bed as time asleep. (Granted, I should have been sleeping rather than reading until all hours of the night.) Unlike the original model, the 2’s PPG sensor now measures your respiratory rate.

The Withings ScanWatch 2 also packs a new temperature sensor for measuring fluctuations daily and overnight, as well as during workouts. The TempTech24/7 module monitors skin and ambient temperatures to distinguish potential symptoms from environmental conditions. I didn’t receive any elevated temperatures during my testing, but theoretically, the tool could be useful for determining oncoming illness. Temperature sensing is a growing trend in the wearables market, and such trackers can now be found on most of the top devices. Adding this capability is an important upgrade for the company to make to keep up with the competition.

The new generation ScanWatch adds 24-hour temperature monitoring and on-device cycle tracking.

Likewise, the new model also adds on-device women’s cycle tracking. This includes period predictions on the wrist plus the ability to log flow trends and symptoms. You can still do much more from the app than on the device, but it is nice to see this access available. I am always grateful for the prioritizing of women’s health tracking, and it’s not a surprise to see a health-focused brand do so.

And yet, as mentioned at the start, this is a health-monitoring hybrid device, not a dedicated fitness tracker. Though I found the ScanWatch 2 extremely comfortable for all-day wear and sleep tracking, it isn’t meant for fitness buffs. It doesn’t pack some crucial tools for athletes, namely built-in GPS. At this point in a review, I would typically include a mapped outdoor workout to show the accuracy of a wearable’s GPS, but in this case, the data collected simply relies on your paired phone, not the watch itself.

I don’t love pocketing a phone on long runs, so the lack of built-in GPS is disappointing at this price point. However, the decision directs my attention back to the device’s intended audience. With over 40 sports modes and useful activity analysis, the ScanWatch 2 is certainly a reliable activity tracker for those interested in the basics, but it’s not a sports watch for serious athletes.

The ScanWatch 2 is lacking in both smart features and tools for athletes, including built-in GPS.

It’s also very limited in smart features, offering just band-style notifications that can be cumbersome to read. I usually don’t wait for the entire message but merely use the alert to determine whether I need to grab my phone. I would have liked to see Withings add music controls to the newest generation as well as digital payment support. I don’t mind the lack of apps and phone call support because, in my opinion, those features are beyond the scope of what a hybrid device needs to offer. If you find them important, this is not the watch for you.

Before you bail on the idea of a ScanWatch 2, I saved the discussion of the best feature for last. The watch can last up to 30 days between charges, a staggering stat compared to most leading smartwatches. During this review, the device easily surpassed two full weeks with regular workouts, notifications, and feature use (I’ve yet to kill the battery). Granted, I did disable Raise to Wake after the first day, as that feature will definitely drain power quickly.  However, and I cannot stress this enough, there is no feeling of luxury I appreciate more than having no idea where a device’s charger is because it rarely needs it. This is an exaggeration, I’m terribly anal about organization, but the point is, you will rarely need to charge your watch and are very unlikely to find yourself with a dead device unexpectedly.

The biggest strength of the ScanWatch 2 is its phenomenal up-to-30-day battery life.

When you do need to power up, the ScanWatch 2 ships with a proprietary charger that reminds me of child-proofing devices. You need to ensure the watch is placed in the correct orientation, then pull on the spring-loaded end to fit the watch in place. It’s straightforward despite its funky shape and securely holds the watch for effective charging. Reloading from 0 to 100 percent battery will take about 2 hours, which is long, but again, you won’t need to do it often.

What are the best Withings ScanWatch 2 alternatives?

The ScanWatch 2 is an attractive buy, but it’s not the only device worth considering. Check out these alternatives for more options.

• Withings ScanWatch Light ( ): If you’re interested in the ScanWatch 2’s overall package but don’t need all the device’s advanced sensors, the ScanWatch Lite is a fantastic pared down option for budget-conscious shoppers. Just be aware that you won’t find temperature tracking, ECG readings, or SpO2 monitoring on board.
• Withings ScanWatch Nova ( ): At the other end of the spectrum, the pricey ScanWatch Nova packs everything you’d find on the ScanWatch 2 into an even more premium build inspired by luxury dive watches.
• Garmin Vivomove Sport ( ): One of Garmin’s top hybrid watches, the Vivomove Sport features useful training tools and an attractive aesthetic. We love the sleek “hidden” display that disappears when not in use.
• Apple Watch Series 9 ( ): Of course, no hybrid options can compete with a dedicated smartwatch when it comes to integration, apps, and display. The best smartwatch for iPhone users is Apple’s latest Series 9, which packs considerable health and fitness tracking tools. Unfortunately, the device only offers 24 hours of battery life between charges and isn’t compatible with Android devices at all.
• Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic ( ): From the Wear OS family, the best full-out smartwatch is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. It integrates with Android phones to offer the full gamut of tools and features and packs a rotating bezel for smooth device navigation. However, like the Apple Watch, it can’t compete with a hybrid device in terms of battery life.

Withings ScanWatch 2 Specs 

	Withings ScanWatch 2
Display	0.63-inch OLED 16-bit Grayscale color 282ppi
Dimensions and weight	38 or 42mm case 18 or 20mm band 38mm case: 34.6g without band 42mm case: 52.6g without band
Build materials	Stainless steel case and crown Sapphire Glass display
Battery	Up to 30 days in smartwatch mode 2-hour charging time
IP rating	5ATM
Sensors	TempTech24/7 Module High Dynamic Range Accelerometer Multi-wavelength PPG 16 channels Altimeter
Connectivity	Bluetooth LE
Compatibility	Android 9 and higher iOS 15 and higher

Withings ScanWatch 2 review: FAQ

Welcome to the latest edition of Android Apps Weekly, where we discuss the latest in mobile news and take a closer look at some of the most interesting new apps and games. Let’s jump right in and take a look at some of the biggest highlights from the last week:

• Google announced plans this week to combine its hardware and software teams, with the aim to speed up the implementation of new technology like AI across the board. The new department will be called Platforms and Devices and will oversee Android, Chrome, Chrome OS, Photos, and more. This should result in deeper integration between hardware and software, as well as more rapid development of new features thanks to the unifying efforts. 
• Microsoft OneDrive may soon let you import files from other cloud services including Google Drive and Dropbox, at least according to a new APK teardown. The OneDrive v7.4 Beta 1 app for Android reveals strings suggesting this feature is coming down the pipe, though we have no word on exactly when this might be. 
• If you can’t remove your Secure Folder you might not be alone, as Samsung has confirmed a One UI 6.1 issue that prevents this from happening. If you’ve upgraded to One UI 6.1, this issue could affect you if you have the Galaxy S23, S23 FE, Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, and the Galaxy Tab S9 series. 
• YouTube is testing a new AI-powered Ask button. The feature lets you ask questions about the video you are watching and gives you real-time answers. The feature is currently on available to select YouTube Premium subscribers in the US via the Android app. 
• Google Maps will soon be getting some new features alongside Google Search, including public transit and walking suggestions next to driving routes if the travel times are comparable. Maps will also introduce a few features specifically for EV owners, making it easier to find charging locations and more. On a related note, an APK teardown of the Maps Beta has also revealed strings suggesting that Maps may add satellite connectivity features such as using a satellite to update your location every fifteen minutes, up to five times a day. 

Android Apps Weekly: New apps and games

Looking for some new Android apps and Android games to keep you occupied? This week we highlight two new apps, as well as three games that are worth a closer look. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS-hrVpzCJg

This is my Google ecosystem: phone, watch, headphones, audio, Chromecast. If I told you that you could get it all for under $1,000, I think a lot of people would be interested.

Let me clarify right off the bat: Clearly, this isn’t possible if you focus on buying the latest and greatest Google hardware. When I thought about this challenge, I didn’t aim it for the biggest tech enthusiasts who want a Pixel 8 Pro or maybe even a Pixel tablet; they are just too expensive and would take up my entire $1,000 envelop and more! I wanted to maximize my budget and get as much as possible for as little money. However, I also didn’t want to go and get something like a Google Pixel 5 because that phone is too old now and nearing the end of its support.

So, I gave myself a couple of caveats for this challenge:

1. The stuff that I buy had to be supported for at least another two years.
2. I couldn’t compromise on getting the latest and greatest from Google in terms of features.

To try and get all of this for under that $1,000 budget, secondhand had to be my best friend. So eBay, Amazon renewed, and other retail options, depending on where you live. I focused on the US market and eBay.

The phone: Pixel 7a

Let’s start at the heart of any ecosystem that we’ll use every single day, and that is the phone. When you think about a budget phone from Google, your first thoughts turn to the Pixel 7a, the cheapest available phone at the moment. This is actually a really good starting point for our ecosystem. It’s only around one year old and with that latest Feature drop, it brings brand new features like Circle to Search to the 7a. The phone has a really good 6.1-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate, so it feels like you aren’t massively missing out on Google’s best features and hardware.

I did think about getting a cheap secondhand Pixel 8 or Pixel 7 Pro, but again, I had to get as much for as little as possible. The Pixel 7a gave me more wiggle room with the rest of my budget. Plus, it has a really slick always-on display and some decent cameras, including a 64MP main and a 13MP ultrawide, that stack up really well against the Pixel 7 and Pixel 8.

There are a few compromises with the Pixel 7a to keep in mind: the battery isn’t the best in the world, and the bezels are a little bit thick for 2024. But these are compromises that I can live with.

Going through eBay, I found a used Pixel 7a in excellent condition for about $250, so I went with it. Phone secured; what’s next?

Earbuds and smartwatch: Pixel Buds Pro and Pixel Watch

Well, I needed to get some Bluetooth earbuds, too. For a budget ecosystem, I had two choices: the Pixel Buds A or the Pixel Buds Pro. The noise cancelation is a no-brainer requirement to me, so Pixel Buds Pro it is, even if the Buds A are cheaper. Plus, all around, the Buds Pro provide a much better experience, and we want a good experience despite our $1,000 budget.

If you’ve never used the Buds Pro before, I’ll tell you they are fantastic. They’re comfortable, the active noise cancelation is really good, the battery lasts up to 11 hours of listening, and they’ve got wireless charging. The Pixel Buds A don’t have that wireless charging and they only last about five hours of listening time.

Overall, I just had to indulge and go Pro here, and thankfully, I didn’t have to break the bank to do it. I resigned myself to getting secondhand earbuds and decided to give them a thorough clean and buy new ear tips to avoid the previous owner’s ear gunk. A used pair of Pixel Buds Pro costs anywhere between $70 and $130 on eBay, so I bagged mine for $100.

But there’s another requirement I needed to elevate that ecosystem a little bit more, and that is a watch. You might think, “Oh, maybe I don’t need a Pixel Watch for that budget,” and yeah, it is something you could live without. But once I got the watch, I really realized how much it tied me into Google’s ecosystem. I could unlock my phone, see Google Maps navigation, and use Google Wallet without getting my phone out. It became so convenient and once I used it for a bit, I just felt like I couldn’t go back.

Again, I had a couple of options here. I could go with something like the Fitbit Sense 2, but I knew the best option was just a Pixel Watch. There aren’t loads of differences between the Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2. They’re both the same size and, essentially, the same design as well. A lot of the features that you get on the Watch 2 were recently added to the first-generation Pixel Watch. I wouldn’t be missing out on too much; things like skin temperature sensing, and stress notifications don’t stand out massively as big compromises to me.

Once I got the Pixel Watch, I really realized how much it tied me into Google's ecosystem.

The price difference would be the biggest roadblock to getting that Pixel Watch 2 because there’s about a $100 difference between the secondhand Watch 1 and 2. And obviously, if money weren’t an issue, then I’d get the Pixel Watch 2. But I do want to stretch my budget as much as possible. So, let’s get a Pixel Watch 1 instead. A secondhand unit goes from around $100 to $150. I got mine for $125.

Now I have a Pixel 7a for $250, Pixel Buds Pro for $100, and a first-gen Pixel Watch for $125, which leaves me with $575 of my budget. And I could just stop there; that is actually a really good introduction to the Google ecosystem. But when you start to add smart home devices, that’s when the entire experience is elevated a step or two. I wanted to get things like Nest speakers and a Chromecast for under that $1,000 budget.

A smart Google home: Chromecast, Nest Audio, Nest Hub

The Chromecast has improved significantly over the past couple of years. Again, I had two options: an HD version and a 4K version. However, one of my biggest caveats at the start of this challenge was to future-proof everything for the next couple of years, so I had to exclude the Chromecast HD from the equation. Plus, 4K is probably your best friend here.

I feel like the Chromecast 4K is so underrated as well. Some people might have a smart TV and think, “Well, I don’t need a Chromecast.” But smart TVs are really frustrating: You need to switch between apps constantly, they’re slow, and really just not intelligent at all. With the Chromecast interface, it’s just all in one place and it easily integrates with all of your devices, including the Pixel 7a that I got. You can even use your Pixel phone as a remote. So this is where I could clearly see the ecosystem start to come together.

The Chromecast 4K had to be the first product where I actually picked up a brand new unit rather than secondhand. Just look at the prices; when a new Chromecast is $59, there’s not a huge amount of savings to get with secondhand units. At least not enough to justify dealing with a used unit. A new one with the full warranty is a better deal. So I treated myself and went brand new with the Chromecast 4K from the Google store at $59.

The next thing I had to look at are Nest speakers. Again, a few options presented themselves: the second-generation Nest Mini, second-generation Nest Hub, and Nest Audio. You can pick up Nest Minis for a ridiculously low price on eBay, but I had to remember that they’ve been around since 2019. And while they’re still getting updates five years down the line, I don’t think they’re futureproof enough. On top of that, the sound isn’t actually that great. So my best bet was that Nest Audio.

The Nest Audio came out in 2020, a year later than the second-generation Nest Mini. It sounds infinitely better, and even though it costs a little bit more secondhand, it wouldn’t blow past my remaining budget. If you get more than one Nest Audio, the sound quality is even more elevated, as you can create a stereo pair for a more immersive listening experience.

Going through eBay, secondhand Nest Audio units range in price a bit. But I found a listing where I could get them for $50 each. Given the affordable price, I went with two so I could actually have that stereo pair.

Nest and Chromecast aren't essential to the Pixel lifestyle, but they add a little something extra.

With a decent budget left, I decided to treat myself to something else and take my Pixel and Google experience to the next level. I went for a Nest Hub, and I love it. It sits on my bedside table and lets me also see what Google Assistant is trying to babble on about. Weather, smart Google Home controls, watching YouTube, and seeing Google Photos at a glance; all of these are things the Nest Hub 2nd Generation is capable of while tying more of my Google ecosystem together. Plus, it doesn’t cost a huge amount of money.

If you go through eBay, you’ll see that these are really well-priced as secondhand units at about $70 to $80. And if you search well enough, you can find one for around $70, like the one I got. And yes, the Nest Hub did come out a couple of years ago, but it’s still very much getting software updates and should continue to, at least for the next couple of years.

A full Google ecosystem for just over $700!

Let’s go through what I got. I have a $250 Google Pixel 7a, a $100 pair of Pixel Buds Pro, the first-generation Pixel Watch for $125, a new $59 Chromecast 4K, two Nest Audios for $100 total, and a Nest Hub 2nd Generation for $70. If you add all this together, my intro into the Google ecosystem cost me just over $700 — $704, to be exact. And besides going for secondhand units, I’m getting a really good experience as a first dabble into Google’s ecosystem and not making any huge compromises.

In fact, I could go on and keep adding to this if I wanted to spend all of my $1,000 budget. Maybe buy a secondhand Pixel Tablet, a Nest Doorbell, or switch to a more powerful Google Pixel. But I think I’m good with my current setup, and I’ve got a decent amount of change left for future upgrades or items!

I really enjoyed this challenge because I didn’t think I’d be able to stretch my budget this much and get as many pillars for my Google experience as I did. What do you think of my choices for this Google ecosystem challenge? Would you make similar compromises and choices? Would you skip some of these items or would you indulge in something extra?

Update: April 19, 2024 (03:48 PM ET): We have updated our Google Pixel 9 rumor hub with the first real-life images of what we think is the Pixel 9 Pro.

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The Google Pixel 8 got here last October, but we’re already hearing rumors about what’s next from Google in 2024. Let’s jump right in and discuss everything we know about the rumored Google Pixel 9 series!

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Samsung announced the launch of the Galaxy A35 in the US only a day ago. If you haven’t picked one up yet but are planning to, one place you may want to consider getting it from is Best Buy to take advantage of its current deal.

At the moment, the electronics retailer is offering quite a deal for the Galaxy A35. If you head over to the Best Buy website, you’ll notice a promotion offering a free $40 gift with the purchase of an unlocked Galaxy A35. In addition to that gift card, you’ll also get a one-month subscription for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

While that alone sounds like a pretty good deal, you can take it even further by choosing to activate the phone with your preferred carrier. Those who activate the device directly from the page can knock $100 off of their purchase. So, altogether, you’re getting a $400 phone for $300, a $40 gift card, and an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership.

Just as a refresher, the Galaxy A35 offers a 6.6-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Along with that comes 50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, and 5MP macro cameras. And on the inside, you’ll find an octa-core processor and 5,000mAH battery. Notably, this is one of the first of Samsung’s A series phones to get Samsung Knox Vault.

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Earlier this month, Google finally rolled out its shiny new Find My Device network. Along with the rollout came announcements from Pebblebee and Chipolo about Find My Device network-compatible trackers. While Chipolo provided a shipping date for its upcoming item locators, Pebblebee opted to give a general date of late May. But the company has now revealed when we can expect to see their product.

Pebblebee has told 9to5Google when it plans to start shipping its new trackers. According to the outlet, shipments are scheduled to start going out on May 27. Not all orders will ship on this date; this will just be when shipments begin.

This is actually the same date Chipolo said its own trackers would become available on its website. Pebblebee also mentioned earlier that availability will open up to retail stores and on the Google Store beginning in June. It’s still unknown when the exact date for this will be.

Users can already pre-order Pebblebee’s new item locators. The company is releasing card, clip, and tag devices for the new Find My Device network. Pebblebee’s card, clip, and tag are being sold for $34.99, $29.99, and $34.99, respectively.

Are you even gaming if you’re not rocking a cool headset? The HyperX Cloud III Wireless fits the bill, and its down at its lowest price ever on Amazon today. A 33% drop from retail price gives you the chance to pick it up for just $114.70.

HyperX Cloud III Wireless for $114.70 ($55 off)

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If you wanted to catch Coachella 2024, but couldn’t attend for whatever reason, YouTube had you covered last weekend with a livestream of the event. And just like last time, YouTube is once again livestreaming the event to cover the second weekend.

YouTube has announced that its back for the second weekend of Coachella. Users will be able to relive the over 80 performances from the first weekend, in addition to watching the event live, which starts later today.

During the first go around, users had access to six live-streamed stages, custom merchandise, behind-the-scenes photos of artists, and Coachella playlists on YouTube Music. However, arguably the best part of all of this was being able to use multiview to watch four stages at once. All of this is coming back for the second weekend and will be available on mobile, TV, and computers.

Last weekend, we saw artists like Tyler, The Creator, Doja Cat, and Ice Spice. We also saw guest appearances from A$AP Rocky, Childish Gambino, Busta Rhymes, Justin Bieber, Lauryn Hill, Shakira, and so on. This weekend, we’re expected to see performances from Lil Uzi Vert, Skepta, Lana Del Ray, L’Impératrice, Justice, and more.

When the event starts, YouTube says it will have cameras on the Coachella, Outdoor Theatre, Sahara, Mojave, Gobi, and Yuma stages. To watch, all you have to do is head over to the Coachella YouTube channel.

There is a lot to watch on the various streaming services available in 2024 — sometimes, it almost feels like too much. To simplify things for you, we’ve compiled some of the best new streaming movies to watch that are new this week.

Check out our top picks from major streamers like Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and will sometimes even bring you an exciting new VOD movie or two. In addition to the latest movies from this week, we also give you other recommendations for shows that have arrived on a new streaming platform in the last 30 days. 

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Recently, Apple surprised us all by quietly changing the rules of the App Store to allow emulators. Previously, emulating consoles and other systems on iPhones meant needing to sideload programs, but no longer. Now, we’re already seeing emulators landing on the platform, but today’s news is a really big one.

Provenance, the popular multi-platform emulator for iOS and tvOS, is officially coming to the App Store. Speaking with iMore, lead developer Joseph Mattiello said his team “are working on a release.” However, he did clarify: “I need to investigate these new rules before an App Store submission, and to improve some quality-of-life issues. Also, I need to change some things to adhere to the App Store’s rules, such as mentioning ‘beta.'” In other words, it might be a while before Provenance actually ends up on Apple’s first-party store.

Regardless, when it does land, Provenance will be a huge boon for emulation fiends. Like the mega-popular emulation suite RetroArch, Provenance offers a slew of emulation services inside one package. That means this one program can emulate dozens of consoles, including many popular Nintendo and Sony platforms. You can see a complete list of what Provenance currently offers at the link. You’ll also see there that Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, and Sega Dreamcast support is currently in development.

For now, using Provenance on an iPhone requires sideloading it, a process that most iPhone users will not be familiar with. Having the app on the App Store will introduce millions of people to emulation on iPhones who probably have never done it before.

Now that the doors are open, we expect emulators to start coming to iPhones at a frantic pace.

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Google is expected to launch the Pixel 9 series later this year, and we’re excited about seeing three phones in the lineup, as leaks have suggested. Google is said to be going for the iPhone strategy with the vanilla Pixel 9, a more powerful Pixel 9 Pro but in a smaller form factor, and a Pixel 9 Pro XL taking on the role of a large flagship. We’ve seen leaked renders of the three devices, and now we have our first real-life images of the Pixel 9 Pro.

Russian website Rozetked has anonymously received real-life photos of what appears to be the Pixel 9 Pro (h/t Google News (unofficial) Telegram channel). The phone is not in pristine condition, as we can see what looks like a large web of cracks on the top left of the phone (when seen from the back), held together with some tape. But the images still provide a good look at the phone.

We can see the phone compared to the iPhone 14 Pro Max (6.7-inch display). This Pixel 9 series phone looks significantly smaller with its 6.1-inch display, and the triple rear camera setup indicates it is the “Pro” device. Hence, this is likely the Pixel 9 Pro, not the Pixel 9 or the Pixel 9 XL.

The images shared include a close-up of the cameras and a display shot that shows the device in fastboot mode, showing off some key specs (and the fact that it has a boot failure).

The phone pictured is codenamed “caiman,” which is the codename for the Pixel 9 Pro. This particular version sports 16GB LPDDR5 RAM from Micron and has 128GB of unspecified UFS storage from Samsung. Note that the Pixel 8 Pro maxed out at 12GB of RAM.

The anonymous source has also shared photos of the device from all sides. We can see the flat sides, though thankfully, there appears to be a nice curve at the edges where the side meets the front and back of the phone.

If you look closely, you will spot a cutout on the top of the phone. We suspect this could be an antenna cutout for mmWave antenna, similar to the one present on the Pixel 8 Pro.

Keep in mind that these are leaked images. While they largely align with what we have seen in leaked renders, we still advise you to take them with a pinch of salt and skepticism. We’re many months away from the release of the Pixel 9 series, so some things can change by the time the phone gets ready for mass production.

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Last year, Netflix implemented a crackdown on password sharing in an effort to boost subscriber growth. Although users hated the idea and company executives feared backlash, Netflix’s move has been a resounding success.

Bloomberg reports that Netflix saw a 9.33 million jump in customers in the first quarter of 2024. Analysts predicted the streamer would add around 4.84 million by this time, meaning Netflix nearly doubled estimates.

The influx of new subscribers is attributed to the company’s password-sharing crackdown. Netflix believed that over 100 million viewers were using an account they weren’t paying for. The increase in subscribers is also believed to be due to the strong slate of original programming as of late. This includes shows such as 3 Body Problem, Love Is Blind, Fool Me Once, and Griselda.

In addition to beating new subscriber estimates, it also surpassed forecasts for sales and earnings. It’s said the company brought in $9.33 billion in sales, compared to the $9.26 billion that was expected. On top of that, it saw a $2.33 billion growth of net income, which is also above expectations. This strong showing has raised the market value of Netflix above $260 billion.

Despite the positive reports, the executives aren’t popping champaign bottles yet. Shares were up by 25% this year all the way through Thursday. However, those shares dropped as much as 8% when trading started on Friday. In a letter to investors, the executives said to expect fewer new subscribers during this period.

In another sign showing Netflix doesn’t expect the success to last, the firm stated that it will stop reporting paid quarterly membership and revenue per subscriber. This is scheduled to take effect sometime in the first quarter of 2025. However, they will continue to report major subscriber milestones.

Given the success of Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown, it’s possible we could see other services implement something similar.

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In recent years, Apple has been particularly loud about its environmental efforts and sustainability. As its 2030 deadline to become carbon neutral approaches, the company has been dedicating segments in its media events to share its progress and relevant updates. A new report, however, sheds light on some lesser-known procedures that contradict what the tech overlord publicly preaches.

The consumer-facing practices

To unsuspecting customers, Apple seems to care deeply about our planet. After all, the Cupertino firm stopped shipping charging bricks with new iPhones and reduced the packaging’s size noticeably. Furthermore, it discontinued its leather-made accessories in favor of the more eco-friendly FineWoven line (which deteriorates at a much faster rate, by the way). That’s not to mention its focus on utilizing cleaner energy sources for its operations to reduce the pollution it causes.

The company has also boasted about its robots — Liam and Daisy — which were designed to disassemble traded-in iPhones. Through them, Apple gets to reclaim some of the functional components, recycle them, and, consequently, minimize the e-waste it produces.

From afar, this all seems responsible and eco-conscious; but what if we were to take a closer look?

Behind Apple’s green-washed mask

According to Bloomberg, Liam and its successor, Daisy, aren’t exactly reliable in getting their job done efficiently. The former robot would malfunction if the inserted iPhone’s screws were corroded. Furthermore, without human assistance, Liam wouldn’t run for more than ten minutes.

Meanwhile, Daisy is a more foolproof version, but still, it can only dismantle around 200 units per hour. That’s almost 1.2 million recycled iPhones per year, which Apple sells every 48 hours.

So, what happens to the rest of the traded-in iPhones? They get shredded.

When a used product doesn’t meet Apple’s high standards to be refurbished and resold, it gets shredded by a third-party company. The valuable metals are then extracted from the elemental soup and incorporated into new devices. Shredding, however, wastes more components than Daisy’s procedure.

One of the main issues associated with shredding is that many of the devices sent are functional and could easily be repurposed. Those getting them shredded reportedly found it challenging at times, as the devices weren’t always damaged significantly. Despite that, they had to break them down to meet contractual obligations.

In just a couple of years, Apple shipped GEEP (a shredding company) more than 530,000 iPhones, 25,000 iPads, and 19,000 Watches for shredding. If Apple is truly concerned about the environment, it would’ve repurposed the functional electronics instead of destroying them en masse. There’s scope to introduce an additional tier of “refurbished” products that are a bit lower in quality, which could provide a second home to these less-than-perfect iPhones at an even cheaper rate.

The new Activation Lock is a double-edged carbon emitter

According to the same report, Apple claimed that around 100,000 items sent to GEEP for shredding were actually stolen. The Cupertino tech giant detected a number of flagged iPhones being activated in China, as employees would smuggle them out of the shredding facility and sell them elsewhere as used phones or spare parts.

That process, however, is about to get a lot trickier, as Apple’s Activation Lock now applies to spare parts, too.

For those unfamiliar, the Activation Lock feature disables lost or stolen iPhones, making them useless beyond extracting their spare parts. With this feature expanding to individual iPhone internals, devices obtained through unofficial means will also be useless as spare parts.

While the spare parts’ Activation Lock will make iPhones less appealing targets for thieves, it will certainly increase the e-waste. Ultimately, iPhones will continue to get stolen or lost anyway, and no one will be able to utilize them meaningfully.

To be clear, this isn’t to defend thieves in any way. However, it has become apparent that Apple is purposefully wasting resources by forcing functional devices to be shredded. If smugglers can manage to give these devices a new lifeline, the trillion-dollar company surely can devise a proper procedure that similarly spares usable iPhones. But that wouldn’t make business sense, so here we are.

While the smartwatch market is not as populated as the Android phone market, users still have a good variety of smartwatches to choose from. The options thin out a bit when you consider OS compatibility with your smartphone, but there are still plenty of decent options across OEMs.

That being said, all of us have our favorites. Smartwatches have been around for years, and most of us have already used them to form an informed opinion on what we like and dislike about them. Many of us have used multiple smartwatches, perhaps successors from the same OEM or jumping around OEMs and even OS options. We’re bound to have biases based on our likes and dislikes from our experiences, and that’s okay, as smartwatches are inherently personal products that serve both form and functional needs.

So my question to all of you is, which is your favorite smartwatch brand? Why do you like the brand so much? Which smartwatches have you used, and which ones did you like and dislike? Have you had bad experiences with any watches? Have you avoided certain smartwatch brands based on principles? Vote in the poll and let us know more in the comments below!

Apple

Apple isn’t the first to the smartwatch game, but it certainly is the most recognizable brand offering the most recognizable smartwatches, the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra. Apple is also widely respected for offering the most fluid smartwatch experience. However, the caveat here is that the Apple Watch is only compatible with iPhones. If you don’t have an iPhone, you can’t use an Apple Watch, which is a shame.

Samsung

Samsung has been around with its Tizen smartwatches for over a decade now. The company ditched its homebrewed solution to revive Wear OS, and we are forever grateful for it. The Galaxy Watch series continues to be a top choice for Android smartphone users, though it also works the best specifically with Galaxy smartphones. Samsung has offered a lot of innovative hardware and software features over the years in this space, so it’s easy to love it as a brand.

Google

Despite being the company that handles Android and Wear OS, Google entered the smartwatch hardware game pretty late with the Pixel Watch. The first generation wasn’t that impressive, but the second iteration fixed many shortcomings while retaining the same identity.

OnePlus

OnePlus’s entry into the smartwatch got off on the wrong foot with the OnePlus Watch. However, with the OnePlus Watch 2, the company has achieved redemption.

Garmin

Garmin makes some excellent smartwatches, though they are on the pricier side of the spectrum. This is often because these watches target more niche use cases and have specialized features to help athletes and serious enthusiasts. They also have excellent battery life. As a brand, there is a lot to like about Garmin.

Which is your favorite smartwatch brand? Let us know!

The new Anker Fusion 3-in-1 5,000mAh power bank is one of the charging specialist’s most innovative products yet. Given that it only launched earlier this year, we’re excited to see that you can already make savings on the affordable retail price. The device is on sale for just $29.99 from Amazon, marking the first 25% price drop.

Anker Fusion 3-in-1 5,000mAh Power Bank for $29.99 ($10 off)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aie_KTPusEg

Should you buy the Spigen Liquid Air for the Galaxy S24 series?

There are hundreds of white-label brands making simple TPU cases for the Galaxy S24 series, but if you want a more interesting design that doesn’t break the bank, check out the Spigen Liquid Air. It’s been one of my favorite basic cases for years, with a price point that’s hard to resist.

At its heart, it’s still a relatively thin TPU case, but the standout feature here is the triangular pattern on the back of the case. This adds some much-needed visual interest and a bit more grip than a completely smooth case. Although you can feel it if you run your finger over it, the pattern is relatively shallow, which means it’s easy to keep clean from dirt or grime.

The Liquid Air looks great, but it doesn't add much grip.

That said, the finish doesn’t add any grip at all, and the slightly grippy texture on the sides might not be enough if you’re prone to dropping your smartphones. I don’t tend to drop my phone, but if you do, you might want something with a bit more grip. The plus side of the is that it slipped very easily into the pocket of my jeans, and the matte finish prevents smudges and fingerprints.

The buttons on the side of the case are raised and easy to find in my experience. However, they aren’t completely closed, with a small gap on either side of each button. This can lead to some dirt or lint sneaking into the case over time. TPU cases like this one are easy to take off though, and you can give it a rinse and a scrub in the sink before things get too out of hand. I did find this case much easier to keep clean than a clear TPU case, despite using the same material.

As for drop protection, the Liquid Air has Spigen’s standard Air Cushion technology, which adds a small air pocket to the four corners of your device. This should help prevent catastrophic damage if your phone lands right on a corner.

There are also raised lips around the screen and camera lenses to prevent scratches, but beyond that, the Spigen Liquid Air isn’t particularly rugged. This is a thin case, after all.

Most of Spigen’s cases come in very limited color options, and while the Liquid Air is a bit of an exception, there aren’t many color options for the Galaxy S24. The Deep Purple option I tested is one of the more interesting colorways, but otherwise, it’s limited to dark gray and black.

Still, it’s a nice thin case for the Galaxy S24 that adds just enough to stand out in a crowded field of thin TPU cases. Hovering around $15, it’s a pretty easy recommendation for most people, but if you need something with more protection you’re better off spending a bit more for a rugged case.

What are the best Spigen Liquid Air alternatives?

As mentioned above, there’s no shortage of Spigen Liquid Air alternatives out there for the Galaxy S24. Spigen itself makes several, but here’s a quick roundup of some of Android Authority‘s favorites:

• Spigen Thin Fit ( ): The Thin Fit is an even thinner hybrid case from Spigen. Although it’s much less interesting to look at, it has a nice, grippy finish. Like the Liquid Air, it won’t do much to protect your phone from serious drops.
• Caseology Parallax ( ): The Parallax is from Spigen’s sister brand Caseology, and although it’s slightly thicker, it also has an interesting hexacore pattern on the back. Despite the interesting pattern and a plethora of color options, it’s every bit as affordable as the Liquid Air.
• Crave Dual Guard ( ): While it doesn’t have quite the same pedigree as Spigen or Caseology, the Crave Dual Guard ticks the same boxes. It’s a relatively thin hybrid case with a textured back, but this time it has a rubbery texture to add more grip. It comes in a lot of great color options, too.

If you want even more options, check out our picks for the best cases for the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus, and Galaxy S24 Ultra.

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OneDrive is one of the better Google Drive competitors, offering competitive prices as part of Microsoft 365 subscriptions. What if you want to transfer your files from a rival cloud storage service to OneDrive, though? There’s no easy way to do this right now, but our own APK teardown suggests Microsoft is working on a solution.

A teardown of the OneDrive v7.4 Beta 1 app for Android reveals strings suggesting that Microsoft is working on the ability to let you import files from other cloud-sharing services. The strings all contain the name “import_cloud_files,” while some of them even name Google Drive, Google Photos, and Dropbox as supported services.

<string name="import_cloud_files_add_cloud_service">Sign in to an account to import</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_checking_connection">Checking connection...</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_connect_to_cloud_storage">Connect to %1$s</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_description">"OneDrive imports your photos and files without using your device's mobile data plan. Imports continue even if you close the app."</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_dropbox">Dropbox</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_dropbox_icon_description">Icon for Dropbox</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_google_drive">Google Drive</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_google_drive_icon_description">Icon for Google Drive</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_google_photos">Google Photos</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_google_photos_icon_description">Icon for Google Photos</string>

“OneDrive imports your photos and files without using your device’s mobile data plan. Imports continue even if you close the app,” reads an excerpt from one of the strings.

The aforementioned strings give us a good idea of the setup process too, as you’ll need to sign into the desired account. This step suggests you won’t have to actually leave OneDrive to get the ball rolling. Furthermore, a string in the previous version of the app points to the “import cloud files” option being available in the main settings menu. So you won’t have to dig deeply to find the feature.

We also found a few strings that shed more light on the import process. Perhaps the most prominent tidbit is that OneDrive will alert you when your import takes you over your quota limit.

<string name="import_cloud_files_import_completed">Import completed</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_import_failed">Import failed</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_import_in_progress">In progress</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_import_over_quota_limit">Over quota limit</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_import_partially_completed">Partially completed</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_import_stopped">Stopped</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_import_stopping">Stopping</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_import_unauthorized">Sign in again</string> 
<string name="import_cloud_files_ready_to_import">Ready to import</string>

This would be a long-overdue feature for OneDrive, as it would definitely make things much easier for people transitioning from rival cloud storage services. It’s not the only prominent feature we’ve recently spotted in OneDrive, as we saw references to a Magic Eraser-style feature in the app last month.

In any event, there’s no word on when OneDrive’s cloud import functionality will be available to users. We’ve asked Microsoft for a statement and will update the article if/when it gets back to us.

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Amazon’s Prime Video service has some great family movies on offer, and you can also catch some great streaming shows on it too. Despite the good catalog, users seem dissatisfied with the service, primarily because of a rather mundane reason: catalog errors.

According to a report from Business Insider citing leaked internal documents, Prime Video has a lot of inaccurate content details. These include incomplete titles, missing episodes, and bad translations. 60% of all content-related customer-experience complaints for Prime Video in 2023 are said to be about catalog errors. Amazon received almost 10,000 complaints on “season integrity,” which includes defects such as missing episodes, inconsistent playback options, and wrong content availability.

The report highlights the following as examples:

• The second episode of “The Rings of Power” series was available before the first episode for some viewers when it launched in 2022.
• Some viewers complained about a translation error in character names.
• The action film “Die Hard with a Vengeance” at one point had missing Spanish audio.
• The TV series “Continuum” showed an incorrect age restriction.

The documents are also said to highlight “poor linguistic quality of assets,” such as translation errors or incorrect artwork for content display pages.

Other user complaints from Amazon’s forum and Reddit, pointing out mixed episode orders and wrong movie titles, are also cited.

Unsurprisingly, these inaccuracies are causing viewers to abandon shows despite Amazon investing in growing its streaming business. According to one of the leaked documents, content with the wrong localized display page saw 20% more drop-offs in engagement.

The report says that Amazon launched an initiative in 2024 to address these issues and avoid customer complaints.

Amazon mentioned in a statement that “catalog quality is an ongoing priority.” Further, the spokesperson added, “We take it seriously and work relentlessly alongside our global partners and dedicated internal teams to continuously improve the overall customer experience.”

Have you spotted any errors in your Amazon Prime Video catalog? Let us know in the comments below!

Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Gemini are transforming how we interact with technology. These incredibly sophisticated AI systems can understand and respond to your text inputs in a way that feels remarkably conversational. We often think of LLMs as productivity tools, but did you know they can also be fantastic sources of entertainment?

Whether you’re searching for a quick distraction or a longer, immersive experience, ChatGPT can provide hours of gaming fun. In this article, we list some of the best games you can play with ChatGPT. While a ChatGPT Plus subscription is needed for many of these games, we’ve included some engaging options you can try out with the free version as well. Remember, ChatGPT is still just a language model, so expect the occasional quirk or illogical move — these games are less about strict rules and more about embracing imagination and having fun.

The best games to play with ChatGPT

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Retro Adventures

Requires ChatGPT Plus

My initial expectation of Retro Adventures was a nostalgic trip down memory lane, playing classic titles like Mario or Contra. Instead, I discovered something even better. Rather than providing a library of retro games, this GPT offers choose-your-own-adventure games set within fictional worlds of your choosing. I could name any fictional world — Harry Potter, Marvel, even Ted Lasso — and it would spin a choice-based narrative within that universe.

Retro Adventures seems best suited for those who love interactive storytelling and are drawn to the idea of exploring their favorite fictional universes through choice-driven narratives. The image generation was an exciting bonus, though inconsistent. It delivered a fitting image for my Marvel adventure but not for the others I tried. Still, I appreciated the limitless potential.

A major draw is the ability to explore any fictional world I could imagine. The GPT continually posed new scenarios and choices, making the experience more about ongoing participation than reaching a conclusion. While the ever-evolving storyline offers a sense of boundless possibility, the lack of defined endings or goals could be a drawback for some.

PokedexGPT

Requires ChatGPT Plus

PokedexGPT is a treasure trove of Pokémon knowledge, meticulously crafted for fans of the beloved franchise. You can use it to ask about any Pokémon, its evolutions, stats, or place in the lore, and PokedexGPT will deliver comprehensive answers.

Beyond pure information, PokedexGPT offers interactive elements. It can generate quizzes to test your Pokémon knowledge or indulge you in word-guessing games. The GPT can even simulate Pokémon battles, finally settling some of my childhood debates like “Could Squirtle take down Jigglypuff?”

Additionally, it taps into Dall-E‘s image-generation capabilities, visualizing battle scenarios or evolutionary chains. These images can then be downloaded as personalized souvenirs.

LLM Riddles

Requires ChatGPT Plus

LLM Riddles is a GPT-powered experience designed to stimulate the mind through a collection of wordplay-based riddles and logic puzzles. It caters to a broad audience, with challenges ranging from simple to mind-bendingly complex. The inclusion of logic-based problems sets LLM Riddles apart from traditional decipher-these-rhyming-lines format riddles. Should you find yourself stuck, the GPT offers a hint system to nudge your thinking in the right direction subtly.

For some reason, LLM Riddles cannot automatically recognize when a solution is correct. Players must inform the GPT of their success, which can get cumbersome. Otherwise, this is a really fun game to get your creative problem-solving juices flowing.

Book Quest Adventure

Requires ChatGPT Plus

Book Quest Adventure offers a truly unique experience, blending the worlds of books and gaming. If you’re a bookworm, an RPG enthusiast, or simply crave a fresh way to interact with your favorite stories, this GPT could be the perfect entertainment for you.

I was pleasantly surprised by the range of books I could choose from. Big titles like The Hunger Games were expected, but it even handled my request for Five Point Someone, a lesser-known Indian fiction pick. Book Quest Adventure then transforms your choice into a dynamic, text-based interactive experience. You’ll inhabit the story, making choices, shaping the plot, and exploring paths the original characters might never have taken.

I did notice that occasionally, I needed to nudge the narrative forward myself, and the GPT sometimes felt fixated on repetitive tasks. The lack of traditional goals or accomplishments might also be a drawback for some. Still, the promise of living out your favorite book with the freedom to change the story — that alone is a compelling draw for the right people.

Retail Rumble

Free to play

Adam Tal’s Github offers a treasure trove of DIY ChatGPT games, ranging from time travel adventures based on the ‘Butterfly Effect’ paradox to Escape rooms and Shark Tank simulators. My favorite among those is Retail Rumble. The game works by feeding a detailed prompt into ChatGPT, which sets up the rules and conditions of the game.

The premise is simple — you’re a retail employee facing an “Unreasonable Customer” determined to bend the rules. The gameplay unfolds in a turn-based format reminiscent of Pokémon battles, complete with stamina bars and over-the-top narration. The Unreasonable Customer unleashes unreasonable demands while you counter with a range of tactics from de-escalation to calculated embarrassment. The goal is to outlast your opponent, either forcing a humiliating meltdown or succumbing to their demands.

What makes Retail Rumble enjoyable is its unpredictability and surprising insight. The conversations feel authentically absurd, placing you in the shoes of a retail worker and sparking reflection on how seemingly harmless requests might stir up a storm. As a prompt-based game, it’s also accessible to anyone, and no ChatGPT Plus subscription is required.

DnD GPT

Requires ChatGPT Plus

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is a worldwide phenomenon, offering a world of boundless imagination and collaborative storytelling. However, the joy of a great D&D game often hinges on finding a skilled Dungeon Master (the game’s host) or gathering a full group of players. DnD GPT aims to bridge that gap, providing a powerful companion to enhance your tabletop adventures.

DnD GPT offers flexibility in how you choose to play. You can play a single-character game or full-fledged campaigns with multiple characters. Plus, it includes a built-in dice-rolling function, replicating that essential element of D&D gameplay. While I don’t have firsthand D&D experience, DnD GPT appears to be a valuable tool for both newcomers and seasoned veterans.

Apart from acting as the Dungeon Master and guiding you through a whole D&D game, the GPT can also offer creative suggestions and help you navigate D&D rules. It can generate plot twists and character development ideas for your games to keep things fresh. However, the addition of visual elements like maps and character art could have made this game even more immersive.

Evil.AI

Requires ChatGPT Plus

A list of AI games can’t possibly be complete without a game about an AI taking over the world. That’s exactly what Evil.AI is. In this GPT-powered experience, you’ll face the daunting task of halting a rogue artificial intelligence bent on global domination.

Evil.AI unfolds as a strategic turn-based battle. Your role is to launch attacks against the AI warlord using creativity and tactical cunning. The power-hungry AI will counter with its own maneuvers in an attempt to outsmart you. A neutral judge (conveniently, another aspect of the AI itself) will then assess your attacks, providing critical feedback to refine your strategies. This constant cycle of attack, defense, and analysis demands adaptability and innovative problem-solving.

One of Evil.AI’s strengths is that, unlike some other role-playing GPTs, it offers a clear path to victory — a definitive way to “win.” Plus, with three difficulty levels, the challenge continues even after your first successful campaign. The AI’s distinct personality, infused with wit and calculated comebacks, adds a unique flavor to the experience.

Prompt-based games

Free to play

ChatGPT offers a surprising variety of free, text-based games for your enjoyment. If you enjoy a mental challenge, try classics like 20 Questions, Trivia Quiz, or word games like Hangman. For those seeking a more collaborative experience, you can build a story with ChatGPT, create poetry, or chalk out your own twists to an existing fictional universe.

Adventure lovers can embark on role-playing adventures where ChatGPT can play the role of an investor that you have to convince or a potential partner that you have to impress. If nothing else, you can always challenge ChatGPT to a game of Tic-Tac-Toe. Getting started for such games is quite easy. Simply ask ChatGPT to play your chosen game, and it will provide instructions and guide you through the experience.

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Secure Folder is one of the more underrated features on Samsung phones, offering users a PIN-protected folder to store private files. Unfortunately, it seems like some users can’t actually delete the Secure Folder app following the One UI 6.1 update.

A Samsung representative confirmed this issue on the Korean Community forum (h/t: Sammy Fans). The representative noted that the inability to delete Secure Folder was related to a “Google security policy” that was applied to One UI 6.1. The issue affects version 1.9.10.27 of the Secure Folder app.

Samsung also confirmed that this issue affected the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, and the Galaxy Tab S9 series updated to One UI 6.1.

The company noted that it plans to update Secure Folder via the Galaxy Store so users can delete it once again. So you’ll just have to wait for this update, although there’s no word on a release timeline.

This isn’t the biggest issue in the world, as you don’t have to use Secure Folder in the first place. But we can understand why a few people might be annoyed be the inability to delete a pre-installed app, especially if they’re using an alternative private folder solution.

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OnePlus offers Ace Pro phones in its home market of China, but the original Ace Pro actually came to global markets as the OnePlus 10T back in 2022. Now, a long-time leaker has revealed details about the upcoming OnePlus Ace 3 Pro.

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The battle for AI supremacy between ChatGPT and Gemini just turned into a three-way race as Meta has unveiled a significantly upgraded version of its AI assistant. The new-and-improved Meta AI, powered by the cutting-edge Llama 3 language model, is boldly proclaimed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg to be “now the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use.”

Meta first introduced Meta AI last year, but it was limited to the US, and its capabilities were not on par with those of competitors like ChatGPT and Gemini. However, the integration of the Llama 3 model, also announced today, represents a seemingly quantum leap for Meta’s AI. Benchmark tests conducted by the company indicate that, with Llama 3 at its core, Meta AI has the potential to outperform other top-tier AI models, particularly in areas like translation, dialogue generation, and complex reasoning.

What can the new Meta AI do?

The overhauled Meta AI is now directly accessible through the search bars within Facebook, Instagram (DMs page), WhatsApp, and Messenger. Plus, you can access it at a new standalone website, meta.ai. It can search the web for you, provide recommendations for restaurants, flights, and more, or clarify complex concepts. On Facebook, Meta AI can also interact with your feed, allowing you to ask questions about content you see, like the best time to catch the Northern Lights after viewing a stunning photo of them.

I could even ask it for tailored content like fitness reels or comedy videos, with Meta AI curating a 5-video feed for me in those cases. Meta has included many prompts under the search bar on Facebook and Instagram to help us get the most out of Meta AI’s abilities. Thankfully, we can still use the search bars for regular searches for accounts and hashtags.

From what I could see so far, Meta AI’s answers are not as nuanced and detailed as what Gemini would give me for similar questions, but it could benefit from two key strengths. First, it’s seamlessly embedded within Meta’s popular apps — Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger — giving their billions of users convenient access to the AI assistant. Secondly, Meta AI isn’t tied to one search engine; it openly uses both Google and Bing to process queries, removing potential bias toward either company’s algorithms.

One of the most intriguing parts of Meta AI is its Imagine image generator. This feature first appeared within WhatsApp a few months ago and allowed users to create AI-generated images based on text descriptions. Since then, it has expanded to Instagram and Facebook.

Starting today, WhatsApp beta users and those using Meta AI’s desktop website in the US can try out an even more advanced version of Imagine. This version generates images in real-time while you type, with the image updating as you add more details, really demonstrating how far generative AI has come.

Currently, Meta AI works in English and is rolling out to many countries outside the US, including Australia, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with more on the way.

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With smartphone companies pushing longer and longer phone update policies, it’s become increasingly important to consider factors like aftersales parts availability and ease of self-repair when making a new phone purchase. After all, even if your phone maker promises to deliver seven years of software support, will your phone’s hardware even last that long? There are easy steps you can take to maximize battery life, but there’s not much you can do to extend the lifetime of your phone’s storage chip. For starters, there isn’t even a way for you to find out the remaining lifetime of your phone’s storage chip. Fortunately, that’ll change in the Android 15 update.

Since late last year, Google has been working on surfacing useful information about your phone’s hardware. It started with battery health-related information such as the manufacture date, cycle count, and state of health, which are all useful factors in knowing when it’s time to replace your phone’s battery. Some of this information was briefly shown under the Settings > About phone > Battery information page before it was removed in March’s Android 14 QPR2 update, since the page is supposedly intended to only be enabled on the upcoming Pixel 8a and onward.

Alongside battery health-related information, Google is also planning to surface info about the health of the device’s storage component. Both sets of information will be surfaced in a new “Device Diagnostics” app. Under the hood, the Device Diagnostics app will utilize a new storage lifetime API in Android 15 that “returns the remaining lifetime of the internal storage device, as an integer percentage.” If the API returns 90, for example, then that means that 90% of the storage device’s useful lifetime remains.

Although the patch referenced above hasn’t been merged to AOSP yet, the API is already present and enabled in the latest Android 15 beta 1 release. This is because the patch that Google submitted to AOSP was already merged into Google’s internal Android codebase, which is what the company actually uses to make its Android builds. The API itself simply makes information that Android was already collecting available to (system) apps.

The description for the initial patch that implements this new API says it only “differs slightly from the previous API, which exist[ed] for idle maintenance.” Idle maintenance is when Android trims unused blocks in the filesystem, which is useful for flash storage chips. Trimming unused blocks excessively can reduce the lifespan of the storage chip, which is why it’s necessary to check the health of the UFS chip and intelligently run idle maintenance. Android 13 actually introduced a smarter idle maintenance service under the hood for this exact purpose.

The initial patch also mentions that this value is “intended to be displayed to users,” so it’s likely users will get access to the Device Diagnostics app in a future beta release. However, only some devices (like Google’s own Pixel lineup) will report the remaining storage lifetime at 1% granularity, while others will report at a less accurate 10% granularity. This means that the remaining storage lifetime value won’t be a useful metric on every device, unfortunately.

That’s assuming it’ll even be available because not every device will support showing the remaining storage lifetime. Devices need to collect and share this information with the Android OS through the Health HAL. On devices that don’t do this, the storage lifetime API will return -1, which means the feature is unsupported. Whether a device supports this API is up to the OEM or the vendor of the storage chip since Google currently doesn’t require devices to support it. If you have a Pixel device running Android 15, though, the storage lifetime API is fully supported and will be used by the Device Diagnostics app to show you the remaining lifetime of your Pixel device’s storage chip.

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Google’s AI is everywhere, and its next goal is to transform the YouTube experience. The platform is currently testing a new coversational AI feature to help viewers get the most out of the videos they watch by facilitating real-time question-and-answer interactions directly within videos.

Currently, this feature is in the experimental phase and is limited to YouTube’s Android app for YouTube Premium subscribers who are 18 years or older and based in the United States.

Once you enable the feature for your account, you’ll start to notice an “Ask” button beneath eligible videos. Viewers can then type in questions pertaining to the video or choose from provided prompts requesting summaries or related content. The AI will then process both the video content and the query, offering context-relevant responses without pausing playback.

The responses seem to be reasonably accurate and surprisingly swift, indicating that Google’s AI might already be pre-analyzing YouTube videos even before we invoke the feature.

As far as I could check, most videos where English is being used to talk or narrate the content did show the Ask prompt, including all of our latest videos on the Android Authority YouTube channel. Informational videos with a mix of Hindi and English language didn’t show the Ask prompt, and the same goes for music videos.

For now, YouTube states that this feature will only be available until May 1, but I can’t wait for it to roll out publicly. There’s a treasure trove of informational videos and tutorials on YouTube, and having a way to quickly summarize them or ask about the specific thing you’re looking for could be fantastic.