In this week’s top stories: The battery app for Pixel and Nexus phones gets an update, we mark up the best Android smartwatches currently on the market, and the Pixel 2’s “Now Playing” feature can be replicated using Shazam.
We kick things off this week with an update to the battery app for Pixel and Nexus. The app has been added to the Play Store under the name Device Health Services for easier updates. The Play Store description notes that “Device Health Services predicts how long your phone’s battery will last based on your usage.”
Also, we have put together a list of the best currently available Android smartwatches. With new hardware and software options that continue to get better and better, there’s no time like now to buy a smartwatch. And we have discovered a way to mostly replicate the Pixel 2’s “Now Playing” feature on any Android phone using Shazam.
These and the rest of this week’s top stories below:
Android |
- Early hands-on reveals a hidden notification light on the Google Pixel 2 XL
- Best affordable Android smartphones you can buy [October 2017]
- Huawei Mate 10: New renders show off slim bezels as specifications are leaked
- How to replicate the Pixel 2’s new calendar widget on any Android phone using ‘Another Widget’
- Verizon stores will have the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL on display starting tomorrow
- Google Duo integration officially rolling out to Pixel, Nexus, will come to other Android phones ‘over time’
- Honor 7X goes official with thinner bezels, an 18:9 display, and it still has microUSB
- Google Duo 20 preps Google Cast support and sending audio/video messages [APK Teardown]
- October security patch OTA failing to install on some Pixel XL devices, Google investigating
Accessories |
- Best smartwatches for Android you can buy [October 2017]
- Yes, Pixel Buds’ real-time translation feature will also work on the original Google Pixel
- Review: Google Home Mini at $49 joins the Chromecast in Google’s collection of insta-buy hardware
- Copying Apple, Google mercifully drops its $20 Pixel USB-C headphone dongle to $9
- Google is permanently removing Home Mini’s top touch functionality due to always-recording bug
Apps |
- Google Pixel, Nexus battery app is now updated via the Play Store as ‘Device Health Services’
- How to replicate the Pixel 2’s ‘Now Playing’ feature on any Android smartphone w/ Shazam
- You can now install the Pixel 2’s Pixel Launcher w/ bottom Google Search bar, At A Glance
- Google Duo will add deeper video calling integration to Pixel’s dialer, SMS, and Contacts apps
- Google app’s link bookmarking feature, ‘Saved’ section now widely rolling out on Android
- Google Assistant’s new male/female voices are more realistic thanks to Alphabet’s DeepMind AI lab
- Google Wallpapers updated with new categories, most exclusive to Pixel
- Nova Launcher now has over 50 million downloads on the Google Play Store
- Google Assistant on your phone can now control Chromecast, just like Home
- Google Assistant shopping is coming to your phone, Target partnership live today
- Google Camera 5.0 adds Motion photos to original Pixel, while 5.1 brings minor UI tweaks
Google |
- Rising costs to remain default services on Android, Apple devices worry Google investors
- ‘Movies Anywhere’ will combine movie libraries across Google Play, iTunes, Amazon, and VUDU from multiple studios
- How to connect your Google Play/iTunes account to Amazon and VUDU with Movies Anywhere
- Google invested in Neverware, a company that (sort of) puts Chrome OS on aging computers
- Alphabet’s X details ML-heavy robotics efforts, chance to solve ‘humanity’s big problems’
This week’s top videos |
- LG V30 retail unboxing: the phone for content creators is finally here! [Video]
- Tips and tricks for getting started with the LG V30 [Video]
- Review: Michael Kors offers 2 beautiful options for Android Wear holdouts w/ the Access Sofie and Grayson [Video]
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