Google Pixel

Ahead of last week’s October 4th hardware event, Google uploaded the “Pixel Ambient Services” app responsible for the Pixel 2’s music recognition feature. Today, the battery app found on Pixel and Nexus devices has been similarly added to the Play Store for easier updates.

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The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are quickly selling out, to no one’s surprise, but as we covered last week, the original Pixel is still a phenomenal phone. Luckily, if you don’t need the new features and design of Google’s latest flagship, last year’s model is still available on the Google Store, and it has a new, lower price.

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It’s been almost exactly one year since Google held its first “Made by Google” event, featuring the first wave of products out of Google’s newly-found seriousness about hardware. This year we’re expecting refreshes for lots of products that debuted for the first time last year, and perhaps a few exciting surprises as well…
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While last month’s updates were slightly delayed, the October security patch is rolling out today on schedule. It contains the usual minor bug fixes and security patches for Pixel and Nexus devices.

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Alongside the launch of a Project Fi trade-in program last week, the Google Store added a similar offer to exchange old devices for a discount that goes towards buying a new Pixel device. The Google Store’s program has now added Pixel and Pixel XL trade-in values, which are likely in preparation for next week’s product announcements.

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Until recently, repeatedly tapping — but really violently smashing — the “Check for update” button in Settings would not push OTAs to your device any faster. However, Google has changed its update system so that tapping the button will actually offer the download.

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After several weeks of rumors, Google announced this evening an “agreement” that will see HTC employees who worked on the Pixel join the Alphabet company’s hardware division. The deal is valued at $1.1 billion, while HTC will continue to run its smartphone business.

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Following leaks of the Pixel 2, Pixelbook,  Google Home Mini, and a new Daydream View, the first official-looking renders of the Pixel 2 XL have been revealed. Along with the name and design, pricing and storage sizes have also been suggested in today’s leak.

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Last month, the Pixel 2 hit the FCC with a filing that revealed Android 8.0.1, as well as an “Active Edge” squeeze feature. Today, the larger Pixel 2 XL likely arrived at the US regulatory agency and confirmed its LG-made nature.

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For whatever reason, it seems like Google is having some trouble getting things right with the Oreo OTAs. Some models are delayed, others saw issues installing right off the bat, and now an OTA is popping up on some devices that says it will “update” to 7.1.2…

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As with the release of any major operating system upgrade, there are sure to be bugs that pop up from time to time. With Oreo, we’ve already seen an issue that has enabled mobile data use while on Wi-Fi. The latest bug to be reported is one that disables all mobile data usage when a user has reached the end of their data limit, despite some apps’ data being prorated by the carrier…

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Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas earlier this month with intense flooding throughout much of the Houston area and surrounding communities. Many families lost a lot of their belongings, and also likely damaged their smartphones in the floods. Now, Google is teaming up with local repair shops to offer a bit of relief.

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Update: We’ve now been provided an additional image of the Pixel 2 shown in these photos, proving that the Pixel 2 in “Kinda Blue,” which was revealed in a press render, is this same device. It just so happens that the lighting for these photos was not that great. The headline has been updated to reflect this. Here’s the first real-life look at the bottom of the device. There is a case wrapped around the device that we blurred out (as in the above image) because it could potentially identify our source.

With the release of the second generation Pixel phones drawing ever nearer, there aren’t many details about the Mountain View company’s forthcoming flagship handsets that we haven’t heard already. But 9to5Google has now obtained some new images of the smaller non-XL model from a trusted source, alongside a few little tidbits about the phone that haven’t been reported up to now…

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One of the key parts of the Pixel experience last year was helping users switch from iPhones and other Android devices, with Google including a USB adaptor in the box to sync data during the initial set up process. That “Data Transfer Tool” hit the Play Store earlier this morning with a screenshot of a phone that very much looks like the Pixel 2.

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Earlier this morning, Verizon announced that it was rolling out Android Oreo to last year’s Pixel and Pixel XL. However, the release notes detailing the 8.0 update make reference to a feature that is not included in the current 8.0 build: Instant Apps integration for the Pixel Launcher.

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Just about a week ago, Google released the official factory images for Android 8.0 Oreo following the unveiling of its dessert name and statue. Eight days after that announcement, Verizon is already starting to push the 8.0 update to Pixel and Pixel XL handsets on its network.

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