Google is bringing Google Assistant voice controls to select third-party Android apps, the company announced in a blog post Thursday. Examples of new, app-specific voice commands Android users can take advantage of. Google “Opening and searching within Android apps using ‘Hey Google’ is now available to all Assistant-enabled Android phones,” wrote Google product manager Adam …

If you’re sick of websites tracking you and just as frustrated with website pop-ups prompting you to dig through obscure browser cookie settings — good news. An alliance including web publishers and browser makers has developed technology to stop websites from selling or sharing the data they gather about you, and you can try it now. If the effort succeeds, …

Google on Thursday said it’s expanding its Fi mobile service to include Samsung’s latest 5G phones, like the Galaxy Note 20 5G, Galaxy S20 5G and Galaxy A71 5G. Customers will get all the benefits of Fi as well as a “faster connection with 5G coverage nationwide included as part of your plan,” Google said in a blog post.  Fi …

Google on Thursday rolled out a new feature for Android designed to alert people with hearing loss about “critical household sounds” such as appliances beeping, water running and dogs barking. Sound Notifications will send a push notification, trigger a flash from your camera light or cause your phone to vibrate to grab your attention. While the feature is focused on …

Microsoft is developing an iOS app to bring Game Pass to the iPad and iPhone, circumventing Apple App Store rules, Business Insider reported Thursday. “We absolutely will end up on iOS,” Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer told employees at an all-hands meeting Wednesday, according to Business Insider. Microsoft announced in August that its Project xCloud video game service would be …

Welcome to our new series One Charge Challenge, where we test a device’s most fun features through a series of challenges — in a single battery life cycle. For episode one, I try out Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 3. I’ve never worn a smartwatch before, so was excited to try out the health and fitness features, get a sense of …

Best Buy will offer Black Friday deals on Oct. 13 and 14, the retailer announced Thursday. Those just happen to be the same two days as this year’s rescheduled Amazon Prime Day.  “Dozens of deals, straight from Best Buy’s not-yet-released Black Friday ad, will be available for two days next week,” the company said. Included in its deals will be 4K TVs, …

Microsoft announced 10 new app store principles in a blog post Thursday, needling Apple‘s and Google‘s policies in the process. The new guidelines from Microsoft are intended to promote choice, fairness and innovation for software developers on Windows 10. “Developers will have the freedom to choose whether to distribute their apps for Windows through our app store. We will not block competing …

The folks at FandangoNow and Vudu tell me that Hocus Pocus, the classic 1993 comedy with Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker, is their most-watched movie on Halloween for the last five years running. If you’re in the mood for a movie with all the essential Halloween ingredients this year — you know, talking cats, zombies, witches and a magical …

Google is celebrating the 197th birthday of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, an American-Canadian newspaper editor and publisher — as well as a journalist, teacher, lawyer, abolitionist and suffragist — on Friday with a dedicated Doodle. Shadd Cary is credited as North America’s first Black female newspaper editor and publisher. She was also the second Black woman to earn a law …