The good news is that the next version of Google’s Android smartphone software, Android P, has a feature to shrink your photos to half the size of an ordinary JPEG. The bad news is there’s no guarantee that every phone will actually be able to use it. That’s because of hardware and patent licensing limits …
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Editors’ note: This comparison was originally published Nov. 28, 2017 at 4 a.m. PT. Since that time Google added a technology called RAISR to the Pixel 2 which uses computer learning to make zoomed in pictures look sharper and more detailed. After testing a Pixel 2 with this update, we found improvement with zoomed in photos taken in good light. …
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The smart speaker competition is getting fierce. Voice-powered digital assistants — Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri — appear in more standalone audio products every day, from tiny Dots and Minis to more expensive Echos, Homes and Maxes. For people willing to pay extra for better sound quality, though, only a handful are worth considering. Two of the most …
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CNET’s Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. Find more great buys on the CNET Deals page and follow the Cheapskate on Facebook and Twitter! The Moto G5 Plus has looks and performance that belie its $210 sale price. Motorola Until last month, …
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Google just rebranded its Android Wear watch platform with a new name: Wear OS. This news arrives less than two months before Google I/O, the annual developer conference in which Google announces its new initiatives and software broad strokes. New Google hardware generally (though not always) hits around October. Maybe Wear OS is an indicator that Google’s smartwatch strategy is …
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Streaming service Spotify is testing its own voice assistant, which could give navigating its app a significant speed boost. The feature, spotted first by Twitter user Hunter Owens, is available to some users through its iOS app and can be found inside the search bar. It appears to allow users to skip tapping and typing in order to find and …
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It’s a real name-changer. Google announced Thursday that it’s got a new name fo Android Wear, its software that powers a wide-ranging lineup of wearables like smartwatches. From here on out, you’ll know it as Wear OS, and reminder, it’s not connected to Google’s mobile operating system. A big part of the reason for the change: One-third of new Android …
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The iPhone 8 and Pixel 2 belong in the upper ranks of any best phone list. They’re some of the fastest, most comfortable phones made to hold in the hand. And they have nearly every feature you could want in a handset. But no phone is perfect, and buying either one means you’re trading off some features to gain some …
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On this podcast, we talk about: Google making the case for Android security. The US launching sanctions against Russia for cyberattacks related to the elections and NotPetya. Intel’s fix for Spectre and Meltdown. Why older internet of things devices are the ones to look out for. The 3:59 gives you bite-size news and analysis about the top stories of the …
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In the list of big security flaws that could let hackers compromise phones, there’s one name that comes up a lot: Android. In 2015, we learned that Google’s operating system for phones was vulnerable to the StageFright bug, which hackers could exploit just by sending a text message. In 2016, security researchers revealed that millions of Android phones were infected …
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