Technology

The Pixel 5, Google’s latest Android flagship, was just announced today, and someone on YouTube has already posted an unboxing video of the new device ahead of its release (via 9to5Google). What’s in the box is fairly standard — there’s the phone itself, as well as a charger, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a USB-C to USB-A converter. The YouTube user who has the phone, who goes by the name Sergiu, does power it on, giving us a look at the phone’s 6-inch 2340 x 1080 OLED screen and 8-megapixel hole-punch selfie camera. Sergiu doesn’t use the phone all that much in the video, though, sticking mostly to the phone’s home screen. Sergiu also zooms in on back of the Pixel 5, showing the phone’s aluminum back, fingerprint sensor, and square camera housing. If you’ve seen the camera housing on the Pi...

Google’s $799 Pixel 4 had built-in radar. The new $699 Pixel 5 does not — it ditches the sensor-laden forehead of its predecessor entirely in favor of thinner bezels and a hole-punch camera, like the $349 Pixel 4a before it. The result is more screen, but Google’s “Motion Sense” gestures and its answer to Apple’s Face ID are totally gone. But Google hardware boss Rick Osterloh tells The Verge that the Project Soli radar and gestures will return. “They’ll be used in the future,” he says. They were just too expensive for the phone that Google wanted to build this time. (He didn’t say whether they’d appear in a new phone, specifically; a recent FCC filing suggests they might come to a new Nest thermostat as well.) And let’s not get started on Pixel 4 battery life I doubt buyers of the Pixel 5...

Verizon is getting an exclusive model of the Pixel 4A 5G: it comes in white, it supports Verizon-specific 5G bands, and it’s $100 more expensive. Verizon has dubbed this model the “Google Pixel 4A 5G UW” to highlight its support for the carrier’s “ultra wideband” 5G network. If you’re on any other carrier, you’re not missing out. And if you’re on Verizon, this is probably a worse option than buying a standard Pixel 4A 5G at the regular price of $499, rather than spending $599.99 on Verizon’s model. Pay more to maybe use Verizon’s 5G network The issue here is Verizon’s limited 5G network. Unlike AT&T and T-Mobile, Verizon’s 5G network so far relies only on millimeter wave (mmWave) connections. Those connections are the fastest you can get from 5G, but they have issues — they’re very sho...

Google’s fall hardware event ended this afternoon after a breezy 30 minutes of rapid-fire product announcements, with the stars of the show being the new Pixel 5 and Pixel 4A with 5G. Google now has three primary smartphones; two midrange ones (one with 5G and one without) and one flagship. That’s a refreshingly simple lineup, compared with some of the messier, more bloated offerings from competitors. But that doesn’t mean choosing between the devices is necessarily clear-cut. The 4A 5G is not just a 4A with a different modem; the two phones have some key hardware differences, making the Pixel 4A 5G more of a Pixel 5 alternative than a budget phone. The three devices, grouped together, hit price points of $349, $499, and $699, so choosing which one is the right fit for you is best done by ...

For many of us, calling a doctor’s office, an insurance carrier, customer support, or indeed any kind of administrative office has become an exercise in frustration — especially these days, when increased demand and cuts in staffing have made phone waits interminable. Yes, you can simply use speakerphone to monitor the line, but do you really want to listen to that awful music for over an hour? A new Android feature called Hold for Me, which Google just announced, may just be able to make those phone waits a bit more tolerable. Hold for Me is currently available as a preview feature in the US for Google’s new Pixel 5 and Pixel 4A (5G) phones. Here’s how it works, according to Google: if you call a toll-free number and are put on hold, Google Assistant will monitor the call for you while yo...

Google has always wanted its cloud game-streaming service, Stadia, to change how YouTube streamers interact with their fans. Nearly ten months after release, Google is finally bringing its “Crowd Choice” feature to its first two games. Crowd Choice allows viewers to vote on, say, which team a streamer joins in the game, which piece of dialogue they pick, or other in-game choices the player might make. The streamer can ultimately decide if they want to follow the audience’s suggestion or make their own choice. On October 1st, Dead by Daylight will launch on Stadia Pro, and it will be the first game to integrate Crowd Choice. In Dead by Daylight, the feature gives the audience a chance to vote whether the streamer should be a “killer” who is tasked with killing the other players in the match...

Along with the launch of the new Chromecast with Google TV, which we’ve just reviewed, Google is changing the name of the Google Play Movies & TV app to Google TV. The rename is happening on Android phones to start, though you can expect it to change on other platforms eventually as well. The app is Google’s store for renting and buying movies and TV, and in truth Google is following Apple’s lead here. Apple uses its Apple TV app as the hub for all its video offerings as well, whether they are TV shows or not. Apple also uses the Apple TV branding in multiple ways — as hardware, app, and its own streaming video service. Google’s TV offerings also are a little confusing. In addition to being the aforementioned app, it’s also the name of the Google software layer that sits on top of Andr...

The new Chromecast is a much different product than the original $35 streaming stick that proved to be an unexpected hardware hit for Google way back in 2013. Instead of a barebones interface that requires you to play and control content using your smartphone or PC, the 2020 Chromecast has evolved to offer a richer, full-featured streaming experience much more akin to a Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or Apple TV. It’s got an all-new user interface designed by Google (and built atop Android TV) that’s flush with content from popular services like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and HBO Max. You navigate that content with a normal remote control that comes in the box. And as a streaming gadget, the Chromecast checks off almost everything important: it does 4K, supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos...

Google’s new Chromecast with Google TV will support a lot of the streaming services most people would want, although Apple TV Plus appears to be a notable holdout. Those sorts of gaps are fairly normal for a new platform, but the new Chromecast does have one very strange omission: Google’s own game streaming service, Stadia. At launch, the new Chromecast with Google TV won’t support it. Google says support will come sometime in the first half of 2021. That said, we were able to get Stadia running on the Chromecast using sideloading, which means it’s unclear why Stadia isn’t supported on the new Chromecast. To get to a place where we can speculate, we need to explain the different layers of operating systems and services at play on the Chromecast with Google TV. First, right now Stadia is s...

Google just wrapped up its fall hardware event where it debuted the Pixel 5, the less expensive Pixel 4A 5G, the oft-rumored Chromecast with Google TV software built in, as well as the Nest Audio smart speaker. It’s a lot of good news for people who like new hardware. All said, the quick half-hour event contained mostly announcements we expected, but there were a few unexpected surprises. Here’s everything you might have missed at Google’s event. In the case of specs, the Pixel 5 isn’t trying to go up against the most powerful phones in the world. Instead of beating them when it comes to raw speed (it has a midrange Snapdragon 765G processor, but the 8GB of RAM should deliver some snappiness), Google is focused on delivering some unique features along with — for the first time — 5G support...

Facebook has taken its biggest step yet in integrating its various messaging platforms, allowing select users on Messenger and Instagram to message one another app to app. In addition to the launch of cross-platform messaging, Instagram is also getting a major overhaul of its DM system, which will be expanded with features taken from Messenger. New Instagram messaging tools include vanishing messages, selfie stickers, custom emoji, chat colors, new ways to block unwanted messages, and the introduction of Messenger’s Watch Together feature, which lets you watch videos with friends during a video call. Users can opt out of cross-platform messaging if they wish Users will be able to reject the update if they choose, but Facebook will no doubt be betting that access to new features will encour...

Zound Industries has announced its latest pair of Marshall-branded headphones, the Major IV. Like previous Marshall headphones, the Major IVs have a formidable battery life, which extends up to 80 hours on a single charge this time around. When it comes time to recharge, you can either plug in a typical USB-C cable or charge them wirelessly using a Qi-compatible charger. We’ve seen numerous true wireless headphones embrace wireless charging over the last couple of years, but the feature is far less common with on-ear headphones like the Major IV. As well as wirelessly charging the headphones at home, the technology means you’ll also be able to charge them using any smartphones that support reverse wireless charging like the Samsung Galaxy S20. We’ll be interested to see how easy it is to b...