Ladies and gentlemen, I come to you this week a broken man. My childhood dream of seeing a speedy video game rodent hero break the fourth wall and go on a road trip with a middling white male actor I only sort of recognize has been shattered. Not because he doesn't do exactly that, but because of those teeth. Those human, human teeth.
Their rigorous survey included an intense examination of *waves vaguely at the entirety of the social media hellscape in which we all currently reside*
Jokes aside, this development does not bode well for the people of Russia. A regression towards isolationism only hinders the world's efforts to combat global issues like climate change and addressing why people keep marrying the Jonas Brothers.
This is fantastic news for Alex Jones. Namely because now, when he spends his weekends in public parks shouting conspiracy theories through a microphone, he'll have some company! I mean, aside from the squirrels who -- I think we all know -- secretly control the world's gold bullion markets.
Let me just take a nice, long sip of coffee from my ludicrously oversized Reese's Pieces brand mug then sit down and read about what FCC chairman Ajit Pai has been up to.
In the land of the blind Madonnas, the One-Eyed Madonna is Queen. Which means that four of these Augmented Reality Madonnas are about to get their Game of Thrones on.
Don't worry folks, after reviewing the flagged videos, Youtube is proud to announce that only a mere 90,000 of them actually contained terrorist content.
On the plus side, this serves as sort of a prison-going-experience warm up for Assange. Given that he's facing rape charges in Sweden and whatever the DOJ can make stick here in the US, Julian is possibly facing a whole lot of time behind bars.
We're just a few days out from Google's upcoming I/O developer conference, where Google is expected to announce and formally reveal a whole pile of things, from the Pixel 3a to new Android TV hardware. If history is any indicator, the company will also discuss some of its long- and short-term plans for a little operating system called Android — ever heard of it?
I/O is sure to be an information-dense few days, how much are you planning on watching?
The schedule is, frankly, a bit overwhelming, and plenty of cool stuff unfortunately overlaps. At least all the big talks will be recorded for later viewing. Last year most of you watched the Keynote or nothing. So, how much will you be tuning in for this time? (And don't worry, we'll be around to print up the most important details.)
Two new Fortnite Overtime challenges have been unlocked and are available to complete.
Overtime challenges were first introduced to Fortnite Battle Royale in Season 7 with players being rewarded with the Fortnite Season 8 Battle Pass upon completing 13 of 20 Overtime challenges.
Although there’s no free Season 9 Battle Pass reward this time around, players have the chance to unlock new styles for Sidewinder, Ember and Master Key as well as a Loading Screen and Season XP.
The first Season 8 Overtime challenges were released on Friday, May 3rd. When the Overtime challenges were made available, there were three Battle Pass challenges and two Free Challenges made available on day 1. You can see these challenges below.
Collect Coins in Featured Creative Islands (20)
Place Top 10 in Squads with a friend (3)
Fortnite Season 8 overtime Challenges and Rewards live
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Epic have now unlocked two new Overtime challenges, both of which reward players with 1,000 Season XP. Here are the two new challenges:
Deal damage to opponents (1,000)
Place Top 10 in Duos with a friend (3)
The final two Overtime challenges will unlock in two days and as of writing, players have 3 days and 18 hours to complete the challenges.
Season 9 of Fortnite Battle Royale is expected to begin on Wednesday, 8th May, and we could see a new teaser for the season released today. If that’s the case, we’ll be sure to keep you updated.
Enlarge/ Shoreline Amphitheatre, as seen at Google I/O 2017.
Ron Amadeo
Google I/O kicks off May 7 in Mountain View, California, where Google will be hosting a keynote and a million other sessions at the Shoreline Amphitheater. The keynote starts at 10am PT, and we'll be there to cover everything announced at the show. But before we hop on a plane and fly down to Google HQ, we've prepared a likely list of things we anticipate Google will announce. If you want to know where the larger Google-verse is about to go, here are the rumors, expected updates on previously announced things, and notable schedule tidbits to keep an eye on at I/O 2019.
When it comes to entry-level smartphone pricing, Google gets the title of "Most Expensive Smartphone Lineup on Earth." Google wants to be a smartphone manufacturer, but its cheapest phone, the Pixel 3, starts at $800. Most other manufacturers have a range of smartphones starting as low as $100 and going up from there. You can even enter the iOS ecosystem for just $449, where Apple will still sell you a new iPhone 7.
At Google I/O 2019, Google will take a baby step toward offering a real smartphone lineup by launching something other than a premium smartphone: a mid-range Pixel is coming, and supposedly there will be two devices, called the "Pixel 3a" and "Pixel 3a XL," with identical designs. Hardware has been absent from Google I/O for several years, but these devices are pretty much a lock to debut at Google I/O—Google has already sent out a teaser for May 7.
So, what exactly is a mid-range Pixel? Well, we've already seen both real life pictures and official press renders of the Pixel 3a, and it looks like we're getting a device that closely resembles the smaller Pixel 3 design, just in a cheaper, plastic shell with a cheaper SoC. The smaller Pixel 3a has been thoroughly leaked, with prototypes spotted in the wild dating back to November 2018.
The rumored sales pitch is that the Pixel 3a has the same industry-leading camera technology that's available in the more expensive Pixel 3, and, of course, it'll have Google's day-one Android updates for three years. You're also getting a headphone jack, which famously has been absent from the Pixel line after the Pixel 1.
The mid-ranginess comes from the plastic body (changed from glass on the Pixel 3) and the Snapdragon 670 SoC (downgraded from the Snapdragon 845 in the Pixel 3). The other rumored Pixel 3a specs are nearly identical to the regular Pixel 3, with a 5.6-inch, 2220×1080 display, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, a 12MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, and a 3000mAh battery. The Pixel 3a XL is rumored to pack a 6-inch, 2160×1080 OLED display—a downgrade from the 6.3-inch, 2960×1440 OLED panel in the 3XL—and a 3700mAh battery—an upgrade from the 3 XL's 3430mAh battery.
Can the Pixel 3a survive in the cutthroat value market?
We still don't know the price of the Pixel 3a, but Google's pricing scheme will be a major factor in the phone's success. The value market is a cutthroat business, and the Pixel 3a will have to slot in under devices like the OnePlus 6T. OnePlus' flagship has a faster SoC (a Snapdragon 845), more RAM (6GB), a bigger screen (6.4-inches), a bigger battery (3700mAh), and more storage (128GB), which all combine to allow the 6T to monopolize the $549 price range. And this isn't even OnePlus' final form! The OnePlus 7 will be announced days after the Pixel 3a on May 14, and it will be packing an even faster SoC, the Snapdragon 855, and possibly other upgrades, hopefully for a similar price.
If Google is building the Pixel 3a with an eye toward emerging markets like India—Google's second favorite country—then it has to deal with even more brutal competition from the likes of Xiaomi. India gets sweetheart country-specific devices like Xiaomi's Poco F1, again with a Snapdragon 845 and 6GB of RAM but this time for an astounding $300. India is for major players only, and I doubt Google can compete.
If you're looking for a spec-for-spec comparison, the closest is probably the Vivo Z3, which has a Snapdragon 670, a bigger 6.3-inch, 2220×1080 LCD, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a 3310mAh battery, all similar or better than the Pixel 3a, and Vivo's phone is $240. The Xiaomi Mi A2 is in a similar spec bracket with the Pixel 3a (although it has a year older SoC, the Snapdragon 660) and even has stock Android through the Android One program. This is one of Xiaomi's most widely distributed phones, and it can be grabbed from Amazon with two-day shipping in the US with an MSRP of $290. It would not surprise us to hear of a Xiaomi Mi A3 soon with an upgraded SoC.
The fear is that Google will continue the Pixel tradition of being too expensive for what it is offering. If the Pixel 3a comes in at around $500, would anyone really want to pay that much for a mid-range device when flagship-class OnePlus hardware can be had for $50 more, and similar hardware can be had for hundreds less? Will Google really price the 3a lower than that? How much would you pay for a Pixel 3a with the above specs?
Seriously, "Google Nest" products?
The Google Home Hub.
Ron Amadeo
The back features a mute switch and a volume rocker.
Ron Amadeo
Don't worry about where the speaker cloth is, it pumps out sound in all directions pretty well.
Ron Amadeo
On the bottom is a rubber root.
Ron Amadeo
What's this?! The foot comes off.
Ron Amadeo
Connected to the power board you'll find a mysterious Micro-USB port.
The Google Store has been dropping hints at what might become of what's left of Nest—it could serve as a brand for Google's smart home products called "Google Nest." In early April, the Google Store Web page accidentally posted a navigation menu listing "Google Home Hub/Google Nest Hub" and "Google Nest Hub Max" as products. The Google Home Hub is an existing product: it's a Google Home smart speaker with a display, and apparently it's going to be rebranded as the "Google Nest Hub" in the future.
There is no "Google Home Hub Max," but a Google Home Max is a bigger version of the Google Home speaker. So then the Nest Hub Max would presumably be a larger version of the Google Home Hub, with a bigger display and better speakers. It always seemed odd that Google only shipped a 7-inch smart display, while partners like Lenovo ship 8- and 10-inch Google Smart Displays. A bigger Google Nest Home Hub would just be keeping up with Google's frenemies.
There is no reason to believe "Google Nest" products will be announced at Google I/O, other than the fact that the Google Store leaks also mentioned the Pixel 3a, which definitely is being mentioned at I/O. Since Google has everyone's attention during the big show, it makes sense to toss the Nest news in with the other announcements. We're going to pencil this one in for the keynote.
I'm coming up on two months of using Android Q -- Google's beta software available on its Pixelphones -- every day since the middle of March. I love dark mode, I want guests to visit so I can add to them my Wi-Fi network via a QR code, and I appreciate getting a better of idea of my battery usage. But I also miss a few of my favorite apps that don't work quite right in Android Q yet.
The first prerelease versions of any new operating system are interesting because they show the direction a company is heading and offer you a chance to try out a feature before it's finished. But they can also be unstable, as a company works out the kinks. And some apps may not work as expected because they depend on a part of the OS that is changing. I am up to the challenge, because I want to find out what kinds of treats Android Q will bring us later this year when Google intends to release Android Q to the public.
Google released the first public beta of Q on March 18, the second beta on April 3 and then a security patch on April 5. The software runs on any Pixel device and gives interested Android owners a chance to check out upcoming features as well as help Google track down issues with the prerelease software and apps.
Honestly, unless it's required for your job -- or you have a spare Pixel you want to try it on -- running a beta of a mobile OS may not be the best use of your time. With Q, Google is focusing in large part on privacy, giving Android owners finer control over what data they share and creating stricter limits on the information apps can ask for. It also includes small but useful changes to its notifications and controls.
Google makes it clear what you're getting into with Android Q, cautioning before you install the mobile OS that the prerelease software contains significant changes that may affect your photos, videos and other files you store on your phone. I was curious enough to jump in anyway. So here, about two months, is what stands out about Android Q so far.
Where Android Q is already solid
You expect odd behavior when running a beta. Google said the system might be "janky." But over the two months I've used Android Q and my Pixel 2 to stream movies to my TV and music to my car's audio system, navigate up and down the California Central Coast with Maps, check email, listen to podcasts, take pictures, make calls, message with family and friends, fill in the holes for the Marvel movies I missed prior to seeing Endgame… basically everything I'd regularly do on my phone. Except for a few annoyances I'll get to in a bit, Q has so far been stable and usable, despite Google's warnings.
Dark Mode in action.
Screenshot by Clifford Colby/CNET
Dark mode. To my eye, everything looks better in dark mode. Android Pie finally made it possible to apply a dark theme via the Display settings. That setting is gone in the first two beta releases of Q, but you can still force Q into dark mode. In Battery settings, if you turn on Battery Saver -- which is designed to conserve a battery charge -- you can make the phone switch to dark mode when you unplug it. You can also set when Q switches to dark mode to converse battery either based on your routine or on the percentage of battery life left. And Q's dark mode appears in more places than Pie's does, which is nice.
More info on lock screen. AndroidQ's lock screen displays more interesting and useful notifications, such which song is playing or your expected arrival time if you are using a transit app like Citymapper.
More feedback.Running Q, you get the charging sound and a vibration when you plug in the phone to charge it. And when you select text, you get haptic feedback. It's a little unnerving at first to feel my phone vibrate more, but I appreciate the notification that I've successfully plugged it in.
Share Wi-Fi network credentials with Android- and iPhone-using friends.
Screenshot by Tuong Nguyen/CNET
Sharing Wi-Fi details. First-time visitors to my place no longer have to type -- and retype -- the super-secret Wi-Fi password to hop on the network. In Android Q, I can create a QR code containing Wi-Fi information that visitors then can scan to connect.
Helpful battery level indicators. Android Pie shows battery status via an icon in the status bar. Q goes a step further and displays battery level as a percent to the right of the battery icon. When you're unplugged, you can swipe down on the status bar to view an estimate of how long your battery will last. Does it make the status bar cleaner? Maybe not. Is it more usable information? For me, yes.
Quick access to emergency info. I don't plan to use this, but press and hold the power button -- with the phone locked or unlocked -- to bring up an emergency shortcut. It appears below the Power off, Restart and Screenshot buttons. Tap the shortcut to bring up your phone dial pad and access to your emergency information, if you've filled it out. (You can include your name, address, blood type, medications and contacts in the emergency info.)
Where Android Q is still a work in progress
No deal-breakers, but Q has a few not-quite-ready-to-use things that have made me change how I use my phone.
You can take photos in Q, but editing them may not work.
Screenshot by Clifford Colby/CNET
Some apps don't work as expected. Google notes in Q that some apps have known issues. One of those is the Photos app, which may not handle photos as expected. According to Google, Q stores more information about the images its camera captures in a separate file, letting you adjust the depth of a photo. Google says this will be especially useful for AR images, but I've not seen it in action yet.
Pokemon Go and Ingress are yet not fully supported, Niantic said. For me, Pokemon Go won't open at all. Ingress will sometimes open, and sometimes I get a message that the game is not supported on my device configuration. If I close and reopen -- and reclose and re-reopen -- the app, I can usually get it to work. Niantic said it will have news on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite support for Q as the game gets closer to release.
I initially also had problems getting my Pixel 2 to sync with my Fitbit Versa smart watch via Bluetooth with the first beta. The second beta seemed to have fixed the problem, but the syncing issue has come back again recently.
And some apps don't work at all. Both of Mozilla's Android browsers -- Firefox and Focus -- close right after I tap to open them. Promisingly, the Firefox beta works fine, so Mozilla may have a fix in the works. Other browsers based on Chromium, such as Chrome, Opera and Brave, also work fine.
Up next for Q
In the second beta, Google added bubble notifications, which act a bit like Facebook Messenger's Chat Heads and provide a way for apps to display a notification. Developers need to add bubble notifications to their apps. None of the apps I have installed are using them yet, but I look forward to seeing them in action.
Looking ahead, Google said it intends to release four more betas through the spring and summer before having the final release ready in the third quarter.
Google intends to release Q in the third quarter.
Google
Originally published on April 14.
Update, April 23: Add information on Pokemon Go and Ingress.
The new version of Google Fi for iPhone now supports that platform’s visual voicemail functionality, a significant improvement.
“Visual voicemail (yes, finally!),” the Google Fi app landing page on Apple’s App Store notes under the “What’s New” listing. “Now your voicemails show up in a list, and you can listen, read the transcripts or reply—right from the app.” The latest version of the app also adds some “slicker animations and transitions, which you’ll probably only notice subconsciously.”
Google rebranded its Project Fi wireless network service as Google Fi in November 2018 and, more momentously, added support for iPhone and most Android handsets too. Previously, the service worked only with Google’s own phones and with a very short list of certified devices.
But this compatibility came with a few limitations. Those with iPhones and non-Fi-certified handsets cannot take advantage of Google Fi’s incredible network switching capability that moves connectivity to whatever GSM or CDMA network has the best reception on the fly. And on iPhone, Google Fi could not take advantage of iOS’s visual voicemail feature.
When I first tested Google Fi with iPhone in December, I was able to experience Google’s workaround for visual voicemail: The firm sends a text message containing a rough transcription of the voicemail. If you wanted to actually hear the voicemail, you had to call your carrier’s voicemail phone number and navigate through menus with your keypad.
No more. Now you can use your iPhone with Google Fi like it’s 2019.
At Engadget, we spend every day looking at how technology will shape the future. But it's also important to look back at how far we've come. That's what This Week in Tech History does. Join us every weekend for a recap of historical tech news, anniversaries and advances from the recent and not-so-recent past. This week, we're looking back at Microsoft's first "real laptop," the Surface Laptop.
It's hard to believe that only two years have passed since Microsoft first announced the Surface Laptop. That's probably because the company had already built up a reputation with the Surface line of convertible tablets. Those computers tried to marry the portability and touch-screen convenience of the iPad with accessories, software and specs that made it more of a "real computer."
It took Microsoft a few years to hone in on what exactly made the standard Surface work, but by 2015 it had really nailed the concept with the Surface Pro 4. But still, there were plenty of people who longed to see what Microsoft could do if it applied its burgeoning hardware chops to a more traditional laptop design. Enter the Surface Laptop, a computer with no fancy hinges or detachable keyboard; its most notable design quirk was the fabric-covered keyboard palm rests. But people who loved the design prowess Microsoft showed off with the Surface Pro but wanted a package that sat better on the lap were delighted.
And with good reason: The Surface Laptop quickly became one of the best all-around notebook computers, a device that hit right in the intersection of style, capability and price. It was basically a more modern MacBook Air that ran Windows, a device that had lots of people interested.
Of course, the Surface Laptop didn't launch without a slight controversy -- but it was about software, not hardware. You may or may not recall that Microsoft briefly dabbled with a Windows 10 variant called Windows 10 S. It was a slightly more locked-down version of Windows 10 that only allowed app installs from the Windows Store and only let users browse the web with Microsoft Edge. To some extent, it was meant to be a competitor to Chrome OS, which had found great success in the education market by 2017.
But consumers seemed more willing to accept the limitations of Chrome OS given how much inexpensive Chrome hardware was available. The Surface Laptop, on the other hand, started at $999, making it a harder sell for education-focused buyers. Initially, Microsoft offered free upgrades to Windows 10 Pro, but said it would charge $50 for upgrades starting in 2018.
Fortunately, Microsoft quickly realized the error of its ways and started shipping the Surface Laptop with the full Windows 10 Pro experience, The company still offers a streamlined "S" mode for Windows, but for the most part Windows 10 S is a blip in Microsoft's long and winding operating system history.
That's good news, because there's almost nothing else to complain about with the Surface Laptop, which was upgraded last fall. Sure, it could use a USB-C port for charging and connectivity, but that's basically one quibble. There are other laptops that are cheaper, or thinner and lighters, or more powerful. But it's not often we come across a computer that truly checks all the boxes for almost anyone who might be considering it.
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