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Google is trialing a new Quick Settings panel inside Android Auto's beta version 17.6.663424, accessible from the notification shade at the top of the screen. So far only a single Do Not Disturb tile has appeared, letting drivers silence phone notifications without opening the full settings menu. The feature arrives alongside a new app icon and a raccoon-themed weather animation spotted in the same beta build.
Federal investigators say Daejon Labrayae Love, posing as an injured San Francisco 49ers receiver or a wealthy Swiss developer, and 18-year-old accomplice Taylor Jamie Chan, who claimed to be his financial advisor, met victims on dating apps and convinced them to invest in fake opportunities. The FBI alleges the two swindled at least 26 women across four states out of roughly $1.3 million, with some victims taking out loans to fund the fake investments. When suspicious victims searched online, Google's AI Overviews reportedly echoed Love's fabricated social media claims, lending false credibility to his identity.
A hidden feature in Android Auto beta version 17.6.66 shows a small animated raccoon, internally named 'Jimothy' after the viral social media character, hopping across the music player interface to display weather information. The widget also shows rain, clouds, or sun icons depending on local conditions, and currently only appears after manually switching the device theme in settings. Google has not confirmed a timeline or plans for a wider public rollout.
Google Street View publicly displays detailed exterior shots of homes, including house numbers, parked cars, and yard layouts, accessible to anyone who searches an address. Google has long allowed users to request blurring of this imagery, but the feature is hidden deep within Google Maps and rarely used because most people don't know it exists.
Google introduced Google Pics, a new design tool for Workspace users that combines Gemini with its Nano Banana image model to generate and edit 'professional-grade' visuals. It launches as both a standalone app and an integration inside Docs and Slides, with Drive support coming soon, letting users select objects or text within images and edit them via prompts.
Samsung's $2,100 Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra pairs an 8-inch inner display with a 200-megapixel camera system, while the $1,200 Z Flip8 becomes the world's lightest and thinnest flip phone with a 4.1-inch cover screen. Motorola's first book-style foldable, the $1,900 Razr Fold, offers an 8.1-inch inner display and a 6,000-mAh battery lasting nearly three days, though it lacks a flagship chipset.
A teardown of Google app version 17.54.10 reveals two new buttons being developed for the Gemini home screen: "Chat," for standard conversations with Gemini, and "Assign," which routes messages directly to Gemini Spark. This follows an earlier discovery of a similar "Assign Task" feature that has yet to launch for users.
WIRED's latest sleep tracker roundup highlights the Google Pixel Watch 4 as a budget-friendly option when discounted, the screenless Whoop MG for detailed sleep coaching, the Apple Watch Series 11 for those already in Apple's ecosystem, and Garmin's pricier Epix Pro for advanced biometric sleep data. Each device varies in accuracy and price, with testers noting some trackers overestimate actual sleep duration.
Testing of the Pixel 11 Pro XL's new Extreme Charging feature found it sustains peak power output of around 41W for roughly 16 minutes, compared to 10 minutes in standard mode, cutting charging times as Google promised but at the cost of higher heat generation. The feature also proved finicky to activate, only appearing after two full charge cycles and a wait, and it requires a specific 45W USB PD PPS charger supporting 21V rather than the more common 11V PPS chargers.
Google has begun automatically inserting a Gemini AI shortcut into Google Messages, even though there is no dedicated toggle for it in the Connected Apps settings within Gemini itself. Users who don't want the floating AI icon hovering near their chat button can still remove it through an in-app setting, according to Android Authority.
CNET's People's Picks community survey asked readers to rate their internet service providers on cost, speed, reliability and customer support. GFiber, formerly Google Fiber, emerged as the overall favorite with a 4.72 out of 5 satisfaction score, beating close competitors Verizon Fios and AT&T Fiber, while T-Mobile Home Internet topped the 5G category with a 4.20 satisfaction rating.
Sonos held an event in New York to launch the Beam Ultra soundbar and Ace Ultra headphones alongside a major software update called Sonos 27, marking its largest product reveal since the troubled 2024 app relaunch. The update introduces an in-house voice assistant, Sonos 27voice, plus Sonos 27mcp, which lets users link outside AI models like ChatGPT or Gemini to control their systems, though Google Assistant remains unsupported. A future feature will let users build up to 10 custom AI agents with distinct voices and personalities to handle tasks like news updates or motivational prompts.