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Multiple Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL owners say their screens wake up on their own from minor vibrations, like something being set down nearby or driving over a bump, rather than actually being picked up. The only current fix reported is disabling the 'Lift to check phone' feature entirely, and some users say the feature feels far more sensitive than on earlier Pixel models.
Google has raised the price of its 4K Google TV Streamer to $149, a $50 jump from its original $99 launch price. The change is already reflected on the Google Store and at Best Buy, though Amazon still lists the device at its older price. The streaming box, which launched in 2024 and also functions as a smart home hub, joins a wave of price hikes across Google's product lineup, including the recently released Pixel 11 phones.
Smartwatches from Apple, Google and Samsung all include a basic flashlight feature that simply maxes out the display's brightness and turns it white. Despite mockery of the feature compared to a phone's dedicated camera flash, it proves genuinely useful for quick tasks like finding a dropped pill, precisely because the watch is already on your wrist rather than buried in a pocket or bag.
A ZDNET tester took Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Google's Pixel 11 Pro Fold to Germany to compare their camera systems side by side. The Z Fold 8 relies on two 50-megapixel wide and ultrawide sensors, while the Pixel 11 Pro Fold pairs a 48-megapixel main camera with a 5x telephoto lens and a 10.5-megapixel ultrawide, giving it a zoom advantage the Samsung device lacks.
Google has pushed a new update to the standalone Now Playing app on Pixel devices, tweaking its interface and reintroducing support for secondary user accounts on a device, a feature that had gone missing after the app was split out from Pixel's system settings in March. Android Authority also found early code evidence that Google is working on restoring song-recognition notifications and a history-sync feature, both of which were casualties of that earlier redesign.
Android Authority surveyed readers on which phone they'd buy instead of Google's new Pixel 11 Pro XL, and the results showed a near three-way tie between the Galaxy S26 Ultra, the previous-generation Pixel 10 Pro XL, and the Moto Razr Ultra. No single device dominated, reflecting mixed enthusiasm for this year's Pixel 11 lineup.
Google's Call Assist feature can screen unknown or suspicious calls before they ever ring through, either by prompting users manually or, on supported Pixel devices, handling the interaction automatically. If the call is identified as spam, the phone disconnects it; otherwise it rings and shows details about how the caller responded. The feature runs locally on the device without needing internet access, and Google says it doesn't store call audio or transcripts in user accounts.
Multiple Reddit users report that Google Messages is inserting old texts from unrelated conversations into new ones, sometimes attaching them to photos or group chats and in some cases actually delivering them to unintended recipients. The bug spans both Pixel and Samsung devices, occurring regardless of whether RCS is enabled, and follows other recent Messages glitches like broken RCS delivery and duplicated threads. Google has acknowledged at least one report and passed it to its engineering team, but no fix has been announced.
An Android Authority writer tested two third-party Android weather apps, Gradient Weather and Breezy Weather, after years of relying on Samsung Weather, Pixel Weather and AccuWeather. Both apps offered strong customization and usability, but the reviewer ultimately favored one over the other after weighing their strengths and drawbacks.
Android Authority's Joe Maring initially planned to skip the Pixel 11 Pro, criticizing Google for making only incremental updates like Samsung and Apple. He instead upgraded after Google introduced a new modem in the Pixel 11 series and he secured the phone for under £200 through combined trade-in and pre-order discounts.
Google's latest Android 17 QPR2 Beta 4, released last Friday, makes it far easier to use a voice-broadcasting feature on Pixel phones that lets people speak or stream audio to nearby Bluetooth LE Audio devices, similar to a personal PA system. The capability, previously called Voicecast and buried in Developer Settings, can now be turned on instantly via a Quick Settings tile, provided Bluetooth is enabled, and supports password protection to block unwanted listeners.
Google's Android 17 QPR2 Beta 4 update for Pixel devices rolled out last week, but its official manual OTA download links are now returning 404 errors. Multiple Pixel testers on Reddit report being unable to download the full OTA package for days, with at least one user stuck in a reboot loop unable to recover their device. Google has not explained the cause of the broken links.