GoKawiil
Tech News
A hands-on review of the Dell XPS laptop running Googlebook OS praises the same screen, keyboard and build quality found on the Windows version of the XPS 13, crediting Dell's hardware design. However, the reviewer reports that the software experience is inconsistent, citing poor Android app support through the Google Play store, including a stripped-down Slack app and the complete absence of Evernote.
AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini now search the web on users' behalf, combining live search results with knowledge stored in their training data before presenting a polished, generative-style answer. The reliability of these answers varies: well-documented facts are usually returned correctly, while obscure queries with limited online references are more prone to errors.
Developer HighwindBR has built AA Experiments, an open-source LSPosed module paired with a manager app that lets rooted Android users toggle more than 100 hidden Android Auto flags without repacking the app's APK. The tool reportedly works offline, doesn't track users, and automatically suspends conflicting flag mappings when Android Auto updates to avoid breakage.
Several Canadian provinces and territories, including Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba, recently ended seasonal clock changes and permanently adopted daylight saving time. Following the switch, owners of the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential report on Reddit that the device's LED display is off by an hour, even though asking Google Assistant for the time returns the correct answer. Other Google Home devices, such as the TV Streamer and smart displays, reportedly updated correctly.
Google has resolved a bug that caused pictures viewed in Google Images to darken, sometimes to near-black, when users zoomed in. A Google Help Community representative confirmed on Reddit that the issue, first reported in late October, had been passed to Google's team and fixed.
Android Authority found code in ChatGPT's latest Android app build (v1.2026.300) referencing several Health Connect permissions, including reading historical health data and background data access. The permissions also cover metrics like body weight, basal metabolic rate, body fat, lean muscle mass, and bone mass, suggesting OpenAI is preparing to link ChatGPT Health with Google Health on Android. ChatGPT Health already supports Apple Health on iOS, but no equivalent Android integration currently exists.
A newly spotted Google Wallet app version (26.43.1009867093) includes a working 'Tap to pay' setting in the verification menu, which Android Authority enabled after it previously crashed. The setting appears to let users adjust how often they must re-verify identity for contactless payments, but still requires unlocking the phone.
A hands-on comparison found Google Maps' Gemini assistant can be triggered by voice alone on Android Auto, while on CarPlay it requires tapping a button that appeared only late in testing. Google's own help page reportedly still listed Gemini as unavailable for CarPlay at the time, and route changes such as adding stops or finding alternate paths home were slower to process on CarPlay than on Android Auto.
Google's Android Auto treats apps installed inside a managed Work Profile differently from personal apps, restricting their functionality on the car dashboard. Microsoft confirms Teams calls and meetings don't work through Android Auto when the app sits in a Work Profile, while Google Meet shows active calls but hides upcoming meetings and call history from that profile.
Google detailed how Fitbit devices measure heart rate variability, using an optical sensor to estimate gaps between heartbeats and applying the RMSSD formula to produce a millisecond-based score. The metric draws on the longest sleep period of at least three hours within the prior 24 hours, and results appear in Google Health under Health > Vitals > Heart rate variability, showing daily and long-term trends plus a personal range from up to 30 days of data.
Google has released the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, an incremental update to last year's foldable that keeps the same overall design but adds a lighter body, a brighter display, improved wireless charging and an updated camera sensor. The device is thinner and 19 grams lighter than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and Google says durability has tripled thanks to a new glass-ceramic cover and glass-fiber composite back.
Meta's advertising revenue rose 26% year-over-year to $63.1 billion in the third quarter, compared with 12% growth to $63.4 billion for Google's Search division. The 14-point gap is the widest in Meta's favor since 2021, as Meta scales AI-driven ad targeting on Facebook and Instagram while Google faces competition from chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude and its own Muse.