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Android Authority discovered that Google Gemini's Android app, version 17.55.8, contains unreleased code for a redesigned camera interface that shrinks the viewfinder to roughly half the screen instead of taking up the full display, letting users see chat content behind it. The same build also reveals a reworked '@' menu meant to look cleaner and to automatically hide disabled Connected Apps.
A reviewer tested Google's $1,099 Pixel 11 Pro against Apple's iPhone 17 Pro across various lighting conditions in Delhi, including well-lit and shadowy scenes at Lodhi Garden. Both phones were tested with default camera processing, with Google's camera brightening shadows more while Apple's rendered more natural tones.
An analysis by Productrise tracked over 2 million product listings across 100,000+ search results from August 9-31, 2026, running identical shopping queries through Google AI Mode and traditional search simultaneously. When the same product appeared in both, AI Mode showed it priced 21.6% higher on average, and across all listings the gap widened to 49%. Only 1.28% of products from traditional search also showed up in AI Mode for identical queries on the same day.
MapQuest has rolled out experimental Android Auto integration, letting its navigation app appear on vehicle dashboards for the first time. The September 1 update also introduces crowdsourced incident reporting for crashes, closures, and speed traps. Early testers report bugs like a zoomed-out map view and leftover iOS-related code, including a stray CarPlay notification.
Android Authority uncovered a new animation in a Google app beta (v17.55.8) that replaces Search Live's current gradient effect with small, blurry colorful blobs at the bottom of the screen. The beta also shows a reworked control layout that drops text labels, centers the microphone button, and adds a waveform animation when users speak.
Google has integrated its Gemini Spark AI assistant with Google Photos, letting it perform multi-step tasks like editing, organizing, and sharing images from a single prompt. Spark can also extract text from photos, summarize events, build visual stories, and run recurring tasks such as weekly album updates sent automatically to family or friends. The feature is rolling out gradually and currently limited to US users 18 and older with a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription.
An Android Authority writer who has tested watches from Garmin, Apple, Samsung, OnePlus and Withings says the Pixel Watch 5 impressed him with its bright Actua 360 display, accurate dual-frequency GPS and improved health tracking, but he still won't buy one. He lists five changes Google needs to make, starting with the watch's bulky 12.3mm case and dated 'water droplet' design.
Android Authority ran a reader poll after reviewing Google's Tensor G6 chip inside the Pixel 11, which improves AI and efficiency-focused tasks but falls behind rivals in gaming and raw performance. Of over 2,800 respondents, 34.3% said they'd prefer more raw power, 30.5% valued efficiency instead, and only 15.7% felt the chip strikes a good balance between the two.
Philips Hue has released the Play Screen Sync camera, a $119.99 device that mounts above a TV and uses a fisheye lens to read whatever is on screen—including native smart TV apps and live broadcasts—then adjusts connected Hue lights to match. Alongside it, the company introduced a slimmer $149.99 Play HDMI Sync Box 4K with a single HDMI input and output, supporting 4K at 60fps.
Solipsism Browser is a new open-source Android browser built on Chromium that launched about three months ago, offering extensive customization and design options typically associated with Firefox forks rather than Chrome. Despite its early stage, reviewers note it already feels highly polished and distinct from mainstream Chromium-based browsers.
GrapheneOS developers discovered that Google's Pixel 11 phones do include hardware support for Memory Tagging Extension (MTE) after examining code in the Android 17 QPR2 Beta 4 release. This contradicts the project's earlier assessment, made just days prior, that the phones lacked MTE and its accompanying warning against purchasing them.
Google is backing a new initiative in parts of the Bay Area that subsidizes homeowners installing heat pumps, with incentives reaching as much as $10,000 per household. The program frames residential energy upgrades as part of broader grid infrastructure rather than isolated consumer purchases.