Google and the Pokemon Company are releasing a limited Fitbit Air variant priced at $129, featuring a deep blue woven band with a Pikachu etching and Pokemon-themed packaging. The device pairs with Pokemon Sleep, the mobile game that turns bedtime into a collectible-monster experience, and shares the lightweight, swappable-band design of the standard Fitbit Air launched earlier this year. Google confirmed the exclusive band will not be sold separately from the tracker.
cnet.com
· 2026-08-27
Plaud, known for AI note-taking devices like the Note and NotePin, has unveiled the Plaud One Explorer Edition earbuds ahead of IFA. The $249.99 earbuds can capture and summarize conversations independently of a phone, and use a feature called Plaud Agent to carry out tasks across apps like Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion and Slack. They're available for pre-order now, ship in late September, come with $200 in credits, and require no subscription.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-08-27
Plaud, previously known for AI notetaking gadgets like the NotePin and Note Pro, is now selling AI earbuds called the Plaud One Explorer Edition, available for preorder at $250. The earbuds can be worn normally or left in their case on a table to record meetings, calls, or solo brainstorming sessions, feeding that audio to an assistant called Plaud Agent. That agent connects with tools like Google Calendar, Notion, and Slack to draft emails, documents, and presentations based on spoken commands.
zdnet.com
· 2026-08-27
Google unveiled a special edition Fitbit Air in a blue colorway featuring a sleeping Pikachu print, designed to pair with its Pokémon Sleep app. The device functions identically to the standard Fitbit Air but syncs sleep data through Health Connect on Android, letting wearers see in-app Pokémon and a Snorlax-based Sleep Score. Preorders open today on the Google Store and Target, with shipping starting September 15 and three free months of Google Health Premium included.
engadget.com
· 2026-08-27
Plaud has introduced the Plaud One, earbuds resembling AirPods that can record calls, while their case can independently capture in-person conversations. The case includes an eSIM card, letting users contact Plaud's AI agent remotely without needing a phone or computer nearby.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-08-27
Android System Intelligence (ASI) is a system component baked into Android that powers on-device smart features like Now Playing and Live Caption, and it cannot be uninstalled like a regular app, though many manufacturers let users disable it in Settings. Android Authority found in January 2026 that turning ASI off does not break core phone functions, but it does disable the AI-driven contextual features that rely on it. Google has not published a full list of what stops working per device, leaving some uncertainty for users who disable it entirely.
engadget.com
· 2026-08-27
Companies are consuming AI tokens at explosive rates, with Google processing over 3.2 quadrillion tokens monthly—seven times last year's volume—while Uber exhausted its entire 2026 AI budget by April. Industry voices are proposing nutrition-label-style disclosures that let employees compare a prompt's computational cost against its actual value before using it.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-27
Android Authority surveyed over 2,000 readers asking whether they would pay to unlock newer AI features on their older Pixel phones. More than 82% called such a purchase a waste of money, while roughly 10% said they'd rather buy a new phone outright, and just 6.8% would pay a subscription to extend their current device's life.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-08-27
Google has launched a special-edition Fitbit Air themed around the Pokémon Sleep game, featuring a 'Sleepy Blue' band with a sleeping Pikachu design. The device is available for preorder at $129 and begins shipping September 15th, timed to Pokémon's 30th anniversary celebrations that also include a special playing card collection.
theverge.com
· 2026-08-27
An unreleased feature discovered in Google Photos version 7.90 lets users long-press albums, folders, or people to pin them as shortcuts in a new horizontal bar at the top of the Collections tab. Android Authority manually activated the hidden option and found it largely functional, including a dedicated Edit menu for reordering pinned items and browsing library categories.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-08-27
Google's newly announced Pixel Tag Bluetooth tracker won't ship until November, leaving buyers without an option for months. Android Authority points to five trackers already available, with Motorola's Moto Tag 2 standing out at $20 (or $99 for four), offering UWB support, a replaceable CR2032 battery, IP68 water resistance, and roughly 600 days of battery life, all while working with Google's Find Hub network.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-08-27
London startup Relay, founded by former Nothing staffers Cookie Xu and Raymond Zhu, has released voice dictation software for macOS ahead of a companion hardware device called the Relay Q, due in early 2027. The founders say existing software tools like Wispr Flow struggled with inconsistent microphone pickup in office settings, prompting them to build purpose-made hardware for accurate speech capture.
wired.com
· 2026-08-27
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