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Tech News
A CNET poll of 2,605 US adults found that three-quarters have no interest in purchasing a foldable Apple device, even as rumors point to Apple unveiling its first foldable iPhone, dubbed the iPhone Ultra, at a September event. Analysts expect the device to cost between $2,000 and $2,500, but survey respondents said they'd only be willing to spend an average of $781 on such a phone.
Floccus is a free browser extension that synchronizes bookmarks across Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi, Brave, and Kiwi, working on Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. It lets users store bookmark data in Google Drive, Dropbox, self-hosted Nextcloud, Linkwarden, KaraKeep, Git, or a personal NAS via WebDAV, with optional password encryption for added privacy.
An Android Authority reviewer says his Pixel 11 Pro became unusable just five days after purchase, after a factory reset triggered a shutdown loop during the setup process. The device reportedly went blank mid-reset and later kept powering off every few seconds whenever the user tried to complete initial setup, leaving the phone effectively dead.
A bug disrupted voice-activated alarm setting on Google Home devices, including Nest speakers, displays, and third-party hardware like Lenovo smart displays, for several days in August. Users found that commands like asking for an alarm at a specific time were ignored unless they used odd workarounds, such as saying an exact hour or prefacing the request with an unrelated phrase. Google has now confirmed the issue is resolved across both Google Assistant and Gemini for Home.
Reddit users and Android Authority's own lux measurements indicate the Pixel 11 Pro's camera flash and flashlight are noticeably dimmer than the Pixel 10 Pro's, with one test showing 89 lux versus 123 lux. The likely culprit is a physical diffuser added around the camera visor to accommodate Google's new HiLight ambient LED array, which appears to soften the main flash's beam.
Bankrupt Spirit Airlines accepted a $10 million bid from Google to acquire 34 years of company records, including invoices, flight operations details, Wi-Fi sales, and employee files, beating a $7.5 million offer from AI firm Mercor. The Association of Flight Attendants, representing 5,500 former Spirit crew members, has filed a court objection arguing the sale exposes sensitive worker data that employees never consented to having used for AI training, even though Google says customer information is excluded.
Google is rolling out an experimental Gemini feature called Device Help on Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro phones, letting users troubleshoot issues like battery drain or Wi-Fi problems, adjust settings such as brightness or dark mode, and get explanations of Pixel features using plain language instead of navigating menus. The feature carries a 'Labs' tag, signaling it's still experimental, and Android Authority's hands-on testing found it worked well for some tasks but gave inconsistent guidance for others, such as Magic Capture instructions.
Google's Pixel 11 series still impresses with software and AI features, but the Tensor G6 chip continues to lag well behind rival flagship processors in CPU, GPU and efficiency benchmarks. That leaves the upcoming Tensor G7 as a critical opportunity for Google to close the performance gap before it becomes a bigger problem for the Pixel 12.
CNET published a guide recommending smart devices to upgrade home desks and offices, starting with a smart surge protector like Tapo's model that lets users label, remotely control, and track energy use of connected devices. The guide also highlights smart speakers, such as Google's newest model, for hands-free reminders, timers, and voice commands while working.
TCL has released the Note A1 Nxtpaper tablet, a device that blends a full-color 120Hz LCD screen with a matte, low-glare display and a pressure-sensitive stylus designed to mimic the scratch of pencil on paper. Rather than a standard Android home screen, it opens to a note-and-calendar interface inspired by devices like the Remarkable, though it still allows full access to the Google Play Store.
Google has started rolling out Motion Assist, a new Android 17 feature that displays motion cues on screen to help reduce motion sickness while using a phone in a moving vehicle. The feature, previously tested internally as Motion Cues, is appearing gradually on Pixel devices, with some units already showing it while others on the same Android version do not yet have it.
Google is rolling out a new Android feature called Motion Assist that displays moving dots around a phone's screen edges to counter motion sickness while riding in a vehicle. The feature, similar to Apple's Motion Cues introduced in 2024, uses the accelerometer and gyroscope to sync the dots' movement with the car's turns, braking, and acceleration. It's arriving in phases starting with some Pixel devices, and can be found under Settings, Your Profile, and All Services.