Technology - Google News

Google rolls out Android 10 for Pixel phones - CNN
Apple’s iPhone 11 might’ve just been pictured in the wild for the first time ever - BGR
Roku's new $179 soundbar doubles as a streaming device, works with most TVs - Ars Technica

Google rolls out Android 10 for Pixel phones - CNN

Posted: 04 Sep 2019 06:27 AM PDT

The new tools, which were teased in May at its annual developer conference Google I/O, are now available for download on Google Pixel phones. The company said it will roll out to other devices later "this year."

Perhaps the most highly anticipated new feature for the world's most popular smartphone operating system is gesture navigation that lets users seamlessly swipe between apps and the home screen. Similar to the iPhone X, users of Android 10 can swipe up to return home. Google also replaced the bottom bar with left or right arrows with the ability to swipe between apps.

Android 10 also has a new dark theme, which reverts the screen to "true black" that promises to help prolong battery life and be more appealing to the eyes. It also comes with new designs for 65 emoji, including gender-inclusive designs. Previously, the police officer emoji was displayed as male and the "person getting haircut" was a female. The new default options for those emoji, and others, will have a gender-ambigious design.

Google ditches dessert names for Android 10

Other features include Focus Mode, which disables apps from annoying users when they want to concentrate, and Live Caption, which automatically captions video and podcasts. Both of these tools are currently in beta.

In addition, Android 10 has beefed up privacy tools for users -- some of which mimics existing Apple's iOS features. For example, Google will now let users share location information with apps only when they're using it and anew privacy control tab centralizes all privacy controls.

The company is also making it easier and faster to get system updates and security and privacy fixes by sending them directly to user phones via the Google Play store, similar to how users receive other app updates.

Android 10 is the first operating system not to use a dessert-themed name. Previous Android iterations featured names such as Honeycomb, Eclair and Oreo. Google explained last month that some desserts aren't inclusive of its international community. In many languages, the names translate to words with different letters that don't fit with its alphabetical order sequence.

CNN Business' Shannon Liao contributed to this report

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Apple’s iPhone 11 might’ve just been pictured in the wild for the first time ever - BGR

Posted: 04 Sep 2019 06:26 AM PDT

With all the leaks that have spilled out across the internet over the past year, it seems like there can't possibly be anything left to leak. The first details surrounding Apple's upcoming new iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max first began to trickle out about 12 months ago, when top Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities detailed next-gen iPhones that would sport huge camera upgrades and a new design with frosted glass on the back. As time rolled on, we learned more and more about Apple's next-generation iPhone lineup until finally, the inevitable happened: Apple's iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro designs were stolen from the Foxconn factory at which they'll be manufactured. It happens each and every year, and it leads to a slew of renders that give us a very good idea of what Apple's new iPhones will look like.

Such was the case this year, though most of the renders and physical mockups we've seen are wrong in several key areas. There was one image that came a bit closer to showing us what the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max will actually look like, but now we might have something even better. A huge leak may have just revealed the first-ever photo of an iPhone 11 model in the wild.

Now, before we go any further and you get too excited about this potential leak, it's important to note that there's a very good chance it's a fake. The phone pictured in the image posted to Weibo on Wednesday morning is indeed a real smartphone, but there's a strong possibility that it's a Chinese knockoff as opposed to a real iPhone 11 model. After all, Chinese companies often manufacture fake iPhones once their designs leak. These phones often even run forked versions of Android that have been skinned to look just like iOS. They're still not genuine iPhones though, and that may be the case here.

The biggest indication that this is a Chinese knockoff is the fact that the area surrounding the camera on the back is black. That's how all of Apple's previous-generation iPhone models have been designed, but rumor has it the space between the lenses will be color-matched to the rest of the back on the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

That said, news of the color-matched backs on Apple's next-generation iPhone models has obviously not been confirmed by Apple at this point, so it's still just a rumor that could certainly be wrong. On top of that, the supposed iPhone 11 pictured in the leaked photo is in a case. It might actually be the Space Gray model with a black back, but the case is making it look bluish. Were that the case, then the area in between the lenses of the new rear camera would indeed be black.

With that out of the way, here's the leaked photo that was posted to Weibo:

And here it is zoomed in:

It is really an iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro? Is it just a Chinese knockoff? It's difficult to tell since the photo isn't great quality. The camera looks quite odd in the zoomed-in version, almost as if there's only one lens in the top-left corner with an LED flash beneath it. This could just be the result of distortion though, since the image quality is quite poor.

Apple will unveil its new iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max at a special event next Tuesday, September 10th. The phones are then expected to be made available for preorder that Friday and a release is likely set for Friday, September 20th.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Roku's new $179 soundbar doubles as a streaming device, works with most TVs - Ars Technica

Posted: 04 Sep 2019 06:00 AM PDT

Roku's new Wireless Soundbar and Wireless Subwoofer.

Valentina Palladino
The soundbar includes the technology of a Roku Ultra inside, so it doubles as a streaming device.

Valentina Palladino
The soundbar works with any TV that has an HDMI ARC port or an optical audio port.

Valentina Palladino
The new subwoofer connects to the soundbar to kick up the bass performance.

Valentina Palladino

Last year, Roku came out with wireless TV speakers so Roku TV users who wanted a better audio experience for their at-home movie marathons could have it. But the speaker duo only works with Roku TVs, severely limiting the number of people who could use one.

The company's latest audio endeavor is more democratic, and it offers more value. The new Roku Smart Soundbar is exactly what it sounds like—a soundbar that replaces your dull, built-in TV speakers with a higher-quality audio experience. It also has the technology of a Roku Ultra inside, so it acts as both an audio device and a streaming device that serves up 4K content and can do everything a regular Roku set-top box, stick, or TV could do.

But the best thing about the Roku Smart Soundbar is that it works with almost any television. It connects to your TV using either an HDMI ARC port or an optical audio port, both of which are commonplace on the newest TVs and TVs that are many years old. Once plugged in and set up (the setup process is just like that of a Roku streaming device), you can use the included voice remote to navigate Roku OS just like you would if you were using any other Roku device.

The soundbar has four premium drivers, support for Dolby Audio, and advanced signal processing. The latter builds upon the same audio enhancements in the Roku Wireless TV Speakers and helps the soundbar sync its audio with whatever you're watching and improve the listening experience overall. Features like dialogue enhancement work with this device, and Roku added new volume modes that optimize audio for different viewing environments. For example, the "night" mode will raise dialogue volume while leveling out the other audio frequencies. That means you can watch an action movie while the kids are asleep in the next room without constantly changing the volume to hear important conversations or quell booming explosions.

I'm not Ars' resident audio expert, but Roku's soundbar produced rich and room-filling audio when I received a short demo of it. It would certainly be an upgrade for those unhappy with their built-in TV speakers—and if those happen to be on a "dumb" TV, the soundbar adds even more value with its content-streaming capabilities. The soundbar also has Bluetooth, so you can connect it to a laptop, smartphone, or another Bluetooth device and stream music or other audio that way.

Woof

In addition to the Roku Smart Soundbar, the company also created a special wireless subwoofer to go along with it. This mammoth of a device connects via Wi-Fi to the Smart Soundbar and dramatically boosts the bass of any audio the soundbar plays. The subwoofer technically runs Roku OS as well, so all of the audio enhancement features that you can use on the soundbar will work when you have a subwoofer connected to it, too. Currently, the soundbar only supports one connected subwoofer, but that one addition will likely add enough umph to please most users.

The wireless speaker duo from last year was Roku's first real dive into the home entertainment audio world as the company leaves built-in speaker hardware decisions for its Roku TVs up to the TV manufacturers. But Roku is serious about making all aspects of home entertainment easier and smarter for users, and now that's true for more than just Roku TV users. It's likely that even more people will gravitate to the new soundbar and subwoofer, rather than the original speaker set, because they don't need a Roku TV to use either of them.

It also helps that they both come at a decent price. Both the Roku Smart Soundbar and the Roku Wireless Subwoofer cost $179 each, which is on the more affordable side when you consider a high-quality soundbar could cost you $200 or more. Both devices are available for preorder today from Roku's website, and they will be more widely available in mid-October.

Listing image by Valentina Palladino

Let's block ads! (Why?)