Technology - Google News

YouTube ‘Premium Lite’ subscription offers ad-free viewing for less - The Verge
8BitDo adds Xbox media remotes to its lineup of excellent console accessories - The Verge
Galaxy Watch 4 reportedly hits up to 7 days of battery life on top of the new Wear OS - 9to5Google

YouTube ‘Premium Lite’ subscription offers ad-free viewing for less - The Verge

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 02:56 AM PDT

Google is piloting a more affordable premium subscription tier for YouTube that offers ad-free viewing without YouTube Premium's other features like offline downloads or background playback. The new "Premium Lite" plan was spotted by a user on ResetEra, and YouTube subsequently confirmed the test offering in a statement given to The Verge. Premium Lite is currently being tested in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.

"In Nordics and Benelux (except for Iceland), we're testing a new offering to give users even more choice: Premium Lite costs €6.99/month (or local equivalent per month) and it includes ad-free videos on YouTube," a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement. In comparison, YouTube's existing Premium plan costs around €11.99 a month in Europe.

Premium Lite includes ad-free viewing across YouTube's main app on web, iOS, Android, smart TVs, and games consoles, as well as in the YouTube Kids app. However, it doesn't include any YouTube Music benefits like ad-free listening, and it doesn't include Premium's other features like background playback (for when you want to switch to another app while continuing to listen to audio from a YouTube video), or offline downloads.

Speaking as someone who hates the amount of ads on YouTube, but isn't too interested in Premium's other features like offline downloads, Premium Lite sounds like a tempting proposition. But at its current pricing, it costs around 60 percent of the price of a regular Premium subscription, while only offering around a quarter of its benefits. YouTube says that the current subscription is in an experimental phase, however, and that it's considering rolling out more plans based on audience feedback.

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8BitDo adds Xbox media remotes to its lineup of excellent console accessories - The Verge

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:00 AM PDT

8BitDo has a new pair of officially licensed media remotes for the Xbox Series X, Series S, and the Xbox One, which offer a more suitable controller for streaming services or the consoles' built-in 4K Blu-ray players. There are two versions available: a slightly larger $24.99 black model which includes a full numpad and a compact $19.99 white version. Both are available to preorder on Amazon today, with shipping expected September 15th.

We've generally liked 8BitDo's controllers in the past. Its Pro 2 controller gives Nintendo's own Switch Pro controller a run for its money in terms of functionality and is more affordable to boot, while its wireless Arcade Stick is a great way to play fighting games on Switch and PC.

Although only one of 8BitDo's Xbox Media Remotes includes a numpad, both have basically every button you could want, including playback and navigation controls, and a mute button. Most of the Xbox controller's face buttons are also present, including A / B / X / Y, view, menu, and a home button that can wake the paired console remotely. The buttons are back lit, which should help with using the remote in cinema-appropriate lighting, and power is provided by a pair of AAA batteries.

8BitDo's new accessory is far from the only media remote available for Microsoft's latest consoles, and any older media remotes designed for the Xbox One should also be cross-compatible. But 8BitDo's Media Remotes are cheap, stylish, and come from a brand that knows a thing or two about console peripherals. If you're in the market, then they're definitely worth a look.

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Galaxy Watch 4 reportedly hits up to 7 days of battery life on top of the new Wear OS - 9to5Google

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 06:40 AM PDT

Google's Wear OS has always been known for its battery life, but in a negative sense rather than a positive one. The platform has been notorious for powering smartwatches that can only last about a day, but Wear OS 3 will seemingly change that. According to a new Galaxy Watch 4 Classic leak, battery life could last as long as a whopping seven days.

WinFuture today posted a more in-depth look at the Galaxy Watch 4 series, specifically zeroing in on the Classic model. This includes sharing more renders of the product as well as clarifying some past leaks.

According to this report, the Galaxy Watch 4 will come in 40mm and 44mm sizes while the Classic model will come in 42mm and 46mm sizes. The larger models use a 1.36-inch 450×450 AMOLED display while the smaller models have a 1.19-inch display. The report also reiterates details on the power under the hood, saying that Samsung will use 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and the Exynos W920 processor. In terms of hardware, it's mentioned that the Classic model at least will support 5ATM/IP68 water/dust resistance, MIL-STD 810G, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, Wi-Fi, and optional LTE alongside GPS and GLONASS.

Perhaps the most interesting detail in this latest leak, though, is the mentioned battery life stats. "Various sources" have apparently mentioned that the battery life on Galaxy Watch 4 models could last up to seven days.

…as well as a 361 mAh battery and the new Android Wear OS with One UI Watch 3.5 as a customized user interface. The battery life is stated by various sources with up to seven days.

This is surprising for a few reasons. For one, this blows the endurance of every other Wear OS smartwatch away, to the point where Samsung is possibly doubling the best possible results. The Suunto 7 offers some of the best battery life on Wear OS today, offering around three days. The Apple Watch, too, falls short of this estimate at just over a single day.

The report does not mention if this is a "low-power" mode or normal use. If the latter, it would be incredibly impressive!

Presumably, this is thanks to the upgraded chipset, Samsung's work in optimizing battery life in Wear OS 3, and perhaps even the custom "One UI Watch 3.5" on the Galaxy Watch 4. That endurance isn't unprecedented with the Galaxy Watch series, with the first model released in 2018 offering up to six days on a charge. However, it'd be a major improvement over last year's Galaxy Watch 3. Apparently, physical battery sizes hit as high as 361 mAh and go as low as 247 mAh.

Pricing isn't mentioned in this report, but other tidbits confirmed include SpO2 tracking, the rotating bezel, and Google Pay support alongside typical health sensors and more. Dimensions also show that the Galaxy Watch 4 series will be around 11mm thick.