作者彙整: Jason England

Help us solve the puzzle and figure out when Google I/O 2020 is.

What you need to know

The puzzle that will reveal the details for Google I/O 2020 was tweeted out this morning.
The tweet takes you the site where this year’s puzzle is hosted and will require a collaborative effort to solve.
Google hosts its annual I/O developer’s conference each year in May where it announces some of its latest technology for Android, Google Assistant, and others.

Every May, Google hosts its annual I/O developer’s conference, where it announces some of the exciting projects it has been working on. It usually includes a host of new features or technologies that will be coming to Android and Google Assistant in the near future.

Leading up to I/O, Google loves to post a cryptic puzzle teasing us with the details of the event. Last year’s puzzle was cracked in no time, thanks to the clever developer of Lawnchair Launcher Till Kottmann. Although, technically, he cheated and bypassed the puzzle entire… 閱讀全文 →

Sensitivity settings have appeared hidden in the most recent beta version of the Google app.

What you need to know

An APK teardown of the Google app beta version 10.93 has revealed sensitivity settings for the Assistant hotword.
The feature is not currently active, but the code shows that it will allow you to lower or increase the sensitivity for “Hey Google” on your devices.
Unfortunately, it appears the new sensitivity feature won’t be available on all devices or in all languages when it launches.

Earlier this month, Google announced of some new features coming to Assistant-enabled devices this year. Some of the more exciting were sticky notes for smart displays, Scheduled Actions, and improved privacy controls.

Now, we’re getting a glimpse at one of the features I’m most excited for, the ability to adjust the sensitivity of the Assistant hotwords. The upcoming feature was recently spotted by the guys over at 9to5Google during an APK teardown of the most recent version of the… 閱讀全文 →

Korean optics manufacturer makes no mention of components for 10x optical zoom in the Galaxy S20.

What you need to know

A report out of Korea shows that optics manufacturer Optrontech is supplying prisms that support 5x optical zoom for the Samsung Galaxy S20.
That contradicts previous rumors that the Galaxy S20 Ultra will sport a camera with 10x optical zoom.
It’s still possible that the S20 Ultra could feature a 10x digital zoom though.

With the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S20 less than a month away, leaks and rumors have been circulating like crazy. In particular, we’ve seen a lot of leaks regarding the cameras on Samsung’s latest flagship. Several days ago, it was rumored that the cameras on the Galaxy S20 Ultra would include a 108MP main, 48MP with 10x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultra-wide.

However, we are now seeing a conflicting report out of Korea that optics manufacturer Optrontech is supplying Samsung with prisms for the Galaxy S20 that only support 5x optical zoom. No… 閱讀全文 →

According to the Director of Product Management for Chrome OS.

What you need to know

Valve and Google may be working together to bring the Steam store to Chromebooks.
The news was revealed when Android Police recently spoke with Kan Liu, the Director of Product Management for Chrome OS at CES 2020.
Liu was light on the details but believes the project is possible by running Steam through Linux on Chrome OS.

If you love your Chromebook but also like to game, there could be some good news coming for you in the future. Apparently, the Chrome team is working to bring Steam to Chromebooks.

The news comes after Android Police’s David Ruddock recently spoke with Kan Liu, the Director of Product Management for Chrome OS, at CES 2020 last week. During the discussion, Liu revealed that the Chrome team is working on bringing Steam to Chromebooks by using Linux. It may even be working directly with Valve to accomplish this.

That would make sense, because it would benefit Valve to open up … 閱讀全文 →

A powerful processor that won’t break the bank.

What you need to know

MediaTek has announced the Helio G70 and G70T gaming-focused chipsets for entry-level phones.
The G70 series is a slightly underclocked version of MediaTek’s flagship G90 gaming processor.
Besides the slower clock speeds, the G70 series also limits the display to 1080p, lacks support for faster UFS storage, and is restricted to 48MP cameras or dual 16MP rear-cameras.

Mobile gaming is gaining more and more popularity. What started out as a bit of a niche has been growing, with more brands releasing phones specifically made for gaming. Unfortunately, many times these phones carry a hefty price tag for all the performance they offer.

Enter MediaTek and its new lineup of entry-level gaming-focused processors, the Helio G70 and G70T. In case you didn’t know, MediaTek makes chipsets that power smartphones much like Snapdragon chips found in many popular phones — it just lacks the market share and brand recognitio… 閱讀全文 →

The web is about to become a little less annoying.

What you need to know

Chrome will introduce a new, quieter way to handle notification requests from websites starting with version 80.
Users will be able to opt-in manually to the quieter notifications, or in some cases will be automatically enrolled.
If you don’t feel like waiting for Chrome 80 to try it out, you can enable it in Chrome’s experimental features in version 79.

In the beginning, receiving notifications from websites seemed like a great idea. It made websites more interactive and provided users with alerts making it perfect for social media, messengers, email, or your calendar.

Unfortunately, like most great ideas, it was soon twisted by every website wanting to bombard you with notifications. Even worse, are the unwanted pop-ups asking you to enable the notifications as soon as you open a website. It has become so pervasive that it is one of the most common complaints amongst users surfing the web these days.

In… 閱讀全文 →

Because that’s what heroes do.

What you need to know

Charmin has designed a cute bear-faced robot named the “Rollbot” to deliver you toilet paper when you run out.
It also created a SmellSense sensor to determine when the air is all clear before entering the bathroom.
The folks over at Charmin’s GoLab also invented a brand new V.I.Pee premium porta-potty experience that uses an Oculus Rift S to make sure you don’t miss any of the action when at the game or a concert.

It’s a tale as old as time itself — finding yourself stranded in the bathroom with no toilet paper left on the roll. We’ve all been there before and we’ll all be there again. Wouldn’t life be grand if there was a way to solve this issue without yelling for someone to bring you a roll?

Fortunately, the folks over a Charmin have been hard at work creating the Rollbot, a cute little robot with one very important job — to get you toilet paper when all hope is lost. The self-balancing robot rolls around on two-wheel… 閱讀全文 →

Products will be available in early 2020.

What you need to know

C by GE is launching a new Three-Wire Smart Switch and Hubless Dimmer with smaller designs that don’t require a neutral wire.
The new switch and dimmer will also work with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant without the need of a smart hub.
It is also adding a wire-free battery operated switch, dimmer, motion detector, and remote to its lineup of smart lighting products.

GE is looking to solve some common issues with smart lighting with its new lineup of products. Beginning with the C by GE Hubless Three-Wire Smart Switch and Hubless Dimmer, which feature smaller designs and don’t require the use of a neutral wire. This will allow for installation in a wider variety of homes, including older ones that may lack the neutral wire or have smaller junction boxes.

The new products are also compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant without the use of a smart hub by connecting directly to your Wi-Fi network. Apple Ho… 閱讀全文 →

For postpaid phone sales in the month of December 2019.

What you need to know

Apple and Samsung account for over 90% of phone sales at carriers in the U.S.
This was revealed after analysis firm Wave7 Research conducted a survey among the top four wireless carriers in the U.S. during the month of December.
The Google Pixel lineup accounted for 2-4% of sales while OnePlus was even lower with 2.3%.

When it comes to buying a new phone these days, consumers arguably have more choices than ever when it comes to choosing which brand to buy. Yet, the stats show that if you’re buying a smartphone in the U.S., you’re most likely going to buy one from Apple or Samsung.

Recently, analysis firm Wave7 Research published its findings after completing a survey with the top four carriers in the U.S. In the month of December 2019, the results revealed that over 90% of the time phones sold through the carrier were from either Apple or Samsung.

At AT&T stores, sales from the two juggernaut br… 閱讀全文 →

Testing is being done with a small percentage of users.

What you need to know

YouTube is testing a new “featured in this video” section.
It is currently only available to a small percentage of users as YouTube tests it and gathers feedback.
If it is available for you, then you’ll see a section under the video with links to the YouTubers featured in the video and the option to subscribe.

YouTube is currently testing a new feature that will be a great help to both creators and their audience. The new “featured in this video” section will make it easier for viewers to find and subscribe to YouTubers when they appear in videos from other channels.

Previously, creators would have to go through the trouble of manually adding all of the links in the description of the video, detailing each YouTuber that appeared in the video. A perfect example of this was shown off in Rene Ritchie’s Tech YouTube Rewind: Best of 2019 video. In the video, he features some of his favorite tech YouTubers … 閱讀全文 →