Articles by Adam Doud

Like call screening, Direct My Call is a new Pixel 6 exclusive feature that really makes Google Assistant fell like an assistant. Direct My Call will listen to a phone tree (Press 1 for yadda yadda, press 2 for more yaddas) and print out the options for you on the screen. Then you can just tap the option you want and the phone will enter the number for you. This is handy for two reasons. First, you get the options literally spelled out for you on the screen. Second, you don’t have to try to remember what each option was. Here’s how to use that feature.

How to enable Direct My Call

Direct My Call is not on by default, so the first thing you’ll have to do is enable it.

Open the Phone app.
Tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
Tap Settings.
Tap the Direct My Call to turn the feature on.

How to use Direct My Call

From there Direct My Call will automatically turn on when the proper conditions are met. Direct My Call only works on Pixel 6 series phones, on toll-free calls …

Google Assistant is one of the most useful features for some of the best Android phones. But, one of the most exciting and useful features is limited to the Google Pixel lineup is Call Screening, which uses automated prompts and Google Assistant to ask unknown callers why they’re calling, without you ever having to pick up the phone. Instead, you get a real-time transcription of the conversation and choose from a handful of follow-up questions to get more information from the caller before answering or hanging up. Luckily, using it is dead simple.

What devices support Call Screen?

Call Screening is a great feature, but it’s only available on a limited selection of devices, including all Google Pixel phones and select Android phones that support Google’s Phone app.

No matter what device you use Call Screening on, all audio transcriptions happen locally on the device, rather than being uploaded to Google. Your phone also automatically offers to block spam numbers after you reject a …

Google recognizes how important it is to be a sustainable business. At its Sustainable with Google event two weeks ago, Google highlighted its efforts to help people live more sustainably using Google products. Features announced included Nest Renew, to help people find eco-friendly commuter routes and even search for eco-friendly products and appliances. But when it comes to supporting sustainable businesses, Google is adopting a more DIY approach. For example, it added features to its My Business listings, allowing business owners to advertise whether or not they accept recycling materials and what varieties. But what about us? Sure we can pick up a sustainable phone, but how can we find and support those businesses going the extra mile to help the environment? There are two ways, and we’ll show you how.

Support your local, sustainable businesses

The best way you can support local businesses is by leaving reviews and photos of a company in maps. Reviews and photos can help others…

The best Android phones are great. THey’re powerful, they’re getting Android 12 soon, and they have all the trimmings. But the second trouble occurs, it can be a major pain in the butt. One common issue people often experience is their phone repeatedly shutting off unintended, and if this happens to you, it’s not a good time.

No matter if it’s a result of a low battery, easy-to-fix bug, or something more serious, here are a few tips on how to stop your phone from shutting off when you don’t want it to.

Restart your phone

If you have a phone that keeps shutting off over and over, you may just need to restart it. As silly as it may sound, turning it off and on again really does work in many cases.

There are a couple of ways to restart your phone, the most common of which just requires you to hold down the power button and tap on the Restart option that appears on the screen. This will power your phone off and boot it back up, hopefully making it so things once again run like norm…

Google’s latest Chromecast with Google TV is one of the best streaming devices you can buy. Consolidating your services into one Google-Assistant-driven interface is pretty sweet. Chromecast with Google TV comes with a remote, but what if you can’t find the remote or if you want to simply use your phone? There’s an app for that, and it’s available in 14 new countries. Just download it, and you can navigate the interface with your Android phone.

Note: This procedure only works if the Google TV device and your phone are both on the same Wi-Fi- network. In cases where no Google TV is detected, the icon will not be where it should be.

How to use an Android phone as a Google TV remote (the long way)

Download and install the Google TV app from the Google Play store.
Launch the app.
Tap the remote icon in the lower right corner of the app.
The first time you launch the app, you’ll need to grant location permission. Tap While using the app.
You’ll be presented with a list of available Go…

Google Street View is one of our favorite parts of Google maps. You may have seen one of the Street View cars driving around taking 360-degree photos of the streets in your town, but did you know it’s possible to submit your photos to Google maps? There are two ways to do it, one of which is a lot easier than the next.

Submitting a photo sphere is the best way to contribute to Google Maps. They’re exactly how they sound. Photospheres are 360-degree views of an area. You can use a 360-degree camera to create one or use the specially built camera app in the Street View app. For some phones, this is the only way to capture 360-degree photos. Phones like the Pixel have a photosphere mode in the built-in camera app.

You can create a photosphere with your Pixel phone camera app, like the Google Pixel 5a. You can also create a photosphere with any of the best Android phones using the Google Street View app.

How to submit your own Street View images to Google Maps (the easy way)

The easi…

Google recently combined Gmail and Google chat into the Gmail app. Google chat gives you a status so that you can broadcast whether or not you’re available to chat or return emails. Combining the two services is currently an opt-in procedure, so not everyone has it yet, but it works on both iOS and the best Android phones. We’ll show you how to opt in, set a predefined status, and set your custom status.

How to turn on Chat in Gmail

Right off the bat, if you don’t have a chat tab at the bottom of Gmail, you do not have chat turned on yet, and you will not be able to set your status. If you have a chat tab, you can skip to the next section. To get started, open Gmail on your phone.

Tap the hamburger menu (three lines) in the upper left corner of Gmail.
Scroll down and tap Settings.
Tap the account for which you want to turn on chats.

Under the General heading, place a checkmark in Chat.
Tap Ok in the dialog box that opens.
Now, you will notice that you have a chat tab in your high…

Android 12 is bringing a lot of enhancements to the best Android phones, and one that is a little overlooked is the ability to adjust smart home tech from your lock screen. From dimming lights to adjusting your thermostat, your lock screen offers quick shortcuts that allow you to take control without having to launch an app first. We’ll show you where those are and how to configure them to your liking.

How to change your lock screen shortcuts on Android 12

First, go to your lock screen. The easiest way to do that is to press the power button on your phone to turn the screen off, then press it again to turn the screen back on. From there, follow these steps.

Tap the button in the bottom left corner that looks like a little house.
That will bring up your home controls. Tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
Tap Add controls or Edit controls. We’ll deal with editing controls first.

When you tap edit, put in your PIN (or scan your fingerprint) to unlock the phone.
Next, you…

The best Android phones are communication tools first and foremost. Whether used for phone calls, video chats, or direct messaging, these devices are perfect for starting conversations with contacts, friends, and family. One of the best new features in Android 12 is a way to stay on top of the conversations that are most important to you. The new Conversations widget allows you to pin a conversation you’re having to a home screen so you can quickly access it (or multiple conversations, as the case may be). We’ll show you how to set up this new Conversations widget and give you a few other notes we discovered along the way.

How to use Conversation widgets in Android 12

You can easily pin a conversation to your home screen by using the Conversations widget.

Long press on an empty space on your home screen.
Tap Widgets.
Tap Conversations to expand the category.
Tap and hold the Conversation widget. Drag it to an open place on your home screen.
Pinch to (re)size the widget to your li…

Going back to Android 2.3, Google has included an Easter egg in every version of Android up to and including Android 12. You’ll find it on any Android phone, and it’s often a fun little game to play. Android 12 is no exception, and you can find it in the same place as most other Android Easter eggs. We’ll show you how to track that down and how to unlock the final image.

How to access the Android 12 easter egg

The process for locating the Android 12 Easter egg is very straightforward.

Open Settings, scroll down, and tap About Phone.
Scroll down and tap Android Version.
Tap Android version three times very quickly.

This will open up the game that precedes the Android 12 Easter egg. This is a clock face that’s shaped like a gear or a circle with a serrated edge. Inside the clock face are a blue hour hand and grey minute hand. Initially, they’ll be pointed at the 11:00 position with the minute hand pointing straight up and the hour hand pointing up and to the left.

Anywhere you…