Articles by Babu Mohan

The feature could begin rolling out to users as soon as later this week.

What you need to know

An upcoming Chrome OS feature let users you launch apps from your phone.
It will be a part of Chrome OS’ Phone Hub feature.
Google may launch the feature alongside the Pixel 6 series phones on October 19.

Google is working on a new feature that will allow you to launch apps from your phone on the best Chromebooks, according to reputed tipster Mishaal Rahman.

Coming soon: Launching apps from your phone on Chromebooks. When you receive a notification on your phone that’s forwarded to your Chromebook, you can click on it on the PC to launch it in a window. pic.twitter.com/j9UEYuR7TW— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) October 18, 2021

As can be seen in the screenshot above, the feature will let you “temporarily use apps right from your phone” when a notification on your phone is forwarded to your Chromebook. While it isn’t clear exactly how the feature will work, users will apparently …

We’re just a day away from Google’s big fall hardware event, where the company will formally unveil the Pixel 6 series. While the vanilla Pixel 6 will succeed last year’s Pixel 5, the Pixel 6 Pro will be a proper flagship that is likely to give the best Android phones from Samsung, OnePlus, and Xiaomi a run for their money.

As confirmed by Google already, the Pixel 6 series phones will be powered by its custom Tensor chipset, which is expected to offer similar performance to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 and Samsung’s Exynos 2100 chips.

The Pixel 6 phones will also bring significant upgrades in the camera department. The two phones will use a 50MP main sensor with improved low-light performance. The Pro model is said to include an impressive 48MP periscope lens with 4x optical zoom.

Another area where the upcoming Pixel 6 phones will be a step-up over previous Pixel phones will be charging speed. They are rumored to support 30W wired charging and 23W wireless charging speeds.

Accor…

The latest limited edition version of the OnePlus Watch will only be sold in India.

What you need to know

The OnePlus Watch Harry Potter Limited Edition is now official.
It comes with a vegan leather watch strap and exclusive watch faces from Hogwarts houses.
The limited edition watch will be available to purchase in India from October 21 for ₹16,999 (about $226).

Back in May this year, OnePlus introduced a special limited edition version of its first smartwatch, called the OnePlus Watch Cobalt Limited Edition. The company has now launched another special edition variant of the smartwatch for consumers in India, dubbed the OnePlus Watch Harry Potter Limited Edition.

The special version of the OnePlus Watch is the result of a collaboration between OnePlus and Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP). Designed for Harry Potter fans, the watch offers six custom watch faces, including four based around the Hogwarts school houses. You also get a Harry Potter-themed charging animati…

The next major Chrome OS update is scheduled to be released on the last day of November.

What you need to know

The stable Chrome OS M94 update has started rolling out.
It brings a few new accessibility features, including enhanced voice for Select-to-speak.
Google says the update and the new features associated with it will progressively roll out over the coming days.

Google has started rolling out Chrome OS 94, which is the last update before the company moves to a four-week update cycle. As announced by the company a few weeks back, it won’t be releasing the M95 update, and the next major Chrome OS update will only arrive at the end of November.

The latest Chrome OS M94 update brings enhanced voices for the Select-to-speak feature on Chromebooks. The new, more human-sounding voices will be available in various accents in 25 languages initially, with more expected to arrive over the coming months.

This is the second time this year that Google has rolled out improvements to th…

Encrypted backups cannot be accessed by WhatsApp or the backup service provider.

Update, Oct 14 (17:15 ET): Rolling out now

What you need to know

Popular messaging app WhatsApp will soon enable end-to-end encryption for backups in Google Drive and iCloud.
The feature will roll out to users on Android and iOS in the coming weeks.
Encrypted backups will ensure nobody else can access your messages.

WhatsApp announced on September 10 that it will soon allow users to protect their message backups using end-to-end encryption. While WhatsApp already allows users to back up their message history via Google Drive and iCloud, they are currently secured by the cloud-based storage services.

? WhatsApp is the leading global messaging service to offer *both* end-to-end encrypted messaging and backups on iCloud or Google Drive. ?So you can make sure that bestie’s voice messages and mum’s secret recipe will be safely stored in a place only you can access.— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) Sep…

The latest Google app update also brings the new Driving Mode dashboard UI that was announced last month.

What you need to know

Google Assistant can now launch Driving Mode automatically when it connects to your car’s Bluetooth.
You can now also have the assistive UI launch automatically as soon as you start driving.
The new options have been rolled out with the Google app update version 12.39.

The Google Assistant will now auto-launch Driving Mode as soon as your phone connects to your car’s Bluetooth. As reported by the folks over at 9to5Google, the functionality has started rolling out as part of the Google app v12.39.

The new auto-launch option is set to “Do nothing” by default, so you’ll have to choose either “Ask before launching” or “Launch driving mode” for it to work. There’s also a second new option that can auto-launch Driving Mode on the best Android phones when driving is detected.

Both the new options can be accessed by heading over to Assistant settings > T…

Google Photos’ Memories feature is finally expanding beyond smartphones.

What you need to know

You’ll soon be able to enjoy your memories from Google Photos on your Nest Hub display.
Memories from Google Photos will appear in the “Your day” tab.
It may take a few weeks before the ability to view Google Photos Memories becomes widely available.

Google Nest Hub users will soon be able to view their memories from Google Photos every day. According to a new post on the Google Nest blog, a new feature that will roll out to users later this quarter will allow them to enjoy their Google Photos Memories on their Nest Hub displays. Until now, Google Photos’ Memories feature was limited to phones.

Once the feature goes live, users will be able to view their Memories from Google Photos via the “Your day” tab. However, it remains unclear if Memories on Nest Hub devices will be similar to the Memories that appear at the top of Photos on the best Android phones. The official blog post only…

The phone is likely to launch in India sometime later this quarter.

What you need to know

OnePlus 9 RT is the company’s latest value flagship.
It comes with a 120Hz OLED display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chipset, and a 50MP main camera.
The phone will be available in China from October 19 for a starting price of 3,299 yuan (about $512).

OnePlus has finally taken the wraps off the OnePlus 9RT, a follow-up to the value-focused 9R that it introduced earlier this year. While it isn’t vastly different from its predecessor, the 9RT does come with a few significant upgrades.

Unlike the OnePlus 9R, which features a Snapdragon 870 chipset, the new OnePlus 9RT is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888. The 5nm chipset has been paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

The OnePlus 9RT is an upgrade over its predecessor in the camera department as well. It uses a more impressive 50MP Sony IMX766 main sensor with an f/1.88 aperture and OIS. The primary se…

Acer’s latest Chromebooks come equipped with the latest processors from Intel and MediaTek.

What you need to know

Acer has unveiled new Chromebooks designed for work, school, and entertainment.
The new Chromebook Spin 514 and Chromebook Enterprise Spin 514 have a fan-less, convertible design.
Acer’s Chromebook 515 and Chromebook Enterprise 515 feature a premium design combined with “advanced durability.”

Acer has refreshed its Chromebook lineup with the launch of four new models featuring the latest processors from Intel and MediaTek, Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, “video conferencing technology,” and durable designs.

Acer Chromebook Spin 514 and Chromebook Spin Enterprise 514 models have a convertible design and feature 14-inch FHD displays. They are powered by up to 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processors and utilize a fan-less design that makes them “ideal for shared workspaces.”

Designed for video conferencing on the go, the Chromebook offers a Full HD MIPI webcam with a blue gla…

The smartwatch runs Amazfit’s feature-packed new Zepp OS.

What you need to know

Amazfit has announced three new smartwatches
The new watches feature a 6PD BioTracker PPG 3.0 sensor and are powered by the new Zepp OS.
The lineup starts from $180 in the U.S.

Amazfit has refreshed its wearables lineup with the launch of three new fitness-focused smartwatches to challenge the best Android watches on the market.

The Amazfit GTR 3 smartwatch features a 1.39-inch AMOLED display with a bezel-less design and a durable case made from aircraft-grade aluminum alloy. It is equipped with a 450mAh battery, which is claimed to be capable of delivering up to 21 days of usage on a single charge.

The Amazfit GTR 2 successor offers a Battery Saver Mode as well, which should help you get even longer battery life.

The Amazfit GTR 3 Pro has a larger 1.45-inch AMOLED display with 300ppi pixel density and a screen-to-body ratio of 70.6%. Thanks to the classic navigation crown, users can easily cyc…