Articles by Michael L Hicks

With more XR apps likely to come to the Quest 2, as well as the Quest 3, Meta is preparing the headset to make those apps more immersive.
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The concept is simple, but the tablets and apps that support the feature are limited, so we’ll break down what you need to know.

For Android tablet fans who want something cheaper than the Galaxy Tab S8 without losing too much in terms of quality.

Who doesn’t need more socks?

What you need to know

Google is shipping out free swag to Pixel Superfans as a “small token of our appreciation.”
The exclusive merch references the recently released Pixel 6 Pro and Google Tensor SoC.
US-based adults can request to join the Superfans for access to private events, groups, Q&As, and future swag.

Back in September, right before Google unveiled the Pixel 6, it opened up the Pixel Superfans program, promising private Q&As, direct feedback to the Google hardware team, and “occasional gifts” for whoever joined.

On Thursday, an Imgur post (spotted by 9to5Google) showed off one of those perks: a pair of multi-colored socks with the words “Google Pixel 6 Pro” inscribed on them, plus a shiny sticker depicting the Google Tensor SoC.

“Your feedback helps inform future feature drops and products, so we truly couldn’t do this without you,” reads the note accompanying the free swag.

Pixel 6 socks

This isn’t the first perk that Google …

Android 12 added some impressive new features to Pixel phones that other Android skins have had for years, including scrolling screenshots. Before Android 12, you could edit screenshots but were restricted to whatever your phone screen could fit. Now, you can choose to “Capture more” and grab more than double the screen space that you could in the past. Here’s how to take scrollable screenshots with Android 12.

How to take scrollable screenshots in Android 12

Take a screenshot in any app using your Android phone’s screenshot shortcut.
To take a screenshot on Pixel phones (and most other Android phones), press and hold the power and volume down buttons simultaneously until the screen flashes to capture your screen.
Three buttons should appear: Share, Edit, and Capture more. Tap “Capture more” to proceed. Note: Some apps currently don’t support scrollable screenshots. If “Capture more” doesn’t appear, you won’t be able to take one.
Once you tap this option, you’ll zoom out so you …

Google heard you liked Android 12 so it’s letting you download it…again.

Update, Nov 10 (6:50 p.m. ET): Google has “resolved the issue.”

What you need to know

Unlocked Pixel phones running Android 12 are receiving a new Android 12 OTA update of nearly 2GB.
It appears to be a Verizon software update mistakenly pushed to non-Verizon phones.
If your phone has received this update, you should disregard it.

Some Pixel owners probably experienced a severe case of deja vu on Wednesday, when Google pushed out an Android 12 update to their phones. An unexpected OTA update appeared “introducing Android 12,” listing out “new” features like Material You and scrolling screenshots that they’ve had access to for weeks.

If you yourself have received this update — which comes in at about 1.8GB — you should ignore it. While Google itself hasn’t commented on the situation as of publication, Android sleuths have determined that this was a Verizon Android 12 security update accidentally push…

We’ve rounded up the best Oculus Quest 2 games worth your time and money.

Best Oculus Quest 2 games

Shooters
Music and rhythm
Exercise
Multiplayer
Action
Horror
Family-friendly
Strategy and board games
Puzzles and relaxation
Sports
Oculus Link

Among the several hundred games and apps on the Oculus Quest storefront, most of them cost between $10 and $40 while only offering about 3 to 5 hours of gameplay on average. The Oculus Store isn’t like Steam, where you can build up huge libraries for cheap; and 64GB headset owners have to be careful not to fill up their hard drives with junk.

The fact is, most VR games are short, when what you want is short and sweet. That’s where we come in: Android Central has a staff full of VR fanatics who spend their leisure time blocking out reality with the Oculus Quest 2 — which does run on an Android OS, believe it or not. We’ve spent a lot of time testing out games, good and bad, to figure out which are the best Oculus Quest 2 games that w…

Making Android and Google Assistant more accessible.

What you need to know

Google is asking for people with speech impairments to volunteer for the Project Relate.
It is training its speech recognition algorithms to recognize atypical speech patterns.
The Project Relate app will listen to your words and repeat them more clearly for others to understand.
Project Relate will help people use Google Assistant more easily as well.

For people with physical disabilities, a voice assistant can be much more accessible for daily life than tapping away at a small smartphone screen. But for those with conditions that make speech difficult — such as ALS, Cerebral Palsy, Parkinson’s disease, or post-stroke brain damage — Google Speech recognition isn’t properly equipped to understand their verbal tics.

Google’s Project Relate initiative could change that. It is “a new Android app that aims to help people with speech impairments communicate more easily with others and interact with the Go…

Will Samsung defy expectations and announce a Galaxy S22 chipset?

What you need to know

Samsung Exynos is planning to announce a new Exynos chipset on November 19.
Its Instagram post claims that “advancements of semiconductors” will give its new SoC a huge boost to gaming “immersion.”
We previously learned Samsung and AMD were partnering on the Exynos 2200 with major gaming improvements.
We also have heard leaks that Samsung is struggling to produce the 2200 to scale for the upcoming Galaxy S22.

Samsung will reveal a new Exynos chip on November 19. In an Instagram ad, Samsung Exynos promised that it will show you “what entertainment will look like in the future,” specifically related to improved gaming graphical performance.

We don’t know yet which chip Samsung will announce at the Exynos event, but there are some likely candidates. Back in May, we learned that Samsung and AMD planned to co-develop the Exynos 2200 with RDNA2 technology. Previously added to the PS5 and Xbox Seri…

How will Samsung improve on the best phones of 2021?

Now that the Pixel 6 and the iPhone 13 have closed out 2021, the Samsung Galaxy S22 (and Galaxy S21 FE) are the next highly anticipated releases on the calendar. While we don’t have a hard release date yet, we expect the Galaxy S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra to arrive in February 2022 — their release date pushed slightly back to make room for the latest Fan Edition phone.

The Galaxy S21 and S21 Ultra both topped our list of the best Android phones for most of the year (before the new Pixels supplanted them); how will Samsung follow up on such great hardware? Based on leaked info, the baseline S22 will mostly tread water with a smaller display and similar specs — though the new Snapdragon will give it a boost. It’s the S22 Ultra that will make waves, thanks to its alleged S Pen slot and hard-edged design reminiscent of the Galaxy Notes of yore.

If you’re deciding whether to buy an S21 for cheap during the upcoming Black Friday An…