Fossil introduced its latest wearable this week, the Gen 6 Hybrid, a combo of a traditional timepiece and a few of the fitness tracking/digital notifications we enjoy about smartwatches. Basically, it’s for those who don’t want a smartwatch, but appreciate a few of the features that only a smartwatch can offer.

Available in a variety of styles, the Gen 6 Hybrid features up to two weeks of battery depending on usage, the ability to preview calls and texts, heart rate sensor, two case size options (45mm and 40.5mm), E-ink gray-scale display with backlight for night time visibility, step counting, plus plenty more.

Fossil also has a new and improved companion app for controlling the smartwatch and getting features synced up with your smartphone.

Gen 6 Hybrid will be available on June 27 starting at $229 for leather and silicone strap options, with bracelet styles priced at $249.

Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid

Read the original post: Fossil Intros Gen 6 Hybrid, an Improved Combo of Timepiece and Digital Goodies

I’m not sure that any Google device has been known for having an overly bright display. It’s simply not been a characteristic of Pixel or Nexus devices in the past, but if a new discovery concerning Google’s upcoming phones is accurate, then we could be looking at quite a change with the Pixel 7 Pro.

Thanks to code digging by XDA’s Mishaal Rahman, it’s been noted that the Pixel 7 Pro appears to be in line to use Samsung’s S6E3HC4 display panel. To most, that chain of letters and numbers won’t mean squat, but for us phone nerds, it means that the device should be capable of increased brightness in both normal viewing mode and high brightness mode.

By the numbers, during normal viewing, the Pixel 7 Pro could cap at 600 nits, while the Pixel 6 Pro is capable of only 500 nits. However, with high brightness mode enabled, users can get up to 1000 nits, with the 6 Pro currently pushing 800 nits. That is quite a jump. Rahman speculates that if the Pixel 7 Pro is in high brightness mode with a lower APL of 100%, then we could be looking at an absolute peak 1200+ nits.

The Pixel 6 Pro has become a pretty great phone after months of updates. I’m currently using it as my daily with the Android 13 beta. It’s a fun and smooth phone, though, its display’s lack of brightness at anything below 75% is something I noticed immediately coming from other phones. I’ll be looking forward to this change on the Pixel 7 Pro.

// @MishaalRahman

Read the original post: Expect a Much Brighter Display on the Pixel 7 Pro

Oh man, I guess we’re going to have to revisit a previous pledge we made about the first phone from OSOM, previously referred to as OV1. I said back in December that if the privacy-focused OV1 launched with the word “crypto” anywhere near it, we’d never talk about it again. Well, folks, it’s a crypto phone. God dammit, man.

The OSOM phone has been revealed today in full and it is now known as Solana Saga, a phone branded by a web3 company called Solana Labs, but most definitely made by OSOM. OSOM has also confirmed to me that Saga is indeed OV1.

Solana Saga’s tagline at the moment appears to be, “It’s time for crypto to go mobile” and that it is “a flagship-quality Android device purpose-built for crypto.”

If we try to move on from that association, here’s what we know about Solana Saga. The phone will cost $1,000 and you can reserve one now with a $100 fully refundable deposit. The phone is expected to ship around Q1 2023.

As for specs, it has all of the goods, which is probably why we are still talking about. Solana Saga features a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, 512GB storage, 12GB RAM, 6.55″ FHD AMOLED display at 120Hz, 4100mAh battery with wireless charging, Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi 6, rear fingerprint sensor, and a dual camera. The dual camera is made up of a 50MP (IMX766) main shooter and a 12MP (IMX373) ultra-wide lens.

• Solana Saga pre-order link

Updating this post…

Read the original post: OSOM’s First Phone is Called Solana Saga, a $1,000 Crypto Phone

The Nothing Phone (1) has had an up and down couple of weeks. We first got a look at the phone days ago before a full hands-on video tour showed off its neatly-integrated LED lights that have been included on its backside. Positive tours aside, the design has also been mocked a bit as an iPhone 12 clone, even if some of us (Tim and I) happen to like the look and the light idea. It’s at least something different in a sea of nothing but the same.

In between all of the design reveals and iPhone 12 jokes, Nothing launched an exclusive auction for the Nothing Phone (1) through StockX, like they did with their original earbuds. The DropX listing was for 100 limited edition Phone (1) devices that would be serialized with a number for those with winning bids. Since I mentioned Nothing having a couple of up and down weeks, let me just say that this DropX situation appears to be on the downer side.

The 2-day auction for 100 limited edition Nothing Phone (1)s only managed to pull in 147 bids, according to the listing that ended this morning, June 23, at 8:59AM Eastern. There are a couple of ridiculous bids around the $3,000 mark, but if Nothing actually confirms the top 100 all get phones, someone could walk away with this limited device for as little as $812.

Now, we don’t know how much Nothing is planning to sell this phone for. They could ask $400 or $600 or $800 (or $500?), but considering that only 147 people signed-up to buy this limited model and may walk away with one for as little as $812, I can’t imagine this auction is looked at as any sort of success. I’m no marketing mastermind, but a limited run of a device – essentially a one of a kind situation – should garner more attention than 147 people.

Then again, this week’s news that Nothing has decided not to launch Phone (1) in the US couldn’t have helped. There was a giant warning on the DropX page that told users to beware if they were in North America, as the phone wouldn’t work well here. We then speculated that Nothing’s US plans were up in the air and those thoughts were later confirmed by the company.

Maybe the lack of bids means nothing in the end. Maybe everyone is waiting to know more, to get the full set of specs, and the price. Maybe StockX/DropX users are mostly located in North America and aren’t interested in overpaying for a phone that will barely work here. Or maybe the OnePlus launch playbook is an immediate turn-off to the tech obsessed crowd this phone is aimed at?

Did we mention that Nothing is doing an invite system for the Phone (1)? Heh.

Read the original post: Only 147 People Bid on the 100 Numbered Nothing Phone (1)s

Thanks to a recent leak, we can now confirm that the upcoming wearables from Samsung, the Galaxy Watch 5 lineup, will indeed cost money upon release. How much money? Well, that’s the actual reason for this post. Please, don’t hit me.

According to Roland Quandt of WinFuture (European tech publication with a long history of accurate early intel), the Galaxy Watch 5 with 40mm case will come in starting at 300 euro, with the price going up by 50 euro if you opt for the LTE model. For the larger 44mm variant, the price starts at 350 euro and gets the same 50 euro bump for LTE radios.

As for the rumored Galaxy Watch 5 Pro (no longer called Classic), it will start at a whopping 490 euro for just Bluetooth connectivity and then go up to 540 euro for LTE. The Watch 5 Pro is listed as only coming in a 45mm option.

Do note, we are talking euros here, meaning the pricing in the US could differ, but even if it does, it may not be by much. We’ll certainly keep you posted as we learn more concerning these anticipated wearables from Samsung.

// @rquandt

Read the original post: Reported Galaxy Watch 5 Prices Confirm Suspicions: Devices Won’t Be Free

Twitter introduced Notes this week, a place for real writers, not lame bloggers like me, to write a ton of words and not have to worry about silly character limits.

To my trained eye, it’s essentially a Twitter-based blogging platform, capable of pulling in tweets and photos, and once you’re done, becomes easily shareable to your timeline. Twitter says it is currently testing Notes with a small handful of writers and a few of them have already posted samples for our reading pleasure.

If you fancy yourself a writer, be on the lookout for this feature to make its way to more people down the road. For now, we’ll need to enjoy other peoples’ work.

Read the original post: Twitter Hates Its Own Character Limit, Intros ‘Notes’ for Legit Writers

Fitbit announced premium sleep profiles for select device owners this week, allowing you to get deeper insights into your sleep. If you own a Sense, Versa 3, Versa 2, Charge 5, Luxe, or Inspire 2 device you should begin seeing these new profiles starting in early July or then receive updated details around the first of each month.

To break it down, Fitbit’s Sleep Profile will analyze a user’s sleep across 10 key metrics each month, calculating trends and then comparing them to what’s typical for the user’s age and gender. The hope is that this information can then show users where they can improve in the sleep department.

Fitbit is also using adorable animals to best describe your sleep. For example, there’s a bear (someone with a consistent sleep schedule who reaches sound sleep quickly) and there’s also a hedgehog (fall asleep later and wake up earlier – light sleeper). There’s a ton of data to go through, so for those who love the sleep tracking, it’s a great bonus to owning a Fitbit.

You will need Fitbit Premium to use this, naturally. That’ll cost you $10/mo or $80/year.

// Google

Read the original post: Fitbit Owners Get New Premium Sleep Profiles

A redesigned version of Google News is rolling out to desktop users, complete with more emphasis on local news, fact checking, and personalized topics.

Speaking on the redesign, Google says that, “Our new look for Google News on desktop was inspired by feedback we received from readers. We’ve made it easier to catch up on the most important news by bringing Top stories, Local news and personalized picks to the top of the page.”

As users will notice, that’s exactly what has changed. On the Google News homepage (aka Your Briefing), you’ll find a large section on the right side for your local stories, as well as “Picks for you” right below. In the local news tab, you can quickly add additional locations you want to follow, too. For example, I added my current small town, but also added my hometown in California.

Below Top Stories and Local News, you’ll find Topics. This is where you can deep dive into the things you personally care about. You can view increased tech news, entertainment news, as well as sports.

And with misinformation not going away anytime soon, Google has expanded its fact checking on the platform as well.

To help you make more informed judgments about the information you come across online, we’ve expanded our Fact Check section in Google News on desktop to provide more context. In addition to headlines, you’ll now see the original claim made along with the fact-checked assessment from independent organizations.

The redesigned Google News is available right now on desktop. Have at it.

Google News Link

// Google

Read the original post: Google News Gets Redesign on Desktop With More Local News, More Fact Checking

Another new smartwatch is upon us, one that Google told us was on the horizon – Montblanc has announced the Summit 3, a high-end Wear OS watch that runs Qualcomm’s latest chip and also happens to have Wear OS 3. This one is noteworthy, even if the price is (likely) out of the range for most of us.

At the time of this posting, a lot about this watch is still a mystery. Before publishing, we were waiting to hear back on exact pricing in the US and what the specs look like. We have yet to hear back, so we’ll update this as more info comes in.

What we know for now is that the Montblanc Summit 3 is official, is powered by a Snapdragon Wear 4100+, has a bigger battery than the previous generation Summit 2, comes in three different colorways, and again, runs Wear OS 3.

The three colors can be seen below, including a Titanium Black, Titanium Bicolor, and Titanium Grey. Each watch comes with both leather and rubber straps to help you tackle the day.

As for the rest of the story, again, we’ve been waiting to hear back and Montblanc has yet to post all of the details. We know there are a bunch of new custom watchfaces, sports and fitness tracking (including SpO2), and all the Google apps, like Google Maps.

Below is a look at a bit of the OS, since Wear OS 3 is a huge part of the why this watch is interesting. Outside of Samsung and the Galaxy Watch 4, there are no other watches running Wear OS 3. To see it now arriving on another watch with so little detail available is kind of weird. We should know more shortly.

Overall, the watch looks nice, right?

Read the original post: Montblanc Summit 3 is Official and It Runs Wear OS 3!

With more information being made available for the Nothing Phone (1) via the company’s auction of the first 100 units, US availability and support for the device is now being questioned. This is an unsettling development to say the very least, so let’s go over what has happened.

The new information comes straight from Nothing on its StockX listing page for Phone (1), the place where the company is currently hosting an auction for the first 100 units off the line. In black and white the listing states, “Nothing phone (1) is not fully supported in North America.” Furthermore, Nothing lists carriers supported by country and you’ll notice that the US isn’t listed at all. Not even a GSM carrier, such as T-Mobile or AT&T.

Now, before we collapse into a fit of Android depression, it’s unclear if this non-support is limited to these first 100 units or the entire run of Phone (1) devices. It’s also possible Nothing needs to conduct further testing and get certification to list it as supported in the US, but I’ll be honest, it’s not looking great.

Are we surprised? Well, yeah, kinda. Nothing has used a ton of US-based things to hype up this device. It’s used MKBHD (US-based YouTuber) for hyping, Qualcomm (US-based company) for its processors, as well as StockX (US-based selling platform) to sell the damn thing. While it’s understandable for a newcomer to not want to dive directly into the US market, a market completely and absolutely dominated by two players, we were personally very much looking forward to playing with a new brand of Android phone. We had high hopes, but those got dashed pretty hard just now.

We’ve reached out to Nothing for comment regarding availability of Phone (1) in the US. We’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, if you want to try buying a unit, you’ll need to spend $3,000+. What a crazy world we live in.

Read the original post: Nothing Phone (1) US Availability Now Being Questioned

If you bought a Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro when it first launched, you have owned one for a full 8 months. During that time, a lot has happened in the world of the Pixel 6 line, including the unveiling of the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, the two phones that should replace the Pixel 6 later this year. The timing got me thinking today about where these phones stand in the minds of their owners and how life has been recently, now that we are several major updates into their lives.

The story of the Pixel 6 line is well documented at this point. You should know about the software delays, the never-ending coverage of bugs that Google needed to address through several updates, and that long mix-up in quarterly updates that caused a significant wait over the winter holiday season. But now things are flowing nicely, with no recent delays in monthly patches, including the latest June update that a bunch of us beta tested for months.

I can tell you that Tim and I have danced between the Pixel 6 line off and on since launch. I’ve enjoyed the Pixel 6, somehow found the Pixel 6 Pro’s massive size and curved display to be quite pleasant, and haven’t run into nearly the number of issues as some owners seem to be able to list. For the most part, outside of a modem disconnection here and there, I have had zero complaints about the Pixel 6 line outside of size. I’ll never back down from believing that both phones are too damn big and that Google should have given us a small “Pro” option.

It sure seems like Google is satisfied with the Pixel 6 line too. They just told us at Google I/O that’ve sold more than the Pixel 4 and Pixel 5 combined. As far as we can tell, Google believes the Pixel 6 to be a success.

I’d argue that things are extremely quiet in Pixel 6 communities at the moment. I noticed a similar silence at the 6-month mark, but after the big June update, it’s almost like we are finally at the point that people are all good with their Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro.

Or am I reading that wrong? Are people just living with bugs that never seem to go away and are sick of complaining about them? Are they learning to deal with bugs that are unfixable? Did they switch phones and move on to a world without the need to complain on reddit?

It’s time to check-in, Pixel 6 owners. How are things today?

Read the original post: Your Pixel 6 Pro is 8 Months Old: How’s the Experience Today?

If you’re someone who uses a Nest Hub Max as a range extender for your Nest x Yale Lock or Nest Detect devices, the following information is very important. This week, Google has sent a letter to those device owners, informing them that due to an upcoming software update for the Nest Hub Max, the range extender functionality will no longer be supported.

Detailed to be coming in the end of July, the software update is said to bump up the Nest Hub Max with Matter over Thread standards. Unknown by us, these standards must somehow affect that range extender functionality, so away it will go once that update begins to roll out.

In order to solve this issue, Google has a simple solution: Move your Nest Connect or Nest Guard closer to your lock or open/close sensor. It should be that simple, though, there must’ve been cause for the Hub Max to act as a range extender in the first place. There must’ve been a case for it. Regardless, Google says this should only affect a small number of people, so that’s good.

Here’s the full letter being sent to owners.

We’re reaching out to let you know that coming in late July we will make some software updates to Nest Hub Max to make sure you’re ready for the upcoming Matter over Thread standard that will enable future forward compatibility with hundreds of partner devices.‌

This update will impact a small number of Nest x Yale Lock users and Nest Detect users that use Nest Hub Max as a range extender between their device, and their Nest Connect or Nest Guard, which connects their lock or open/close sensors to Wi-Fi. Once this update rolls out, Nest Hub Max will no longer support extender functionality for the Nest x Yale Lock and Nest Detect. At that time, users whose locks are out of range of their Nest Connect or Nest Guard will not be able to lock or unlock their lock with the Nest app. Users will still be able to lock and unlock the door using the keypad on Nest x Yale Lock. Nest Detects that are out of range of Nest Connect or Nest Guard will not be able to connect to Wi-Fi and will go offline.

If you’re affected by this change and your lock or open/close sensor go offline, you will need to move your Nest Connect or Nest Guard closer to your lock or open/close sensor so your device can connect to Wi-Fi through either device.

If you’re affected by this change, prepare yourselves.

Read the original post: Google Warns Nest x Yale Lock, Nest Detect Owners of Upcoming ‘Range Extender’ Change

Buying a ZTE here in the US phone may not be “hip” these days, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t say I was at least a bit curious about the company’s latest flagship phone. The Axon 40 Ultra just went on sale and after looking over the spec sheet as well as the software features that ZTE has built on top of Android 12, plus when you factor in the $799 price, it’s absolutely worth a look.

For well below $1K, the Axon 40 Ultra includes a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, a base model of 8GB RAM + 128GB storage, 6.8-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and under-display selfie camera, 5,000mAh battery with 65W fast charging, dual SIM slot, dual speakers, under-display fingerprint reader, triple rear camera system (with dual Sony IMX 787 sensors), and Android 12.

More on the software, ZTE is committing to security patch updates every 3 months (no mention of how many years that support lasts), as well as upgrading the device to Android 13 by the end of August. On the features side, ZTE has baked in many things for its rear-facing cameras, such as Smart Moon (multiple shots and image calculations to magnify the moon to a level that mimics that of the naked eye), Star Enhancement, an AI-powered Constellation Connection feature, Super Night Video, as well as Dual OIS and EIS for system wide stabilization.

If you’re ready to give something other than a Pixel, OnePlus, or Samsung device a try, why not ZTE? I may ask for a review unit and see about giving this device a shot. It really doesn’t look all too bad at that $799 price.

Buy Axon 40 Ultra

Read the original post: ZTE Axon 40 Ultra Available in US for $799, Has All the Specs You Want

The Nothing Phone (1) won’t be fully revealed for another couple of weeks, but because we’re just running back the early OnePlus playbook, the teases are only intensifying. Today, we get the biggest of them yet, with an MKBHD hands-on that shows off a lot of the features coming to the back of the phone and its fun LED lights.

In the video, Marques shows off several good angles of the phone, which does indeed have that squared-off look you really only get with an iPhone. Make the iPhone 12 jokes all you want, I just think there’s still something unique here, even if that’s mostly because of the see-through glass and the now-confirmed LED lights on the backside that Nothing will use to highlight several functions.

Nothing has embedded several LED lights under the glass of the back of the phone. There are lights curving around the cameras, the wireless charging coil, and as accents in the top right corner and as a line that sort of extends up from the charging port. These lights will be used for all sorts of stuff, so hopefully if you buy one you don’t plan on using a case and are comfortable flipping it over to be face down on a surface all of the time.

Called the “Glyph Interface,” Nothing has programmed the phone to be able to light up for notifications and incoming calls, as you might have guessed. When those two items do trigger the lights, the lights will match the pattern or beat from those sounds, which is kind of cool. The video shows this in action for several sounds, all of which I believe are custom sounds made for this phone.

The Glyph Interface settings page also mentions “Google Assistant Feedback,” a “Flip to Glyph” feature, and an optional bedtime schedule. I’m not sure what kind of feedback it’ll give you from Google Assistant, but maybe it’s the lights mimicking the Assistant’s voice as it talks back to you? The flipping option is sort of like a do not disturb mode that puts your phone in silent while still flashing lights for notifications and such. And the bedtime schedule is likely a no-light mode for when you are sleeping. You can turn it all off if you want too.

As for other features, Nothing will let you turn the lights on when using the camera to better light an object. They’ll also use that bottom line to act as a charging status indicator that fills from top to bottom to give you an idea of battery percentage. The light doesn’t remain on all of the time when charging, but a little shake will wake it up for quick status checks.

And I think that’s mostly it. I’ve got to say, I really like these types of features on phones because they are at least different. They offer something new in a clever presentation. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, putting a case on it could take away some fun. I’m sure Nothing is making a case that’ll still showcase the lights, but you get what I mean. The other thing is that I am absolutely never comfortable putting my phone face down on a desk or countertop or any other surface and so that kind of eliminates the chances I’d ever really take advantage of this.

Either way, still fun even if not all that practical.

Read the original post: Here’s the Nothing Phone (1) and Its Fun Backside Lights in Action

The timing could be somewhat unfortunate if you realize the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is around the corner, but if you have been eyeing an upgrade to the Galaxy Z Fold 3 from a Fold 2, Samsung is willing to give you a lot of money for it today. They’ll also give you a free Galaxy Watch 4 too.

In a short-term deal that might disappear tomorrow, Samsung is handing out $1,200 discounts on the Galaxy Fold 3 if you trade-in a Galaxy Fold 2. With that discount, you could own a Fold 3 for as little as $599 with 256GB of storage. Should you own a Galaxy S21 Ultra or S20 Ultra instead of the older generation Fold, Samsung will give you $975 and $900 off, respectively. That’s not bad.

For the Galaxy Watch 4 part of this, during checkout, Samsung will let you choose a 40m Watch 4 in any color and with a band of your choice. That’s a $290 value on top of that big trade-in discount you just got.

As a reminder, Samsung gives you trade-in values as an instant discount today and asks for your old device later on to prove that your discount was warranted. It’s the best trade-in program in the business with sometimes bloated values like we are seeing here.

So again, I know that the Galaxy Fold 4 is around the corner and could have a couple of significant upgrades, but $599 for the Fold 3 is quite good. And yeah, free watches are nice bonuses too.

• Shop Galaxy Fold 3 + Watch 4 deals

Read the original post: Galaxy Z Fold 3 is Up to $1,200 Off and You Get a Free Galaxy Watch 4

Samsung Discover kicked off today, bringing with it a number of deals on Samsung’s best devices throughout the week. This yearly event has given us solid deals in the past, some of which sell through quicker than we can share.

To kick off Samsung Discover 2022, we have a deal on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, where Samsung is either doubling the storage at no extra cost or straight discounting higher storage models. And yeah, they’ll still give you $1,000 off for trades, assuming you have a Galaxy S21 Ultra or Galaxy Z Fold 3 to hand in.

For the storage promo, Samsung is doubling storage to 256GB on the Galaxy S22 Ultra and keeping the price matched to the 128GB model. If you think you might need 512GB storage, a $100 discount is included. If you want to go wild and buy the 1TB model, Samsung is dropping $150 off the price. So no matter what your needs, you are going to get at least 256GB of storage if you buy a Galaxy S22 Ultra.

In addition to the storage deal/bump, Samsung is still offering $1,000 off depending on the phone you have to trade-in. For now, The Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 3 are fetching $1,000 instant discounts, but you’ll also get $825 off for the Note 20 Ultra or Fold 2. Even the Galaxy S20 Ultra will get you $775 off. You can see the rest of the trade-in values here.

As a reminder, Samsung’s trade-in program is an instant discount program, meaning you get the value for your trade today. Should you buy a Galaxy S22 Ultra with 256GB and trade-in a Galaxy S21 Ultra, you would pay just $199. Hard to beat that price.

New Discover deals are supposed to pop up each day, so even if you didn’t like this deal, stay tuned for more. We’ll do our best to point out the good ones as the week moves along.

• Shop Samsung Discover and Galaxy S22 Ultra deals

Read the original post: Samsung Discover Week Starts With Double Storage on Galaxy S22 Ultra, $1000 Off Trades

Telegram, the messaging app that has seen enormous growth in recent years, announced a premium tier for users who want a little extra and also as a way to help the platform generate a little money and remain free to use. Unlike Twitter’s Blue subscription, Telegram is adding features you might want to pay for.

Things like bigger file uploads, faster download speeds, double the amount of folders and channels you can access, voice-to-text transcriptions, unique stickers, badges, and premium app icons have all been announced. You get the feeling that this is only the beginning, though. If you are a big time Telegram user (not just a casual chat guy), subscribing might be worth it.

Here’s everything included in Telegram Premium.

• 4GB file uploads: Telegram is doubling the file size you can share from 2GB to 4GB. On the flip side of this, know that all free users will be able to download (or receive) those 4GB files from a Premium user.
• Faster downloads: Premium subscribers will be able to download “as fast as your network can keep up” with no limits on speeds. For everyone else, things could be slower at times.
• Double chats, folders, channels and more: For Premium, Telegram is doubling a number of items like groups and channels (500 to 1000), pinned chats (5 to 10), public links (10 to 20), saved GIFs (200 to 400), 20 chat folders with up to 200 chats each, and up to 10 favorite stickers. You’ll also be able to add a fourth Telegram account and write more in your Bio, with the option to add a link.
• Voice-to-text transcriptions: When voice messages come through, Premium users will see a button that will attempt to transcribe them into text, should you be in a situation where you can’t listen.
• Unique stickers: Telegram continues to push its dozens of full-screen animation stickers that are available for Premium users, but that will show animations to all users.
• Unique reactions: Premium users will get more reaction emoji, with over 10 options to choose from.
• Chat management: Premium subscribers can better manage their chat setup, with an option to choose a default folder or have the app always open to a custom folder, like unread messages instead of all messages.
• Animated profile pictures: Want a livelier profile picture? Premium users can add a profile video that then acts as an animated profile image for all users to see.
• Premium badge: If you pay for Premium, you’ll get a special badge to show off.
• Premium app icons: Paying for Premium also means you’ll get premium icons to chose from for your home screen.
• No ads: In some countries and in some public channels, there are ads or “Sponsored Messages” – Premium makes those go away.

Quite the list, right? A lot of the new Premium features are only going to be beneficial to Telegram power users with massive lists of contacts or group chats or channel subscriptions, or who send lots of large files. However, things like voice-to-text of audio messages, more reactions, animated profile pictures, all of the cool new chat management stuff, and faster downloads would probably be useful for most of us.

So how much is Telegram Premium? The price varies depending on region, but it looks like Telegram will charge $4.99/mo here in the US.

Telegram is rolling out the Premium subscription, so you’ll want to be on the lookout for an update depending on your platform of choice.

Google Play Link: Telegram

Read the original post: Telegram Launches Premium Tier With a Ton of Features

To start the weekend, Drake released a new album titled “Honestly, Nevermind,” a super vibey summer dance album that is unlike almost anything the rapper has released. Whether the singsongy form of Drake is your favorite or not, at least one of the songs helped spark an Android moment.

The third track on the album is called “Texts Go Green,” a reference to green bubbles in Apple’s iMessage. Drake is likely referring to a person getting a green bubble after they are blocked, but Google looked at this as a moment to once again pitch RCS to Apple.

In a video explainer, Google talks about green bubbles that show up when your Android phone texts an iPhone. We all know the toxicity surrounding the color of the bubble that appears when you message an iPhone, and yeah, it probably is a problem Apple should try and fix. Google mentions that in suggesting that someone from Apple’s “super talented engineering team” could fix this. In fact, Google’s video says specifically that “this is a problem only Apple can fix.”

What’s the fix? Apple would need to adopt RCS or Rich Communication Services. RCS is the advanced messaging that Android phones use now, which allows for proper media sharing, bigger group texts, messaging over WiFi, and encryption (only in 1-on-1 conversations for now). RCS is great, but Apple has had all of its features (and then some) built into its own messages app for some time. Apple has (successfully) used iMessage as a major selling point for iPhones for years and really has no reason to consider RCS, outside of stopping the green bubble nonsense.

On a funny note, Google actually Tweeted this #TextsGoGreen video two other times, but deleted because they first forgot the hearts at the end at first and then used too many hearts on the second one. I saw the Tweets as Google was posting them Saturday and kept wondering where they went. They finally settled on ending in just a single green heart.

Anyways, who knows if Apple will ever adopt RCS. I’m not sure they’ve talked about it much publicly. One thing we do know is that they were strongly considering bringing iMessage over to Android at one point, only to shutdown the idea because they knew iMessage helped keep iPhone owners on new iPhones.

Read the original post: Android Uses Drake’s “Texts Go Green” to Keep Pitching RCS to Apple

Prepaid is typically one of those plan types that you subscribe to because you want the flexibility to pay as you use a wireless carrier’s service or because you aren’t sure what the future holds. But what if you could lock-in a super low prepaid price with extra data by paying more money upfront? AT&T is hoping that sounds appealing.

For a limited time, AT&T Prepaid is hosting a deal on a prepaid plan that gets you 16GB of high-speed data to use each month at a really tasty price of $25/mo. However, there’s a bit of a catch here. In order to get the price that low, you actually have to pay for 12-months of service, so you are really paying $300 today.

This specific plan typically only has 8GB of data, so AT&T is doubling it to 16GB and then dropping the price like crazy. Comparable plans on Verizon feature 15GB of data at $50/mo, while T-Mobile’s closest is 10GB of data at $40/mo. You can see here how good of a deal AT&T’s plan is, assuming you want to pay them $300 today.

This 16GB prepaid plan from AT&T has HD streaming (1080p), rollover data, mobile hotspot, talk/text/data in Mexico and Canada, and unlimited texting to over 230 countries. It also has unlimited talk and text in the US, like every plan.

The $300 or $25/mo deal is going to be around for a while (October), so if you don’t have the $300 today, you have some time to think it over. You can shop the deal at AT&T’s site.

Read the original post: AT&T Prepaid Deal Gets you 16GB of Data for $25/mo, But You Need to Prepay a Year

A big part of owning a watch is personalizing it with a watch band that represents your style. Whether you like a sporty band or a dressier leather piece, there are countless options on the market for watch owners who want to change the vibes from day to day. Unfortunately, for most Android watches, finding a new watch band has meant running over to Amazon and buying cheap $5 bands that feel like you are one good sweat away from it causing a skin rash or burn. What I’m saying is that quality first party bands aren’t common, unless you own an Apple Watch.

For the upcoming Pixel Watch, Google is reportedly working on having a decent line-up available, which we hope means good quality. The folks at 9to5Google heard from sources who believe Google has at least 7 bands on the way, like the rubber/silicone strap seen above that should come on the Pixel Watch out of the box.

The rest of the watch bands Google could release for the Pixel Watch include a Milanese-style band, metal link bracelet, a couple of leather options, plus fabric and stretch bands. I’d imagine there will be several colors of some styles as well, in case you were considering 7 to be too few.

Of course, first party or “Made for Google” accessories likely means a price well north of those cheap bands I just complained about that I buy too often from Amazon. If you need an idea of the types of prices we could see, think of the standard Apple Watch Sport Band (like the Pixel Watch band above) at $49 or Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 sport bands at $39.99. Each also offers Milanese and metal link bracelets that range from $79 up to $449. I can’t imagine Google coming in much cheaper than either of those.

To recap, it sounds like Google is preparing for a big Pixel Watch launch that should include a decent range of accessories out of the gate. You love to hear that, but now we need to learn more about its supposedly-dated, yet still customized chip.

Read the original post: Pixel Watch Could Get a Bunch of Watch Band Options From Google