Google Pixel 6a gets urgent update to prevent fire risk, overheating
Product Safety Australia said incidents involving Google Pixel 6a devices have resulted in 'serious burn injuries'.
A mandatory update has been pushed to a number of phones to reduce the risk, and devices only need to be updated rather than returned.
A range of Google Pixel smartphones have been recalled over risks they could catch fire and burn users. Picture: Supplied
The firmware update was released on 8 July, which included battery management features which mitigate the risk.
Not all Pixel 6a devices are affected by the issue, and the new battery management system will be activated once affected devices reach 400 battery cycles.
People whose phones are affected may be eligible for compensation from Google, and can check online to see if they can get a repair, cash payment or discount credit.
The phones have been sold at major retailers across the country, including Telstra, Optus, JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks and Harvey Norman.
The affected devices were sold between 16 June 2022 and 10 April 2025.
Brendan Kearns
Cadet Journalist
Brendan Kearns is a cadet journalist with News Corp Australia. He has written for The Australian, the Herald Sun, the Geelong Advertiser, CHOICE, Cosmos, and The Citizen. He won Democracy's Watchdogs' Student Award for Investigative Journalism 2024 and hosted the third season of award-winning podcast Uncurated. He studied as Master of Journalism at The University of Melbourne, before that he worked as a video producer and disability worker.
@brendandkearns
Brendan Kearns
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
19 minutes ago
- 7NEWS
Cadillac won't ditch Apple CarPlay, Android Auto in Australia
Cadillac will not force buyers to go without a couple of increasingly popular features in Australia. Parent company General Motors sparked the ire of many consumers when it announced it wouldn't offer its latest generation of electric vehicles (EVs) with smartphone mirroring apps Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It pivoted away from these features despite their growing popularity and ubiquity in the new-car market – a 2024 McKinsey survey, for example, showed 30 per cent of global EV buyers consider the absence of these features a deal-breaker. However, this decision doesn't affect Australian buyers, who'll still have access to these while also gaining a suite of connected services. 'All Cadillac Lyriq, Lyriq-V, Vistiq and Optiq vehicles coming to Australia and New Zealand will offer Cadillac Connected Services as well as wireless smartphone projection, which is currently available in Lyriq models (i.e. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto),' said a GM spokesperson. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. Cadillac announced last month it was rolling out Cadillac Connected Services in Australia, starting with what's currently its only model – the large Lyriq electric SUV – late in 2025. Buyers will get eight years of complimentary access. Customers who take delivery of a Lyriq prior to the launch of Cadillac Connected Services will be able to get them courtesy of a complimentary upgrade at a Cadillac Service location. This suite of technology includes mobile app connectivity, over-the-air update capability, and what the brand refers to as Connected Infotainment – essentially Cadillac-speak for the presence of Google built-in, featuring embedded Google apps such as Google Maps and Google Assistant, with more available to download via the Google Play Store. This also features smart routing. Google Maps will tell you what your battery percentage will be at the end of your journey, and suggest charging stops if necessary along your route. The Cadillac smartphone app will allow you to remotely check the vehicle's status including its location and charge level, and control the locks, alarm, lights, windows and air-conditioning. This kind of app-based connectivity has become extremely common in recent years in Australia after previously being the exclusive domain of brands like Tesla. In many cases, brands have finally rolled it out in Australia after having had it in markets like the US for several years already – Hyundai and Toyota being examples of this. One key piece of technology GM offers in North America but hasn't announced plans to roll out here is Super Cruise. This allows hands-free driving across over a million kilometres of roads on the continent. GM has said Australian legislation doesn't support the feature's use locally, and the cost to map a country is in the millions of dollars. Cadillac commenced local deliveries of the Lyriq earlier this year, and next year it'll be joined by the smaller Optiq and larger, three-row Vistiq crossover SUVs, plus a hot version called the Lyriq-V. It's continuing with its plans to be an electric-only brand in Australia, and has previously spoken of selling models in 'exclusive volumes'. It has just one Australian retail location for now, in Sydney, with another to open in Brisbane this year.
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
2025 Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid review
Bargain hunters looking for a cut-price plug-in hybrid SUV might have just found 'the one'. The Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid is Australia's most affordable PHEV, with a staggering start price of just $39,990 drive-away for the base model Urban, while the more richly-specified Ultimate is $43,990 drive-away. That positions it some $20,000 less than a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, and it even undercuts the aggressively priced BYD Sealion 6 PHEV (from about $45,000 drive-away). It doesn't miss on equipment either, with standard inclusions like LED lighting, 18-inch alloy wheels, twin 10.25-inch screens inside, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, power driver's seat adjust and more. The pricier one adds different wheels, a panoramic glass roof, heated and ventilated front seats, driver's seat memory settings, a wireless phone charger and a surround-view camera system. That's in addition to the full host of active safety tech you'd expect, including autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping, adaptive cruise control and even speed sign recognition and a driver monitoring camera system. Thankfully, there are no incessant unnecessary chimes, and the safety systems are pretty well considered. This five-seat SUV is spacious and well appointed inside, though taller occupants might find the passenger front seat a little high. The back seat is comfortable and spacious enough for adults, and there are the requisite child seat considerations (ISOFIX x2, top-tether x3). It has a decent boot that is big enough for a family's worth of suitcases, but sadly misses out on a spare wheel, making do with a tyre repair kit instead. The powertrain comprises a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine teamed with a grunty electric motor, and they both employ a single-speed hybrid transmission to send power to the front wheels only. There's no AWD model available. It has a claimed EV driving range of 93km from its 18.3kWh battery pack, which is going to do the job for the majority of commuters to get to work and back in full EV mode. It can drive up to 120km/h in EV when the battery charge is above 30 per cent. Once you deplete the battery to a certain point (typically around 20 per cent) it will employ the petrol engine and run in HEV (hybrid) mode, using the engine when it's necessary, or employing the electric motor to keep things moving, or using a combo of both. And it is a very smooth and extremely quiet operator. I didn't get to do a full EV range test, but most vehicles at the launch event got at least 75km of EV driving before the engine kicked in, and when it did, the efficiency was impressive. With a 'depleted' battery in HEV mode, I saw a displayed average fuel consumption of just 4.5L/100km. While that's clearly higher than the claim, it should still mean a theoretical full-fill distance of at least 1000km. Now, if you're an enthusiastic driver, this one mightn't tick the box for you. It is rough riding over bumps, and the steering is light and hard to judge despite having some nibbly feedback at times. The tyres fitted to the Tiggo 7 aren't great, considering they need to harness so much pulling power at the front axle, and while there are adjustable settings for the regenerative braking, it has a pedal feel that is unnatural when you're trying to cruise along in traffic. If you want, there's a clever cruise control system that can start, stop and steer for you, but I found it too unnatural. The brand offers a seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty for the vehicle, and eight years/unlimited km for the battery pack. Servicing is every 12 months/15,000km, and there's a seven-year capped-price plan, too. As a commuter car it could be a very cost-effective option. But it may also be worth considering the seven-seat Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid, which is just a bit pricier but delivers a better drive and more practicality. 3.0 stars Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid FUEL USE: 1.4L/100km BATTERY: 18.3kWh
News.com.au
6 hours ago
- News.com.au
Aussie plan to get AI to fill labour shortages, speed up home building
The Aussie dream is set be given a science fiction makeover, with aspiring property buyers told they could soon be served up houses created, designed and delivered by artificial intelligence. AI is set to muscle its way onto NSW construction sites as new technology is rolled out that promises to slash building times, cut costs and drag the state out of its deepening housing crisis. The AI-driven building systems are expected to help streamline the manufacturing of key housing components like framing and modular fittings, while guiding the assembly process on site. This would potentially smooth choke points in the construction process and help overcome critical labour shortages that have plagued the building industry since the pandemic. Chandolin Construction, partnering with Cuby Technologies, is one of the groups championing the AI rollout, with three pilot projects underway across the state and plans to roll out about 200-300 homes using the technology next year. The plan from there is to scale up the technology for bulk housing production in larger estates. Chandolin Construction director Sarah Dimitrievski said the process 'transforms housing from a labour-intensive construction process into a digitally controlled manufacturing system'. The technology allows much of the construction process to be integrated into one production workflow, minimising the effect of weather delays, subcontractor bottlenecks and tradie wait times. It deploys Mobile Micro-Factories (MMFs) – portable, containerised production facilities that fabricate home components. Once kit is out the manufacturing site, the AI tech guides on how shipping containers should be packed for optimal construction. The containers are then sent to the building site. The process is QR coded. 'It drastically reduces the time, cost and labour required to build high-quality homes, delivering units in 30 to 60 days at a cost that is often one third below traditional methods,' Ms Dimitrievski said. 'This unlocks the ability to scale housing supply rapidly, even in regions with tight labour markets or high material costs, making it an ideal solution for Australia's housing shortage.' Housing Industry Association chief economist Tim Reardon said AI could be a 'real opportunity' for the industry. It was unlikely to put skilled trades out of work but could lower the burden of white collar labour costs involved in regulatory compliance, including in the planning approval process, Mr Reardon said. 'There's more white collar people involved in building a house these days trying to cope with red tape and regulatory requirements of building – which has made homes increasingly expensive – it is in that area that AI presents enormous opportunity,' he said. 'I think that what we're going to see is two particular components of homebuilding that will be really amenable to that and that is the engineering component and the planning component.' Ms Dimitrievski said the kit of parts made with AI-co-ordinated methods includes structural steel frames, PIR-insulated wall panels, helical pier foundations and prefabricated service cores. The materials are industrial-grade, fire, mould, pest and rot-resistant and are engineered for energy efficiency and long lifespan, she added. Ms Dimitrievski said home layouts, facades and finishes can all be tailored to the local market or client preferences. Home buyers have the option to personalise their builds with pre-approved modules. 'If you want each of those homes can be different, however, we're probably going to be doing bulk estates for housing – because we want to get a lot of homes out,' she said. Mr Reardon said AI could inevitably reshape employment in the sector. 'It does mean more homes and therefore more homebuilding which will employ more people. It is simply shifting the cost from nonproductive engagement to productive engagement of the labour force,' he said. 'That argument that AI will take peoples jobs is no different to what we saw in the industrial revolution – it's not that technology takes people's jobs, it does change roles. 'AI won't take your job. Somebody that knows how to use AI will.'
