Latest news with #JoeMaring
Android Authority
4 hours ago
- Android Authority
I hated Google Photos' AI search feature, but after the latest update, I love it
Joe Maring / Android Authority At Google I/O 2024, Google introduced the world to 'Ask Photos.' It was a new Gemini-powered search experience for Google Photos that would enable you to use natural language to easily find pictures in your library. The pitch sounded great and like a legitimately good use of AI. Unfortunately, Ask Photos' implementation fell short. I've been using Ask Photos for the last several months, and in almost every scenario, it's been significantly worse than the old search experience. Between slow loading times and a really unintuitive UI, Ask Photos has made searching for things in Google Photos horribly frustrating. Given that, you can imagine my excitement when Google started rolling out a new and improved Ask Photos this past week. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but having now used it, I think it's brilliant. The new Ask Photos search vs. the old version Joe Maring / Android Authority Old Ask Photos (left) and the new Ask Photos Previously, the Google Photos search experience was essentially split into two versions. If you used Ask Photos, you'd get a reply to your search or question with a handful of photo results in a bizarre, horizontally scrolling list. You could tap the 'View more' button below to see more results in a vertical list, or tap 'Use classic search' at the top of the page to perform the same search using Google Photos' standard search tool. The initial results in that horizontal list were often far too limited, while the 'View more' option displayed a lengthy list of additional pictures in a seemingly random order with no organization. The classic search still worked well, but there was no way to switch it as the default option over Ask Photos, making it far more complicated to access than it should have been. Old Ask Photos Old Ask Photos Old Ask Photos With this new version of Ask Photos, Google has essentially taken the old version of the feature and combined it with the classic Google Photos search to create one, much more intuitive search experience. In the old Ask Photos screenshots above, there's a Gemini-written reply and a horizontal list of about a dozen images below it. Tapping 'View more' displays additional pictures of my dog, but they're in a randomized order that I have no control over. If I want a structured list of results, I have to tap 'Use classic search,' which takes me to a separate page to view my photos that way. New Ask Photos New Ask Photos New Ask Photos The new Ask Photos, by comparison, highlights 'Best match' photos at the top of the screen, accompanied by the same Gemini reply below. You can tap to see more of those 'Best match' photos, or simply start scrolling to see a reverse chronological list of photos matching your search term — just like the classic search did. There's also a checkmark button to select all photos from a given date, as well as a dropdown arrow that displays other photos from that day. Now, instead of having two distinctly separate pages of search results, the new Ask Photos displays both Gemini AI results and classic search results on the same page. It's so much cleaner and so much more convenient. While that's the biggest and best change, there are other tweaks that I love, too. Joe Maring / Android Authority When you search for something in the new Ask Photos, it initially displays that reverse chronological list of pictures and then shows a 'Writing reply' loading bar before it spits out the best match results and the AI summary. If you don't care about those things, you can tap the stop button next to 'Writing reply' to keep the Gemini stuff out of your search results. Further, simple search queries (such as searching the name of a person or pet) don't come with an AI-written summary at all. And if you want to go a step further, you can even altogether disable Gemini from ever showing up in your searches. To do so, tap your profile icon in the top-right and then Photo settings -> Preferences -> Gemini features in Photos. Do you prefer the new or old Ask Photos? 0 votes Old NaN % New NaN % This is what Ask Photos should have always been Joe Maring / Android Authority Having now spent a day with this new version of Ask Photos, I'm seriously impressed with how well it works and equally confused as to why this isn't what Google shipped in the first place. Where the old Ask Photos felt like a bad experiment that only made searching in Google Photos worse, this improved version feels like a legitimate upgrade, not only over the old Ask Photos but over the classic search, too. I'm seriously impressed with the new Ask Photos. Now, is it perfect? I'm not sure if I would go that far. Loading times can sometimes be a bit slower than I'd like, and some of the suggested search queries (namely, the 'Write a poem about me' one) are just silly. But compared to what we had before, this is unquestionably better. Google says the new Ask Photos is 'starting to roll out to more eligible users in the U.S.', so it may still be a little bit before it's live on your phone. But I hope you get it soon, because it's taken one of the worst aspects of modern Google Photos and turned it into one of the best.
Android Authority
17 hours ago
- Android Authority
Google Photos won't downgrade your edited HDR pictures to SDR anymore
Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR HDR photos in Google Photos now keep their full dynamic range and HDR metadata when edited with tools like Photo Unblur and Magic Eraser. The app now has an 'Ultra HDR' tool for brightening images. SDR photos can now be enhanced to HDR. Google is rolling out some improvements to how high dynamic range (HDR) and standard dynamic range (SDR) images are edited in the Photos app. The update will keep HDR photos from getting downgraded to SDR. Google is also updating a couple of its HDR tools. In the past, if you used editing tools like Photo Unblur or Magic Eraser, a copy of your HDR picture would be created in SDR. As Google explained in 2024, this was because its editing tools were 'developed for SDR images, with models expecting SDR images as inputs and producing SDR images as outputs.' However, the tech giant has now made improvements to these tools so your photos maintain their quality. According to Google, your HDR pictures will now 'keep their full dynamic range and crucial HDR metadata even after editing with features like Photo Unblur, Magic Eraser, and Portrait Light.' As a result, the contrast and highlights in your images will remain intact. Google Photos also has a new 'Ultra HDR' tool for adjusting a photo's brightness. Meanwhile, the previous HDR is getting renamed to 'Tone.' The company says the rename is meant to reflect the real purpose of the tool. Furthermore, it was announced that you'll be able to turn SDR images into HDR photos. This means you can give your old SDR photos more visual pop with deeper contrasts and brighter highlights. This is a timely update as it follows news that Google is unpausing the Ask Photos rollout. Ask Photos is an AI-powered feature designed to answer questions about the contents of your photo library. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Android Authority
a day ago
- Android Authority
Delivery message alerts could be coming to Now Brief (APK teardown)
Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR Now Brief may soon alert you about package deliveries. The feature will remind you how many messages you received about deliveries for that day. Since debuting on One UI 7, Samsung has continued to flesh out the Now Brief feature. Earlier today, we reported that Samsung is working on adding info cards for parking spot reminders, smart home alerts, and wearable battery warnings. Now we have found that it could gain another pretty useful type of alert. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. Whether it's to prevent theft, ensure your package isn't lost in the mail, or you just can't wait to get your hands on your order, you always want to know about the status of your delivery. Instead of having to keep a constant eye out for a notice, you may soon be able to rely on Now Brief to tell you when you receive a message about your package. Hiding in the Samsung Messages app (version 16.1.10.7) are some strings of code that reference Now Brief and delivery messages. According to these strings, Now Brief will let you know if you have any messages related to a delivery or multiple deliveries that day. It will also tell you how many messages you received about that delivery. Code Copy Text 4515 You got %1$s%2$d messages today about a delivery%3$s. %d unread messages, including 1 package delivery message This news follows an earlier report that revealed Samsung is still working on new features for its Messages app, despite telling users the app was being shut down. These features included birthday reminders, location sharing, emoji and sticker reactions, and Now Bar alerts about suspicious, malicious, and blocked messages. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Android Authority
a day ago
- Business
- Android Authority
This lesser-known T-Mobile discount may be on its way out the door eventually
Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR T-Mobile is phasing out its Philo and YouTube TV discount perk, though it might remain available for up to two more years. Customers will now pay Philo directly but receive reimbursement as a T-Mobile account credit. Those affected should monitor future communications from T-Mobile closely, as the offer might end earlier. If you've been with T-Mobile for a while, you might recall that it initially tried to break into the TV market with its TVision service. After less than a year, the service shut down. Before exiting, it offered discounted TV service through either Philo or YouTube TV as an alternative for its subscribers. Unfortunately, it appears that this perk may finally be ending, though the good news is that the change could still be two years away. As first noted by Redditor Shaki8, T-Mobile is sending alerts to customers with the Philo TV discount, indicating it will now cover the service via a credit for up to 24 months rather than paying Philo directly. In short, you'll pay the full Philo bill yourself, but T-Mobile will continue crediting your T-Mobile account. This change isn't too surprising, as T-Mobile initially offered Hulu (with ads) using a similar discount code system that applied directly to your Hulu account, before integrating the perk with T-Mobile billing instead. The difference between Hulu here is that you'll still have to pay for Philo separately, but you'll get a small monthly discount on your T-Mobile bill, though the email notes it may take one to two billing cycles for this to kick in. The 'up to 24 months' phrasing also suggests the offer could technically end sooner, but T-Mobile doesn't provide further details in the email. While it's understandable that T-Mobile is revising the terms and ending the discount after 24 months — especially since it was essentially a farewell gift for TV subscribers — those using the Philo or YouTube TV discount should watch for future notices about upcoming changes. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Android Authority
a day ago
- Android Authority
If you're using Android 16, you should turn on this important security feature ASAP
Joe Maring / Android Authority It's been just about two weeks since Google launched Android 16, and for the most part, it's an update that came and went without too much fanfare. I've been playing around with Android 16 on my Pixel 9a since the update was released, but it wasn't until a few days ago that I finally enabled Advanced Protection — a new security feature tucked away in the Settings app. Advanced Protection enables a load of robust security features for your phone with the flick of a switch, including safeguards for your phone's web browsing, network connection, and more. Having now used Advanced Protection myself, I'm convinced that anyone with a phone running Android 16 needs to enable it. If you have Android 16, are you using Advanced Protection? 0 votes Yes NaN % No NaN % Why Advanced Protection is so good Joe Maring / Android Authority Right off the bat, Advanced Protection is designed to be incredibly easy to use. In fact, there's really not much for you to interact with outside of turning the feature on. Once Advanced Protection is enabled, numerous security measures for device hardware safety, apps, networks, web browsing, and phone calls are immediately activated. The full list of security measures, as explained in Android 16, is as follows: Theft Detection Lock : Locks automatically when motion indicates theft. : Locks automatically when motion indicates theft. Offline Device Lock : Locks automatically when your device is offline. : Locks automatically when your device is offline. Inactivity reboot : Restarts device if it remains locked for 3 days. : Restarts device if it remains locked for 3 days. Google Play Protect : Scans for unsafe apps and malware. : Scans for unsafe apps and malware. Unknown apps : Blocks installation of apps from unknown sources. : Blocks installation of apps from unknown sources. Memory tagging extension : Protects against memory corruption in supported apps. : Protects against memory corruption in supported apps. 2G network protection : Avoids 2G networks, which are less secure. : Avoids 2G networks, which are less secure. Android Safe Browsing : Live threat protection blocks harmful web pages. : Live threat protection blocks harmful web pages. Chrome browsing : Warns you before you visit non-HTTPS sites. : Warns you before you visit non-HTTPS sites. JavaScript protections : Turns off some advanced capabilities to reduce risk. : Turns off some advanced capabilities to reduce risk. Caller ID & spam : Identifies business and spam numbers. : Identifies business and spam numbers. Automatic Call Screen: Screens suspicious calls & declines spam. As you can probably tell from skimming that list, none of these things are actually new to Android. However, instead of having to configure everything here individually and manually, it's all set up for you the second you turn on Advanced Protection. Some features, like Google Play Protect and Automatic Call Screen, I already had enabled on my Pixel 9a. However, I was slightly apprehensive that some of the more advanced settings, particularly those related to web browsing, would be noticeable (and annoying) in daily use. As it turns out, I haven't noticed them at all. In fact, after about a week with Advanced Protection enabled, I don't notice any difference with my Pixel 9a compared to when the feature was turned off. That means there's not too much to say about what it's like using an Android phone with Advanced Protection, because it ultimately doesn't feel any different from an Android phone without it. For a feature like this, that's just about the highest praise I can give Advanced Protection. All of my apps work the same, my web browsing is no different, and my mobile data hasn't gotten worse either. Quite literally, everything about my phone is the same today as before I enabled Advanced Protection. Given all of that, I don't see any reason not to use the feature. Even if you aren't a security or privacy nut, it takes all of two seconds to activate Advanced Protection to better safeguard your phone without any impact on how you use it day-to-day. How to turn on Advanced Protection in Android 16 Joe Maring / Android Authority If I've convinced you to enable Advanced Protection on your Android 16 device, the good news is that finding and turning on the feature is dead simple. To do so, simply do the following: Open the Settings app on your Android 16 device. on your Android 16 device. Tap Security & privacy . . Scroll down the page and tap Advanced Protection . . Tap the toggle next to Device protection . . Tap Turn on on the pop-up that appears. on the pop-up that appears. Tap Restart to restart your device to fully activate Advanced Protection. And that's it! Once you restart your phone (either immediately or later on), Advanced Protection is up and running in the background and using all of the tools mentioned above to keep your phone safer. Advanced Protection isn't a particularly exciting feature. It doesn't give you anything new to play with and doesn't make your phone look or feel any different. But it's such a quick and easy way to enable essential safety features that anyone can benefit from, and as such, I think it's a must-have for anyone with Android 16.
