Latest news with #techNews
Phone Arena
a day ago
- Phone Arena
Two Apple Watch models are reportedly about to get major upgrades — and one is long overdue
Mockup of an Apple Watch Ultra using Satellite Messaging. | Image credit — PhoneArena Apple is reportedly getting ready to update two of its smartwatches: the high-end Apple Watch Ultra and the more affordable SE model. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, both products are expected to launch later this year, bringing some much-needed changes to the lineup. The most significant update is coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3. Gurman first reported at the end of last year that this model could introduce satellite messaging, allowing users to send short messages even when they don't have access to cellular or Wi-Fi networks. If this feature arrives as expected, it would mark a major step toward making the Ultra a more independent device — especially useful for hikers, athletes, or anyone spending time off the grid. So far, the Apple Watch Ultra has seen only small changes since it launched in 2022. A new chip was added in 2023, and a black titanium option became available last year. A bigger feature like satellite connectivity would help justify an upgrade for current Ultra owners and give Apple something new to highlight in its fall lineup. At the same time, Apple is planning to refresh the Apple Watch SE. This is the company's entry-level model, aimed at people who want a smartwatch but don't need all the advanced features found in the Ultra or Series models. The current SE hasn't been updated since 2022, so a refresh is overdue. While details are still limited, we could see improvements like a faster chip, better battery life, or small design tweaks. Apple Watch SE 2 (2022) | Image credit – PhoneArena These updates come at a time when Apple's wearables business is showing signs of slowing down. The wearables, home, and accessories division saw a 7% drop in revenue last fiscal year. The Apple Watch alone fell more than 14% and could decline again this year. If satellite messaging does arrive, Apple would be among the first to offer such a feature in a consumer-grade smartwatch. While Garmin offers emergency satellite capabilities in some of its outdoor-focused wearables, the feature is not widespread across mainstream smartwatches. This could give Apple a competitive edge, especially among adventure and fitness enthusiasts who value reliable off-grid communication. It's encouraging to see Apple may be giving more attention to its smartwatch lineup, especially after a few years of minimal changes. A more capable Ultra model with satellite connectivity could open up new use cases, and a refreshed SE might attract more first-time smartwatch buyers. If executed well, these updates could help Apple regain some of the momentum it's lost in the wearables space. Still, the real test will be whether these new features translate into real-world value for everyday users — and whether Apple can balance innovation with the kind of reliability and polish that its customers expect. Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
Android Authority
3 days ago
- Android Authority
Google Maps makes starting a collaborative list less confusing
Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority TL;DR Google Maps is rolling out a tweaked sharing menu for places. When a place is selected, tapping on the Share chip will bring up a new Share sheet with options for: Share this place, Copy link, and Share as a collaborative list. In 2023, Google Maps introduced a feature to allow users to create collaborative lists with friends and family, consisting of places everyone wanted to visit. The process was as simple as selecting a place, tapping share, and finding the 'Add to list' option. Google Maps is now rolling out a change to the share sheet that makes the option to create a collaborative list more prominent. 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. Currently, if you select a place on Google Maps and tap on the Share chip, you will be greeted by a share sheet. This share sheet allows you to copy the link, choose individuals to share the link with, or choose which app you want to share the link in. Included among the apps is an option to 'Add to list,' which allows you to kick off a collaborative list in Maps with others. Old New An X (formerly Twitter) user who goes by @TechA7mad has tipped us off on a change to the share sheet that appears to be rolling out with version 25.26.01.774458481 of Google Maps. Our own Rita El Khoury has also recently spotted this new share sheet style. This new version of the share sheet now only shows three options: Share this place, Copy link, and Share as a collaborative list. While you'll still be able to share your link with others like before, this update simply makes the option to create a collaborative list clearer and more prominent. You can check out the video below to see it all in action. While it's nice that this change makes it clearer that you can create a collaborative list, the functionality of the share sheet feels less convenient as it now takes multiple steps to share the link with others. It may have been easier to just relabel the 'Add to list' option. 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
5 days ago
- Android Authority
Google Photos could soon suggest photos you may want to delete (APK teardown)
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google Photos may soon offer suggestions to help users clean up storage by deleting unnecessary photos. These suggestions will appear after users delete multiple photos. The feature will likely be optional, and the app could receive a corresponding setting to turn it off. Google Photos already offers a convenient way for users to free up storage space on their devices through the 'Manage storage' option. It lists photos and videos with large file sizes, blurry images, and screenshots that can be easily selected and deleted with a few taps. However, the app could soon offer a smarter solution. 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. We've found evidence of an upcoming feature in the latest Google Photos release (version 7.35) that could automatically suggest photos users may want to delete. Code related to the feature reveals that the app will offer these suggestions after users manually select and delete several photos. Code Copy Text We found some photos you might want to delete Clean up your library Try a new deleting experience whenever you select and delete %1$d or more photos We found more photos you might want to delete Review Review suggestions Turn off suggestions Delete suggestions appear whenever you select and delete %1$d or more photos Once the feature rolls out, Google Photos will highlight the new capability with a banner the first time users select and delete multiple photos. The banner will read: 'Try a new deleting experience whenever you select and delete %1$d or more photos.' Users will then see another pop-up titled 'Clean up your library,' with the message: 'We found some photos you may want to delete.' The strings indicate that users will be able to review the suggestions before deleting them. Google Photos will also receive a new setting related to this feature, allowing users to turn off the suggestions if they don't find them helpful. We couldn't surface the UI for this feature in the current Google Photos release, so we believe it may not roll out anytime soon. We'll monitor further development and share more details as soon as they become available. 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.
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Google changes its 'G' logo for the first time in a decade - can you spot the difference?
It is one of the most instantly recognisable symbols of any tech company. But now, Google has updated its iconic logo for the first time in a decade. In the new icon, the blocky red, yellow, green, and blue of the original 'G' has been replaced with a gentle gradient. This subtle update brings the search engine's design more in line with the gradient used by Google's Gemini AI. The new icon is now in use for the Google Search app on iOS and Google's Pixel phones with the Android operating system. However, Google is yet to roll out the gradient further, and the new design isn't currently visible on other Android phones or on web browsers. While some fans said they preferred the new look, many others roasted Google with memes mocking the subtlety of the change. So, can you spot the difference? For the first time in a decade, Google has updated its logo. Moving from the older icon with block colours (left) to a new version with a smooth gradient (right) One commenter joked that the new logo looked as if they had taken their glasses off On X, formerly Twitter, social media users joked that the new icon was so similar to the earlier design that it was almost impossible to spot the difference. Commenters joked that it looked like they had simply 'taken my glasses off' and said the designs were identical. Meanwhile, others took aim at the design process behind the updated look. One commenter wrote: 'Imagine how many PMs, designers, meetings, committees, and time was spent on adding a gradient to Google's new logo.' Another chimed in: 'Google app rebrand - Whatever you paid those designers, I would've done it for way less.' While one commenter jokingly asked: 'How many millions did they spend on this?' Likewise, some commenters simply found the new icon to be unattractive compared to the simplistic older design. Another tech fan asked 'how many millions' it took to design the new icon Commenters flooded social media with memes making fun of the newly designed icon One asked: 'Are they messing with us?' Another commenter bluntly added: 'The old logo is better.' However, the redesigned icon already has a few fans who prefer the blurred design. 'The new Google logo is looking good,' one social media user wrote. Another chipped in: 'Gradient looks better!' While another added: 'I like the new logo better.' The last time that Google updated its design was in 2015, when the company updated the full logo to a modern typeface called Product Sans. This was also the first introduction of the block colour 'G' logo, which has been synonymous with the company for the last 10 years. The new design did have some fans, who flocked to social media to defend the design choice One tech fan said they preferred the new logo At the time, Google said the decision to change the look was due to their rapid development of new products. In a statement at the time, Google said: 'As you'll see, we've taken the Google logo and branding, which were originally built for a single desktop browser page, and updated them for a world of seamless computing across an endless number of devices and different kinds of inputs.' This design is now the one which can be found on Google's physical signs at company offices and on Google devices like the Pixel 9. Google has not commented on whether this latest design will be used more widely or if the gradient effect will be applied to other Google apps, such as Gmail. Google did not respond to MailOnline's request for comment. WHERE DID GOOGLE'S 'DON'T BE EVIL' PHRASE ORIGINATE? For the last 24 years, the Silicon Valley giant has put the phrase 'Don't be evil' front and center in its code of conduct as a way of demonstrating that it wants Googlers to strive to do the right thing. 'Don't be evil' was first added to the company's corporate code of conduct in 2000 and was highly touted by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin over the years. The firm dedicated several paragraphs to the phrase in its code of conduct. But that has changed as part of an update to the code, made last month, which downgrades 'Don't be evil' to a single sentence at the bottom of the document. Here are the original paragraphs explaining Google's 'Don't be evil' principle: 'Don't be evil.' Googlers generally apply those words to how we serve our users. But 'Don't be evil' is much more than that. Yes, it's about providing our users unbiased access to information, focusing on their needs and giving them the best products and services that we can. But it's also about doing the right thing more generally – following the law, acting honorably, and treating co-workers with courtesy and respect. The Google Code of Conduct is one of the ways we put 'Don't be evil' into practice. It's built around the recognition that everything we do in connection with our work at Google will be, and should be, measured against the highest possible standards of ethical business conduct. We set the bar that high for practical as well as aspirational reasons: Our commitment to the highest standards helps us hire great people, build great products, and attract loyal users. Trust and mutual respect among employees and users are the foundation of our success, and they are something we need to earn every day. So please do read the Code, and follow both its spirit and letter, always bearing in mind that each of us has a personal responsibility to incorporate, and to encourage other Googlers to incorporate, the principles of the Code into our work. And if you have a question or ever think that one of your fellow Googlers or the company as a whole may be falling short of our commitment, don't be silent. We want – and need – to hear from you.
The Verge
09-05-2025
- The Verge
Whoop angers users over reneged free upgrade promises
Whoop just announced its new Whoop 5.0 fitness tracker yesterday, but some existing users are already calling foul. Previously, Whoop said people who had been members for at least six months would get free upgrades to next-generation hardware. Now, the company says that members hoping to upgrade from a Whoop 4.0 to 5.0 will have to pay up. Whoop is a bit different from other fitness trackers in that it runs entirely on a subscription membership model. Most wearable makers that have subscriptions will charge you for the hardware, and then customers have the option of subscribing to get extra data or features. A good example is the Oura Ring, where you buy the ring and then have the option of paying a monthly $6 subscription. Whoop, however, has until now said that you get the hardware for 'free' while paying a heftier annual subscription. Previously, Whoop promised users that whenever new hardware was released, existing members would be able to upgrade free of charge so long as they'd been a member for at least six months. However, that has since been scrubbed from Whoop's site — though it was there as recently as March 28th this year, according to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Screenshot: Whoop, Internet Archive On Whoop's current official 'How to upgrade' site, the company states that existing members have one of two options. They can either extend their membership by another 12 months and receive new Whoop 5.0 hardware 'at no extra cost,' or if they'd rather not extend, they can pay a one-time upgrade fee of either $49 for the regular Whoop 5.0 or $79 for the Whoop 5.0 MG, which includes EKG sensors. An official Reddit thread also notes that people who either joined or extended their membership in the past 30 days are eligible for a free upgrade. Understandably, Whoop fans are none too pleased. The r/Whoop subreddit is full of angry users who are accusing the company of misleading them. 'One of the main reasons I chose a Whoop over an Apple Watch was due to the free hardware upgrades,' writes one Redditor. 'Conveniently my 12 month subscription is up around the same time the Apple Watch is released. The cost isn't the issue, it's them changing what was promised.' 'I'm definitely cancelling mine now, over the Whoop hype. Was excited to see they had a nice update and deflated after I saw they went back on their word about not charging for future hardware,' writes another. The Verge reached out to Whoop for comment about why its changed its hardware upgrade policy, but didn't immediately receive a response. We'll update when we hear back. It's another example of how changes to subscriptions often results in customer backlash. Garmin recently angered its customer base by introducing a paid tier to the Garmin Connect app after years of touting its lack of a paywall. Oura also received hefty backlash when it introduced a subscription with its third-gen smart ring.
