OnePlus has chosen to end the year with a bang by launching its newest flagship phone, the OnePlus 12, in China. The announcement comes just months after Google launched its own Google Pixel 8 Pro, though you’ll need to wait a bit longer to get your hands on the OnePlus phone in the UK and … [Read more…]
After taking a week’s break from this column to focus on Black Friday, we’re back with another edition of Winners and Losers. You won’t be surprised to hear that much of our attention over the past week was won over by all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. However, there were still a handful … [Read more…]
Google has announced a string of updates to Google Messages to celebrate a landmark of 1 billion users now on RCS messaging. One of the key updates is the ability to customise the colour of the message bubbles within a chat, with users able to pick a different colour (including the background) for every chat. … [Read more…]
The time is nigh. That inactive Google account you probably set up for a spare email to get another free trial of a streaming service, could be among those culled this week. Back in May, Google announced it was deleting personal accounts that had been inactive for at least two years, starting with those that … [Read more…]
Amazon has sliced the price of the Pixel 7a for Black Friday and improved on Google’s already impressive price for the excellent Android phone. Both Google itself and Amazon have slashed £70 off the £449 RRP of the Pixel 7a, but buy through Amazon and you’ll also bag yourself a charger. That’s something you’ll have … [Read more…]
Google ditched the classic SMS/MMS messaging protocol with RCS, which makes texting other Android users feel a lot more streamlined – and after literally years of campaigning from Google, Apple is finally going to adopt it too. Text messages are still a popular way of communication, although it seems like they are being slowly overtaken … [Read more…]
Are you one of those folks afflicted by your partner’s desire to take 100 of versions the same photo until they find one they’re happy enough to share on social media? The Instagram husband/wife phenomenon is real and it doesn’t half clog up the photo library on your smartphone. Luckily, Google Photos has a new … [Read more…]
Amid the constant incursion of AI into Google Search, the company is bringing back the human element with a new feature called Notes. The addition seeks to pair a Google Search user with an oddly specific request, with a user person who knows the answer but hasn’t yet shared it with the world. Save a … [Read more…]
It’s emerged that Google pays Apple a massive chunk of its advertising revenue from Safari web searches. Kevin Murphy, an economics professor at the University of Chicago, accidentally let slip that Google paid Apple a whopping 36% of any advertising revenue it earned from web searches through Apple’s own Safari web browser. As reported by … [Read more…]
Verdict Google’s mid-range series of smartphones has never been this good. While I would have liked to see better battery performance, the rest of the Pixel 7a is a triumph. Pros Excellent camera for the price Plenty of upgrades over the Pixel 6a Smart software Some nice colour options Cons Middling battery life Achingly slow … [Read more…]