That is Android Central’s Information Weekly, your go-to supply for a concise roundup of the week’s most important tech tales. That is the place we delve into the highest headlines that present the newest developments and improvements contributing to the digital panorama.
This week, we sort out the primary Android 15 preview, Samsung’s Galaxy Buds getting the magic of AI, Mark Zuckerberg calling Meta Quest 3 the perfect there’s within the VR market, Google is testing a brand new function in Google Search Labs, and Google One hits a big subscriber milestone.
Google drops first take a look at Android 15
Google launched Android 15 this week (Feb. 16), however the catch is that this construct is just for builders. Customers with Google’s cellular OS now get a sneak peek into Android 15. Nevertheless, the developer Preview would not reveal a lot in regards to the options that Android customers will get later this 12 months.
Nonetheless, the replace introduced in additional perception into Google’s rising concentrate on privateness and safety with their new model of Privateness Sandbox. It additionally offers customers the chance to customized ad experiences for cellular apps.
The tech large additionally added that Android 15 is stepping up its digicam sport for creators by including “new extensions for extra management over the digicam {hardware} and its algorithms on supported units.” This implies bettering on these low-light images and adjusting brightness with developments in flash energy.
Together with this, the developer preview additionally brings in a few of Android 14‘s options with Well being Join extensions that help new information sorts in health, diet, and extra.
The VR wars have begun
Mark Zuckerberg confirmed off his abilities as a tech reviewer on Tuesday (Feb. 13), as he took to Instagram to brag about his Meta Quest 3 after testing out the brand new Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional. He said that the Meta Quest 3 is “higher for the overwhelming majority of issues folks use blended actuality for” than the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional.
He filmed his Reel utilizing Quest 3’s mixed-reality cameras whereas noting it has “high-quality passthrough similar to Imaginative and prescient Professional.” Within the 3.5-minute video, Zuckerberg claimed to be “shocked” on the “trade-offs” Apple needed to make to the “consolation and ergonomics” to realize its epic 3660 x 3200 pixels per eye.
He additionally mentions that the Meta Quest comparatively weighs 120g much less and would not battle with “movement blur” when turning your head throughout passthrough, as many different impartial Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional reviewers have been complaining about.
Closing off, he did give Apple some brownie factors for getting the next decision and eye monitoring. He then dropped hints in regards to the Meta Quest 4, stating that the Quest Professional had eye-tracking sensors first and that they intend to “deliver them again sooner or later.”
Samsung’s Galaxy Buds are getting AI-ed
Samsung silently introduced on an OTA replace this week (Feb.13) that it’s going to allow Galaxy AI on its newest earbuds.
By way of an e mail to house owners of the Galaxy Buds 2, Buds 2 Professional, and Buds FE, the corporate allow them to know that it could add dwell translation and interpretation to its earbuds through an replace.
The Reside Translate instrument debuted on the Galaxy S24 collection that permits customers to obtain language packs to listen to a translated model of the opposite speaker’s phrases throughout a name. With this replace, even wi-fi earbuds can function the mic for these telephone calls.
In line with the e-mail, “customers immediately converse into the Buds mic and their translated voice will now be obtainable through the Galaxy S24 collection enabling near-natural dialog between two people every holding Galaxy S24 collection smartphone and Galaxy Buds respectively, eliminating the necessity to hand over the telephone and handle translated speaking.”
Google One hits the massive 100 Mil
Google’s cloud storage service hit a milestone earlier this week, reaching 100 million subscribers. Google and Alphabet’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, took to X to announce this win, stating that they are “trying ahead to constructing on that momentum with our new AI Premium Plan.”
Final week, the corporate introduced that Gemini Superior could be part of the brand new Google One AI Premium subscription. Since its launch in Could 2018, the cloud storage subscription service has been giving customers further storage for Google providers like Pictures, Google Drive, and Gmail.
Presently, all Google accounts get solely 15GB of free cupboard space, together with Gmail, images, docs, and so on. In an effort to drive customers in direction of paid subscriptions.
Google One plans begin at simply $1.99 a month, snagging you 100GB of storage. When you’re somebody who wants extra storage, you’d must pay $9.99 for 2TB.
Google exams new function in Google Search Labs
Google is testing a new function that can name an organization’s customer support line in your behalf. The function on Search Labs won’t solely provoke a name to an organization’s customer support, however it would additionally wait on maintain and hook up with a customer support consultant.
Whenever you ask Google for an organization’s buyer help quantity with ‘Speak to a Reside Consultant’ enabled in Search Labs, a brand new button can be obtainable beneath the Data Panel for this function. If this function looks like a Déjà vu, you are not mistaken. This function has extra similarities to the Maintain for Me on Pixel, the place the person has to provoke the decision and navigate menus to get to the precise place. Solely then can Maintain for Me take over if you are positioned on maintain.
However with Speak to a Reside Consultant, the function principally does the whole course of for you till the dwell help agent is contacted.
These are a number of the greatest tales from this week. In the meantime, listed below are another tales from which can be value catching up on:
