Google is updating its built-in password manager for Chrome and Android as it attempts to position it as an alternative to standalone services offered by 1Password and Bitwarden, the company announced today. Most significant is the ability to manually add passwords to the service, rather than simply relying on Chrome’s offer to save credentials when you use them. There had previously been signs of this feature on Chrome on desktop, but now Google says it’s making it available across “all platforms.”
The search giant also says it’s working to unify the design of the password manager between Chrome and Android with “a simplified and unified management experience” and says this includes a feature that will automatically group multiple passwords used on the same site. On Android, Google says a new “Touch-to-Login” feature lets users enter their credentials via an overlay at the bottom of the screen “to make logging in even quicker.”
Google’s password manager already includes the ability to check for weak and reused passwords (and automatically change them on Android) and autofill saved passwords across apps outside of Chrome on iOS. Google says it’s continuing to invest in its password manager to support emerging technologies like passwordless passkeys (which Apple also intends to bring to Safari).
Despite offering a feature set that’s increasingly comparable to standalone third-party password managers, Google seems reluctant to spin its password manager out into a standalone app. But, as of this month, 9to5Google reports that it’s possible to put a shortcut to Google’s password manager directly on your Android homescreen — a big improvement over having to dig through your Android settings to find it.
Article From & Read More ( Chrome password manager update will let you manually add credentials on all platforms - The Verge )
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Technology
Bowers & Wilkins first introduced the Px7 noise-canceling headphones in 2019, effectively replacing the PX in its personal audio line. Now the British company that's perhaps best know for its high-end home speakers has returned with a new version of the over-ear model. With the Px7 S2, Bowers & Wilkins has completely overhauled the Px7, from the design to the sound and the active noise cancellation (ANC). What's more, the company offers all of the upgrades with the same $399 price tag.
The Px7 S2 features an "all-new construction" that Bowers & Wilkins says will keeps things comfy during longer listening sessions. More specifically, the company has opted for a slimmer shape and better cushioning in the earpads while trimming the overall weight. This new model is also available in three new color options: grey, blue and black. Physical controls are still available on the headphones, with buttons for power, volume, track controls and calls on the right side. A customizable button on the left earcup gives you quick access to noise canceling settings or a voice assistant.
Inside, the company says it has built a new acoustic platform that powers 40mm drivers. Bowers & Wilkins further explains that the speakers were specifically built with "ultra-fast response" that's capable of hitting "every nuance" of the music you're listening to. The drivers are also angled to kepp "consistent distance" from your ear for a more natural soundstage. The company has developed its own digital signal processing (DSP) that can handle 24-bit streaming from your go-to music services with support for aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, aptX, AAC and SBC codecs.
In terms of ANC, the Px7 uses four microphones: two that measure the driver output and two that monitor ambient sound. The company says it has revised the noise-canceling algorithm as well for better performance. When it comes to calls, Bowers & Wilkins has changed both the microphone position and tweaked the digital signal processing to compete with noisy venues. ANC settings and transparency mode can also be activated in the company's Music App for the first time on its headphones, along with the ability to adjust the EQ as you see fit. Soon, the software will also allow you to stream music via an in-app player with an upcoming update.
Bowers & Wilkins says the Px7 S2 will last up to 30 hours on a charge, though it doesn't specify if that's with ANC on or off. The company did explain that it upgraded the quick-charge feature from the previous model, giving you seven hours of listening time in 15 minutes. That's two more hours than before, in the same amount of time.
Lastly, Bowers & Wilkins has teased its upcoming flagship headphone model, the Px8. Details are scarce for now, but the company says you can expect "reference-level" sound and "luxurious materials" for $549 later this year. If you can't wait for a new set of cans, the Px7 S2 is available starting today from the company's website and select retailers.
Gallery: Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 | 45 Photos
Gallery: Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 | 45 Photos
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June 29, 2007: A big day for the iPhone and the Schmick family
By Joanna Stern
On June 29, 2007, the first iPhone went on sale. On that same day, a boy named Noah Schmick was born. Over the next 15 years, the iPhone grew…and so did Noah. Through interviews with current and former Apple executives, WSJ’s Joanna Stern traces how Apple’s invention matured and changed all of us—perhaps the youngest generation most of all.
The iPhone Baby: How 15 Years Shaped a Generation
Through exclusive interviews with current and former Apple executives, WSJ’s Joanna Stern traces how Apple’s invention evolved over the next 15 years and changed a generation.
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Technology
Arm is announcing its new flagship Immortalis GPU today, its first to include hardware-based ray tracing on mobile. As PCs and the latest Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles are all gradually moving toward impressive ray-traced visuals, Immortalis-G715 is designed to be the Arm’s first GPU to deliver the same on Android phones and tablets.
Built on top of Mali, a GPU that’s used by the likes of MediaTek and Samsung, Immortalis is designed with 10–16 cores in mind and promises a boost of 15 percent over the previous generation premium Mali GPUs. Arm sees Immortalis as the start of a transition to ray tracing on mobile following its success with the 8 billion Mali GPUs that have shipped to date.
“The challenge is that Ray Tracing techniques can use significant power, energy, and area across the mobile system-on-a-chip (SoC),” explains Andy Craigen, director of product management at Arm. “However, Ray Tracing on Immortalis-G715 only uses 4 percent of the shader core area, while delivering more than 300 percent performance improvements through the hardware acceleration.” It’s not clear if a 3x speedup over software-based ray tracing will be enough to tempt game developers, but when Nvidia introduced hardware accelerated ray tracing in its RTX 2080, it advertised a 2x-3x boost at the time. “It’s the right performance point for now to get this technology into the market,” says Arm’s Paul Williamson, adding that it may also come in handy in augmented reality applications where RT could be used to match virtual lighting to the real-world environment around you.
Arm is already delivering software-based ray tracing in last year’s Mali-G710, but the promise of hardware support means we will start to see flagship smartphones with this chip at the beginning of 2023. Samsung also announced its Exynos 2200 chip with hardware-based ray tracing earlier this year, so manufacturers are getting ready for the games to arrive.
“We decided to introduce hardware-based Ray Tracing support now on Immortalis-G715 because our partners are ready, the hardware is ready, and the developer ecosystem is (about to get) ready,” says Craigen. Arm is only providing a couple of examples of ray tracing on its mobile GPUs today, and there’s no clear commitment from any game developers just yet. “We believe this technology has a strong place, but it’ll take time,” says Williamson, hinting that we should see “some interesting experiences on mobile over the next year or so.”
Arm also has an update to its main Mali line with the Mali-G715. This GPU includes variable rate shading (VRS) to boost gaming performance and energy savings on mobile. VRS essentially renders the parts of a scene in a game that require more detail, so details in the background don’t need as much rendering power. “When enabling Variable Rate Shading on gaming content, we have seen improvements of up to 40 percent on frames per second,” claims Craigen. Other improvements mean these latest Arm GPUs will see a 15 percent energy efficiency improvement over its previous Mali-G710 GPU that was introduced last year. Arm wouldn’t say how much more expensive an Immortalis device might be compared to a Mali-based one.
Arm’s move to support hardware-based ray tracing on its GPUs is a significant step for mobile Android gaming. Ray tracing is currently limited to powerful GPUs that are typically found in gaming PCs or the latest Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles. Nvidia has previously demonstrated ray tracing in conjunction with Arm last year, but it was an RTX 3060 GPU paired with a MediaTek Kompanio 1200 Arm processor. That effort is focused on PCs and likely Chromebook-like laptops, but Arm’s new Immortalis is focused squarely on Android.
Arm also shared a chunk of its roadmap, which you can view above, suggesting it’ll follow up Immortalis with a flagship “Titan” GPU in 2023 and “Krake” in 2024. Arm declined to tell us if Titan or Krake will expand ray tracing support, though.
Epic Games is putting its support behind Immortalis with its Unreal Engine, alongside MediaTek and Unity. This is the type of industry support you’d expect for a new mobile GPU like this, but the real test will be how many mobile game developers start implementing ray tracing. (Arm says its ray tracing will use the Vulkan API.) It’s still incredibly rare to see ray tracing on console games, so it’s unlikely we’ll see a flood of mobile games moving to ray tracing anytime soon.
Additional reporting by Sean Hollister.
Correction, June 28th 11:50AM ET: Article updated with more details on Immortalis, and to make it clear this is Arm’s first hardware-based ray tracing chip, not an industry first.
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Technology
There aren't many options when it comes to consumer 360 cameras these days, so when Insta360 launched its more powerful One RS modular camera back in March, I was a little disappointed with its 5.7K "360 Lens" option — it's basically on par with the Sphere, One X2, One R and the One X. Don't get me wrong, they all do well for their form factors (not to mention the computational improvements), but after three years or so, it's about time for a major upgrade. As it turns out, Insta360 was saving its "one more thing" for today: a "1-inch 360 Edition" One RS co-branded with Leica.
As the name implies, this new kit comes with a chunkier 360 lens module powered by two 1-inch CMOS sensors, and these are capable of capturing at higher resolutions — up to 6K for 360 videos, or up to 21 megapixels for 360 photos. This should guarantee a boost in image quality, especially in low light. This also happens to be the world's first 360 camera to be "co-engineered with Leica," following the two companies' earlier collaboration on the One R's 1-inch Wide Angle Mod.
Richard Lai/Engadget
Unlike the regular One RS kit (with either the new "4K Boost Lens" or the regular "360 Lens"), this "1-inch 360 Edition" uses a vertical assembly to accommodate the bigger lens module. From top to bottom: lens, core (with a touchscreen), then a vertical battery.
The One RS core benefits from an upgraded processor to support onboard "FlowState Stabilization" (which is faster than the app) as well as "Active HDR" video capture for action sports. As for battery life, this whole kit is rated for up to 62 minutes of 6K@30fps video recording.
The core and battery are inserted into a housing, which then clips to the lens to secure the entire device (thus enabling IPX3 water resistance, which is good enough for rain and snow). You'll still have access to the 1/4-inch standard screw mount at the bottom of the battery. To disassemble this kit (especially when you need to access the microSD slot), you'll have to first open the USB port flap on the housing, then press the two clips under the lens to detach. It's obviously best to keep the soft protection case (included) on the lens while doing so.
Richard Lai/Engadget
The Insta360 One RS "1-inch 360 Edition" is now available for $800, which is quite a jump from the $550 "Twin Edition" (which comes with a "4K Boost Lens" and a "360 Lens" instead). A company rep explained that this new kit is targeting the prosumer market, such as users who want to create virtual tours for museums or real estate properties.
That said, if you already own a One RS, you can buy the same "1-inch 360 Edition" kit sans core for $650, thus saving you $150. This also applies to those who have the older One R, as this lens is backward compatible.
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Valve is doubling the number of Steam Decks it ships to customers, the company announced Monday. “Production has picked up, and after today we’ll be shipping more than double the number of Steam Decks every week!” Valve said in a tweet from the official Steam Deck account. And in response to a question from my colleague Sean Hollister, Valve designer Lawrence Yang spelled out the change more clearly: “in previous weeks we were shipping x units / week to customers, starting this week we’ll be shipping 2x units / week.”
If you’ve been eagerly refreshing your inbox every Monday and Thursday for the chance to order your Steam Deck reservation, the increased production could be a sign that you might be able to buy your device sooner than you expected. My own reservation hasn’t changed from its Q3 estimate on the Steam Deck Steam page, but maybe now that email will arrive sometime in the earlier side of the quarter. And if you’re also in that Q3 window, you should start keeping an eye on your inbox on June 30th, as Valve said the first Q3 order emails will go out then.
Hello! Some great news on the production front. We just sent the last batch of Q2 emails, and we’ll start sending Q3 reservation emails on the 30th.
Production has picked up, and after today we'll be shipping more than double the number of Steam Decks every week! pic.twitter.com/kAHE0zRrV7
You will want to keep a close eye out for that email, as Valve only gives you 72 hours to actually complete an order once it’s sent out. If you do miss that window, though, Valve suggests you contact Steam Support — the company recently clarified that it offers a grace period of “a few days.”
The Steam Deck has remained at the top of the Steam charts for nine of the last 11 weeks, according to SteamDB. That ranking tracks top sellers by revenue — given that the Steam Deck starts at $399, a few Steam Deck orders can equate to a lot of sales of any individual game — but it’s still an indication that Valve is selling the handheld gaming PCs as fast as it can make them and that there was quite a bit of demand.
But it still has plenty of catching up to do: an unofficial tracker compiled by Reddit user Fammy suggests that Valve is still fulfilling orders of the premium 512GB model in the UK from the first hour of when they went on sale in July 2021. According to that tracker, Valve is still fulfilling the first day’s worth of reservations in the US as well.
While Steam Deck production has increased, the official dock was delayed earlier this month from its “late spring” release timeline. But when it arrives, it will have upgraded specs from what Valve originally announced.
Nintendo will broadcast a new Nintendo Direct presentation on Tuesday, June 28, focusing on content from the company’s third-party publishing partners.
Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct Mini Partner Showcase will run about 25 minutes, Nintendo said in an announcement, and will be available to watch on-demand at 9 a.m. EDT/6 a.m. PDT via Nintendo’s YouTube channel. (In other words, feel free to skip around as soon as the video goes live.)
Games from Nintendo’s publishing partners that could make an appearance in the new Nintendo Direct include Capcom’s Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak expansion, Square Enix’s Live A Live remake, Bandai Namco’s Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series, and Sega and PlatinumGames’ Bayonetta 3 (which Nintendo is publishing). Square Enix also has a long list of remakes and sequels in development, including a rumored remake of Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, an “HD-2D” remake of Dragon Quest 3, and Dragon Quest Treasures, a prequel of sorts to Dragon Quest 11.
Of course, we can also count Team Cherry among Nintendo’s potential partners, who will maybe, finally give us more information about Hollow Knight: Silksong after its recent gameplay reveal.
Riot Games, the developer behind the free first-person shooter (FPS) Valorant, will start monitoring players’ voice communications on July 13th (via PCGamer). The game company says it’s to help train the language models that it will eventually use when evaluating player reports across all its games.
Riot initially announced this change in April 2021 after making an update to its privacy policy. The new terms give Riot permission to “record and potentially evaluate voice data when using Riot-owned voice comms channels” with the purpose of combatting hate speech and harassment over voice chat. Riot says it will analyze recordings when a player reports someone for abusive or offensive comments. In turn, this should help the company determine whether the reported player violated its policies and take action accordingly.
Riot isn’t going to start assessing player reports based on these recordings just yet — it’s using the information it collects to help build the beta of the system it expects to roll out later this year. For now, Riot will only evaluate the conversations of English-speaking Valorant players in North America. The only way to opt out of this system is to disable voice chat completely or use another communication tool, like Discord.
“We know that before we can even think of expanding this tool, we’ll have to be confident it’s effective, and if mistakes happen, we have systems in place to make sure we can correct any false positives (or negatives for that matter),” Riot notes in its announcement.
When this system is actually rolled out, Riot says that it won’t “actively monitor your live game comms” and will only “potentially listen to and review voice logs” if you’re reported for disruptive behavior. It also adds that it will delete this information after it resolves the situation, much like it does for reports made over its text-based chat systems. Even still, it’s bound to raise some players’ concerns surrounding privacy, much like the always-on Vanguard anti-cheat system that monitors your activity both in and outside of Valorant.
The planned reporting system isn’t the only way Valorant is attempting to crack down on toxic players. Earlier this year, Riot started letting Valorant players add specific words or phrases to a “muted words list” that’s supposed to help block out abusive content in chat.
In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg, Mark Gurman outlined additional M2 Macs on Apple's product roadmap, including new Mac mini models with M2 and M2 Pro chips, new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, and a new Mac Pro tower with M2 Ultra and "M2 Extreme" chips.
Following the M2 series of Macs, Gurman said the first M3 series of Macs will include an updated 13-inch MacBook Air, an all-new 15-inch MacBook Air, a new iMac, and potentially a new 12-inch notebook that is "still in early development."
Gurman said Apple is developing several additional devices that could launch later this year and beyond, including a new Apple TV with an A14 chip and an increased 4GB of RAM, a new HomePod with the same S8 chip coming to the Apple Watch Series 8, an AR/VR headset that may have an M2 chip and 16GB of RAM, iPad Pro models with the M2 chip, a new low-end iPad with an A14 chip and a USB-C port, new AirPods Pro, and more.
Gurman said the new HomePod will be closer to the original in terms of size and feature an updated display on the top of the speaker:
The new Apple TV, code-named J255, is in development with an A14 chip and an additional gigabyte of RAM. That compares with the A12 chip announced as part of the 2021 Apple TV last year and could be useful for additional gaming capabilities rolling out in tvOS 16.
The HomePod, code-named B620, will run the same S8 chip coming to the watches and will be closer to the original HomePod in terms of size and audio performance rather than a new HomePod mini. The new HomePod will have an updated display on top and there's even been some talk of multi-touch functionality.
As for the S8 chip for the Apple Watch Series 8 and new HomePod, Gurman said he was told it will have the same specifications as the S7 and S6 chips in previous models. Gurman said the S8 chip may also be used in the next Apple Watch SE.
Gurman also reiterated that he expects Apple to release a larger iPad with a 14-inch to 15-inch display within the next two years.
Article From & Read More ( Gurman: Apple Planning M2 Pro Mac Mini, New Apple TV With A14 Chip, Revamped HomePod With S8 Chip, and More - MacRumors )
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Technology
Back in November 2009, I was getting ready to attend the Montreal International Games Summit, and I panicked — it was my first major event as a member of the press, and I had no way to record an interview. This was a problem because I was scheduled to talk with Yoichi Wada, then president of Square Enix, along with several other notable industry people. So I rushed to Radio Shack and picked the cheapest voice recorder I could find, a little grey rectangle made by RCA that was locked up in a glass display case. I have no idea what model it is, but it went on to follow me through my entire professional career to date — now, nearly 13 years later, it’s finally being retired.
I hung on to that gadget for one main reason: I trusted it. The RCA recorder didn’t have any especially notable features; the sound quality was just OK, and it was actually pretty annoying having to keep a bunch of AAA batteries on deck. But I’ve always been paranoid about losing an interview and wasting both my time and — even worse — that of someone who agreed to talk to me for a story. So, as long as the recorder worked, I had no real reason to replace it. And it always worked. Even when the “erase” button fell off, I stuck by it. But earlier this month, while attending Summer Game Fest, I came to a sad conclusion: the rewind button didn’t function, which pushed the recorder past the point of usefulness.
With the proliferation of video calls and the lack of in-person events over the last few years, the recorder hasn’t gotten much work. It’s spent around 36 months tucked into a desk drawer. But earlier this month, I had a chance to use it again when Summer Game Fest put on its first-ever in-person event in Los Angeles. And it was as reliable as always; I used it to record interviews with the directors of The Callisto Protocol and Street Fighter 6 and to capture my first hands-on experience with Peridot. But, without a rewind button, actually transcribing those conversations was far too time-consuming.
It’s not clear when I’ll be going back to another in-person event, so I have time to decide what’s next. It’s not easy replacing a steady companion of more than a decade. I know I won’t be using my phone to record interviews; again, I’m paranoid, and I’d much prefer something simple and straightforward so that a dead battery or software update doesn’t mess up an interview. But I also love the idea of a single-purpose device. The RCA recorder is something I associate completely with the act of conducting an interview, a key part of my job, and as it turns out, that means that it’s become an object imbued with memories. If I’m lucky, I’ll find something that’ll help me capture even more.
Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a board game courtesy of a Kickstarter campaign. Cyberpunk 2077: Gangs of Night City is a strange twist on the high-tech, low-life underbelly of the world brought to life by CD Projekt Red and Mike Pondsmith. The game is being published by CMON Games, which have put together board game adaptations of God of War and Bloodborne in addition to other existing IPs.
If the slang-ridden synopsis of the game provided on its Kickstarter page is any indicator, it’s clear that its creators have some serious reverence for the source material: “Cyberpunk 2077: Gangs of Night City is a competitive game in which 1 to 4 players take on the role of ruthless gangs vying for control of the underground in the glittering hellhole that is Night City. Clash with other gangs in the meat or on the Net as your enterprising band of toughs seeks to gain dominance over the criminal underworld that rules the streets. Only the boldest will be remembered, and your Street Cred will pave your way to the top.”
The aesthetics and fiction of this game appear to be more closely based on the Cyberpunk 2077 video game published by CD Projekt Red, as opposed to a riff on the source material penned by Mike Pondsmith in the pen-and-paper Cyberpunk RPG. In addition to its trademark crimson and neon-yellow aesthetic, this board game comes packaged with a pile of unpainted plastic miniatures that bear the likeness of notable characters from the video game. Players can expect to see Jackie Welles, Johnny Silverhand, and Judy Alvarez among the two dozen or so plastic minis that are planned to ship with the game.
At the time of publishing, the project has more than tripled its funding goal of $100,000 and is just shy of its final stretch goal with about 10 days remaining in its campaign. Currently, the only funding level available is set at $110 but nets you access to the core box and all the miniatures.
We understand that a hot pile of unpainted plastic is tough to resist, but it’s worth mentioning that the current timeline for shipping doesn’t start until at least eight months after the end of the Kickstarter. And just like Cyberpunk’s digital version, there’s no guarantee that it won’t be delayed.
Google announced Chrome 103 on Thursday, making it easier to share photos from Android to your Chromebook. The company also said an update that will simplify Bluetooth connections is on the way.
As detailed in a blog post by Alexander Kuscher, director of Chrome OS Software at Google, the update builds on the Phone Hub app released to Chrome OS last year. It works with smartphones running Android 5.1 and later and lets you view the phone's text messages and battery life and bring over tabs from your mobile Chrome browser to your Chromebook's browser.
In Chrome 103, photos you take on your Android Phone will automatically show up in the Phone Hub under a new "Recent photos" section.
Chrome OS Phone Hub app shows an Android phone's recent photos.
You can then download the images to save to your Chromebook so you can edit them, email them, or do anything else you'd prefer to do on a computer instead of a phone.
Google is also updating its Nearby Share feature in Chrome 103. Nearby Share uses Bluetooth Low Energy, WebRTC, or peer-to-peer Wi-Fi to share files over the air between Chromebooks and Android phones. Chrome 103 gives you the ability to connect a Chromebook to a saved Wi-Fi network. The next time a new Chromebook connects to your network, you won't have to find your Wi-Fi password to set it up if your Android phone is already connected.
The process described by Kuscher seems simple enough. On an Android phone, you just go to the Wi-Fi network, hit Share, then tap a "Nearby" tile under a QR code. Afterward, you'll be able to see the Chromebook and can connect it to the Wi-Fi network, the blog said.
Connecting a Chromebook to Wi-Fi without using a password.
"Nearby Share will deliver the Wi-Fi credentials (as in the network name and password), and the Chromebook will automatically connect to the Wi-Fi. And, of course, it will also save for the next time the Chromebook needs to use that Wi-Fi network," Kuscher explained.
Kuscher also said that Chrome 103 will get a Fast Pair Bluetooth update "later this summer." The feature should allow you to connect Bluetooth devices, like headphones, without having to figure out which button to press on the product or do anything in the Chromebook settings other than turning Bluetooth on.
"Just turn on your Chromebook’s Bluetooth, and it will automatically detect when a new pair of Bluetooth headphones are on, are nearby, and are ready to be set up. A pop-up notification will appear, and with one tap, your new accessory is connected and ready to go," Kuscher wrote. "No more digging through settings or struggling to figure out the right button to press to pair your headphones."
This feature would differ from similar technologies like Windows Swift Pair, which presents a pop-up on the PC when it senses a Bluetooth device, but only if the wireless device is in its pairing mode.
Kuscher said the feature will work with "hundreds of different headphone models," including, not surprisingly, Google's Pixel Buds. Kuscher didn't specify which models of the Pixels Buds would support the feature but shared an image of the $99 Pixel Buds A-series that came out in June 2021.
Google didn't say if older Pixel Buds would work with the upcoming feature.
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Technology
From time to time, I’ll grab a random device out of the Verge reviews closet and spend a week or two with it. It’s mostly out of random curiosity and for the sake of comparing “old” products against the latest and greatest. Most recently, I was drawn to Google’s Pixel 5. So I gave it a factory reset, updated the phone to Android 12, and have been using it as my daily driver for the past several days.
The experience has been fantastic. I’ve got very large hands — an iPhone 13 Pro Max doesn’t look out of place in them — and I prefer large screens, so I don’t think I could fully switch over to the Pixel 5. But it’s such a good “small” phone (by 2022 standards) that I’ve certainly been tempted. The Pixel 5 makes it easy to do anything I need one-handed. Its midrange processor performs better than ever on Android 12, and this phone still looks unique next to the competition.
Google gave up on the Pixel 5 design and size way too soon. Been using one for the past week. It's now even smoother on Android 12. Still looks and feels unique.
This should be the Pixel version of the iPhone SE and just get brought up to speed every couple years. pic.twitter.com/UXLfrms4p0
Above all else, I’ve come away disappointed that Google gave up on the Pixel 5’s style and size after just one year. The smallest phone in the company’s lineup is currently the Pixel 5a, which has a 6.3-inch display. To its credit, Google is shrinking things down slightly with the upcoming 6A. But with the A-series models, you’re giving up niceties like the 90Hz display and wireless charging. In those ways, the Pixel 5 might be the last of its kind in Google’s lineup. So much for the even bezels, too.
I now find myself wishing that Google would keep the 5 around as an “iPhone SE”-style product that gets brought up to speed with hardware upgrades every couple years — without losing what makes it good. Let’s cover some of the Pixel 5’s strengths.
Design and materials: The Pixel 5’s 6-inch OLED display is surrounded by thin, symmetrical bezels that go a long way in making the phone comfortable and usable in one hand. And the textured “bio resin” coating on the 5’s body results in a unique feel and reassuring grip when you’re holding it throughout the day. The volume rocker shares this texture, while the power button is glossy metal — making it easy to distinguish between the two by touch. Owing to its feel and palm-able size, the Pixel 5 is one of those phones that can go caseless without causing much consternation.
Before Google went all in on the common “glass sandwich” design with the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, previous models in the series often used distinctive materials and textures that helped the phones stand out. With the Pixel 2, it was the almost-coarse rear shell of the black model. The Pixel 4 had grippy side rails. But after the 5’s bio resin — I’m still a big fan of the Sorta Sage green colorway with this finish — Google opted for a more basic in-hand feel with last year’s flagships.
A better screen: The Pixel 6’s OLED panel might seem perfectly fine based on first impressions. But in all honesty, it’s mediocre. There are plenty of threads on Reddit complaining about uniformity issues, an unsightly green tint at lower brightness levels, and other imperfections. The Pixel 6 Pro’s gorgeous LPTO panel exhibits none of these problems, so it’s clear that Google settled for less as part of reaching the 6’s $599 price.
Even the Pixel 5’s screen seems of a slightly higher quality to me than the 6 that replaced it. They’re both 90Hz displays, but the 5’s white point, uniformity, and overall image are just a bit nicer to my eyes. This can sometimes come down to variance between individual units, but I hope to see better from the Pixel 7.
Pixel Imprint rear fingerprint sensor: I’m still let down that phone makers decided in unison to relocate the fingerprint reader from the back of the phone, where your index finger often naturally rests while holding it, to underneath the display. Google’s Pixel Imprint scanners were perhaps the fastest and most consistent in the entire Android ecosystem, and, well, let’s just say the in-screen sensor on the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro has never matched it — even after Google improved the performance through software updates.
Consistent camera performance: Google spent several years optimizing its computational photography for the 12-megapixel main camera shared by the Pixel 5 and its predecessors. And while it lacks the dynamic range of the Pixel 6 / 6 Pro and doesn’t offer features like Real Tone or Magic Eraser, the Pixel 5 is a consistent shooter. You know what you’re going to get, which can’t always be said of the Pixel 6 line. I don’t love the unpleasant-looking background blur you sometimes get from the 6’s larger sensor, but this is something Google will no doubt improve.
The Pixel 5 isn’t perfect
Although I’m mostly satisfied with the smooth performance and general responsiveness of the Pixel 5 on Android 12, there are still occasions where the midrange Snapdragon 765G processor hits a wall and gets bogged down. Snap a photo, and the frustrating delay while the phone processes the shot remains present. The 5 can also get hung up if you get overly ambitious with multitasking.
But even with those downsides factored in, there’s still something special about this phone. I’ve come close to buying one from Woot, which is selling new, unopened Pixel 5s for $450. Apparently Google must’ve stumbled across some extra inventory in a warehouse somewhere. With Apple’s mini iPhone rumored to be cut from the upcoming iPhone 14 lineup, it seems small phones are on the way out (again). That makes this a tempting moment to buy. The only asterisk to consider in Google’s case is that software support for the Pixel 5 will end in October 2023.
But maybe by then, Google will reintroduce a small Pixel that doesn’t skimp on hardware features and doesn’t so blandly take after its larger siblings.
Samsung is getting ready to release its massive 55-inch curved Odyssey Ark monitor in August, according to a report from Korean outlet ETNews (via SamMobile). The monitor, which was announced in January at CES, has reportedly gone through a few certification programs that have to be done before it can go on sale.
Details about this monitor are still scant. The company has said that it’ll have a 16:9 4K panel and that the stand will support pivot, tilt, and rotation. It also announced that it would come out in the second half of 2022 (which the reported August window falls squarely in). But let’s be honest, when you show up with a monitor that promises to physically tower over you while you’re using it, people will pay attention even if you don’t announce the price or refresh rate.
Many of us here at The Verge are very excited for this monitor — when it came time to hand out awards for CES 2022, we gave it Best in Show. But as with many CES announcements, as the months wear on, it can be hard to remember anything from the flood of gadgets and tech; did Samsung really announce an extremely curved, extremely large monitor that can stretch over and around you, or was that just a fever dream? Rumors that it could actually be coming out relatively soon prove that it was, in fact, actually announced and reminds us that we are looking forward to it.
One thing that adds a bit of credence to the report is that Samsung has successfully released other monitors that it announced around CES this year. The decidedly less ambitious (but very cute) M8 monitor has already started hitting store shelves, as has a smaller (read: reasonably sized) curved gaming monitor, the Odyssey Neo G8. While that’s obviously not proof that the Ark is up next, it is good to see that Samsung has a track record of shipping its CES monitors this year.
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