Google Pixel Buds 2 are officially available for $179

The second-generation Pixel Buds, which Google is referring to as the “new Pixel Buds,” were announced back in October 2019. Google promised they would be available in “Spring 2020” and here we are. The Pixel Buds 2 can be purchased starting today for $179, but only in one color option.

Unlike the first Pixel Buds, the 2nd-gen are “truly wireless.” There’s no cable running behind your neck that connects the two buds. The design aesthetic is very similar to the first generation, but the shape is different. There’s a wing to help hold the buds in your ears and a rubber tip to create a seal. In general, the Pixel Buds 2 have a more “sporty” shape that should make for a better fit when moving around.

The new Pixel Buds do still allow you to hear ambient noise through a spatial vent underneath the buds. Google has also included “Adaptive Sound,” which dynamically raises and lowers the volume of whatever is playing based on the amount of outside noise. Dual microphones should help make clear voice calls, and an accelerometer allows the earbuds to detect your voice based on vibrations in your jawbone, which could help in windy conditions.

Google claims the Pixel Buds 2 can stay connected through three rooms when indoors and across the length of an entire football field when outside. They can last for 5 hours on a single charge, with the wireless charging case providing a further 24 hours of playtime. Of course, Google Assistant is also present, just a “Hey Google” away. You can also have your notifications read aloud.

The Clearly White Pixel Buds 2 are available now for $179 from the Google Store, Best Buy, and more retailers in the coming weeks. Almost Black, Quite Mint, and Oh So Orange won’t be available until the “coming months.”

Source: Google

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Finally master Microsoft Office with this training bundle—now under $35

Microsoft Office is ubiquitous at work, but relatively few of us know it well. If you would like to improve your digital skills, The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Office is worth your attention. This learning library includes 12 courses that help you master Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Access. You can get the bundle now for just $34.99 at the XDA Developers Depot.

Whether you are completely new to Office or just trying to work smarter, this bundle has you covered. It provides over 70 hours of content, including tutorials, worksheets, quizzes, and more. Along the way, you will learn about several key apps.

Excel can help you collect, analyze, and present all kinds of data. In this bundle, you go from creating your first spreadsheet to using advanced formulas and functions. You’ll also discover how to create charts that will impress your boss, and use macros to speed up your workflow.

If you need to deliver presentations, the PowerPoint training in this bundle should be really valuable. Through step-by-step tutorials, you’ll find out how to customize templates and import content.

The training also helps you tame your Outlook inbox, format documents in Word, and work with Access databases. With an average rating of 9.4/10 stars, the courses are highly rated by students.

Worth $2,400 in total, the bundle is now only $34.99.

Prices subject to change.

 

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Office – $34.99

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Motorola Edge, Motorola Edge+, and LG Velvet forums are now open

Motorola is back to the flagship smartphone market with the Motorola Edge and the Motorola Edge+. While the Motorola Edge is more of an upper midrange device sporting a Snapdragon 765G, the Motorola Edge+ brings the flagship might we haven’t seen from the company in years. With a combo of bleeding-edge features with a Snapdragon 865, a 108MP rear camera, a waterfall display, and much more, Motorola is pulling no punches with the Edge+. LG, meanwhile, is preparing to launch the LG Velvet, part of a completely new smartphone line (that might eventually replace LG’s G series). It is confirmed to come with a Snapdragon 765 processor with 5G connectivity support and will be touting an all-new design language different from what the company is currently doing with phones like the LG V60.

These phones have a couple of things in common, though, with one of them being that they all come with a 5G modem and, thus, support 5G connectivity. While the Motorola devices have already been announced and will be coming to the market very soon, the LG Velvet has not yet been announced properly. Another thing they have in common is that both LG and Motorola have had a good reputation in the modding space, or at least they used to have in the past. This means that people will inevitably attempt to mod these phones, subject to support from the OEM.

If you’re a developer and you’re planning to do some modding with any of these phones when they’re available for purchase, you now have a place to share your work. We’ve now opened official XDA forums for the Motorola Edge, the Edge+, and the LG Velvet. Here, you’ll be able to find mods, custom kernels, and custom ROMs for these devices as and when they become available. Meanwhile, you can use the forums to discuss these phones and whether they are good enough to switch over to.

Motorola Edge XDA Forum | Motorola Edge+ XDA Forum

LG Velvet XDA Forum

Be sure to pass by the forums and check them out!

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Samsung Galaxy Buds get Microsoft Swift Pair and other features with new firmware update

Samsung launched its second-generation wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Buds+, earlier this year alongside the Galaxy S20 series. The dual-driver earbuds came with multi-device connectivity, Spotify quick access, and the “Ambient Aware” feature for noise isolation. Now, Samsung’s older truly wireless earbuds – the Galaxy Buds – are getting these and some more features with the latest firmware update.

First of all, the Galaxy Buds have received support for Microsoft Swift Pair, which – just like Android Fast Pair – allows the earbuds to connect quickly to Windows 10 PCs using Bluetooth. The earbuds also support simultaneous connectivity for multiple devices, which means you can continue using the Galaxy Buds with your PC and your phone interchangeably without terminating the connection with either of the devices.

Image by SamMobile

Secondly, the Galaxy Buds’ Ambient Sound feature for listening to the ambient sounds can now be switched on or off automatically as per schedule. Previously, you would have to either switch on the feature using either the Galaxy Wearables app or by covering one of the earbuds with your palm or finger.

Additionally, Samsung has also added the Personalized Playlist feature to the Galaxy Buds for your Spotify playlist. You just need to tap and hold the button on either of the earbuds and music from Spotify will resume from wherever you left. Repeat the gesture and you can cycle through your recommended playlists without touching the phone. However, do note that you will be required to assign the button actions from the Galaxy Wearables app once before you can use the Spotify integration. The feature can also be used with FLO, Genie, and Melon.

SamMobile notes that the update with build R170XXU0ATD2 has started to roll out for users worldwide. Given the confirmation in Samsung’s newsroom post, you can expect it to receive for your unit soon. Make sure you check for the latest Galaxy Buds firmware update within the Wearables app.

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Source: Samsung Mobile Press

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Facebook still wants to put ads into WhatsApp

WhatsApp is a service that is used by billions of people around the world. The app’s popularity is fueled by the fact that it is free to use and it operates on an ad-free model. This has not always been the case though: many years ago, WhatsApp was available on a semi-premium monetization model, which required you to pay $1 a year to use it, a subscription model which was mostly irrelevant as many people even got more free time added to their subscription just by sheer usage. Given how WhatsApp doesn’t really have any ads, Facebook isn’t really making much money from it, but they want to change that.

Facebook has been wanting to introduce ads into the app for a while. All of Facebook’s ventures, including the eponymous social media service as well as Instagram, feature ads through certain parts of the UI, and WhatsApp remains the only Facebook service to not feature any ads. This is despite the fact that Facebook purchased WhatsApp for $16 billion in 2014, so the service has a decent target for wanting to break even for its purchaser.

The simple possibility of Facebook adding ads into WhatsApp, though, has led to a rough backlash from the community. Actually adding them would probably be even worse, so Facebook reportedly ended their plans to do so. However, a new report from TheInformation indicates that Facebook might still be looking into the possibility of adding ads to WhatsApp.

This change wouldn’t be immediate, but a Facebook spokesperson told Engadget that “ads in Status remains a long-term opportunity for WhatsApp“, which all but confirms that the company is at least still toying with the idea. The original report says that ads will come to WhatsApp once Facebook finishes unifying all of its messaging infrastructure, which could still take years down the road. So, while WhatsApp ads might eventually come, there is nothing you should be afraid of, right now at least. WhatsApp has recently added other features, however, such as 8-person video calls to tide you over during quarantine time.

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Source: TheInformation (paywall)

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Join 2.3 beta adds local network file transfers and favorite right-click commands

When it comes to transferring files between devices, there are a number of different apps on the Google Play Store that you can use. Among these is Join, a feature-rich app from the developers of the popular automation app Tasker, that allows you to easily connect two devices and share things like notifications, messages, clipboard data, location, files, and much more. While the Join app already lets you share files between devices, it currently relies on Google Drive for the purpose. In order to simplify the process and make file transfers on local networks faster, the latest beta release of Join brings support for local network file transfer.

In a recent post on Reddit, developer u/jaomgcd announced the release of Join version 2.3.beta which brings support for local file transfers and favorite right-click commands, among other things. As you’d expect, the local file transfer feature allows you to send files between devices that are connected to the same network. To use the feature, you’ll first need to download the latest beta release of Join on your Android device and, if you wish to transfer files between your smartphone and your PC, install the latest beta release of the Join Chrome Extension on your PC.

Once you have the app installed and running on your devices, you’ll need to connect both the devices to the same network. After that, all you need to do is select Join from the share menu on your Android device and select the other device from the following list to share your files instantly. On the other hand, if you’re transferring files from your PC you just need to drag and drop the file in Join on your PC and you’re done. Devices connected to the same local network will show up with a special icon (see image below).

To facilitate this feature, the latest Join beta also brings three new local network settings that allow you to enable/disable the feature, allow any device to access your device on your local network without needing authentication, and open Join’s remote file browser to see any file on your device from any browser on your local network. Along with the local file transfer feature, the update also brings a new favorite right-click commands option in the Join Chrome Extension. The option lets you choose which commands show up as the top-level Join commands when you right-click something on a webpage. For instance, if you use the Call command a lot when selecting a phone number on a webpage, you can now set Call as a favorite command and it’ll appear right at the top of the Join context menu.

 

If you’re interested in trying out these new features, you can join the Join beta by following this link and then download the latest beta release from the Play Store. In case you don’t wish to wait for the beta update on the Play Store, however, you can also download the Join 2.3.beta APK from the link below.

Download Join 2.3.beta APK

Join by joaoapps (Free⁺, Google Play) →

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Google Pixel Buds app goes live on Play Store ahead of second-gen Pixel Buds’ release

Google originally unveiled the second generation of Pixel Buds back in October 2019, but consumers have yet to get their hands on the gadget. While we still don’t know anything concrete about the exact release date of the wireless earbuds, it now seems pretty close as the companion app has just gone live on the Google Play Store. Without much of a surprise, the app is called “Google Pixel Buds” and it can be installed on any device running Android 6.0 Marshmallow or higher.

After being paired with the earbuds, the Google Pixel Buds app will allow users to control various aspects of the built-in features such as Google Assistant settings, in-ear detection, adaptive sound, and more. One can also query the battery level of the buds as well as the case and locate them using a handy “Find device” feature through remote ringing. Google is also going to offer tips and support facilities via this app once the Pixel Buds are actually available.

Google might have baked most of the functionalities of the app into the firmware of the Pixel phones, as the UI is seamlessly integrated with the Settings app on these devices. 9to5Google has confirmed that the owners of the Pixel 4 can even perform an ‘update’ instead of a fresh install after visiting the Play Store listing. On non-Pixel phones, however, the Google Pixel Buds app can be invoked like any other standalone app, but it will not run unless paired with a pair of Pixel Buds.

Judging by the app description, the first-gen Google Pixel Buds might not be compatible with this companion app as of yet, but the Mountain View giant may add support for it in a future update. The APK of the initial version, tagged as 1.0.308054094, is available on APK Mirror as well, in case you want to sideload it manually.

Google Pixel Buds (Free, Google Play) →

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Via: 9to5Google

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