iOS 15.1 was released yesterday, which means you can finally start checking out Apple's long-awaited SharePlay feature. After seeing how buggy it was on the iOS 15 beta, I was able to check out SharePlay this week during a briefing with Apple, and the experience was surprisingly smooth. Though SharePlay works with just a small collection of apps at the moment, it's also coming soon to Disney+, while the NBA and TikTok apps will be updated today to support it. I watched a few videos and a Milwaukee Bucks game via these apps on my demo, and beyond being impressed by how much more stable everything is since the beta, I also found some tips particularly useful.

Setup and starting a SharePlay session

First, make sure you and your friends all update your devices to iOS 15.1 or iPadOS 15.1. Just like we observed in the beta, you need to start a FaceTime call before you can SharePlay anything. Once you're on a call, open a supported app and you'll see an alert at the top of the screen asking if you want to stream your content. When you start a session, your callers will see a box pop up at the top of the screen to join you. 

For the most part, everyone you're SharePlaying with will need to have the relevant apps installed (i.e. TikTok, HBO Max, Showtime, Paramount, Apple TV etc). In some cases, they'll also need to have a subscription or at least an account. 

While you watch a show together, anyone on the call can pause, skip forward or rewind, and that will bring everyone to the same point on the stream. As you watch something, FaceTime will run in picture-in-picture mode on top of your display, and whoever on your call is talking will appear in that box. 

Share your screen

If you want to share your screen instead of watching a show, though, you'll need to tap on the screen while on your FaceTime call to pull up the commands panel and press the button on the right that resembles a person in front of a rectangle. 

While you're sharing your screen, your friend can pinch to zoom on what you're showing them. But during a screen share session, your alerts (or other notices that pop up) won't appear on their screen, in case there's sensitive info you don't want others seeing. The pill on the top left of your screen will also turn purple to let remind you you're screen-sharing. 

When I was watching someone share their screen, by the way, I could still go back to my own phone and open another app. FaceTime's picture-in-picture tile showed my caller's screen with their face in an embedded picture-in-picture. Inception!

Other features

The controls box also lets you access the iMessage window for everyone on the call. You can continue to watch a game on the NBA app with your family without your camera or mic on, and send texts instead. That's particularly helpful when you need a toilet break when a game runs long.

Apple also built a feature called smart volume to automatically lower the streaming audio when you're speaking so everyone can hear you. This works best with AirPods, but it'll also work with your device's speaker.

Depending on each app's developers, other tools can be embedded to make them more useful. In Apple Music, for example, you can look at the song's lyrics as they play in real time, and tapping on a specific lyric will bring you and your callers to that point in the track. When you're all on TikTok together, each person can like the videos they want, too. The popular game Heads Up will also be coming to SharePlay so you can guess the word on your face while your friends act it out for you. 

SharePlay works with iPhones, iPads and Apple TVs, and most playback features are the same across Apple's ecosystem. Those with Apple Watches will also be able to use this feature for group workouts or meditations on Fitness+ with up to 32 callers. So far, SharePlay works with just a few apps, but as more developers integrate it, iOS users could find more ways to socialize and digitally gather with loved ones soon.

In case there wasn't enough news this week, Google is revealing a new version of Android that's designed for larger screens like tablets and foldables. It's called Android 12L, and is really just a set of new features for the existing OS that are optimized for big screens. The developer preview is available today as an SDK on Google's site so app makers can begin taking in some of the new features that should make for a more cohesive experience on devices with bigger displays. The public version of 12L will arrive early next year, "in time for the next wave of Android 12 tablets and foldables," the company said. The preview will also be "coming soon to the Lenovo P12 Pro."

While Android already supports a sort of multi-window experience, there are still areas of the interface that feel more like a blown up version of a phone OS, rather than something that makes better use of the increased space. One of the things coming to Android 12L is a two-column layout for the notification shade and lockscreen when the system detects that the screen is above 600dps wide. Google said other system surfaces and apps will adopt this look too, though it didn't specify which yet. 

Android 12L will also feature a taskbar at the bottom of larger screens that will let you more easily open apps. This will also simplify the process of launching things in split-screen mode: just drag and drop an icon from the taskbar. Google is also enabling all apps to run in split screen, regardless of whether they are resizable. 

Google

Cosmetically, Google is also adding tools that let developers make their apps look better in various windows or views. They'll be able to use custom letterbox colors or treatments, apply custom rounded corners and adjust the position of inset windows. 

The above features are already available for preview in the developer software, but there are also changes coming that app creators have to apply for users to experience them. Google recommends that developers create versions of their UI tailored to the window size class of each device, and it's added reference devices for programmers to see their layouts across phones, tablets, foldable's larger internal displays and desktops. 

For devices that can fold, Android 12L will offer an API that will allow developers to make their apps aware of hinges or other boundaries, and use them "as natural separators." This means that when supported, you might be able to use an app like Kindle and have it show a two-column layout when your device is folded and expand to fullscreen when you open your phone completely flat.

Google is also adding ways to make adopting this easier for developers with a new Activity embedding tool and other updates in the Jetpack Window Manager library. The interface will be backward-compatible, so those using older versions of Android can still use apps that are optimized for 12L. 

Google

The company is also releasing its Material You design system to Jetpack Compose, so that developers can add the adaptive theming capabilities to their apps. This means that, when supported, third-party apps can also take on the color scheme that Google derived from your wallpaper, and buttons or menu highlight hues can reflect the palette for a more cohesive look throughout Android 12. 

Finally, to give developers a reason (or disincentive) to get their apps optimized for Android 12L, Google is updating the Play Store. It will check each app against its large screen app quality guidelines and take the results into ranking and search listing considerations. It'll go even further by warning people on bigger devices with notices on an app's Play Store page if it's not been optimized for 12L. 

Android has long faced criticism over being a poor OS for tablets and bigger displays, and 12L does appear promising. Google also announced some updates to make it easier for developers to code for WearOS, including offering Jetpack Compose support for the platform. It looks like the company is working hard to improve areas that it's been behind Apple on, and we'll have to see how developers take to these changes to know if Google's tablet, foldable and smartwatch dreams might succeed.

Apple said in September that it was launching a feature called Group Workouts on Fitness+ that would use iOS 15's SharePlay tool for exercise sessions over FaceTime. The company just announced that Group Workouts is available starting today, so you can get up to 32 friends together to follow along with the company's exercise or meditation videos. 

To use the new features, you'll need to update to iOS 15.1 or iPadOS 15.1, as well as watchOS 8.1, which also implies those are available today. Those who plan on watching the videos on their Apple TV will also need tvOS 15.1. To start a Group Workout, you'll need to first be on a FaceTime call, go to the Fitness app, then pick the video to follow. As you all sweat it out, Apple will display each person's metrics on their own screens. When someone moves ahead on the Burn Bar (which appears on specific workouts with more cardio activity) or closes their rings, everyone gets an alert so you can celebrate together. 

SharePlay wasn't available when iOS 15 launched earlier this year, and during our testing of the iOS 15 beta it was buggy and unstable. The company was expected to release iOS 15.1 this week, bringing the ability to SharePlay over FaceTime, so you can watch movies and videos with your friends or just show them what's on your iPhone. We've reached out to Apple for confirmation on whether iOS 15.1 and SharePlay elsewhere on the system is available today, and will update if we hear back.

Fitness+ is also expanding to 15 new countries. From Nov. 3rd, Austria, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates will be able to access the service. In America, those on UnitedHealthcare insurance can get a year of Fitness+ on their plans at no additional cost, starting Nov. 1st. 

The Pixel 6 is the most intriguing phone Google has made in years. Not only is it a return to premium design with eye-catching colors and up to a 120Hz screen, it’s also powered by the company’s first mobile processor — Tensor. With it, Google is promising serious improvements in AI performance and photography, including better voice recognition and Assistant features.

Google also finally upgraded the Pixel’s camera hardware instead of just relying on its processing smarts. That’s not to say it’s overlooked software this year. The Pixel 6 is stuffed to the brim with special photography modes. The best thing about the Pixel 6 series, though, is the surprisingly low starting price, and it makes the few drawbacks easier to forgive.

Design

I'm torn over the Pixel 6's design. Compared to the last few generations, these are an arresting change of pace. The two-tone palette is pretty, especially on the smaller Pixel 6, which has more fun color options. It also has a flat screen with a matte finish on its sides while the Pro has pleasantly curved, shiny edges and feels a lot like the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. 

David Imel for Engadget

Google's horizontal camera bar here is polarizing. I don't mind it, but I know many people think it's hideous. In its defense, it not only houses larger sensors, but it also makes for a more symmetrical design than the corner camera bumps on every other flagship. And as a bonus, it doesn’t wobble when resting on a tabletop.

Aesthetics and style are all subjective, but no one can argue with hard numbers. At 207 grams (or 7.3 ounces), the Pixel 6 is heavier than the Galaxy S21 and the iPhone 13, though not by much. The Pixel does have a larger 6.4-inch screen, though, and I wish it was smaller since previous generations (and other companies) all offer a one-hand-friendly size. Meanwhile, the Pixel 6 Pro weighs 210 grams, which is much lighter than the iPhone 13 Pro Max and the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Display, audio and fingerprint sensor

Both the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro have lovely OLED screens. The standard model has a 6.4-inch 1080p panel that runs at 90Hz, while the Pro uses a 6.7-inch display that goes between 10Hz and 120Hz depending on what you're doing.

Most flagship phones have adopted OLED by now, and in general offer excellent image quality. The new frontier for displays is refresh rate, and the Pixel 6 Pro’s 120Hz screen is as buttery as the iPhone 13 Pro and Galaxy S21 Ultra’s. Scrolling through Twitter, Instagram and articles on the internet is satisfyingly fast.

David Imel for Engadget

The Pixel 6’s 90Hz refresh rate does make it feel a little slower, but you won’t notice if you haven’t been spoiled by 120Hz screens. If you’re upgrading from an older phone, the 90Hz panel will be an obvious improvement. Plus, this thing costs just $600, so no gripes here, especially since the iPhone 13 is $200 more and runs at 60Hz.

I’m also not going to complain much about the Pixel 6’s speakers, which are decent. Vocals were clear in Steve Aoki and Jolin Tsai’s Equal in the Darkness, though the mix could sound messy at times and lacked bass. Lil Nas X’s Industry Baby held up a little better.

Under the Pixel 6’s display is a fingerprint sensor, and unfortunately it’s slow and finicky, especially compared to in-screen readers on recent Galaxy and OnePlus devices. You also can’t log in with your thumb when the screen is off, meaning unlocking your phone is a two-step process: Wake the screen, then scan your print. Google could stand to take notes from Samsung here. Place your finger on the screen of an S21 and you almost immediately see your home page.

David Imel for Engadget

If you’re mad that the fingerprint sensor was relocated, Google said it was mainly to keep the phone’s rear looking uncluttered, while still offering some form of secure biometric authentication.

Android 12 and Assistant features

What truly defines the Pixel 6 experience is its software — an area Google has always excelled. With Android 12's new Material You UI, the Pixel 6s feel as pretty inside as they do outside. The most obvious flourish is its ability to theme the entire interface around a color palette it extracts from your wallpaper. We've discussed this many times in our previous coverage of the Android 12 beta, so I won't go on and on about it here, but it makes the OS feel more cohesive.

Android 12 offers many new features that we've already tested, like updated widgets, camera and mic privacy toggles, but the company has updates that are exclusive to Pixels as well. The most impactful of these are the upgraded speech recognition algorithms. Transcriptions are more accurate, translations are integrated in more parts of the OS and the keyboard is easier to use hands-free.

As someone who detests typing on a phone, I love the new voice keyboard. It’s better at understanding my rambling monologues and inserting punctuation. Now transcribed text looks more natural, rather than being a long block of words. The system will even retroactively add punctuation to previous sentences while you’re speaking. That said, Assistant still isn’t perfect, and often adds periods where they don’t belong. And maybe this is more of an indictment of the way I speak, but Google seems to think everything I say is a question.

What makes hands-free typing even easier is the ability to say things like “Send,” “Clear,” “Delete” and “Undo.” I especially love that you can say “Hey Google, type” to trigger the speech keyboard, so there’s no need to touch the screen to reply to your friends. The Pixel 6 also helpfully suggests commands for things like jumping to the next field in a form or setting the subject of an email. Plus, you can add emoji by saying “smiley face emoji” or “peach emoji”.

The new keyboard also makes it easier to fix mistakes. You can’t do this hands-free unless you want to clear everything and start over, but at least you don’t have to exit voice typing mode to select a typo and then tap the speech button to start dictating again. The mic will remain on so you can repeat something with more careful enunciation, and you can use commands like “Delete” to get rid of stray words.

The improvements to voice commands are especially important for those with physical or motor disabilities, and this might make it easier to communicate if you have limited mobility.

Cherlyn Low / Engadget

Google also expanded its Quick Phrases feature, which allowed you to say things like “Stop” or “Answer” in response to alarms or calls. This feature rolled out first on Google’s speakers and displays, and now on the Pixel 6 you can also say “Stop,” “Snooze,” “Answer” and “Decline.” I know it seems like a minor update, but I appreciate every little addition that makes hands-free interaction with my phone easier.

Another advantage Pixels have over other phones is Google’s time-saving features like Duplex and Call Screening. On the Pixel 6, Google is introducing new Wait Time and Direct My Call tools that tell you how long you’ll have to wait for a customer service rep and converts voice-based menus into on-screen options. Though it’s supposed to work with the top 5,000 toll-free US business numbers, I didn’t see wait times appear for Bank of America, though it showed up for Capital One, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and DoorDash.

The Pixel 6 accurately turned DoorDash’s menu into tappable buttons, too, though it only works in English. “Press 1 to continue in English” appeared, though “Para continuar en espanol, o prima dos” did not, nor did the option to continue “en Francais.”

The company has also integrated its translation engine into more parts of the Pixel 6, like Live Transcribe and the keyboard. You no longer have to use the app or search engine to translate what you need before copying and pasting it into a message.

When I opened a conversation with our video producer Brian, the phone detected that he had written in German and asked if I wanted it to translate. Once I agreed, Brian’s message of “ich liebe dich” was replaced with “I love you.” As I typed out my reply, a separate text field appeared above the keyboard with my words in English being translated into Deutsch. This also worked with the new voice typing, although sometimes it reverted to the old speech keyboard (the microphone icon looks different in the latest version).

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Only a few languages like German, Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, French, Hindi, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Russian and English are supported at this time. Most chat apps are compatible, too, like WhatsApp, Signal, Line, Twitter, Google Chat, Snapchat and Android Messages. Though, Instagram messages weren’t working when I tried it.

Another area where translation is baked in is Live Captions, which provides subtitles for anything playing through your phone’s speakers. In general Google’s interpretations still aren’t very accurate and sentences come off stilted. In Interpreter Mode, Brian and I had a conversation where I spoke Chinese and he spoke Korean and simply couldn’t make sense of what the other was saying unless we told it to translate both languages to English instead. But it’s not like any other translation software is better.

The phone’s Tensor chip handles all these things quickly, and since it’s all done on-device you can use the features without an internet connection. Lens in particular was very fast at identifying Korean characters on a book and correctly capitalizing the author’s names. And, though it struggled with my handwritten Chinese characters, it was still fairly speedy at showing its English interpretation.

There are a lot of little software updates throughout Android 12 that I don’t have the time or space to go into here, but I’ll quickly shout out new security features like the Anti-Malware and Phishing tool. When someone sends you a suspicious message in WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram, Google will throw up a warning page like it does in Chrome, reminding you not to transmit sensitive information online to people who might not be who you think they are. It won’t prevent these messages from reaching you, but it’s at least a reminder to be careful (and a great way to diss your friends). There’s also a new security hub that helps you identify what apps are using your personal data the most.

Cameras

Google’s software has helped it make the most of the outdated cameras on its older Pixels, but this time around the company endowed its flagships with much better hardware. The Pixel 6 has a 50-megapixel main sensor that uses pixel-binning to achieve a resolution closer to 12 megapixels (that are bigger and let in more light). Accompanying this is a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera with a 114-degree field of view, and the Pro adds a 48-megapixel telephoto lens to the mix that has 4X optical zoom. It also has a 11.1-megapixel wide angle selfie camera that shoots in 4K, while the Pixel 6 has an 8-megapixel sensor that tops out at 1080p. These sensors aren’t just sharper, they’re also bigger with larger pixels, which makes for brighter, cleaner photos.

In almost every situation, the Pixel 6 Pro’s photos were basically on par with the iPhone 13 Pro, and the comparison here boils down to personal preference. They both produce crisp, colorful pictures. Apple tends to deliver more-saturated images with a green-yellow cast, while Google has a more neutral look. The iPhone struggles with fringing when shooting anything against a light source, but it also renders rosier skin tones compared to the Pixel, which washes my subjects out in low light.

That’s disappointing, by the way, given the Pixel 6 also features Google’s Real Tone processing. It’s part of the company’s Image Equity program, which is built on research and feedback from photographers and people of color to get more accurate exposure for different skin tones.

This isn’t a feature you can turn off, so it’s hard to see how effective it is. All I can say is: I’ve photographed people of varying skin tones in my testing and have yet to encounter any serious issues or obvious improvements.

In addition to baking Real Tone into its algorithms, Google also introduced a slew of special camera features, including Magic Eraser, Motion Mode, Face Unblur and Speech Enhancement for selfie videos.

Most of these are hit or miss, except Face Unblur, which uses images from both the wide and main cameras to stitch together photos with crisp faces every time. I wasn’t expecting to be wowed, but Face Unblur worked well. I fired the camera in rapid succession while Brian stood in front of me and vigorously shook his head from side to side. Every single shot had his face in perfect focus.

The rest of the updates, like Speech Enhancement, Magic Eraser, Long Exposure and Action Pan in Motion Mode, only work in the right circumstances. Magic Eraser doesn’t always identify photobombers or perfectly remove them. But in some cases, like my picture of a stream framed by trees, it accurately highlighted two people on the bank and seamlessly replaced them with foliage.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

I’m also a fan of Action Pan and Long Exposure, which add a motion blur effect to your fast-moving subject and let you capture light trails. When they work, the results are eye-catching. But while they’re easy to use and don’t require you to hold still for too long, Action Pan can’t handle anything faster than a cyclist and the blur can be exaggerated. Long Exposure delivered some nice shots of cars going down a roundabout, but doesn’t offer enough controls for experienced photographers.

Finally, while speech enhancement mode does muffle some ambient noise in videos shot with the front camera, my voice wasn’t all that much clearer than without the mode on.

Generally, much like Google’s astrophotography mode, these features are only helpful in specific situations that most people won’t encounter often. The tools that have a greater impact on your photos are Magic Eraser and Face Unblur, and despite some quirks they’re both quite effective.

Performance and battery life

Despite Tensor being Google’s first mobile chip, its performance is surprisingly good. I barely noticed a difference between the Pixel 6 and Apple and Samsung’s latest flagships, and it handled League of Legends: Wild Rift while screen recording without issue. According to Geekbench 5’s CPU benchmarks, though, the iPhone 13 Pro with its 3.2GHz A15 Bionic chip was way faster than the Pixel 6 (which is clocked at 2.8Ghz), notching a multi-core score of 4,809 over Google’s 2,802. The Surface Duo 2, with a Snapdragon 888 processor (2.84GHz), came in at 3,485.

David Imel for Engadget

With two ARM X1 “Prime” cores, two big cores and four little high-efficiency cores, Tensor’s design is similar to Qualcomm’s high-end Snapdragon 888, though with an additional X1 core. But the draw here is Google’sTPU, or Tensor Processing Unit, which is a scaled down version of what the company uses in its data centers, and it’s designed to speed up AI tasks. To be fair, Apple and Qualcomm offer similar coprocessors: the Neural Engine and Hexagon, respectively. But Google has much more experience in the field of AI than its competitors, and while we don’t have hard numbers to back it up, anecdotally Tensor seems to outclass the competition in this field.

On-device Assistant requests, voice typing and translating foreign characters in Lens all happened in an instant. I was especially impressed that I could see the effects of Google’s noise reduction through the viewfinder in low light without having to wait for processing after taking the shot.

I encountered some odd delays every once in a while, like the camera struggling to load sometimes. I received several updates throughout my testing (as recently as yesterday) and may still not have the final version of the app, which could bring more stable performance.

Both the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro last incredibly long. On our video rundown test, the Pixel 6 clocked 20 and a half hours, while the Pro managed 17 hours and 13 minutes. That puts them among the longest-lasting phones we've tested all year. In real world use, too, the Pixel 6 Pro typically stuck around longer than a day and I never stopped to think about charging it.

David Imel for Engadget

Pixel 6 or 6 Pro?

Though it’s still difficult to choose between the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, the decision this year boils down to one key factor: price. In the past, Google's phones came in regular and XL versions, and they were obviously different in size. With the Pixel 6 though, the standard model isn't that much smaller. That's disappointing for anyone with daintier hands that have a hard time reaching across the screen. But it does mean you don’t have to choose between size or premium features — just go for the Pro if you want the top-of-the-line edition.

The main reason to get the Pixel 6 instead of the Pro is to save $300. You'll only be missing out on the 120Hz screen, telephoto camera and slight design differences. Yes, the Pro has an ultra wideband chip for spatial location and ranging, but this won’t matter much to most people.

Wrap-up

Whichever version you’re considering, the Pixel 6 series is a superb return to form. Google is clearly aware that its strengths lay in smart software and excellent photography, and those are the areas where the Pixel 6s deliver most. The company also didn’t neglect basics like battery life and display, and though I wish the fingerprint sensor was faster, there’s little to complain about. Best of all, Google is offering you all these flagship features for hundreds less than the competition.

Key specs

Photos by David Imel (@DurvidImel)

Microsoft isn’t giving up on its dual-screen dreams. The company is back this year with a new Surface Duo that looks like it might fix some of the original’s flaws. Instead of a finicky and low-quality camera, the Duo 2 packs a triple-sensor system on its rear, in addition to a selfie shooter inside. The device also has a narrower overall footprint, faster-refreshing screens and some updated software. There’s also support for Microsoft’s Slim Pen 2, which should make drawing and taking notes a more intuitive experience.

But despite having addressed many of the previous generation’s issues and adding some useful features, the Duo 2 remains a frustrating device. And at $1,500, it’s still a pricey product with a niche, limited appeal.

Hardware and design changes

By now, you’re probably familiar with the Duo’s proposition. The second generation features a pair of 5.8-inch screens connected by a hinge. It’s also running Android 11 this year, with some tweaks to improve multi-display use. Combined, the two panels offer an 8.3-inch canvas, which is slightly bigger than before. You can flip one screen all the way around to use the Duo 2 in a phone-like single-screen state, use one side as a stand to prop up the other half or have both displays facing you like a book or tablet.

Like the original, this thing is an attractive piece of hardware with an impressively thin profile and a sleek silhouette. The Duo 2 is a bit heavier than its predecessor, and even heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 3, and I’d chalk most of that gain up to its camera module. Despite the chunky protrusion on the back of the right screen, though, the Duo 2 is evenly weighted and felt balanced when open.

David Imel for Engadget

My main concern when I first saw the camera bump was that two sides would no longer lay flush against each other when opened all the way up. But the bump was surprisingly unobtrusive, and while I didn’t mind using the Duo 2 as a single-screen device, it’s still a bit too wide to replace my phone, especially for one-handed use. Though the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is heavy and its screen is a little too narrow and cramped, it still offers a better experience in this mode.

When the panels are back-to-back, the system will keep the last screen you used active, while the other shows a message saying you can double tap it to switch over. It’s basically two phones sandwiching a camera and you can use one side at a time. You’ll notice odd aspect ratio issues here and there, thanks to the uncommon 1,892 x 1,344 resolution, but for the most part apps expand to cover the whole screen nicely if you enable the automatic span setting. It even worked with the notoriously finicky Instagram, except… photo captions would overflow into the edges and get eaten up, and Stories still had blank space flanking them. 

I did appreciate the 90Hz refresh rate when scrolling through my social feeds. The AMOLED panels are lovely, delivering crisp and colorful image and video quality. I do wish they got a bit brighter, though, since they’re about 200 nits dimmer than the iPhone 13 series.

When closed, the Duo 2 is basically useless since, unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 3, it doesn’t have an “external” screen. If you want to read your notifications while the device is laying on a table, you’ll need to leave it open or with one display facing out.

David Imel for Engadget

But Microsoft tries to offer you at least barebones notifications while the Duo 2 is closed via the new Glance Bar. The inside edges of the screens are curved slightly so you can see a little bit of the display through the hinge. When the Glance Bar is enabled, you can see the clock and other system info on this tiny sliver, and it’ll light up in different colors when you have incoming calls or messages. It actually drew my attention to the fact that the Duo 2 didn’t charge overnight by glowing red to indicate the battery was low.

While the Glance Bar is somewhat helpful, it’s also super tiny, which means you need to have Superman’s eyesight to see the clock from more than, say, a few inches away, which basically defeats the purpose. Plus, the Glance Bar works with just first-party apps for now, which means you’ll only get alerted to text messages and phone calls. Oh, and Teams calls, in case you’re that wired into Microsoft’s ecosystem.

The best uses for the Duo 2’s dual-screens

You can also use the Duo 2 in a few other modes (or “postures” as Microsoft calls them), thanks to the hinge, which is sturdy and smooth. It’s easy to open without too much force, yet strong enough to prop up one screen without it budging. Perhaps the best way to use the Duo 2 is in Book and Tent modes, the latter of which is wonderful for playing games while seated at a desk. It’s also handy for keeping an eye on Twitter or a YouTube live chat while working on my laptop.

David Imel for Engadget

Then, when you’re ready to turn your attention to something more intensive, switch over to Book mode and hold the Duo 2 up with both displays facing you. This can be very immersive on any device, and I had a similar feeling with the Z Fold 3. It’s not ideal for idle doomscrolling while you watch TV or firing off a quick reply to your group chats, though. When you have both screens on they basically demand you be actively engaged — whether it’s reading a book, or building a shopping list on one side while looking at recipes on the other.

The Duo 2 is satisfying in this mode if you’re holding it vertically. Flip to landscape orientation and the entire UI just struggles to keep up, especially if you’re using swipe-based navigation instead of choosing the older Android home screen, with back and recent buttons. In general, the Duo 2 feels a little clumsy when held horizontally.

Software quirks remain

I want to commend Microsoft for all the work it’s done to improve the Duo 2’s software. Compared to the hot mess of last year’s model, the system feels a little more cohesive. Part of that has to do with better support for multi-screen devices in Android 11. But quirks still remain and they’re still too numerous for me to list individually, so I’m just going to give you a few examples.

Like I said before, the UI doesn’t know what to do with the swipe-based navigation and in landscape mode, the typical swipe up to go home gesture doesn’t work. Instead, you’ll have to swipe in from the right to either go home or see all apps. To go back, you can only swipe from the left — bad news for anyone who preferred it the other way.

David Imel for Engadget

Also, trying to type in this mode is still a pain — you’ll lose more than two thirds of the screen to the keyboard (and a weird row of empty space at the bottom), so good luck trying to see what you composed.

Even in Book mode there are annoying quirks. There’s a pervasive touch input issue that other reviewers noted on the original Duo and it explains why I felt the Duo 2 is sluggish and finicky. Throughout the system, whether it’s trying to switch lenses in the camera or open the settings menu in a game, the system sometimes just doesn’t register a tap. I’d need to jab at it repeatedly for something to happen.

There are other issues too, but they happen inconsistently enough that I felt like the Duo 2 was gaslighting me. For example, the Microsoft Start app would randomly launch on the left screen when I had an app on the right. I promise you this wasn’t because I accidentally swiped over to the left to see the Start feed; This is a ghost app that appears on its own. There’s also that Instagram caption overflow problem I mentioned earlier that seemed to go away, but would reappear now and then.

Camera performance

The camera was one of the most frustrating parts of the original Duo, and I was hopeful that the second generation would be vastly improved. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. To be clear, the hardware is better. You get a triple camera system with a 12-megapixel main sensor, a 12-megapixel telephoto lens and a 16-megapixel wide option with a 110-degree field of view. The selfie camera also got an upgrade, going from 11-megapixels to 12.

Photos taken by the Duo 2 are better. In general, pictures were rich and bright, with sharp details, though the camera struggled in low light. There’s a weird cast in some of the photos where the camera seemed to white balance the same scene differently in back-to-back shots, but that’s a minor issue that other phones face too. More disappointing is the front camera, which delivered noisy, pale shots of my friends and I, and has a tendency to overexpose everything.

The biggest problem is that the Duo 2’s camera app still sucks. I thought that with a dedicated rear and front camera setup, the system would no longer have to guess what screen you wanted to use as a viewfinder. But instead of letting users decide which cameras they want to use at any time, Microsoft limits when you can use the rear cameras. If you unfold the Duo 2 so that the screens are more than 180 degrees away from each other, Microsoft disables the triple-sensor module and you’re stuck with the selfie option. Presumably, this is to prevent you from accidentally capturing the back of the device, but it just takes away user control. Why should Microsoft lock you out of the superior camera option on the Duo 2 just because the screens are open a little more than 180 degrees?

David Imel for Engadget

The UI is also supposed to allow you to use the spare screen as a photo viewer, so you can see your shots right after snapping them, but this didn’t happen consistently. And in a 10-minute photo shoot, the app crashed at least three times, showing a generic error message. To top it all off, the camera fails to keep up with rapid-fire shooting, sometimes taking a few seconds to snap a picture and save it to your gallery (I suspect this delay has more to do with the UI trying to pull up the image on the other screen than an actual processor issue). Throw in the touch input lag I mentioned earlier and the entire camera experience is a disaster. It’s as if Microsoft never bothered to test the camera at all.

Performance and battery life

Beyond the software quirks, the Duo 2’s high-end Snapdragon 888 chipset actually seemed to struggle at times. When I played a few rounds of Airplane Chefs in one-screen mode, the device ran hot and then completely stalled, leaving me unable to serve food to impatient passengers. This doesn’t just occur when I have the two screens flipped all the way around, either. On the whole, the area under the camera module tends to get warm. But when the Duo 2’s sides are stuck back to back, it seems to keep the heat from dissipating quickly enough.

Then there’s the countless number of times apps have just died on me. I handed the Duo 2 off to a friend with OneNote on the right screen, so they could try the keyboard. It refused to pull up the keyboard and shortly after stopped registering any touches. We closed and opened the device and the app still wasn’t working. Only a force quit revived OneNote. Oh and sometimes when I was using just one screen in landscape mode, a screenshot would capture the home screen instead of the app I was using on it.

David Imel for Engadget

The one thing I’m impressed with is that the Duo 2’s battery life isn’t any worse than before — which is a very low bar. This year’s model clocked 10 hours and 16 minutes with our video rundown test playing on one screen and the Android home page on the other. The original Duo came in at 10 hours and 32 minutes, and considering the faster screens, that seems fair. For what it’s worth, the Fold 3, which has a 120Hz panel, lasted 14 hours and 3 minutes.

Wrap-up

I could go on about all the little ways the Duo 2 struggles, but that would take forever. Some of them are minor and just require a little adjusting, while others, like the camera app, are downright unforgivable. Things Microsoft introduced to improve the experience, like the triple rear cameras and Glance bar, are only slight improvements. I appreciate the faster screens, but at this price they’re almost a given. I haven’t been able to test the Slim Pen 2, but it’s worth noting you’ll have to pay an extra $130 for it.

Like the Galaxy Z Fold 3, the Duo 2 is suffering a sort of identity crisis. Neither device works well as a phone replacement, but at least Samsung’s foldable has reliable software and good cameras. Despite the improvements, the Duo 2 is still a kind of gimmicky device that’s costly to boot and only people with $1,500 to burn and who really need a dual-screen phone should buy it.

Photos by David Imel (@DurvidImel)

The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are finally here, and they’re the most promising phones from Google in years. That’s largely thanks to Tensor, the company’s first mobile chip. We’ve already seen plenty of pictures and videos of the Pixel 6, but now we actually have devices to play with and detailed specs to share. One of the highlights of the Pixel 6s are the cameras, which not only received a processing boost thanks to Tensor, but also a serious hardware upgrade.

Additionally, these handsets bring faster-refreshing screens, Android 12-exclusive features and significant voice recognition enhancements. But the best thing about the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro is the reasonable price. Starting today, you can pre-order a Pixel 6 for $599 and a 6 Pro for $899, and they’ll be available on shelves October 28th.

Pixel 6 and 6 Pro hardware differences

That’s a surprisingly low price for the Pixel 6. You’re getting a 6.4-inch Full HD screen with a 90Hz refresh rate, not to mention a 50-megapixel main rear camera (with pixel-binning), 12-megapixel wide angle lens and an 8-megapixel selfie camera. For $300 more, the Pixel 6 Pro offers a sharper 6.7-inch 1,440p screen that goes up to 120Hz and has narrower bezels. The Pro also adds a 48-megapixel telephoto lens with 4x optical zoom, and its 11.1-megapixel selfie camera is both sharper and packs a wider-angle lens.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

The other main differences between the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are that the Pro has a larger battery and comes with 12GB of RAM, while the smaller model has 8GB. Oh, and only the Pro goes up to 512GB of storage and has an ultra wideband chip for ranging and spatial orientation.

Pretty much every other feature is standard across the two devices. They’re both powered by Google’s new Tensor chip — an octa-core system comprised of two "Prime" Arm X1, two big and four small CPU cores. Both phones also have in-display fingerprint sensors, IP68 protection ratings, support for sub-6, mmWave 5G and pretty much every other standard you’d expect from a flagship in 2021.

A return to premium design and fun colors

The two also differ slightly in design, which marks a departure from previous years. Right off the bat, the phones feel markedly different from the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4. Instead of a matte soft-touch texture, both Pixel 6 phones are covered in glass with gently curved edges, lending them a premium feel. I’m not a fan of their new blocky shape, and the Pro in particular feels very similar to Samsung’s Note 20 Ultra. Thankfully, the Pro is lighter than the Note 20 Ultra and the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Both phones are also much larger than the Pixel 5, and though their screen sizes differ, they have almost the same footprint. As you’ve probably noticed in the images circulating around the internet, the focus of the backside is an approximately inch-tall bar that spans the width of the device. It houses the cameras (two for the Pixel 6 and three for the 6 Pro), and while it does protrude about half an inch from the back, it doesn’t cause much wobble when you place the handset on a flat surface. 

As mentioned, the Pixel 6 has noticeably thicker bezels and its edges have a matte texture compared to the Pro’s shinier finish. They also come in a different trio of colors, and the Pixel 6 arguably has the better palette. I’m a fan of the minty blue option, and the blush version is nice too. Meanwhile, the Pro only has one fun shade that's not black or silver: the almost yellowish hue. Not everyone’s going to love it.

Android 12 and voice recognition

Both phones run Android 12 with some Pixel-exclusive features. The most obvious refresh is the Material You UI, which took a really long time to roll out to the beta (and arrives on Pixels first). If you’ve been following our coverage of Google’s software, you know that Material You adapts by taking the primary color elements of your home screen’s wallpaper and then applies that throughout the system.

That means you get colorful, matching hues for things like your keyboard, menu buttons, settings panel and notifications shade. Seeing it fully realized on the Pixel 6 was a treat. Good news for current Pixel owners: It will roll out to the Pixel 3 and newer devices today.

But when Google introduced Tensor earlier this year, it also promised big things were coming in areas like voice recognition and camera processing. The company teased us with some limited demos then, but at a recent briefing I was shown more of the features coming to the Pixel 6 and they’re truly intriguing.

First of all, Google has revamped its speech recognition software. Not only will the engine be better at understanding you, but it also suggests alternatives that might make more sense. For example, if you have a friend whose name is Bryan (with a ‘y’), and you’ve changed the spelling a few times from Brian (with an 'i'), the system will note the correct spelling going forward.

Google

Google will also let you insert emoji by saying things like “smiley face emoji.” During my demo, I said “hot pot emoji” and the fire and pot symbols appeared. (Sadly, Unicode doesn’t have an icon for hotpot yet. Shame.) You’ll also be able to say the words “Send” or “Clear” to submit or delete your message, and go into the text to edit it while you’re speaking by tapping the error and saying what it should be. No need to switch in and out of voice typing mode.

Arguably the most interesting of the Pixel 6’s voice features is the ability to translate languages as you’re typing. A Google rep pulled up a WhatsApp chat with a friend who uses Japanese, and typed “Certainly, I will do that.” Almost simultaneously, the Japanese characters (hiragana) appeared in the text field.

My Japanese is rusty, so I’m not entirely sure the translation was accurate, but an earlier message from the conversation did appear to correctly convert “so cool” to “totemo kakkoii.” The translation happens both ways, so if your friend is sending you something in a foreign language, Google can also convert it to something you can read.

Google

One of my favorite things about Pixel phones is their call-related Assistant features. Things like Call Screen and Hold For Me keep me from wasting time on robocalls or waiting for a representative who is “currently helping other customers.” The Pixel 6 will also get a new Wait Time feature that shows you how long you can expect to hold for the top 5,000 businesses in the US and even convert those annoying menus into an onscreen interface. That’s not only great for saving you time, but can help those with hearing impairments. I didn’t get to try it out myself yet, though Google’s rep did call HBO and the Assistant seemed to accurately transcribe what the automated operator said.

A serious camera upgrade

The main area where the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro have improved is their cameras and indeed, this is what I'm most excited about. We're at a point in the smartphone camera race where all the major players deliver excellent image quality regardless of whether they’re using a 108-megapixel or 12-megapixel sensor.

So where Google needs to stand out is with special features. And there’s a long list of new ones here thanks to that Tensor chip, including a Motion mode, object eraser and real tone for more accurate processing for people with different melanin levels.

Few of these are truly new in the smartphone world. We've seen the eraser option before on Samsung phones, where if there's a stray garbage can in your photo, you can select it and the system will remove it for you. During my demo, a Google rep took a picture of their colleague with passerby and a backpack in the background. They then tapped the extraneous person in the Photos app to outline and then delete them. There was a faint shadow on the wall that Google generated in its place, but it was otherwise as if there was never a person there.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

The Motion mode also offers other familiar tools we’ve seen on Huawei and Sony phones. One is a long exposure setting that lets you shoot moving cars at night (or anything with lights, really) and have their tail lights appear in the image as iridescent streaks. Because my meeting took place during the day, a Google rep demonstrated this by taking pictures of videos projected onto a wall, including a waterfall. The Pixel 6 rendered beautiful light streaks and silky cascades of water. So far, I’ve been impressed by the images it produces, especially compared to samples taken with Huawei’s Light Painting mode.

The other feature in Motion mode is called Action Pan. Basically, if you have a fast moving subject, like a dog prancing through a field or a bike zooming down the street, it will let you capture a crisp photo of your subject against a motion-blurred background. Again, based on the demo at my briefing (of a Google rep cycling inside a room in circles), it seemed to work well.

With the Pixel 6 launch, Google is also officially introducing its image equity program. We've heard a little bit about this at I/O, where the company said it’s working to make the Android camera more inclusive. In the Pixel 6, Real Tone is baked in (not something you can turn on or off) and it should render people more accurately, and also better expose and color-balance scenes. Of course, this is something that will require more real-world testing for me to conclude it’s effective.

There's a slew of other photography-related features that I’d love to try outside of a controlled demo, including a Face Unblur tool. But while there’s plenty of software tweaks to check out, I’m also dying to grab some pictures with the new hardware. Both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro now have a 50-megapixel main sensor with f/1.85 aperture. They also have a 12-megapixel ultra-wide option that has a 114-degree field of view, and the Pro has an additional 48-megapixel telephoto lens with 4X optical zoom.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

A Google rep and I stood side by side with him holding the Pixel 6 Pro and me using the iPhone 13 Pro I had on hand. Both of us zoomed to the furthest we could to capture a little Android figurine sitting on a distant couch, and Google appeared to be the clear winner. While both devices rendered the robot, when we zoomed in it was evident the Pixel 6 Pro captured more detail, clearly showing the lines between its head and body, which were basically just smudges on the iPhone.

Up front, the Pixel 6 has an 8-megapixel camera while the Pro goes up to 11.1-megapixels, and the latter can capture selfie videos at up to 4K at 30 frames per second. Both devices can shoot at 4K resolution at 60 fps with their rear cameras, and there’s a new Speech Enhancement mode to play with that will drown out background noise to focus on what you’re saying. All these will also require extended real world testing before I can tell how useful they are.

In fact, there’s plenty more to test, including battery life, Tensor’s performance and the in-display fingerprint sensor’s responsiveness. You can already pre-order the Pixel 6 for $599 and the 6 Pro for $899, which is hundreds less than their Apple and Samsung counterparts, but I’d suggest waiting for our full review before spending your money.

Key specs

Catch up on all the latest news from Google's Pixel 6 event!

The main difference between Apple’s Watch Series 7 and the Series 6 is just a larger display, but it makes an outsized impact on a device as small as a watch. Apple also generally enlarged the UI, making things easier to read and navigate. To make better use of the bigger canvas, the company also added some new watch faces and a full QWERTY keyboard for replying to messages.

The other changes to the Series 7 are less obvious, like a new SiP (system-in-package), faster charging and overnight respiratory tracking. For those coming from the last generation, this might not feel like a significant upgrade. But the larger display does make a meaningful impact for anyone that’s upgrading from a Watch SE, Series 5 or older.

Design and hardware

Even though its screen is bigger, the Series 7 still manages to retain basically the same footprint as its predecessor. It’s a hair heavier than the Watch SE and Series 6, which makes sense since its case is slightly larger. Unlike previous generations, which came in 40 and 44mm sizes, this year you can choose between 41mm and 45mm. The difference is barely noticeable at first. 

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Once I turned the screen on, though, I was struck by its roominess. This was when this main design change became obvious. Apple used a refractive edge here to make it seem like the display curves slightly along the sides and it helps the face feel even more expansive. The bezels have been whittled down to just 1.7mm (0.07 inch) compared to last gen’s 3mm.

Oh, and a quick shout here to its durability: It’s the first Apple Watch to be certified IP6X for dust resistance. Since I’m in reviewer mode, I've been very careful to avoid situations where I might damage the device. But I’ll admit I’ve already dropped the Series 7 once and it survived without a scratch, thanks to Apple’s crystal covering that the company says is more crack resistant than on the Series 6.

Now, you’re probably not comparing an Apple Watch to Android or Wear OS, but in case you were curious, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 is noticeably lighter than the Series 7. It also has a round face and thinner body. But really, if you’re an iPhone user, you’ve probably never even thought about a Galaxy watch.

A big screen difference

Depending on which Apple Watch you’d been using before, the jump in screen size may be less obvious. It’s increased more than 50 percent from the SE and 20 percent from the Series 6. Either way, the more spacious UI is helpful. Buttons for entering my passcode stretched out over the edges, and I didn't need to aim as carefully to strike the right keys. It's easier to hit the right settings in the control center, too, and I can see more of my friends’ messages at once. My heart rate and time passed during workouts are more readable as well. Those with visual impairments will also appreciate that there are new larger font size settings available.

Engadget

Though most buttons are between 12 and 27 percent larger, app icons are still squished together. That’s a problem for those of us who use the grid view for all apps, but not so much if you’re in list view.

The extra space also means Apple was able to introduce a full QWERTY keyboard for replying to messages by typing or swiping on the screen. Compared to handwriting, dictating or emojis, a keyboard offers a bit more flexibility, especially when the system correctly picks up your swipes. But because it’s so cramped, the accuracy rate is maybe 60 percent, and I still preferred using dictation. Plus, the new screen may be big, but it’s definitely not big enough to make tap typing possible. Still, it’s a good option to have.

In addition to enlarging most of the elements across the UI, Apple also added new faces that can display more information at once, like the Modular Duo. There’s also a Contour style that pushes the clock’s digits all the way to the edge where they warp and “melt” over the sides like in Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory. The remaining two are a Portrait face that we already saw in the watchOS 8 beta, and World Time, which is helpful for interacting with people in other countries. I used Modular Duo the most, though it’s not very attractive, and when I wanted something prettier I just switched to one with my face as the wallpaper instead. (Just kidding: I use the “Artist” design or a cute animal background.)

The new Modular Duo screen is the most useful. It lets you place two expanded complications on top of each other, while still showing the time and an additional small complication at the top. You can choose to show the world clock with a timer or your favorite stock’s performance with Apple Music, for example. I went with a Spotify controller and the Weather forecast. Though the latter worked well, showing me hourly temperature and sunlight data on the screen, the Spotify complication was, in a word, trash. It just shows the words “Tap to play music,” and I’d have to waste a tap and a second to pull up playback controls.

A second doesn’t sound like much, but when I’m out running or juggling my groceries, I don’t want to waste that time holding up my arm and watching my screen for more than a fraction of a second. I’m not going to harp on this because this is more of a Spotify problem than an Apple Watch issue, but given how many people use the music app, it would do both companies good to make this complication work better. I’d love to see more useful complications from other apps too.

One last note on the Series 7’s screen: Though its actual peak brightness hasn’t changed, Apple has tweaked the system so that the Always On display is up to 70 percent brighter when you’re indoors. This way, it’s easier to read if you have your hand hidden below a table while you’re at a meeting.

Battery life, charging and performance

That pretty much sums up all the screen-related updates on the Series 7. But there are a few other noteworthy upgrades. The most significant of these is that it charges faster, and in about 10 minutes, I got close to 10 percent capacity. It reached almost 100 percent in under an hour with the new cable that Apple includes in the box. Meanwhile, the Apple Watch SE only got to about 60 percent in an hour.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

You’ll need both the new charger and the Series 7 to get these faster charging speeds, by the way. It’s the coils on both the watch and the wireless disc that enable the higher rate, so this isn’t something you can get just by running out and buying a new accessory. As someone who’s constantly forgetting to charge my watch until I'm about to run out the door, I appreciate the faster speeds. That said, I still wish smartwatches in general lasted longer and took less time to charge.

Speaking of the battery, the Series 7 promises the same runtime as its predecessor, which is to say, about 18 hours. I generally found myself getting about half a day more from the new watch than the SE, despite the lack of an Always On display on the SE. The Series 7 usually stuck around for a day and a half, almost two, with the screen set to Always On, and tracking between three and five workouts. I also used the device to send plenty of messages and map my walks while I ran errands with the GPS on. That endurance is impressive given the larger screen, but it’s worth noting that I haven’t used the watch for sleep tracking yet.

The battery efficiency can be partly attributed to Apple’s new S7 system-in-package (SIP), which is based on the same processor as the S6. In general, I didn’t feel much of a difference between the Series 7 and the SE when launching workouts or getting Siri to text my friends. The Apple Watch has been and continues to be a responsive device that feels as fast as, if not faster than, its Android counterparts.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Sleep tracking, watchOS 8 and other updates

One area where Apple continues to lag the competition is sleep tracking. While companies like Fitbit and Samsung can use their wearables’ heart rate monitors to detect what sleep zone you’re in, Apple still doesn’t offer that. And you’ll need to make sure you have the Sleep Focus mode on (either manually or by setting a schedule) before the Watch will log your slumber. The others are all able to automatically tell when you’ve gone to sleep and don’t need you to set a schedule. In fact, Fitbit has been doing it since 2015.

The Series 7 does usher in a new feature that logs your respiration rate while you sleep, and then tells you your breath-per-minute rate the next morning. Cool. Respiratory tracking is something that’s coming via watchOS 8 and isn’t exclusive to the Series 7, and the same is true of features like the new Mindfulness app, guided meditation sessions, redesigned Photos app, SharePlaying Fitness+ workouts and more. This means they’re less likely to sway your decision on whether to get the Series 7 if you already have an Apple Watch. The main things exclusive to the Series 7 are the Modular Duo and Contour watch faces, larger font sizes and buttons, and the QWERTY keyboard.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Wrap-up

Though the differences between the Series 6 and 7 seem minor, it's worth a reminder that most people who own last year’s model likely aren’t looking to upgrade yet anyway. For anyone else who’s looking for a new smartwatch, the Series 7 will be a satisfying purchase, especially if you’ve never used one before. WatchOS is a capable and comprehensive system that can help you track your workouts, automatically log your sessions, prompt you to be more active and mindful of your mental health all while being a great extension of your smartphone. It’s not the best at sleep-tracking, though, so if that’s a priority you might prefer a Fitbit. Despite its relatively high starting price of $400, what Apple offers is currently the best in the market, especially for the iOS ecosystem.

Poorly timed traffic lights don't just waste precious minutes. Like Google's chief sustainability officer Kate Brandt pointed out at a media event yesterday, they're also bad for the environment and public health. The company unveiled a slew of sustainability-centric products and updates today that aim to help users make more informed, environmentally friendly decisions. But it's also been working on a project that could use AI to make traffic lights more efficient and, as a result, decrease pollution in general. 

When your vehicle stops at an intersection, that idling time leads to wasted fuel and "more street-level air pollution," Brandt said. Google's new project would use AI to measure and calculate traffic conditions and timing at a city's intersections, then time them more efficiently. Brandt said one of the company's AI research groups has been able to accurately calculate and gather this data and train a model to optimize inefficient intersections. 

Google has run pilots at four locations in Israel to date, in partnership with the municipalities of Haifa, Beer-Sheva and the Israel National Roads Company. The company says it's observed a "10 to 20 percent reduction in fuel and intersection delay time" so far. Google didn't share any details on the average daily traffic in those intersections, though a video clip from the event showed a fairly busy junction. The company also didn't explain how the AI would work with current systems and the lights around specific intersections.

"It's early days," Brandt said, "but on the back of these promising results, we are now beginning new pilots in Rio de Janeiro and speaking with other cities around the globe." Though we're likely still at least years away from having AI manage our traffic intersections, this is one of the steps towards the vision of completely smart cities that the industry has collectively been working on for years. 

The idea of letting AI decide when to let vehicles stop or go can seem unsettling at best and potentially risky, but the goal of improving traffic light efficiency is a worthwhile one. Hopefully, with rigorous testing and safety measures in place, we may actually be able to reduce a significant amount of wasted fuel and exhaust-based pollution.

Google's latest effort to help you make more environmentally friendly decisions is all about your power grid. The new Nest Renew program is a suite of features that look at the times of day when the electricity feeding into your home is cleaner and turning your compatible Nest thermostats on or off accordingly. Renew arrives in a by-invitation preview in the coming weeks, and will be available for free in the continental US when it launches publicly. 

At the heart of Nest Renew is the understanding that at any given time, the power grid in your neighborhood contains a mix of clean and traditional energy. In the early afternoon, perhaps, there could be a higher concentration of electricity from solar sources, while a windier day could mean more power from turbines is coming through. Depending on the region, power grids could be getting their electricity from a diverse mix of sources. According to Nest product manager Jeff Gleeson, "a smart dynamic electric grid really needs smart homes." 

Nest Renew will not only automate some of this decision-making for you, but it can also give you insights on the type of power coming into your home. First, a new feature called Energy Shift will let those with a Google account and compatible Nest Thermostat automatically activate heating or cooling during times when your grid is cleaner. 

Google

Because Google can now see how carbon-intense a grid is, it can start cooling, say, earlier in the day when solar energy is more available (and your home is approaching your temperature limit). Gleeson told Engadget that the company doesn't think people will notice a difference with this change, and stresses that "customers are always in control." 

If your thermostat kicks in before you want it to, you can always dial it back down, and you'll know the device is making a Renew-related decision thanks to a green leaf that will appear onscreen. For those whose energy provider charges based on time-of-use, this can also help you save money.

Nest has had the leaf symbol on its product for years as an indicator of more power-efficient temperature control. Now, you can earn leafs by doing things like using Energy Shift, joining monthly challenges to do things like running your laundry on cold. When you accumulate enough leafs to hit milestones, you can vote where Google sends its funds (from a list of its Energy Impact partners starting with non-profits GRID Alternatives and Elevate). 

Google

In addition to automatic adjustments via your thermostat, Nest Renew will provide monthly "impact reports" that not only tell you the difference you're making, but also display when the electricity coming into your home is greener. With this data, you can choose to run the laundry, dishwasher or charge your devices earlier or later when your grid is cleaner.

Renew is a free opt-in program and works with the third-generation Nest Learning Thermostat, the Nest Thermostat E or the most recent Nest Thermostat. Google is also offering a Premium tier for $10 a month in select parts of the US. It will unlock a Clean Energy Match feature that will exchange renewable energy credits (RECs) for what it estimates to be the same amount of fossil fuel-based electricity you use at home each month. This way, even if clean energy isn't available when you need to use it, you can at least assuage your guilt over using non-renewable power. Premium members will also get a unified bill that shows their monthly subscription to the program as well as their usual utility charges. 

Gleeson said Nest has been working on this program for years, and in that time it has teamed up with utilities and energy providers to encourage enrollment in residential programs, among other things. For Nest Renew, it's teamed up with eight Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) providers to help shape the program to meet their respective zero-carbon goals. 

Through the Nest Thermostats, increased visibility and marketing and relevant rewards programs, Google hopes to get more people enrolled in green energy utilities offers and programs. The company also wants to help utilities "bring more renewables online" and accelerate the process either by supporting them in building or buying renewable infrastructure, according to head of energy partnerships Hannah Bascomb.

Google's slew of sustainability-minded announcements today demonstrate a continued commitment towards the "carbon-free future" that CEO Sundar Pichai wrote about a year ago. In what Pichai called "our third decade of climate action," Google plans to operate on carbon-free energy 24/7, help more than 500 cities reduce 1 gigaton of carbon emissions and enable its partners to reduce carbon emissions all by 2030. Nest Renew is a part of a wide-ranging set of updates today across Search, Maps and more to help Google's users make more-informed, environmentally friendly decisions.

The Google graveyard is getting more crowded. After announcing the Plex mobile-first bank accounts in November last year with Citibank and a few other financial institutions, Google is pulling back from the product. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company is "abandoning plans to pitch bank accounts to its users." 

A Google spokesperson told Engadget that it's "updating our approach to focus primarily on delivering digital enablement for banks and other financial services providers rather than us serving as the provider of these services."

Plex was initially positioned as an easy mobile-first way to open bank accounts, with Google providing the technology and app design and banks and credit providers backing the finances. It sounded more like a way to help institutions that didn't yet have a modern, competent app to team up with Google on one, which might be why major names like Bank of America and Capital One, who already had existing apps, weren't on the list of partners.

According to the Journal, a Citibank spokesperson said it plans to recommend other accounts to people who had already signed up for the Plex waiting list. The publication reports that the waiting list numbered about 400,000 people, and that the pandemic had thrown plans off schedule. The Journal also noted that "As late as this week, several banks were under the impression that the project would still move forward."

Though the Plex branding is going away, Google does appear to want to stick around in the financial services business. The spokesperson said that "We strongly believe that this is the best way for Google to help consumers gain better access to financial services and to help the financial services ecosystem connect more deeply with their customers in a digital environment.”  

It may not a complete abandonment, but Plex joins a long list of other Google products that were cancelled or discontinued, like the Home Max speaker, Clips camera, Google+ and more.