Many electric car drivers are aware of tricks to wring every last drop of range from their cars, but Volvo thinks it can take that load off people's shoulders. It's updating Volvo and Polestar EVs with a Range Assistant app that both helps you make smart choices and, in one case, makes the decisions itself. The app can automatically tweak the climate control system to extend your range at the (slight) expense of comfort.
The update is rolling out now to the XC40 Recharge, and will be coming to the Polestar 2. All compatible EVs should have the update by the end of October. And don't worry if you're eyeing a C40 Recharge — that coupe-like SUV will include the Range Assistant from the start. Future updates should add driver coaching on driving habits and speed, among other tweaks.
You probably won't need this app if you're a seasoned EV driver. You'll know enough to turn the AC off, stick to speed limits and avoid mashing the throttle. However, this could be vital as EVs enter the mainstream. Newcomers might not need to spend as much time learning the ropes (and charging their cars) as their predecessors.
Google may have announced the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro in August, but we had to wait more than three months to get the full story on its latest phones. On Tuesday, the company did just that, detailing nearly every aspect of their design and software.
Pixel 6 and 6 Pro
Engadget
Unsurprisingly, Google spent a lot of time talking about the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro’s hardware. There’s a lot to unpack between the two phones, but the most important thing you need to know about them is that they’ll start at $599 and $899. In the case of the Pixel 6, that means it’s $100 cheaper than last year’s Pixel 5.
Headline features shared by both phones include Google’s eight-core Tensor processor, a fresh new design, a rear camera array that includes a 50-megapixel main sensor and new security features courtesy of Android 12 and the company’s Titan M2 chip. To that package the Pixel 6 Pro adds a 6.7-inch “waterfall” display with a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate, 12GB of RAM and a 48-megapixel telephoto camera with 4x optical zoom. With both phones, Google says you can expect more than 24 hours of usage on a single charge.
Both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are available to pre-order today, with general availability to follow on October 28th. For more information on the phones, make sure to check out our hands-on.
Pixel Pass
Google
Alongside the new phones, Google will offer Pixel Pass. The subscription includes a Pixel 6 or 6 Pro, an extended warranty, 200GB of Google One storage, Google Play Pass, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium. It also comes with a device upgrade after two years. If you want a Pixel 6, the Pass costs $45 per month. It increases to $55 per month with the 6 Pro.
AI and other features
Google
Of course, hardware was only part of the story on Tuesday, and Google had just as much, if not more, to say about all the new software it’s built for its latest phones. One such feature is Live Translate. With the help of its Tensor chip, the Pixel 6 can translate text as you type. It can do so almost instantaneously and without help from the cloud.
Google’s Tensor chip will also make Assistant more capable. If you need to contact a call center, it will generate an automated on-screen menu so you don’t have to listen to the assistant on the other side.
On the security front, the Pixel 6 comes with a new dashboard that provides an at-a-glance overview of any issues you may need to address. For instance, it will identify potentially “harmful” apps, and prompt you to set a fingerprint or PIN to unlock your device.
Looking to other software feature, Snap is creating a Pixel 6-first shortcut that affords quick access to Snapchat’s camera mode. When taking photos, the Pixel 6 should also do a better job of capturing darker skin tones thanks to a feature called Real Tone. Google worked with a variety of experts to fine-tune its camera algorithms to ensure its cameras “work for everyone.”
The Food and Drug Administration is moving closer to making more affordable over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids a reality for millions of Americans with mild or moderate hearing loss. The agency issued a proposal to create a category of approved devices that people would be able to buy without a prescription, hearing exam or having to arrange a fitting with an audiologist.
"The proposed rule is designed to help increase competition in the market while also ensuring the safety and effectiveness of OTC and prescription hearing aids," the FDA said. Around 15 percent of adult Americans (some 37.5 million) have hearing difficulties, according to the agency.
The FDA's goal is to make it easier for those who could benefit from hearing aids to actually get one — it says only a fifth of people who fall into that category use such a device. The agency is hoping to tackle some of the barriers people might encounter, including cost, ease of access, social stigma and state and federal regulations.
In 2017, the federal government passed the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act with the aim of improving access to more affordable hearing aids. Hearing aids have only available with a prescription as the FDA classed them as Class I or II medical devices. President Joe Biden signed an executive order in July that, in part, instructed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to publish a proposed rule for OTC hearing aids within 120 days.
The proposal is now open to a 90-day public comment period. If and when the rule is finalized, it will come into effect 60 days after it's published in the federal register.
Several companies have already made moves to gain a foothold in the OTC hearing aid market. Earlier this year, Bose started selling its SoundControl hearing aids after gaining approval from the FDA, while Jabra unveiled its Enhance Plus earbuds a couple of months ago. Other companies are blending hardware and tech in hearing aids, including Bragi and Olive Union.
Apple, meanwhile, recently updated AirPods Pro with a feature that amplifies the volume of other people's voices in conversation while reducing ambient noise. The company is also said to be looking into ways of using AirPods as health devices.
In addition to the new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, Google also released more details about new capabilities that its Tensor chip enables. One of them is a much more intelligent way of handling those calls to businesses that sometimes have you waiting hours on end just to speak to a representative. Now, the Pixel will show you the current and projected wait times before you even place a call so you can call when it works for you.
Additionally, when you do call and encounter an endless list of options (like, "Press 1 for branch location and hours" if you're calling a bank), you don't need to remember all of them carefully. Instead, Google will listen to them for you and show the automated menu options on the screen for you to tap.
Perhaps best of all, is that you don't have to stay on the line and listen to annoying hold music anymore. Google Assistant will remain on the call for you. It understands the difference between a recorded message and an actual representative on the line. When a real life person is finally on, it'll alert you to take the call.
Google is ramping up its security and privacy features with the Pixel 6. The company showed off new security hub and privacy dashboard features that will make it easier to control important settings.
The security hub provides an at-a-glance overview of security settings, such as whether or not your phone has the latest security updates installed or if you’ve set a fingerprint or PIN to unlock your device. Importantly, it can also keep tabs on the apps you’ve installed and can identify ones that are potentially “harmful.” At the top of the security hub is an indicator that will alert users if any settings need attention. A green checkmark indicates all is well, while a yellow exclamation mark will appear if something needs to be addressed.
Google also showed off new indicators to make it easier to tell when an app is using the phone’s camera or microphone feeds. Much like the notifications in iOS, an indicator will light up at the top right corner of the display when the phone’s mic or camera feeds are in use, and users will have the ability to kill access for specific apps.
Google
Likewise, the new privacy dashboard makes it easier to track which data apps have access to and how each app is using its permissions to access information like location data. As with the security hub, Google has previously made much of this information available within Android already, but it was often buried several layers into the settings menu, so having it all in a single dashboard should make it easier for most users to find.
Google also said it’s beefed up its anti-spam and phishing protection features, and Pixel 6 will be able to provide warnings when it detects potential shady phone calls, texts, emails and links.
It’s not yet clear if or when the company plans to bring these features to more devices than just its Pixel lineup. The company said during its event that the privacy dashboard and security hub would be “coming first” to Pixel, so the features could eventually make their way to more Android devices in the future.
In addition to camera features like Magic Eraser, Google's Pixel 6 and 6 Pro phones will have something special for Snapchat users. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel joined the company's Pixel 6 event on Tuesday to announce Quick Tap to Snap. The gesture allows you to access the Snapchat camera by tapping the back of the Pixel 6 or 6 Pro twice. Quick Tap launches the app into camera-only mode directly from the lockscreen. Once you've captured a Snap, you'll need to authenticate your identity to access the rest of the app.
Spiegel said Quick Tap to Snap makes the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro the fastest phones for capturing Snaps. He also said the company is working with Google to bring other Pixel-exclusive features like Live Translate to Snapchat. Once available, it will allow you and your friends to converse in 10 different languages with real-time translations. The two companies are also working together to launch exclusive augmented reality lenses.
Spiegel described Quick Tap to Snap as a "Pixel-first" feature, suggesting it will make its way to other devices at a later date. But securing an exclusive Snapchat feature, even if it's only a timed one, is still a big win for Google. A lot of Snapchat users, many of whom are teens, prefer the iPhone for the simple reason that the app works best on iOS. If this is the start of a better Snapchat Android experience, it could do a lot to change that dynamic.
Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have a lot of AI tricks up their sleeves, and among them is a Live Translate feature. With Google's first mobile chip, Tensor, Pixel 6 can translate text as you type. Translation is handled by the Private Compute Core rather than in the cloud, so the device can convert what you're writing into other languages (including English, French, German, Italian and Japanese) almost instantaneously.
The phones can also translate messages someone sends to you. The Pixel 6 can detect when text in a chat app, such as WhatsApp or Snapchat, is in a different language to your own one and it offers a translation.
The feature should come in handy for chatting with friends from other corners of the world who have a different mother tongue and might not understand all the nuances of your language. Live Translate could also prove useful when you're traveling somewhere with limited data and WiFi connectivity.
Google is placing a big focus on Tensor-powered AI features in Pixel 6 devices. Along with Live Translate, the phones have other language detection features and improved speech recognition. There's a Wait Time feature that shows the expected length of time you'll be on hold for thousands of prominent companies in the US, and Pixel 6 can also convert automated menus into an onscreen interface.
MLB is notorious for blackouts on streaming home games — you still need a cable TV subscription. The league might just loosen its stance in the future, though. As The Vergereports, New York Postsources claim MLB is in "talks" to launch a national streaming service that would offer home games without requiring cable. While details aren't finalized, it would cost between $10 to $20 per month depending on the market. The NBA and NHL are even "considering" partnerships, according to the sources.
If it goes ahead, the service would launch as soon as the 2023 season. MLB.tv would still be available for those who don't mind out-of-market games. A deal is "not yet close at hand," so it wouldn't be surprising if talks fell apart. An MLB spokesperson declined to comment.
The pitch would be simple, according to the insiders: MLB sees this as a service for young baseball fans who are either cord-cutters or never subscribed to cable in the first place. Viewership and in-person attendance have both dropped sharply (12 percent and 34 percent respectively) since 2019, and the pandemic wasn't entirely to blame. This could shore up numbers and keep baseball relevant for an audience that would rather not pay $100-plus for cable just to root for the home team.
There's little doubt this would be a gamble, though. Sports channels and cable providers are highly protective of their broadcast rights, and Sinclair alone owns the digital rights for 14 of 30 teams. Sinclair reportedly asked to run the service for "several years" before MLB shot it down. While MLB is in a strong-enough position to reject Sinclair's overtures, it could face a backlash from cable companies that would pay less to air games.
Google finally revealed the long awaited (and much rumored) Pixel 6 smartphones today. The $599 Pixel 6 and the $899 Pixel 6 Pro have revamped designs and run on Google's new Tensor processor, plus they have under-display fingerprint readers as well. The Pixel 6 handset has an OLED display, a dual-camera setup plus support for dual SIM cards, WiFi 6 and USB-C charging, while the Pixel 6 Pro has a 120Hz LTPO OLED screen, a triple rear camera system and 12GB of RAM. Here's how you can pre-order the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones.
Google Pixel 6
Google
The Pixel 6 smartphone is available for pre-order today for $599 and will be widely available starting October 28. Instead of buying the phone outright, you can get it for $45 per month with Pixel Pass, Google's new subscription service that also includes access to Google One, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium, Google Play Pass and Preferred Care.
The Pixel 6 is the smaller of the two new Google handsets, with a 6.4-inch 1,800 x 2,400 OLED display that supports HDR and refresh rates up to 90Hz. One of the smartphone's kicker lies under the screen — fingerprint reader that you can use to unlock the device. The handset also has Google's Titan M2 security chip for enhanced security, along with camera and mic toggles.
When it comes to cameras, the Pixel 6 has a 50MP wide lens and a 12MP ultra wide shoot on the back, plus an 8MP front-facing camera. The rear setup can shoot video in up to 4K/60fps while the front camera tops out at 1080p/30fps. Google added a bunch of new camera features to the smartphone, too, including Magic Eraser, which automatically suggests objects like random people or cars to remove from a shot, Face Unblur and Motion Mode.
Inside the Pixel 6 is Google's Tensor processor, 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage. Google claims it has a "beyond 24-hour" battery life and that you can get up to 48 hours of use in Extreme Battery Saver mode. It supports fast charging, so you can get 50 percent of juice in just 30 minutes, and you can power up with wireless chargers, too. It has one USB-C port along with support for 5G, WiFi 6 and dual SIM cards.
Google Pixel 6 Pro
Google
The Pixel 6 Pro smartphone is available for pre-order today for $899 and will be widely available starting October 28. Instead of buying the phone outright, you can get it for $55 per month with Pixel Pass, Google's new subscription service that also includes access to Google One, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium, Google Play Pass and Preferred Care.
The higher-end Pixel 6 Pro has a 6.7-inch 1,440 x 3,120 LTPO OLED display that supports HDR and refresh rates up to 120Hz. It automatically adjusts the refresh rate depending on what you're doing and it can go as low as 10Hz to save battery. The key differences between the Pixel 6 Pro and the regular Pixel 6 are in battery size and cameras. The 6 Pro has a slightly larger battery, but Google gives the same battery life estimations for both handsets. Both also support fast charging and wireless charging.
The Pixel 6 Pro has one extra rear camera: a 48MP telephoto shooter that supports super-res zoom up to 20x. That's on top of the 50MP wide camera and the 12MP ultra wide lenses that also appear on the regular Pixel 6. The 6 Pro also has a slightly better front-facing camera, which is a 11MP shooter with a wider, 94-degree field of view.
The Pixel 6 Pro has all of the same security features that its smaller counterpart does, including the under-display fingerprint sensor. It also runs on the same processor but comes with 12GB of RAM — storage options remain the same, too.
Last year's Pixel came and went with only one screen size available, and for this year's flagship Google's giving you two options again. But instead of dubbing it the "XL" the bigger phone now carries the "Pro" moniker. The company says it's because it offers more professional features like a telephoto lens, but it also means it's named similarly to rival handsets from Apple and OnePlus. Check out the specs of some of the competition in the table below, and be sure to check out our hands-on with this fancy new phone while you wait for the full review later this month.
