The changes Verizon has made to its Selects program also changed at least some subscribers' privacy settings. Verizon (Engadget's former parent company) collected users' location, web browsing and mobile application usage data to send them marketing messages or offers under Selects, though subscribers could opt out if they wanted to. As Ars Technica notes, the carrier recently replaced its Selects program with the Verizon Custom Experience Plus and Custom Experience programs. And that's all well and good, except users have been receiving emails to tell them that they'd been automatically enrolled.

In the email, Verizon stated that they will be included in the programs, which means their data will be collected, even if they previously opted out of participating in Selects. Custom Experience only collects browsing and app usage history, while the Plus version also collects location information and data about the numbers that users call and call them. 

In its FAQ page, Verizon said it doesn't sell user information, but it shares them with the service providers that work with them. "These service providers are required to use the information only for the purposes Verizon defines and not for their own or others' marketing or advertising purposes," the company wrote. The carrier also wrote that it keeps browsing information for no more than 6 months. It keeps location and phone number information for approximately one year. 

To remove themselves from the program, users will have to opt out again. While we're sure a lot of subscribers wouldn't appreciate being enrolled into marketing programs they previously chose not to participate in, it's at least easy to unsubscribe. They can go to their Verizon account's privacy preferences page or "My Verizon" in their mobile app and head to "Manage Settings" or "Manage Privacy Settings" to toggle off both programs. 

Apple Music's recently announced Voice Plan will launch alongside iOS 15.2, according to the patch notes the company shared for the update's release candidate. The changelog was first spotted by MacStories editor-in-chief Federico Viticci. When Apple first announced the more affordable tier at its fall Mac event in October, the company said it would become available "later this fall" in 17 countries, including the US, UK and Canada.

The plan will offer access to Apple Music's entire song catalog for $5 per month, provided you're willing to rely on Siri for control. You can play specific tracks and playlists, as well as complete albums on your Apple devices. What the tier doesn't offer is access to the Apple Music interface.

We've reached out to Apple to confirm it plans to launch the Voice Plan alongside iOS 15.2. The update will add a handful of other new features, including a toggle that allows iPhone 13 Pro owners to turn on and off the camera's included macro mode. Based on the timing of the release candidate, Apple is likely to push out iOS 15.2 soon.

Do you play enough mobile games that your phone gets hot to the touch? Probably not, but Razer has you covered regardless. According to iMore, Razer has released a $60 Phone Cooler Chroma that promises to keep your handset cool. There's a version with a clamp for Android phones and older iPhones, but the star of the show is the MagSafe model — you won't completely sully the design of your iPhone 12 or 13.

This being a Razer accessory, you can expect the seemingly obligatory RGB lighting (controlled through Bluetooth) as well as a high-powered seven-blade fan that remains quiet at about 30dB. Be prepared to stay near power outlets, though, as you'll need to plug in a USB-C charger whether or not you're using MagSafe.

The Phone Cooler Chroma is available now. The question, of course, is whether or not you'll benefit from it in the first place. Modern phones do get warm and can throttle performance under sustained heavy loads, but it's not clear how much cooler your phone will get when the fan sits outside of your handset. There's also the simple matter of necessity. Do you really want a wired fan just for a performance bump in Genshin Impact or PUBG Mobile? This might not be completely far-fetched, though — gaming phones with elaborate cooling have an audience in countries like China, and Razer's fan makes that overkill available to a wider audience.

On Tuesday, Google disclosed it recently disrupted a massive network of computers infected by Glupteba. The company estimates the malware has infected approximately one million Windows PCs globally, which would make it one of the largest known botnets to date.

A botnet is a network of computers or internet-connected devices all infected by malware that is under the control of a single party. In this case, Google traced Glupteba to at least two individuals based out of Russia. The company is suing them in hopes it will “set a precedent, create legal and liability risks for the botnet operators, and help deter future activity.”

At times, the company says it saw the network grow by about 1,000 devices per day. The malware that adds a computer to the Glupteba botnet is usually found hidden on sketchy websites that offer free software. According to Google, Glupteba’s operators used the malware to steal personal data, mine cryptocurrencies and funnel other internet traffic through the infected machines.

Per The Washington Post, the hackers also used some of Google’s own services to distribute the malware. The company suspended more than 1,000 accounts that had been used to spread Glupteba.

“We don’t just plug security holes, we work to eliminate entire classes of threats for consumers and businesses whose work depends on the Internet,” the company said. “We have teams of analysts and security experts who are dedicated to identifying and stopping issues like DDoS, phishing campaigns, zero-day vulnerabilities, and hacking against Google, our products, and our users.”

Google coordinated with internet infrastructure providers to disrupt the botnet, but warns it has so far only succeeded in stopping it temporarily. Glupteba uses blockchain technology as a failsafe against a complete shutdown. When it doesn’t hear from its owners, the software is programmed to automatically use data encoded on the Bitcoin blockchain for instructions on how to reconnect.

“Unfortunately, Glupteba’s use of blockchain technology as a resiliency mechanism is notable here and is becoming a more common practice among cyber crime organizations,” Google said. “The decentralized nature of blockchain allows the botnet to recover more quickly from disruptions, making them that much harder to shutdown.” The company says it’s working with its partners to make the internet more resilient to such attacks.

Ashun Sound Machines, or ASM, came virtually out of nowhere to deliver one of the most hyped synths of 2020. The Hydrasynth is an unabashedly digital instrument with an impressive collection of sound design tools and a proprietary keyboard that has polyphonic aftertouch. For those looking to leave behind the warm but staid world of analog for the complex frontiers of digital, it’s pretty alluring. But, while its $1,299 list price isn’t absurd given the feature set, it’s also out range for many hobbyists. Even the desktop model, which ditches the keyboard in favor of 24 pads, is slightly pricey at $799.

The new Hydrasynth Explorer, however, is expressly designed to get ASM’s keyboard and synth engine in the hands of as many people as possible. And it’s “portable” to boot. (Although, as I’ll get to later, the company’s definition of portable is highly questionable.) Of course to reach the more attainable price of $599, some things had to be sacrificed. But the good news is, most of what’s missing amounts to minor conveniences.

Before we go any further, let’s set some expectations: I cannot possibly cover every feature of the Hydrasynth Explorer in detail. Even the 88-page manual feels like it’s just skimming the surface. If you’re looking for an exhaustive walkthrough, I highly recommend Loopop’s nearly hour-long tutorial on the original Hydrasynths and its half-hour long follow-up looking at what’s different on the Explorer and Deluxe.

The most important thing you need to know is that the core of the Hydrasynth — its wavemorphing engine — remains unchanged and it's running on the same hardware. So the Explorer still has eight-note polyphony, with three oscillators per voice, and over 200 waveforms to choose from. The first two oscillators can be static or in “wavescan” mode, which simply means you can choose up to eight waveforms at a time to morph between. While you can’t import your own custom wavetables, you can essentially build your own from the pre-approved ingredients.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

Those oscillators can be combined and manipulated using what ASM calls Mutators — two each for oscillators one and two. There are eight different Mutators to choose from, ranging from classic FM (frequency modulation) and hard sync, to the slightly more exotic PhazDiff, and even three different flavors of pulse width modulation.

The third oscillator is a much simpler affair. It’s a static wave and it can’t be sent through a Mutator, but it can still add depth to a sound. The most obvious use is as a sub-oscillator to add a little bass, but it can also be fed through the ring modulator. Which, by the way: Yes, there is a ring modulator and a noise source as well.

There are also two filters, which can be in series or parallel, and you can control how much of each oscillator goes to which filter. The first filter has 16 different modes, ranging from classic 12db low pass to a speech-like vowel filter, while the second sweep from low pass, through bandpass or notch, and into high pass.

To control all these various parts, you’ve got five six-stage envelopes and five LFOs that all feed into a 32-slot modulation matrix. In total there are 29 modulation sources and 155 destinations. It’s a lot of variables to contend with. Frankly, it can feel overwhelming, and that’s even before you start digging into the effects and voice options like “density.”

The good news is, to get started with the Hydrasynth you don’t need to master its sound design tools, you can just dig into the presets. The stock sounds are pretty solid and cover a wide range of styles, though it does especially excel at icy ambience, strings and plucky keys. But even navigating those can be daunting, especially as some of them start to sound indistinguishable. There’s a grand total of 640 presets spread over five banks of 128 patches. Scrolling through them one by one with the large patch knob can get tedious. But if you turn your attention to the small OLED to the right of the “Main Systems” section, you can use the encoders there to filter presets by category, such as brass, ambient or e-piano. There’s also a favorites menu, where you bookmark 32 of your most used patches.

(I do want to briefly pause here, to nitpick about the layout of the Hydrasynth Explorer, especially because this isn’t an issue on other models. The Keyboard, Desktop and Deluxe versions all have their displays in a single line. But the Explorer has them staggered, with the navigation display being below and to the left of the parameter display on the right. The right display is significantly smaller and more cramped on the Explorer, but that’s less of an issue than the alignment, which means your eyes have to move much further when going back and forth. It’s doubly frustrating since the solution is simple: move the large patch knob from above the left display, to below it. This would have the added benefit of making it easier to see the left OLED when browsing patches since your hand wouldn’t be blocking it.)

Now, while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with playing presets (I am mostly a tweak-a-preset guy myself), you would be underutilizing the Hydrasynth if you didn’t explore its depths. And while it’s an incredibly complex instrument no matter how you slice it, ASM deserves credit for making the interface as clear and intuitive as possible. The Hydrasynth is far from being knob-per-function, but a lot of work was done to minimize menu diving.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

The front panel is divided up into neatly labeled sections: arpeggiator, filer controls, main systems, master controls and module select. In each of these sections are easy-to-read buttons, often with just one function, plus some knobs. And, by the way, all of those buttons and knobs are a delight to use. This is an incredibly well made instrument and while some sacrifices were made to reach the $599 price, build quality was not one of them.

You’ll spend most of your time at the bottom of the Master Control and Module Select section where there are 26 buttons for the various parts of the signal chain. The leftmost buttons are where you select which oscillator to modify. When you press the OSC 1 button, the right screen brings up the options for that module and you change the parameters with the endless encoders at the four corners of the display. The up and down arrows to the right scroll through the pages of settings.

For the oscillators, there are only two pages and you’ll only really need to venture to the second one in Wavescan mode. That’s where you’ll find the “wavelist edit” option. Press that and you’ll open the menu to select the sounds for your wavetable. All you do is turn the knobs next to each parameter for Wav 1, Wav 2, etcetera until you’re happy with your selection. You can pick up to eight, but you’re not required to. What makes the Hydrasynth somewhat unique is that you’re not just picking a set of static wave shapes to switch between, but as you change the position of the Wavescan it will morph from to the other seamlessly. Which means if you move through those eight shapes slowly, you can get a lot of movement out of just a single oscillator.

To set the sound for the second and third oscillators, the process is the same.

As you move from left to right in the signal chain you’ll next encounter the Mutant 1-4 buttons. Press one and the OLED on the right brings up the parameters. (Noticing a trend?) Depending on what Mutator you select using the top left encoder you’ll see different options here to control. But at its most basic, you just turn one knob to choose, say PWM, then another set the wet/dry value you want.

There are eight different Mutators to choose from, but I want to focus briefly on PW-ASM, or Pulse Width ASM. There are two things that make pulse width modulation special on the Hydrasynth. One, you can use it on any waveshape — usually PWM is associated with square waves. And two: in ASM mode you can create your own custom pulse width patterns. PW-ASM breaks a wave into eight distinct sections and you dial in the amount of modulation around each of the slice points. It’s not exactly the easiest thing to explain, but suffice to say I don’t know of any other synths out there with this feature. (If you do, please tell me in the comments.)

Under the Mutants is the button to bring up the ring modulation and noise parameters, and then as you follow the line illustrating the signal chain to the right, you see they all feed into the mixer. Here you can dial in the volume of each oscillator, the ring mod and noise section, as well as panning for each. And this is also where you’ll decide how much of each to send to which filter and whether the filters are in series or parallel. This is one of the sections with the most pages of options to scroll through, but it’s still straightforward. Just press the up and down buttons next to the display until you see the parameter you want, then turn the knob next to it.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

After the mixer, you’ll see the signal chain branches off again with your envelopes (ENV) along the top, LFOs along the bottom and down the middle your audio signal, including filters, amp and effects.

By default ENV 1 and LFO 1 are connected to the filters, while ENV 2 and LFO 2 are connected to the amp. There’s no way to break the connection between ENV 2 and the amp, it will always define the total volume of your sound. That doesn’t mean you can’t control the volume of the oscillators separately; it just means you have to get creative.

So if you wanted OSC 2 to come in slightly after OSC 1 you could use ENV 3 to control it, just with a slightly longer attack time than ENV 2. To make the connection you could press the mod matrix button at the top and scroll through all the options. But the easier way is to hold the ENV 3 button, then press the mixer button. Then those two modules will be automatically connected and all you have to do is pick the parameter you want (OSC2CVol in this case) and dial in the depth. It’s also worth mentioning that the Hydrasynth’s envelopes have six stages — delay, attack, hold, decay, sustain and release — as opposed to the more common ADSR. That means you can actually delay the start of the envelope for a certain amount of time after a key press.

Even more interesting are the LFOs. While you can use them to create whooshing filter sounds and gentle pitch warbles, you can also use them as a sequencer. Step mode lets you create a customized modulation pattern of up to 64 steps.

On the fourth page of the LFO settings, though, you’ll find the SemiLock option — this is where the magic happens. See, Hydrasynth doesn’t have a proper sequencer, but you can use the LFOs locked to semitones thanks to the latest firmware. So, with fairly minimal work, OSC 2 could come in behind OSC 1 and play melody over a pad. This is just one example of how to use this power. You can sequence anything from filter cutoff to the wet/dry mix on the reverb to the detune or glide time, or even the parameters of the Mutators. This level of control opens a whole world of possibilities.

At the end of the signal chain you have four effects slots to work with: one pre-fx, one post-fx and sandwiched between them are dedicated delay and reverb modules. There are a few different varieties of the latter two. The reverse delay is excellent, and while the plate and hall reverbs are solid, cloud is my favorite setting.

The post- and pre-fx sections have the same options to choose from, including phaser, distortion, compression, rotary, tremolo and more. But my favorite to stick at the end of almost every patch is Lo-Fi. You can turn down the sample rate to get some crushed digital sounds and there are various filter types to choose from that give you the quality of something being played through a phone or over a radio. It’s just a nice touch to keep everything from getting too crisp and clean.

Here’s the thing: This is only just scratching the surface of what the Hydrasynth is capable of. There are a number of options in the Voice menu for adding depth and warmth, like the sort of vague Analog Feel. There’s an incredibly capable arpeggiator with eight different modes. There’s a macro section where you can assign multiple parameters to a single knob to dramatically transform sounds in a performance-friendly way. And I barely even mentioned the keyboard which has polyphonic aftertouch — something basically unheard of at this price point.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

The Hydrasynth Explorer, at least under the hood, is virtually indistinguishable from it’s larger counterpart the Hydrasynth Keys, which costs almost twice as much. So what are you giving up here? Well, one the Explorer has mini keys instead of full-sized ones, but that might not be a con for some people like myself with small hands and limited piano skills. There’s also no proper pitch and mod wheels, instead you get touchstrips; they’re fine, but not nearly as accurate. The biggest loss is the reduced number of controls. The filter knobs have been reduced from five to three, and there’s only four macro / parameter knobs, versus eight on the larger models. But honestly, these are minor sacrifices to reach this price.

The one last thing to address is that ASM calls the Hydrasynth Explorer “portable,” but that’s only true in the most technical of senses. In addition to the included AC adapter you can power it with eight AA batteries — which is not a trivial amount — for three to four hours. Plus, the Explorer weighs 7.5 pounds and it’s nearly 22 inches long. Sure, that’s petite compared to the 22 pounds and 32 inches of the Hydrasynth Keys, but this is not something that you’re gonna toss in a backpack and bring to the park on a whim. While it’s easy enough to toss in the trunk and bring to a jam session, that ASM doesn’t include or sell a travel case for it, kind of undermines the portability pitch.

So no, the Explorer isn’t really what I’d call “portable,” but that doesn’t matter. Even if this thing never left your studio it would be worth the money. It sounds great (as long as you can accept that it sounds obviously digital), it’s solidly built, and it has an almost bottomless set of sound design tools to explore. It’s possible to just get lost building patches on the Hydrasynth — and not in an annoying menu-diving way. If you’ve got the money, the larger Keys with more hands-on controls will almost certainly save you some headaches, but the Hydrasynth Explorer might be the most synth you can get for under $600.

While Facebook is still trying to explain what a metaverse is, Snap has been working toward a very different vision for an AR-enabled future. Over the last four years, the company has recruited a small army of artists, developers and other AR enthusiasts to help build out its massive library of in-app AR effects.

Now Snap is tapping lens creators — it has more than 250,000 — to help it make AR more useful. The company is releasing new tools that allow artists and developers to essentially make mini apps inside of their lenses. And it’s working on getting its latest AR innovation into more of their hands: its next-generation Spectacles, which have AR displays.

The goal, according to Sophia Dominguez, Snap’s head of AR platform partnerships, is to expand the ways AR can be used, while keeping those experiences firmly rooted in the real world — not the metaverse. “You don't want to escape into another world,” she says of Snap’s philosophy. “To us, the world around us is magical, and there's things to learn from it.” Instead, she says, the company is looking to enable experiences that can “bridge” digital spaces and physical ones, and create “more useful applications” for AR.

For now, Snap is leaving it up to creators to figure out exactly what a “useful” augmented reality lens is, but the company is introducing a number of new tools to help them build it. At its annual Lens Fest event, Snap is also introducing a new version of Lens Studio, the software that allows developers to create and publish lenses inside of Snapchat.

The latest version includes new APIs that allow AR creators to connect their effects to real-time information. The resulting lenses are almost like mini apps inside Snapchat lenses. For example, creators can build lenses with real-time translation capabilities via iTranslate. Or check on their preferred cryptocurrency with a lens powered by crypto platform FTX. Weather data (via Accuweather) and stock market info (from Alpaca) will also be available, and the company is planning to add more partners in the near future.

Snap

These kinds of lenses are even more intriguing in the context of Snapchat’s augmented reality glasses, its “next-gen” Spectacles. Snap first showed off the glasses earlier this year, saying that the device would only be available to a small number of AR creators and developers. Since then, the company has handed out its latest Specs to hundreds of creators, who have been helping Snap figure out how far they can push the tech, and what kinds of new experiences AR glasses can enable.

That’s because with Spectacles, a “lens” doesn’t just have to be something that goes on top of a selfie — it can add contextual information to the world around you. For example, one creator experimenting with Spectacles recently showed off a concept where staring out a train window can surface details about where you are and what the weather is.

Nike created a Spectacles lens that allows runners to follow an AR pigeon along their route, and view different animations along the way.

Creator Brielle Garcia, who has also been experimenting with Spectacles, recently previewed a concept for an AR menu that allows users to view 3D models of meals on a restaurant menu. Other creators are experimenting with interactive shopping and gaming lenses.

“When you think about what's gonna get people to put glasses on their face every single day, those are the things today you’re checking your apps for,” Dominguez said. “We’re really excited to see the different UIs that people can create in augmented reality with this kind of utility.”

Snap

All that comes with an important caveat: the reason why the AR Spectacles aren’t for sale and likely won’t be anytime soon is due to some pretty significant hardware limitations. Battery life is extremely limited (the charging case provides four extra charges) and the glasses themselves are, well, ugly.

While previous iterations of Spectacles look and feel like sunglasses, the next-gen Specs are comically large. Every time I see them, all I can think of is the chunky black frames worn by Roddy Piper in They Live. And, after spending some time wearing them, I can confirm that they are even more ridiculous looking when you put them on your face.

That said, Snap has been clear from the get-go that this version isn’t intended to look good, or even like something people will want to buy. Rather, the goal is to enable new types of AR development. 

And, despite the looks, their capabilities are impressive.The frames are equipped with “3D waveguides,” which power the AR displays; as well as dual cameras, speakers and microphones. On the left side is a capture button, so you can snap a photo or video of your surroundings, and on the right is a “scan” button. Much like the feature of the same name in the Snapchat app, scanning can help you find lenses based on your surroundings.

I only got to experiment with a handful of AR lenses while wearing the Specs, but the process was strikingly similar to using lenses in Snapchat’s app. I was able to scroll through a selection of lenses by swiping along a touchpad on the outside of the frames. Then, you can place the lens into your surroundings to see the AR effects around you. Like other AR headsets, the field of view is narrow enough that it’s not fully immersive, but I was impressed by the resolution and brightness of what I saw.

“'I’ve worked on each generation of Spectacles and this one is by far the most fun,” says David Meisenholder, a senior product designer at Snap, pointing to the company’s close collaboration with its creator community. “We're also learning how much we need to go to make those perfect for the consumer glasses of the future.”

Sony only just launched its ZV-E10 mirrorless vlogging camera in July, but as of December 3rd, it has suspended orders and ceased production due to the ongoing chip shortage, Sony Japan announced. The company added that a resumption of production and sales will depend upon "the status of parts supply," and that interested buyers should keep an eye on the camera's product page. 

The ZV-E10 was released as a more capable follow-up to the popular, compact ZV-1 vlogging camera, thanks to the option to change lenses. It's essentially a reworked A6100 model with a flip-out display, no electronic viewfinder (EVF), a high-quality built-in three-capsule microphone and a button that makes it easy to switch from video to still photography. 

Sony has also paused production of the A7 II, A6400 and A6100 cameras. The latter two are fairly recent models, but the A7 II originally launched in 2014 — so it's hard to see a particular pattern. 

Cameras aren't the only Sony products affected by semiconductor shortages. Sony also reportedly reduced PS5 production, something that might put its delivery target of 14.8 million consoles by March 2022 in jeopardy. Sony and TSMC recently announced that they'd team up on a chip factory in Japan for specialized chips used in cars, cameras and other gadgets. However, the plant won't come online until 2024 at the earliest, so it'll do nothing to help Sony or anyone else, anytime soon. 

Samsung has merged its mobile business, the company's biggest moneymaker, with its consumer electronics division in a major restructuring meant to "strengthen its business competitiveness." In addition, to combining divisions, the tech giant has also replaced all of its CEOs. 

Jong-Hee Han, the head of its TV business, has been named as Vice-Chairman and co-CEO of the newly merged mobile and consumer electronics divisions. Han won't be leaving his duties as head of visual display, though, and will instead lead both businesses. According to Reuters, Han has no experience in mobile, but Samsung credits him for playing a key role in the company achieving top position in global TV sales over the past 15 years. 

Meanwhile, Samsung President Kyehyun Kyung has also been named co-CEO and will now lead its chip and components division. Kyung is a semiconductor design expert and used to leading the company's flash product and technology team. He's expected to "help maintain" Samsung's semiconductor leadership and conjure innovative ideas at the same time. 

While mobile generated the biggest revenue (US$24.2 billion) for Samsung in the third quarter of 2021, its chip business isn't that far behind. Its semiconductor business posted US$22.6 billion in revenue due to the heightened demand for server DRAMs and for computers in general during the pandemic. Samsung is aiming to become the number 1 chip contract manufacturer within the next decade and has poured hundreds of billions into the business. Just this November, it announced that it's building a $17 billion semiconductor factory in Texas to manufacture high-end and advanced chips for smartphones, 5G and artificial intelligence.

Mozilla is introducing a new security feature it claims will make Firefox the most secure browser available to consumers. Dubbed RLBox and available through today's Firefox 95 update, it’s a new sandboxing tool the company developed in collaboration with the University of California San Diego and the University of Texas.

All modern browsers use sandboxing to protect users against malicious code. The problem is that many of the most advanced exploits chain together two vulnerabilities to bypass those protections. With RLBox, Firefox will compile a process into WebAssembly and then convert it into native code. According to Mozilla, this approach presents two significant advantages. It prevents code from jumping between different parts of a program and limits access to specific areas of your system’s memory.

With today’s release, Mozilla will use RLBox to isolate five components of Firefox, including the browser’s Graphite font rendering engine and Ogg multimedia module. If the system works as expected, the company says “even a zero-day vulnerability in any of [the five components] should pose no threat to Firefox.”

Mozilla is quick to note it won’t be able to use RLBox to protect every component of Firefox. For instance, it’s not suitable for modules that depend on sharing memory with the rest of the program to function. However, the company is hopeful that other developers will use the technology to make their software safer. In the meantime, RLBox is now rolling out to all desktop and mobile versions of Firefox.

Google has rolled out a number of updates that will help owners of both older Pixel and the latest Pixel 6 devices. To start with, the Pixel 6 Pro is getting UWB (Ultra-wideband) capability, letting you quickly share photos and other files using the Nearby Share function. As we mentioned earlier, Pixel 6 and 6 Pro users will also get the digital car key function that lets you unlock and start select BMW models. 

Other features will appeal to a wider group. The Quick Tap to Snap feature lets Pixel 4a 5G and higher users access Snapchat directly from their lock screens by double tapping the back of the phones, to start with. Until now, the feature has only been available on the Pixel 6. 

Pixel 3 or newer smartphones, meanwhile, will now be able to adjust how long they hold the power button to activate Google Assistant. This feature makes it possible to avoid activating the Assistant by mistake when you're just trying to, say, turn off the phone. Another key feature for Pixel 3 (and up) owners is the Bass Slider that allows you to double the bass range available for Pixel Buds A-series earphones, now from -1 to +4.

Google is expanding car crash detection to Taiwan, Italy and France, letting you automatically send your location and details to emergency responders when a car crash is detected. It's also added the "Now Playing" feature that lets you detect a song and quickly add it to your favorites. Finally, Google has added new languages, including Japanese, French and German, that can be transcribed in the recorder app. All of these features are now rolling out to Pixel devices.