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Spotify now shows real-time lyrics on Nest Hub devices

Spotify has brought its fan-beloved real-time lyrics feature to Nest Hub and other Google Assistant Smart Displays.

After bringing the real-time lyric feature to iOS, Android, the web and beyond, Spotify now supports Nest Hub devices. Moving forward, users can play a song and follow along with the lyrics on the display.

Much like how real-time lyrics work on smartphones, TVs, and consoles, Spotify on Nest Hub now offers a lyrics button. Located near the bottom-right corner, Spotify users can tap the button to display scrolling text following the lyrics of the song. The current line of the song is highlighted while upcoming lines appear underneath.

Spotify’s real-time lyrics on Nest Hub are licenced and provided by MusixMatch. The company has been partnering with Spotify to provide lyric support across the many platforms and devices.

Real-time lyrics have been supported by Spotify since 2020. The company began rolling out support across 26 global markets. Following the initial introduction, additional markets were added, including Canada. Prior to that, Spotify spent two years testing the feature. Canadian users were inducted into the testing phase.

Spotify’s lyrics feature is available on Free and Premium accounts.

Image credit:

Source: 9to5Google

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Pixel foldable still on track for 2023, says report

While Samsung and Motorola are the only ones to have launched a foldable in Canada, Google might release one next year.

According to a report in The New York Times, Google is still looking to launch its own foldable phone, and it’s currently on track to come in 2023. The report talks about Google’s current smartphone manufacturing operation, which is currently moving some of its products from China to Vietnam. The MountainView company is looking to have half its high-end 2023 phones come from its Vietnam factory.

In previous years, Google used its Vietnam factories for its Pixel A handsets, and the China ones for its Pixel flagships, but it looks like the Pixel 8 series might actually come from its Vietnam factory in 2023. The company’s foldable series will be produced in China, however. WSJ’s sources indicate that its key suppliers for hinges and foldable screens are currently in China.

Previous rumours indicate that the Pixel foldable will use a book-like design similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 4 with an external screen and a large foldable display on the inside. Rumours also say that Samsung provided the foldable display tech to Google for this Pixel handset. The rumoured phone will reportedly sport a 7.57-inch panel with a 120Hz refresh rate display.

Source: Wall Street Journal 

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Get a free Nest Hub with Google’s One Premium 2TB plan

Google is currently offering a free Nest Hub to those that subscribe to its annual ‘Premium 2TB’ Google One plan. 

The plan offers users 2TB of Drive and Photos storage, get help regarding Google products from an expert, 10 percent back in store credits when you spend money in the Google Store, access to Google Workspace premium, VPN for Android and iOS devices, the ability to share the plan with up to five other people and extra member benefits.

The plan is available for $13.99/month, but if you want to claim the free Nest Hub, you’ll have to go for the annual plan, which costs $139.99/year.

According to the promotion details, “A week after you subscribe to a Premium 2 TB annual plan, you’ll get an email with instructions on how to redeem your Nest Hub.” The free Nest Hub will be a second-gen device and will come in Chalk and Charcoal colours only. Google covers the shipping cost, so the only money you pay would be for the annual Google One plan.

It’s worth noting that the offer ends on September 15th.

Learn more about the second-gen Nest Hub via the link below or avail the promotion here.

Source: Google

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‘Higher quality’ Bluetooth LE Audio may land on Google’s Pixel 7-series

It sounds like Google has plans to improve the Bluetooth audio experience for its upcoming smartphones, including the Pixel 7, 7 Pro and even the 7a.

9to5Google uncovered a discussion on a recent Android code change that introduces a way for phones to have higher quality, or higher bandwidth, audio options beyond what Android 13 includes by default. As an aside, Android 13 did add support for Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Audio, but this goes beyond (and we’ll dig into how it all connects below).

Comments from Google employees on the code change mention “p22/p23a,” which likely refers to the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro (the Pixel devices launching in 2022, hence p22) and the 7a (the A-series Pixel device launching in 2023, hence p23a). The comments were attached to an XML file that lays out the supported Bluetooth LE Audio codec settings.

Comments on Bluetooth LE Audio changes | Screenshot credit: 9to5Google

9to5 notes that while the code for the Pixel 7-series devices isn’t available to the public, so we don’t know exactly what this does, but given the code change relates to higher bandwidth audio options, it seems likely that the upcoming line of Pixel phones will support better Bluetooth LE Audio. Plus, the Pixel 7a getting looped in on this hints the change could be related to hardware on the new Tensor chip, although that’s pure speculation.

Benefits of Bluetooth LE Audio

As for why this all matters? Well, Bluetooth LE Audio. You may have heard a lot about LE Audio recently and may find yourself wondering what it is. In short, it’s the recently-finalized LE Audio standard that contains a handful of innovations and improvements that will eventually beef up audio transmitted over Bluetooth.

LE Audio does a few things, including making next-gen wireless earbuds more efficient, and it enables phones (or other audio sources) to transmit to multiple receivers. This achieves two things — one, a phone can send audio to each wireless earbud simultaneously, instead of transmitting to one earbud and ‘bridging’ the audio to the second earbud. The other benefit is ‘Auracast,’ which allows multiple receivers (such as speakers, headphones, hearing aids, etc.) to receive the same audio from a sender. Plus, all of this should be more efficient than audio over Bluetooth Classic.

Another improvement connected to LE Audio is the new LC3 audio codec, which 9to5 explains is more efficient at compressing audio than Bluetooth Classic options.

Ultimately, all this should mean Bluetooth LE Audio will improve the wireless audio experience on smartphones — certainly the Pixel 7-series, and likely other Android phones too. Of course, it might be a while still before average users start to benefit. LE Audio features will likely debut at the high-end and require new earbuds to take advantage of, before trickling down more affordable options. That said, some newer earbuds may be able to adopt LE Audio features with an update — 9to5 suggests the new Pixel Buds Pro could get an LE Audio update later this year.

Header image credit: Google

Source: AOSP Via: 9to5Google

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Google’s Pixel Buds A-Series on sale for $40

Looking for a decent pair of earbuds that won’t break the bank? Well, Google’s Pixel Buds A-Series are on sale for $99, saving you $40.

The deal is available at a few places, and both the ‘Olive’ and ‘Clearly White’ colours are on sale. Peep the links below:

Alternatively, you can nab a bundle with the Pixel 6a and Pixel Buds A-Series for about $650 on Amazon right now, thanks to the retailer’s ongoing sale on Pixel 6-series phones — learn more here.

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though MobileSyrup may earn a commission on purchases made via these links.

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Pixel 6a, 6 and 6 Pro on sale at Amazon Canada

A few days ago, Google put its Pixel 6 and 6 Pro flagships on sale. If that still wasn’t enough to get you to buy, now the Pixel 6a is on sale at Amazon Canada.

Unfortunately, it looks like only the ‘Charcoal’ variant is available at the discounted $549.99 price (the 6a regularly goes for $599). ‘Charcoal’ is only the second worst colour option, and for $50 off, I’d happily take ‘Charcoal’ over the much nicer ‘Sage.’

Those in the market for a new pair of wireless earbuds can also get a bundle from Amazon right now with the Pixel 6a and the Pixel Buds A-Series for $649.98. That makes the Buds A-Series just $99, compared to the usual $139 price. It’s worth noting, however, that Google and other retailers currently have the Buds A-Series on sale for $99 too.

Finally, if you’re looking to nap a Pixel 6 or 6 Pro at a cheaper price, Amazon also has the phones on sale to match (or even beat) Google’s deal. The Google Store has the Pixel 6 for $699, and so does Amazon. Meanwhile, the Pixel 6 Pro is available at Amazon for $949, cheaper than the $979 price for the 6 Pro at Google.

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though MobileSyrup may earn a commission on purchases made via these links.

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Some Pixel 6 users report battery drain issue after Android 13 update

It looks like Android 13 includes a notable massive battery issue for Pixel 6 and 6 Pro users. Google has only recently completely pushed out Android 13 to users, but some Pixel 6 owners are finding that the update is causing battery drain on their devices.

These users have turned to Google’s support forum and Twitter to complain about the Pixel 6’s battery life becoming worse after the update. Users say that their phone doesn’t make it through the day without a top-up in the afternoon. This problem seems to only be affecting Pixel 6 and 6 Pro owners and not other Android 13-compatible Pixel devices.

There doesn’t seem to currently be a fix or a way around the battery drain problem other than not upgrading to Android 13.

It’s important to note that Google hasn’t publically acknowledged the issue. However, you can keep tabs on this support page or Google’s official forums for an update. The tech giant might also fix the issue in the upcoming September 2022 security patch.

Let us know in the comments below if your Pixel 6 or 6 Pro is currently experiencing battery life issues following the update to Android 13.

Source: Twitter, Google support Via: Android Police

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Cellular Pixel Watch could cost $399: report

Google’s much-anticipated Pixel Watch is expected to launch later this year alongside the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. There are plenty of rumours circulating about the Pixel Watch features, but now 9to5Google has detailed the price.

Citing a “source familiar with the matter,” 9to5 reports the LTE-capable Pixel Watch will cost $399 USD (about $518.76 CAD). The publication didn’t share a price for the Wi-Fi-only model of the Pixel Watch, but it would likely be lower than the cost of the cellular variant.

To put that in perspective, it’s the same as the U.S. cost for the base model Apple Watch Series 7 (the Series 7 starts at $529 in Canada). On the Android side, the main comparison would likely be to Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5, which starts at $419.99 CAD for the LTE model. The Watch 5 Pro starts at $559.99 CAD.

Moreover, Google-owned Fitbit just launched its latest smartwatch, the Fitbit Sense 2, priced at $399 CAD, which doesn’t include LTE. 9to5 suggests Google intends for Fitbit’s devices to occupy the affordable range, so it seems the Wi-Fi-only Pixel Watch will sit somewhere between the price of the Sense 2 and the LTE Pixel Watch.

So far, we know the Pixel Watch will sport a circular design with a spinning ‘crown,’ will come in ‘Silver,’ ‘Black,’ and ‘Gold,’ and feature Fitbit integration. Moreover, 9to5 said the Pixel Watch would run on Samsung’s older Exynos 9110 and feature a coprocessor, 1.5GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.

The Pixel Watch battery clocks in at just shy of 300mAh, which is expected to last about a day. Finally, it looks like the Pixel Watch will use a magnetic charger with a USB-C connecter on the other end, and the bottom of the watch includes a sensor array very similar to what you’d find on the Fitbit Charge 5.

Image credit: Google

Source: 9to5Google

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Google launches new tools to make Android apps work across devices

Google wants to ramp up the ability for Android phones to communicate with the devices around them.

In a recent blog post from the company, Google detailed the ‘Cross device SDK’ for Android (SDK stands for software development kit). It contains tools that can help developers make apps that support cross-device features. It seems the SDK targets Android-to-Android functionality first (which could be helpful for people with an Android smartphone and tablet or a group of Android phones), with the goal of expanding to non-Android phones, tablets, TVs, cars, and more.

The main three features of the SDK now are discovering nearby devices, establishing secure connections between devices, and hosting an app’s experience across multiple devices. Moreover, the SDK can leverage Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ultra-wideband (UWB) connectivity to deliver the cross-device experiences.

An example of the cross device SDK powering a group food order | Image credit: Google

Some of Google’s examples of cross-device functionality in action really put the promise of the SDK in perspective. For example, Google describes using cross-device capability to let multiple people pick items from a menu when ordering food, no need to pass your phone around the room. Alternatively, users could pick up reading an article where they left off on another device, which sounds a lot like Apple’s Handoff feature. Google even pitches using cross-device capability to share map locations with a vehicle’s navigation system.

As The Verge points out, all this sounds like a massive expansion of the Nearby Share system, Android’s AirDrop-but-slightly-worse feature. That could make Nearby Share a much more useful feature, especially if Google manages to bring the cross-device functionality to iOS as it plans. Google says it wants to expand cross-device capabilities to iOS and Windows, but didn’t provide any details about when this would happen.

Naturally, the SDK is still in its early days, but it certainly sounds promising. It will be interesting to see what Google and app developers do with the SDK. Hopefully something good comes of it, and it’s not another dead-on-arrival feature that only works among Google’s Android devices.

Source: Google Via: The Verge

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‘Fitbit by Google’ branding launches alongside Fitbit Sense 2 and Versa 4

Fitbit has pulled the curtain back on its new lineup of smartwatches and fitness trackers. Though, with the announcement of the Sense 2 and Versa 4 comes what appears to be its new ‘Fitbit by Google’ branding.

It now appears as though the company is leveraging Google’s ownership of Fitbit. The Fitbit website now displays the “by Google” branding label. However, it’s curiously not as prominent as one may expect. The Fitbit logo and name are positioned as the focal point, while “by Google” is off to the right side next to the user’s cart.

The timing comes as Fitbit revealed its new Sense 2 and Versa 4 smartwatches. Promotional pieces for both devices also include the new Google-inclusive branding. Though, once again, there is a bit of separation between the two.

This follows Google’s acquisition of Fitbit back in January 2021. The tech goliath purchased the fitness and wearable tech company for a sizeable $2.1 USD (roughly $2.6 billion CAD) sum. Since that time, Google has been slowly but surely integrating itself into the Fitbit ecosystem.

This will all come to a head this fall as Google aims to launch its Pixel Watch. Announced at I/O 2022, Google confirmed that its Pixel Watch will run on WearOS and features “deep integration” with Fitbit. Heart rate monitoring, sleep, and fitness tracking are among the know integrations.

Additionally, the Fitbit site now displays the Google Pixel Watch with the tagline, “Help by Google. Health by Fitbit.”

While a release of pricing is yet to be confirmed, this is the first Google-branded device with Fitbit integration. The marriage of the two brands is being intensified through such initiatives.

Image credit: Fitbit

Source: 9to5Google