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News Weekly
News Weekly is our column where we highlight and summarize some of the week’s top stories so you can catch up on the latest tech news.
This is Android Central’s News Weekly, your go-to source for a concise roundup of the week’s most significant tech stories. This is where we delve into the top headlines that provide the latest developments and innovations contributing to the digital landscape.
This week, an immersive vibration feature was spotted on the Pixel Weather app, Google launches a Gemini app for iPhones, the Wear OS 5 update resumes on the Pixel Watch, YouTube Premium ditches grandfathered pricing for subscribers, and the RedMagic 10 Pro series is here.
Feel the rain with Pixel Weather
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Pixel Weather launched with the Pixel 9 series, and now users are discovering an Immersive Weather Vibrations feature for the app. It’s a fun little setting that brings your weather to life by adding subtle vibrations that correlate with the animations in the app. For instance, if it’s raining, the phone’s haptics will kick in and mimic the pitter-patter of rain falling onto the device, matching up with the animation within the app. Mishaal Rahman notes that it should also work with thunderstorms and snow, among other weather conditions.
The feature is available now on via a server side update and you can enable or disable it in the Pixel Weather settings menu. We’ve noticed it on our Pixel 9 models, and according to Android Authority, it’s available on version 1.0.20240910.678970266.release.
Wear OS 5: Return of the update
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After a bit of a delay, Wear OS 5 began rolling out again on the original Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2. The update, which initially started rolling out in September, includes a new app grid, the Pixel Recorder app, more camera controls, and more. However, users ran into issues with their smartwatches after installing the update, with devices stuck on a blank screen and effectively bricking their watches.
As a result of the problems, Google pulled the update as it worked to figure out what was causing the issue. Now, it looks like Google has found a solution, with the Wear OS 5 update arriving alongside the November security patch.
The Pixel Watch 3 has also received the November update, but it only brings the new security patch and bug fixes. Additionally, Google has stated that the next update for Pixel smartwatches won’t arrive until March 2025, going away from what has been a relatively monthly cadence of updates.
Gemini gets the iPhone treatment
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Until now, Gemini Live has been an Android-only affair, with iPhone users left out of the generative AI fun. Now, Google is throwing them a bone by launching the conversational AI bot within a new standalone Gemini app.
The experience is more or less what you’ll get with the Gemini app on Android, with the standard Gemini experience, which is essentially a replacement for Google Assistant. However, now there’s access to Gemini Live for more natural conversations, and it comes with access to Imagen 3 for high-quality image generation. Live will also appear on the Dynamic Island while in use and will connect to other Google apps, meaning you can ask it to play music, find directions, and more.
Of course, iOS users can still access the standard Gemini experience on the web or via the Google app, but Live is only available on the app. It’s also possible to add it as a shortcut via the Action Button on newer devices like the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
No more early adopter pricing for YouTube Premium
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Before YouTube Premium was a thing, there was the YouTube Music Key, which charged $7.99 for ad-free music streaming way back in 2014. Now, those early adopters who got to keep their pricing through the YouTube Premium launch are now being told they have to pay more.
Users in Europe have been receiving emails about the change, with a YouTube communications manager confirming the price change for legacy members, mostly within Europe, Central America, and South America. One user in Spain notes that the price of their YouTube Music Premium subscription is increasing to €10.99, matching current pricing for new members.
Still, legacy subscribers have a little time before the change happens and will keep their current pricing for another three months.
A powerful new gaming phone
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Following the launch of the Snapdragon 8 Elite in October, Nubia has revealed its latest flagship devices to compete with the best gaming phones: the RedMagic 10 Pro and 10 Pro Plus. The phones are largely identical and only differ in their internal specs.
Both phones feature 6.85-inch AMOLED displays with 144Hz refresh rates, peak brightness of 2,000 nits, and a touch sampling rate of 960Hz for responsive gaming. Underneath are huge batteries, with 6,500mAh for the 10 Pro and 7,050mAh for the Pro Plus. Additionally, the Pro supports 60W wired charging while the Pro Plus supports 120W charging, which should help given the massive battery sizes.
The 10 Pro comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage. Meanwhile, the 10 Pro Plus gets 16GB or 24GB of RAM and double the storage sizes, utilizing the UFS 4.1 standard.
On the back are 50MP triple camera systems, with 16MP under-display cameras on the front, giving users an uninterrupted gaming experience with a more than 93% screen-to-body ratio. Both phones also come with impressive thermal management and cooling systems to handle all that power.
The phones are available now in China and will launch internationally on December 3.
More stories this week
Those are some of the biggest stories from this week. Meanwhile, here are some other stories that are worth catching up on: