Mobile

Samsung still has the only smartwatch running the new Wear OS 3 that it worked with Google to build out. According to a new report, Samsung is prepping to double down on that with the Galaxy Watch 5 series, which will include a new Wear OS skin, as well as the removal of the “Classic” design. According to a report from SamMobile, Samsung is readying the Galaxy Watch 5 series without the…

It seems hardly a day passes without fresh news on Apple’s supply chain problems. Recent ones focus on the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns in China, but the global chip shortage continues to bite. Apple had hoped that Chinese display manufacturer BOE would be able to make as many as 40M iPhone displays this year. A shortage of display driver chips saw the goal reduced to 30M, but even that is now…

After widget tweaks last year, Google Fi has now redesigned its Android app with Material You. It’s a straightforward modernization as the company is nearly finished visually revamping its biggest apps. The most prominent change is to Google Fi’s bottom bar with Material You’s tall design and pill-shaped indicators leveraged. Various buttons are now pills instead of rounded rectangles…

Google’s long-term goal for its hardware is having technology that’s always available in the background to help. The latest work towards Ambient Computing from Google is about “hidden interfaces” where the display is invisible unless being used. This is similar to the 2020 Nest Thermostat with its mirror-finish screen. Google Research today detailed its work on these “Hidden Interfaces…