Google’s Rick Osterloh mentioned the elusive XR collaboration briefly in his onstage appearance at Unpacked, without providing any new details. That’s the at least the third time we’ve heard about it without actually hearing anything at all about it. But I guess now we know it’s still a thing in the Osterloh Android era?
Gemini is available on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6, and Google is touting a bunch of new AI features it previewed earlier this year, like homework help in Circle to Search and contextual suggestions. But they’re still coming “soon,” so it doesn’t look like we’ll get to try them out right away on the new foldables. Bummer.
7
Verge Score
The bigger, better cover screen is a delight to use — but familiar problems persist.
Google’s July Pixel update is here with a “fix for back gesture navigation not working in certain conditions.” Sounds annoying! It doesn’t seem to be a widespread problem — I found a thread on the XDA forums complaining about broken navigation, and that’s about it. But if this bug was bothering you, rest assured that the fix has arrived.
[support.google.com]
Speaking to Android Authority, Qulacomm’s head of handsets, Chris Patrick, says that the company will make announcements later this year about how it plans to help “keep Android phones closer to up to date.”
While definitely improved in recent years, updates are still slow to come for some OEMs — and plenty of budget phones only see one or two OS updates. Say more, Qualcomm.
“The I/O Crossword” isn’t anywhere near as zany as Wordle’s original name, but it is awfully cute. Google says it created the crossword with the help of Gemini Advanced and a bunch of its own developer tools. You don’t have to be a developer to join in and help solved the puzzle, but it would probably help — I’m stumped.
[crossword.withgoogle.com]
