Latest news with #Pixel4
Hindustan Times
10-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Google Pixel 10 could get a big display upgrade thanks to this old Pixel 4 tech: Report
Google Pixel 10 series is expected to revive the Ambient EQ feature that first debuted on a Pixel phone with the Pixel 4 and the Pixel 4 XL, Android Authority has reported. For those uninitiated, it is basically a feature that lets the Pixel 4 adjust the white balance on its display according to your environment (light). Yes, this is similar to how Apple does it with True Tone. This was made possible using dedicated hardware on the Pixel 4. But, Google decided to skip it altogether for the Pixel 5, and since then, until the Pixel 9, no other Pixel mobile phone has had it. One exception that exists is the Pixel Tablet, which debuted the feature under a different name called 'Adaptive Tone.' The report, citing a source, states that Google is going to be bringing this feature back to the Pixel lineup with the Pixel 10 series, and it could be renamed to Adaptive Tone, like on the Pixel Tablet. Google says that it can dynamically adapt the display to warmer or cooler tones based on your ambient lighting. This will reportedly be facilitated by a new ambient light and colour sensor, the AMS TMD3743, and will notably be present on all non-foldable Pixel 10 devices, Android Authority says. Our take: We feel that having dedicated hardware to handle the white balance of the display could be an interesting addition, especially considering how important it is for reducing eye strain and making colours look better according to your lighting conditions. This should help with the overall viewing experience. The Google Pixel launch is not going to be too far away. Last year, we got the Pixel 9 series in August, which was Google's new release schedule. And this year, more or less, it is expected to be the same, as per reports. Google is also expected to release Android 16 in full stable capacity. As per a new exposé by Android developers, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to expect the Pixel 10 series to follow soon after, sometime in August. As for what to expect, leaks and renders suggest the Pixel 10 series could resemble last year's Pixel 9's design aesthetic. However, with the base Pixel 10, Google could be looking at bringing several upgrades, including finally adding a telephoto camera to the vanilla model. MOBILE FINDER: iPhone 16 LATEST Price, Specs And More
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
Google's Pixel 4a Battery Update Is Not Going Well
Google's Pixel 4a was a great phone back when it came out, and it got significantly more praise than its bigger siblings, the Pixel 4 and the Pixel 4 XL. The phone was updated to Android 13 back in 2023, and it was first released in 2020, so it's coming up at roughly five years old now. Google released a terrible update for it, but its way of handling the situation might actually be even worse. First, the main news. Google began rolling out a surprise update for Pixel 4a users. The update was still based on Android 13 because the phone has been end-of-life (EOD) for a couple of years by now, so the fact that Google was rolling out an update at all was already surprising. The update itself was more of a maintenance critical update because Google determined that "certain Pixel 4a phones require a software update to improve the stability of their battery's performance." The problem with this was that, with phones being five years old by now and a lot of batteries being severely degraded, the update worsened battery life for a lot of people. Many Pixel 4a owners complained that the update basically made their phones unusable. One user on Reddit complained that their phone went from lasting a whole day to dropping basically 1% per minute, which is pretty bad. Google realized people were complaining, and it's actually offering compensation. Except, the compensation itself isn't great and you might find yourself having issues trying to claim it. One of the options provided by Google is to get a $100 credit towards a new Pixel purchase, which is painted as the better value compensation—you can also get $50 in cash or a free battery replacement. Except, a user complained on Reddit that Google wasn't allowing them to use the credit towards phones that are "already on sale." Basically, the credit is treated like a regular promo code, which isn't stackable with other promotions on the Google Store. This makes the credit basically just redeemable towards new phones when they aren't on sale. For a Pixel 9, $100 is not really a considerable discount, and if you look at a Pixel 9 Pro or a Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the discount will mostly just cancel out the sales tax in most US states. If you get the $50 in cash, you evidently won't have restrictions on spending that, but then again, it's just $50 rather than $100. And the other option—a battery replacement—might not even be a guaranteed fix, since your phone will still have the borked update. And a battery replacement is around $50 anyway, so you're just spending that towards fixing your phone. You're not really left with a lot of options as to what to do with your phone. The logical solution would be for Google to roll out a rollback update undoing the changes (since not a lot of people are willing to get dirty downgrading their phones), but it's not clear if they're even willing to be doing this. If the company wants Pixel 4a users to get a new phone, they should also make it easy for them to get one. Some users actually seem unaffected by the update, while others might even see their battery life increased. Still, the reports of Pixel 4a phones becoming basically unusable are widespread enough that we will strongly advise you against downloading if you own one of these phones. If you already updated your phone and you're suffering the nasty consequences of the update, you might want to try your luck at Google's compensation options and see if maybe they work for you to grab a new phone. No guarantees, though. Source: Reddit (1, 2), ZDNet
