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Stephen Hall

stephenjhall

Stephen is Growth Director at 9to5. You can find his current work at 9to5Mac, 9to5Google 9to5ToysElectrek, and more. If you want to get in touch, follow me on Twitter. Or, email at stephen (at) 9to5mac (dot) com, or an encrypted email at hallstephenj (at) protonmail (dot) com.

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How much is your Google Pixel 5/5a worth right now?

The Google Pixel 5 and 5a will soon no longer be the latest model in the Pixel family, and that means it’s time to check your trade in values. Whether you’re looking to sell your Pixel 5/5a to upgrade to the upcoming Pixel 6, you’ve come to the right place. First, let’s find out how much it’s worth and how to get the most value for your trade-in.

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The best Google Pixel, Galaxy, and iPhone cash trade in deals for August 2021

Pixel 3 XL

With the fall 2021 consumer hardware announcements — read: Pixel 6 — set to arrive sometime in the coming weeks, there are likely some Googley phones coming up that you’re interested in! So what are you to do with all your old Pixel 2? Or Pixel 3? You should trade it in, and we’ve put together all the best trade deals for Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy, and more below…

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Comment: Samsung take Note, Pixel 6 is here to rock the boat

I’ve been covering Google and the Pixel series for a long time. While most people get caught in the trees and love to compare the Pixel against the other smartphones on performance and specs, one of my favorite past times is trying to zoom out, look at the forest, and create a narrative around what Google is trying do — or try to decipher what they think they’re trying to do. Here’s my attempt at this given today’s Pixel 6 pre-announcement.

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Android 12 Beta 2: ‘At A Glance’ widget and app text on Pixel homescreen is subtly bolder

The date and weather widget on Pixel devices is subtly bolder than it used to be. You can see this extremely minor change in the images below — on the left is Android 12 Beta 1 while the right is Android 12 Beta 2.

(This is only the latest entry in the saga. Be sure to check out the last time Google made this change and the time before that.)

Google I/O 2021 Keynote Live Blog + News Hub: Assistant, Android 12, and more

Well, we missed out on Google I/O 2020, but now it’s finally time for Google I/O 2021. While not in person, the annual developer festival in Mountain View, California has returned. The Google I/O 2021 Keynote kicks off at 10am PT/1pm ET, so read on for quick links to our roundup coverage over the last few weeks, some hot takes, and all the latest news about Assistant, Android 12, and ‘Material NEXT’, among many other things.

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Opinion: Actually, the new ‘Mighty’ browser is the ‘Chrome Cloud Tabs’ feature I’ve been waiting for

Mighty browser

Mighty is a new browser project that puts Google Chrome in the cloud and streams it to your PC. While I don’t know if Mighty will end up making sense for my personal situation, it does perfectly resemble a product I’ve found myself hoping Google itself would build as a feature in Chrome. How worthwhile is Mighty itself, though? And will (should) Google copy it?

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Clubhouse plans to start working on its Android app ‘soon’

clubhouse android

If you haven’t heard of Clubhouse, it’s the latest social media fad taking the world — really, mostly just Silicon Valley — by storm. It’s a really cool experiment in live conversations that brings the best of podcasts and social networks like Twitter together into one rich experience. The downside? Up to now it’s only been available on the iPhone. Thankfully, Clubhouse for Android’s release is on the way.

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Google Search Console adds Google News performance report

Google today added a new Google News performance report to Google Search Console. Google Search Console allows webmasters to track the performance of their web pages in Google Search, long offering insights into Google Search rich snippets like Top Stories, and other Google products like Discover. Now it offers extensive information about content performance in Google News.

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Google Assistant can now tie your shoes — if you have Nike Adapts [Video]

Google today announced a big push to make it easy for Google Assistant to control your Android apps, and that includes everything from ordering a smoothie with Postmates to sending a snap with Snapchat. It also includes… tying your shoes, apparently? That’s the nifty demo Google sent us in the form of a pair of Nike Adapts, which I can confidently say is equal parts awesome and a bit unnecessary.

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Google Event Live Blog + News Hub: Watch Google announce Pixel 5, 4a 5G, Chromecast, Nest Audio, and more

It’s September 30th and while there’s no formal in-person Made by Google event this year, the time for the Launch Night In livestream has finally arrived. 9to5Google’s Google Event Live Blog + News Hub will be updated regularly throughout the day with the latest announcements from Google. The event kicks off at 11 am PT/2 PM ET, so read on for quick links to our roundup coverage over the last few weeks, tweets from the ground (our homes), and all the latest news as it develops…

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Google will make it easier to install and use third-party app stores with Android 12

Unlike other popular mobile operating systems, Android has always allowed the installation of third-party app stores. In fact, many Android phones ship with multiple app stores out of the box. After hearing feedback from some third-party developers, Google now says it plans to make installing and using third-party app stores easier with the next major release of Android…

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Google plans crackdown on major developers circumventing Play Store in-app purchase rules

Google Play Store Easter Egg

According to a report this morning from Bloomberg, Google plans to crack down on apps that have long circumvented existing Play Store rules related to in-app purchase billing. The crackdown will come in the form of “updated guidelines” as early as next week, the report says, and developers will be given time to comply.

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Rivet Google smart reading app

Google is shutting down Area 120’s popular ‘Rivet’ kids reading app

Google’s Area 120 incubator launched an app called Rivet in beta in 2018 as a “fun and supportive reading app for kids.” It finally exited beta on Android and iOS in May of 2019, and in its time has grown to be one of the most beloved teach-your-kids-to-read apps on the Play Store. Now Google says that it’s shutting the app down.

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Unbox Therapy gets first hands-on w/ LG Wing, goes deep on camera features [Video]

The LG Wing was announced this morning, but as of this writing, only one member of the US media actually has a device for a hands-on (as far as we can tell). That’s Lew from Unbox Therapy, unsurprisingly, and you can check out his full hands-on with the weird new phone — including a deep dive on its camera functions — below…

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Surface Duo review roundup: An expensive multitasking mixed bag

Surface Duo Android 11

Last October, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Duo, its latest — but certainly not its first — attempt to build a smartphone that lives up to the company’s productivity reputation on other platforms. Now, after almost a year, the Surface Duo dual screens (and its reviews) have arrived. And as you’ll be able to tell after reading this review roundup, it seems it probably could have used another year to bake before making its official debut…

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