Out of all the negatives I can admit about myself, setting up dates sticks out as one of my biggest weaknesses.

In the past, I’ve struck out horribly by trying to woo my potential mates by taking them to the sorts of places that made them rethink ever meeting up with me again. My first date fumbles have led me and whoever was unlucky enough to see me to dive bars with horrible lighting, restaurants with disappointing menu options and lounges with booming speakers that didn’t allow for a whole lot of meaningful conversations.

Somehow, someway, I managed to nab myself another opportunity to enjoy a nice night on the town with someone. And this time, I made it my mission to find out her likes and dislikes when it comes to hanging out & having fun.

With all the information in tow, I got a bright idea — take all of my future date’s favorite hobbies, interests, and types of hangouts to Google Maps and use Ask Maps to find the perfect spots worth considering. And to my surprise, it offered me a solid selection of date-worthy locations.

7 date night suggestions that made my planning less of a headache

As I’m sure you’ve already noticed from the screenshot posted above, I told Google Maps’ Ask Maps feature all about my future date’s favorite things—since she’s an old soul with an affinity for the more geeky pastimes I’m also into, I had a feeling there would be plenty of viable options to consider as the perfect date locales. Ask Maps showcased its date spot picks across two categories: Interactive & Playful Dates and Intimate Vibes & Elevated Floors.

Here are the New York City settings that were listed under the first group:

• Barcade: If you want a classic, high-energy date centered around gaming, heading to Barcade in Chelsea is a perfect choice. It keeps the focus purely on adult socializing over retro cabinets rather than tickets and prizes. Reviewers call it a fantastic adult playground for nostalgic gaming. Challenge her to a cooperative game like X-Men or classic pinball. Check out their extensive, rotating selection of American craft beers on tap.
• The Cinemas NYC: For a luxurious spin on movie night, The Cinemas NYC (IPIC Theaters) at the Seaport turns a screening into a premium experience. It is completely different from your standard theater with its plush seating arrangements and top-tier hospitality. Patrons rave about the luxurious, private feel of the double seating pods. Book a “Premium Plus” ticket to get reclining leather seats that come with pillows and blankets. Use the in-seat service to order gourmet dishes and cocktails directly to your shared table without interrupting the film.
• Izakaya Nana: Tucked away in Flushing, Izakaya Nana is an absolute dream destination for anyone who loves Japanese fantasy aesthetics and otaku culture. The entire venue doubles as a massive homage to graphic novels and subculture. Otakus admire the manga-panel-lined walls, traditional tatami spaces, and classic anime projections running in the background. Ask to be seated in a booth surrounded by their massive library of manga volumes. Rent traditional kimonos on-site to fully immerse yourselves in the experience.
• Other Half Brewing Company: If she is a true craft beer geek, making a pilgrimage to the original Other Half Brewing Company in Brooklyn is mandatory. This is the epicenter where modern craft culture evolved. Visitors note the incredibly relaxed, friendly taproom environment. Sample their world-famous Hazy IPAs and innovative Oat Creme double-hopped variations at the source. Snag a few limited-release four-packs from their retail fridge to take home after a date.

After observing the four more adventurous options Google Maps’ Ask Maps assistant provided me with, I took note of the three other nightspots that are geared more towards intimate meetups:

• Eavesdrop: For a sophisticated, audio-forward evening, Eavesdrop in Greenpoint is a minimalist listening bar specifically designed around a high-end sound system. It is curated so that the music remains a central showcase without drowning out your intimate conversation. Patrons love the sleek wood styling and crystal-clear acoustics. Try to secure seating near the cork-lined turntable booth to watch the vinyl selection up close. Sip on their craft cocktail menu, which features creative, Asian-inspired flavor profiles.
• Record Room: Hidden along the Long Island City waterfront, Record Room delivers a speakeasy atmosphere built entirely around the art of the spin. It functions as a cozy neighborhood cafe by day before transforming into a moody, music-centric lounge at night. Visitors frequently praise the highly talented local DJs spinning classic retro sets exclusively on vinyl. Enjoy the dramatic aesthetic of the room, which features custom Hi-Fi loudspeakers and walls adorned with records. Make a reservation ahead of time, as the space is quite intimate and fills up quickly on weekends.
• Gaonnuri: If you want to elevate a standard dinner date, Gaonnuri takes classic Korean barbecue and moves it to a stunning penthouse space on the 39th floor. It offers an upscale atmosphere that feels completely removed from the frantic pace of the streets below. Diners highlight the incredible, unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline. Enjoy a fully hosted experience where the attentive waitstaff handles all the tabletop grilling for you. Appreciate the advanced ventilation system, which ensures you leave dinner without any lingering smoke smells.

Out of all the spots that were presented to me, the ones that ended up making the final cut after I sent them to my date were Barcade, Izakaya Nana, Eavesdrop and Record Room. While the skyline views and delicious delicacies presented by Gaonnuri intrigued us, their high prices brought our increased levels of hype out of orbit as we opted for Ask Maps’ more affordable offerings. If we end up talking beyond our initial meetups, then maybe we’ll consider getting a table over there (honestly, that place seems more catered to serious couples).

The takeaway

I know I’m going to be lambasted with comments about how much of an amateur I am when it comes to planning dates. While I’m not guilty of taking women to chain restaurants and overly loud places that lead to us screaming in each other’s ears, I’ve taken plenty of swings and missed with some of the locations I’ve chosen. From now on, I’ll refrain from doing my usual Google search for “best date spots [location],” ask for date recommendations while also considering my date’s hobbies & interests and forward them to my prospective date to see if any of them match their vibe.

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Google is testing an “Ask Google from anywhere” experience in Chrome Canary for Windows that can bring up a floating search box even when you are working in another app. Press Alt + Space, and you can ask Google a question without first opening Chrome or switching back to a browser window.

Sound familiar? Google already offers a similar experience through its standalone Google app for Windows, which uses the same Alt + Space shortcut to summon a floating launcher with Search, AI Mode and Google Lens capabilities. Now it appears to be experimenting with bringing that idea directly into Chrome itself.

There is an important caveat: Google has not said the two are connected, and the Chrome version remains a Canary-level experiment rather than a feature rolling out to everyone. But it offers a revealing look at where Google could be taking Chrome next.

What 'Ask Google from anywhere' actually does

Known in development as the “Everywhere Omnibox” under Project Loom, the experiment gives Chrome a floating search interface that can appear on top of whatever else you happen to be doing on your computer.

Instead of opening a Chrome window or new tab to start a search, users can press Alt + Space to bring up the floating bar while working in another app. The shortcut can also be changed through Chrome's settings.

The latest version makes Google's plans for the feature a little clearer. The interface now uses the language “Ask Google from anywhere” and tells users they can share part or all of their screen and ask Google about what they are looking at.

That could eventually make Google Lens and AI-powered search available without forcing you to leave whatever app you are using. However, those pieces aren't all working in the interface yet. Lens and AI Mode buttons aren't currently visible in the bar, making this very much a work in progress.

Having déjà vu?

This idea isn't new. The standalone Google app for Windows already lets users press Alt + Space to bring up Google without first opening a browser.

That app combines traditional Search with AI Mode and Google Lens and can search local files, installed apps, and Google Drive. It can also use Lens to ask questions about something on your screen.

The similarities make Chrome's experiment more interesting. Both give Google a way to appear on top of whatever you are doing in Windows, both use Alt + Space, and both aim to reduce the need to stop what you're doing and head back to a traditional Google search page.

Google has not said that Project Loom is intended to replace its Windows app or that the two projects are directly connected, so it is too early to know how they might fit together.

Still, putting a similar experience inside Chrome would mean people who already have the browser running wouldn't necessarily need a separate Google app to summon Search from elsewhere on their computer.

Bottom line: Chrome is starting to escape the browser

Chrome has traditionally waited for you to open the browser before you can use it. Search in Chrome reverses that relationship by letting Chrome come to you, even while you're working somewhere else.

It also fits with Google's broader push to bring AI features closer to whatever users are already doing rather than making them continually jump between webpages, apps and AI tools.

Whether Google ultimately ships “Ask Google from anywhere” in this form is another question. The feature is still being tested in Canary, and Google could change it significantly or abandon parts of it before it ever reaches the stable version of Chrome.

That said, it's clear that Google wants Search, Lens and eventually its AI tools to be available without making you stop what you're doing and head back to a browser tab.

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Google Messages waited far too long to join the personalization party. iMessage and apps like Whatsapp have long offered custom background, while Android's primary texting app kept users locked into plain designs.

That changed recently with the arrival of dedicated chat themes. You can now abandon the default look, swap out boring backdrops for vibrant wallpapers, and give every group chat or contact its own distinct personality.

Interestingly, these changes are only visible to you, so you can go as bold as you like without affecting anyone else's view.

What you need to change your background

Custom themes are built into recent versions of Google Messages, so if your app updated recently, you may already have the feature waiting for you.

However, if you open a chat and do not see the theme settings yet, you simply need to update the app through the Google Play Store.

Open the store, tap your profile icon in the top-right corner, select Manage apps & device, and install any pending updates for Google Messages. Chat themes are available on both standard releases and beta builds.

You also need to make sure Rich Communication Services are active, as custom themes rely on RCS technology. Open Google Messages, tap your profile icon, navigate to Messages settings, and select RCS chats to confirm that the feature is toggled on.

Find the chat theme menu

Opening the theme customization menu takes only three quick taps from inside any conversation thread.

First, open Google Messages and select the specific text thread you want to design. Next, tap the three vertical dots located in the top-right corner of the screen and select Chat theme from the dropdown list to open the visual design editor.

Pick your chat colors and backgrounds

The first customization option is chat colors. By default, your color matches your system accent color, but you can choose from eight additional styles. Each color option changes your conversation background, chat bubbles, and interface elements like the voice recorder button.

Wallpapers offer even more personalization. Google provides pre-selected images organized by category — Animals, Architecture, Landscapes, Space, and others. If these don't appeal to you, tap Choose a photo to select any image from your phone or Google Photos.

What feature are you waiting for next? Now that Google has finally delivered custom chat themes, what should the next feature drop be? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

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I’ve been using Pixel devices for years, and I’ve always appreciated the way Google approaches smartphones. Pixels always deliver a mix of clean software, clever camera tricks and the confidence that they don’t need to outdo Apple and Samsung when it comes to raw performance.

But after spending the last two weeks with the Pixel 11 Pro, that charm is starting to wear thin for me. Not because the phone is bad — it’s actually good in plenty of areas — but because Google seems content to coast. And with 2026, packed with powerhouse devices all trying new things, coasting is a dangerous strategy.

This year’s big improvements

First, let me point out that the Pixel 11 Pro nails the basics. The camera is still one of the most reliable point‑and‑shoot experiences around, and the display is genuinely impressive this year. As detailed in our combined Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL review, its screen hits 2,860 nits peak brightness, while its larger sibling reaches 2,877 nits, making them the brightest phone screens we’ve ever tested. That’s brighter than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra at 2,687 nits, and more than double the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s 1,281 nits. Out in the Australian sun, that difference is immediately apparent.

Camera performance is strong, too. Its 5x telephoto lens produces crisp long‑range shots, and as detailed in our review, Google’s AI‑boosted 120x zoom actually outperforms Samsung’s 100x attempt in clarity. The new Magic Capture mode, which records a video and simultaneously extracts high-quality stills from it, works quite well, and Rambler, which uses Gemini AI to transcribe your rambling speech into well-structured text, is quite impressive. Live Translate for media is also genuinely useful, allowing you to dub content into another language in real-time — it’ll even keep the voice and accent of the original speaker, which is actually kind of mind-blowing.

Impressive AI features, but do they justify a new phone?

Despite being sold as the ultimate AI phone, the Pixel 11 Pro isn’t exactly a compute monster. In fact, our benchmarks show its Tensor G6 chipset landing well behind its rivals in Geekbench AI tests — a surprising result for a device built around on‑device AI features. And that’s what makes this year’s Pixel 11-exclusive AI features feel a bit arbitrary. Rambler, Magic Capture, Live Translate for media — they’re clever tools, but none of them appear to require any dramatic hardware leap. The Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL simply aren’t delivering the kind of AI throughput that would justify locking these features to new devices.

Google has a long history of keeping software tricks exclusive to the latest Pixel, even when older hardware could clearly cope — think Photo Unblur (exclusive to Pixel 7 at launch) or Audio Magic Eraser (exclusive to Pixel 8 at launch) — and that pattern seems to continue with this year’s lineup. So while the AI perks are fun to play with, they’re far less exciting to me than a refreshed design or a meaningfully upgraded camera system would’ve been. If Google wants the Pixel to feel essential again, it needs to deliver real hardware upgrades — not just software that likely could’ve shipped to last year’s phones.

The feeling of sameness is hard to shake

After two weeks with the Pixel 11 Pro, the sameness is impossible to ignore. The last few Pixels have looked and felt nearly identical. Same silhouette, same camera bar, and same “good enough” approach to performance. I can pick up a Pixel 9 Pro, 10 Pro or 11 Pro and my muscle memory barely registers the difference. That’s not consistency; that’s stagnancy.

And stagnancy becomes even more obvious when you look at the hard numbers. The Pixel 11 Pro’s battery life is 13 hours 25 minutes, which is actually worse than last year’s Pixel 10 Pro at 13 hours 43 minutes. Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro hits 15 hours 21 minutes, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra lasts 16 hours 10 minutes. Those are meaningful gaps for devices that aren’t too far off from each other in terms of price.

No meaningful performance gains

It’s a similar story when it comes to performance: the Pixel 11 Pro’s Geekbench 6 scores — 2,649 single‑core / 7,164 multi‑core — are an improvement over the Pixel 10 Pro, but nowhere near Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra (3,785 / 11,563) or the iPhone 17 Pro Max (3,871 / 9,968). And the aforementioned AI benchmark is downright brutal: the Pixel 11 Pro scores 9,148, while Samsung hits 83,047 and Apple reaches 48,549. When a flagship is being outpaced by that margin, especially one that’s being sold as a class-leading AI-centric device, it’s hard to pretend everything’s fine.

Even the exclusive Gemini features — as polished as they are — don’t change how the phone feels in the hand, or how it performs under load, or how long it lasts on a busy day. They’re clever additions, but they’re still additions. They don’t fix the underlying issue: Google hasn’t meaningfully pushed its hardware forward in years.

Good enough is no longer enough

And then there’s HiLight, the only visually distinct hardware update Google has made this year. It’s basically a tiny LED that blinks when Gemini is listening or when an assigned contact calls. It’s cute, but it’s hardly the kind of innovation that keeps a brand relevant. Nothing has been offering similar features for years and to be honest, it never really impressed anyone.

A meaningful redesign would go a long way. And I’m not talking about slightly smaller bezels or a slightly tweaked camera bump — I mean a proper refresh. Something that signals Google is hungry again. Maybe that means an Ultra-style device that actually competes with the big players, or a foldable that doesn’t feel like it’s two years behind the competition. It also wouldn’t hurt if the next Pixel had a Tensor chip that could go toe-to-toe with higher-range Snapdragon chips, or a battery that charges fast and lasts long.

Maybe it’s time to go back to the drawing board

Of course, the Pixel 11 Pro’s biggest problem isn’t its performance, battery or price — though all three could be better. It’s that it feels like Google is playing it safe, and that’s risky in a market where everyone else is swinging for the fences.

Google clearly wants the Pixel line to sit alongside Samsung and Apple as one of the industry’s top‑tier smartphone brands, but the reality is that it’s falling behind fast‑moving competitors like Motorola, Xiaomi and Oppo. These brands are pushing aggressive hardware innovation, competitive pricing and rapid release cycles, while Google’s hardware strategy has remained relatively unchanged.

If Google genuinely wants to make a meaningful impact in the smartphone space, it needs more than incremental updates. I want Google’s Pixel line to take risks again and surprise me.

I want a Pixel phone that doesn’t feel like it was designed by a committee trying not to rock the boat. Because if Google keeps serving up “good, but boring,” the Pixel line won’t just fall behind — it’ll fade into the background entirely.

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Ebooks made it possible to carry a collection of books with you wherever you go. Now, Google’s new Expert Intelligence feature could make ebooks more interactive. It lets you add eligible titles purchased through Google Play Books directly to Gemini Notebook formally known as NotebookLM, where you can ask questions grounded in the complete text.

That could mean catching up on a novel you abandoned three weeks ago, creating a book-club guide or turning a nonfiction book into a a study guide. You can also generate quizzes, infographics and Audio Overviews based on what you’ve read.

Here’s how to add a book and seven prompts to try once it’s there.

What is Expert Intelligence?

Expert Intelligence connects Gemini Notebook with selected books from Google Play Books. Google says more than 100,000 titles are eligible at launch, although the feature won’t work with every ebook in your library.

Once a supported book has been added, Gemini can answer questions based on its text and provide citations connecting its responses to the source. You can also turn the material into flashcards, quizzes, reports, infographics and podcast-style Audio Overviews, which can be especially useful for students.

The book doesn’t have to sit in the notebook alone. Gemini Notebook supports sources including Google Docs, PDFs, websites, YouTube videos and EPUB files, allowing you to compare the book with your own notes or other material.

How to add an eligible ebook

First, open the book’s page in Google Play Books and select the Tools badge. Eligible titles will list Gemini Notebook as an available option.

You can also open Gemini Notebook, select Add sources and look for Google Play Books. Choose the book you want to use and check that it appears in the Sources panel before entering your prompt.

Only eligible ebooks obtained through Google Play Books can be added through this integration. Books you uploaded to your Play Books library aren’t supported, although you can upload a PDF or EPUB directly to Gemini Notebook.

Here are 7 fun prompts to try:

1. Create a spoiler-free character guide

Anyone who has returned to a fantasy novel after a break knows the problem: there are 14 characters, three kingdoms and at least two people with nearly identical names.

This prompt asks Gemini to remind you who everyone is without revealing what happens next.

Try the prompt: Create a spoiler-free guide to the characters introduced through Chapter [NUMBER]. For each character, explain who they are, how they are connected to the other characters and what I should remember about them. Do not reveal anything that happens after this chapter.

2. Catch up without starting again

If you haven’t opened a book in several weeks, you may remember the broad plot but not the smaller details you need to continue.

Try the prompt: I have read through Chapter [NUMBER] but haven’t picked up this book in a while. Remind me of the important events, character relationships and unresolved questions up to this point. Do not include spoilers or details from later chapters.

Since the response is generated by AI, there is still a chance it could reveal too much. If avoiding spoilers is especially important, check where its citations lead before reading the entire answer.

3. Start your own book club

Gemini can create a discussion guide that goes beyond asking everyone whether they liked the ending.

Try the prompt: Create 10 book-club questions about this book. Focus on character motivations, central themes, difficult decisions and the ending. Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple fact from the text.

You can make the questions more specific by asking Gemini to concentrate on a particular character, relationship or theme.

4. Turn the book into a podcast

Gemini Notebook’s Audio Overviews turn source material into a podcast-style conversation between AI hosts.

For nonfiction, try the prompt: Create an Audio Overview exploring the author’s central argument, the strongest evidence supporting it and any ideas readers might reasonably question. Keep the discussion conversational and use examples from the book.

For fiction, use: Create an Audio Overview discussing how the main character changes throughout the book. Focus on the decisions that drive that change instead of simply retelling the plot.

5. Apply the author’s advice to your life

A business or self-help book may contain hundreds of pages of advice when you only need help with one specific problem. This prompt asks Gemini to pull out the relevant ideas and organize them into something you can use.

Try the prompt: Using only the principles outlined in this book, help me create a practical plan for [GOAL]. Separate the author’s recommendations from your own suggestions, cite the relevant sections and identify anything I should discuss with a qualified professional.

Be particularly careful when applying information from books about health, mental health, money or the law.

Gemini can help you understand an author’s advice, but neither the book nor its AI-generated interpretation replaces professional guidance.

6. Test what you remember

Instead of rereading your highlights, ask Gemini to find out how much of the book you retained.

Try the prompt: Create a 10-question test evaluating my understanding of this book. Include five multiple-choice questions, three short-answer questions and two questions that require me to apply its ideas. Don’t show me the answers until I submit mine.

You can also tell Gemini which chapters to cover or ask it to increase the difficulty after each round.

7. Explore an untold scene

This is where things get more experimental. Gemini may be able to use its understanding of a novel to imagine a conversation or event that happened outside the original story.

Try the prompt: Write a brief, original scene showing what might have happened between [CHARACTER A] and [CHARACTER B] after [EVENT]. Keep their personalities consistent with the book, but do not copy passages or imitate the author’s writing style. Clearly label the result as unofficial fan fiction.

Gemini may limit or refuse some requests involving copyrighted characters or an author’s distinctive style. Owning an ebook also doesn’t give you the copyright to its characters or story. Treat anything Gemini generates as a personal creative exercise unless you have permission to publish or sell it.

Final thoughts

Sharing a notebook containing an ebook does not give everyone else a free copy of the book. Recipients must purchase the same title through Google Play Books before they can interact with it or view it as a source. According to Google’s sharing documentation, access to artifacts generated from the notebook may also require recipients to own the source ebook.

That restriction is central to Google’s approach. Gemini gets access to the complete text, but only after the reader has purchased an eligible copy. For now, that makes Expert Intelligence an extension of the ebook rather than a replacement for buying it.

Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comments.

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Mostly, I try to avoid AI. It's not a moral stance, I just like the challenge of solving problems on my own, and staying hands-on. For me, the fun is in the friction of figuring it out myself.

Most of the time, that hands-on approach works fine. But every so often, stubbornness stops being a virtue and becomes a bottleneck.

I don't turn to AI to optimize my life or try out the latest tech. I turn to it when I’ve hit a wall, the obvious solutions have failed, and I need a way out immediately.

These are the five specific moments my self-reliance hit its limit — and the exact prompts that helped.

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If you've ever tried to snap photos of an unpredictably moving target, you'll know that a smartphone is not the best tool for the job. There's no burst mode in a lot of default camera apps, and actually tapping the shutter button by hand isn't always fast enough. Google thinks it's figured out a solution, though.

In our Google Pixel 11 review, we weren't overly enthused by the phone as a whole, but its "Magic Capture" camera mode is something I've found truly useful. It works by recording a video clip, then uses AI to analyze each frame and pull out the most appropriate stills. It's not quite a dual-capture mode, but it's probably the closest thing Pixel phones actually have right now.

The question is, can Magic Capture actually do what Google has promised? HiLight has turned out to be a colossal disappointment, and the Pixel 11 is about as exciting as beige paint. So can Google recapture user enthusiasm through the camera? I tested it to find out.

How to use Magic Capture

In my experience, a lot of new AI features can be difficult to find, even if you know where to look. That's not the case with Magic Capture. Google has put it front and center in the Pixel 11's camera app. It is prominently displayed at the bottom of the screen, next to the Photo and Video toggles that have been around for years.

Tap it, and the camera interface suddenly gets a whole lot cleaner. Your only serious options are to tap the shutter button and control the level of zoom. There is a settings toggle that lets you control whether you have Video Boost switched on too, should you prefer things that way.

All you need to do is tap the shutter button and your phone will start recording. Once you've finished, the onboard AI will analyze the footage and figure out which frames are worthy of becoming photos. Those new photos then get added to your camera reel automatically.

It's surprisingly simple, and that's one of the things I really like about Magic Capture. You don't need to do a bunch of research to figure out how it works, or what you can gain from it. The button is positioned front-and-center, and it works just like every other video camera mode on your phone.

There are some restrictions on how it works

As simple as Magic Capture is to use, there are a few limitations. The first is that you can't actually capture more than two minutes of video at a time. If you start getting close, a warning message will pop up on screen counting down to the moment the video will stop.

In my experience, you are limited to five photos from each video. It doesn't matter whether it's 30 seconds long, or the full two minutes, Magic Capture seems to have imposed that hard limit.

Google hasn't explained why these limits are in place, but my guess is that it didn't want the AI analysis running indefinitely. A two minute and five photo limit ensures that Magic Capture doesn't try to keep running and eat up too much space on Google's AI servers. Because, yes, this feature does rely on the internet.

You can still film Magic Capture clips while offline, and the on-board AI will find you a single photo that's automatically added to your library. However, if you want the other four, you will need to connect to the internet. The good news is that your video will be effectively held in a pending queue, waiting to connect to either Wi-Fi or cellular data networks — at which point it will process and hand over the missing photos.

Overall, it's a great new feature

The time I've spent with Magic Capture has been, for the most part, very enjoyable. It's so easy to just click on the video, knowing that Google's AI will end up capturing some of the best stills and converting them into standalone photos.

If you are planning on using Magic Capture yourself, I'd suggest tempering your expectations on what it can do. It's not a miracle worker, and it won't suddenly be able to create amazing images out of the shortest and scrappiest video clip you can capture. Likewise, because these photos are being ripped from moving video, you may end up with some blurring and signs of motion in the final result.

The actual resolution and overall size of each photo varies as well, which is worth remembering if you're concerned about that sort of thing. Just remember that high resolution doesn't automatically equal good quality.

But, overall, this is a very handy feature to have. While the restriction on video length and the number of available images is kind of a drag, Magic Capture does make it a heck of a lot easier to grab some photos of awkward targets — like my insanely energetic labradors. It's all hands-off, and it sure as heck beats going frame-by-frame in a video or mass-deleting photos that were taken during an overzealous use of burst-mode photography.

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Earlier this year, I decided to try and write an article with my voice sampling the different dictation software available on iPhones and Google Pixel phones. Both Apple and Google had been hyping up the capabilities of their new dictation software aided by brand new AI models. The results weren't awful, but they were fairly mixed.

At the time, Google had just announced the new Rambler AI dictation software but hadn't revealed exactly how it was going to roll out. Earlier this month, it confirmed that Rambler would be arriving on the Pixel 11 series, allowing a whole new kind of voice-to-text software that uses natural language AI to ensure the most accurate dictation possible — or so Google says.

Naturally, I decided to test the system and see if Rambler really does live up to Google's lofty claims. I was also curious to see whether the natural language systems would be capable of better understanding verbal commands and allow me to edit my work as I speak. Here's what happened.

How Rambler Works

According to Google's original announcement back at Google I/O in May, Rambler is a way to ensure that users "don't have to worry about getting your words exactly right before you start.” It is designed for you to speak naturally to your phone and then use the AI to filter out all the unnecessary little parts of speech that you don't actually want transcribed. The ums, ahs and all the other verbal tics that you say without even thinking.

This essentially means that you can focus on what you're saying and the actual content of your work without having to worry about going back later and filtering out all those little things that would need to be removed later on.

Considering editing was the biggest issue I had with dictation software earlier this year, the idea that you could minimize that, or at the very least verbally make changes to text on the fly certainly piqued my curiosity.

Rambler is powered by Gemini AI, and according to Google, it can understand multiple languages at once, allowing users who can speak multiple languages to switch between them as and when they see fit.

Google claims it's all about speed and accuracy, and Rambler is accessible at the top of your keyboard, replacing the old dictation functionality. While it originally launched on Pixel 11, Google has since confirmed that it will be coming to Gboard on Android, Gemini on macOS, and the Chrome Browser.

How my time "typing" with Rambler is going

So far I've been pretty impressed with how Rambler has done things. Not only has it been able to pick up what I'm saying with impressive clarity, it's also been able to do a lot of the formatting and punctuation without actually requiring me to specifically ask for it.

Generally speaking, as long as I can actually keep my words concise and my thoughts aligned, Rambler is having absolutely no issues with transcribing what I'm saying.

Of course, the main limitation is that I'm not very good at doing that. I find it much easier to write or type than I do to speak, especially when that involves speaking off the cuff; organising my thoughts and relaying them to my own mouth in short order. This isn't a problem with Rambler itself; it's just how my brain works.

Then again, it feels like Google could have done a lot more to make the process a little bit smoother. When you start up Rambler, you get a little bar at the top of your keyboard that features a little visualisation based on what your microphone actually picks up. The more it hears, the higher the visualisation goes and so on. What Rambler doesn't include is a preview of what it has understood you've said, which makes organising your thoughts all the more difficult, especially if you try and correct a mistake mid-flow.

Having that preview would be a small improvement, but it would make a huge amount of difference, at least to me, in ensuring that I can continue my train of thought despite knowing that I just made a blunder or wanted to rewrite part of a sentence.

Despite the advances that Google has made with conversational AI and voice recognition, it is far from perfect — especially with relation to my own accent. For some reason, it recognised the word "other" as "are there" and "asking of it" as "asking for it."

Accent recognition has plagued voice control systems since their inception, and clearly more work needs to be done in this area.

There are some big issues that need addressing

If anyone can tell, the previous paragraph was typed out from scratch, rather than using my voice. That's because attempting to get Rambler to edit and configure the text ended up wiping multiple paragraphs from this article for reasons I cannot understand.

Thankfully Google Docs was kind enough to let me undo those changes, but there were a lot of them, and my dedication to producing this article through voice alone meant I didn't notice for some time — and could have ended up losing about an hour of work in the process. If AI is supposed to make our lives better and improve productivity, it's going to have to avoid doing stupid things like this.

Anyway, back to using my voice, as promised.

Rambler can be used to edit what you've written, but in my brief time testing the feature it has been remarkably inconsistent. Obviously, that culminated in paragraphs of work being erased seemingly out of nowhere, but there have been instances where it seemingly struggles to understand what I'm trying to ask of it.

Naturally, the fact that there is no preview of what it has understood does make the editing process a little harder. You have to be able to memorise what you just said, while simultaneously thinking about what you're about to say, and still have the ability to tell Rambler that you need changes to be made.

Editing text that has already been pasted into the document, especially in such a large block like this, is not something that Rambler is very adept at doing. Sometimes it works, but in other cases it'll mess the whole thing up and that level of inconsistency is far from ideal. If Google just showed you what you said without having to paste it into the document, all of this could be avoided.

Naturally, the fact that it can automatically recognise what you're saying and format it appropriately before you even get to the editing stage is a big help. The way Gboard dictation used to be, you would just end up with huge blocks of text that needed punctuation scattered through it where appropriate—assuming you didn't physically say it while you were dictating.

You can still add your own punctuation when necessary. For instance, I'm very fond of using em-dashes in my work, while Gboard and Rambler are not.

Likewise, if I want to put something in quotation marks, I have to specifically ask for it, and this usually leads me to sprinkle in other punctuation throughout the piece as and where I deem it necessary, because we can't always trust AI to make the correct decisions for us.

Bottom line

Credit where it's due, Rambler is a huge improvement over other kinds of free voice dictation we've been getting bundled with our smartphones. I specifically mean the dictation services afforded by iOS 27 and other Android devices through the Gboard app.

There are issues that people need to be aware of, and you do need to be vigilant about what Rambler is doing. Otherwise, like me, you could end up with huge chunks of your work just being erased because you accidentally said the wrong thing or it misunderstood what you actually wanted.

The editing commands could also be improved and the lack of a preview is quite an oversight on Google's part.

Rambler does have a pretty good grasp of what you're trying to say and the commands you're trying to give, but it does seem to be better suited for smaller blocks of text rather than feature-length articles like this one. The more text there is, the easier it is for things to start going wrong and the more likely it is that you're not going to notice them until it's far too late.

Still, if you find yourself in a situation where you can't type with both hands on your phone, or you simply prefer to express your thoughts verbally, even if you're sending an email or a text message, Rambler is actually doing a pretty good job and it is a massive improvement on what was available before.

Is it the best dictation software out there? I doubt it. There are probably premium options that do this sort of thing absolutely flawlessly, but for free software that is included on your phone's keyboard, it's doing a pretty good job so far.

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Earlier this week, I wrote about the growing backlash against the secrecy surrounding AI data centers.

One of the biggest problems for residents is that you can't object to, ask questions about or even investigate a data center if you don't know one is coming. And apparently, searching your town's planning agenda for the words "data center" may not be enough.

A new report from Erin Brockovich and Suzanne Boothby highlights some of the surprisingly ordinary language that can appear in zoning applications, permits and council agendas long before a massive data center project is publicly identified.

That matters as the AI boom moves beyond the traditional data center hubs. According to Pew Research Center, 67% of planned U.S. data centers are in rural areas, while 39% are planned for counties that don't currently have one.

So if you're wondering whether one could be headed for your community, here are seven terms worth knowing.

1. Light industrial

This might be one of the easiest phrases to overlook. Many local zoning codes were written before anyone had to figure out where to put an enormous building filled with thousands of servers and GPUs. As a result, there may not actually be a zoning category for "data center."

Instead, developers can seek land zoned for "light industrial" or "heavy industrial" uses.

That doesn't mean every light-industrial zoning request is secretly a data center. But a request involving a particularly large piece of land — especially one near major electrical infrastructure — may be worth investigating.

In Coweta County, Georgia, for example, early discussions around what eventually became the enormous Project Sail data center included rezoning rural land for light industrial use. The project is now planned as a nine-building data center campus covering more than four million square feet.

2. Data processing

This one sounds almost comically mundane considering what it can describe.

Rather than "AI data center," local documents may use terms such as "data processing," "data hosting" or "data processing and related services."

Again, this doesn't mean something is being hidden, but it means searching local government websites only for "data center" could cause you to miss relevant documents.

The Brockovich Report points to Ashville, Ohio, where the village's own data center moratorium referred to uses involving "data processing, hosting and related services."

3. Technology campus

"Technology campus," "technology park," "advanced manufacturing" and even "flex space" can cover a wide range of legitimate developments. They can also encompass data centers.

A huge parcel of land, nearby high-voltage transmission lines, plans for a new electrical substation, backup generators or unusually large power requirements can tell you far more than the project's branding.

That's particularly important because a "technology campus" sounds very different from what residents may eventually see: enormous windowless buildings packed with servers, cooling equipment and electrical infrastructure.

4. A mysterious 'Project [Something]'

Project Sail. Project Louie. Project Baccara. Project Stratos. Once you start reading about proposed data centers, mysterious project names appear everywhere.

Companies commonly use codenames while assembling land and planning major developments, so spotting "Project Whatever" doesn't mean Google or Microsoft is secretly moving into town.

But it's another reason to look beyond recognizable company names.

Project Sail in Georgia, for example, was originally associated publicly with Atlas Development rather than Prologis, the giant industrial real-estate company now developing the data center campus.

In Indiana, environmental permitting documents for something called "Project Louie" identify plans for a six-building data center campus.

5. An LLC you've never heard of

This is probably the biggest reason Googling "Is Amazon building a data center near me?" probably won't get you very far. Land purchases and development applications can be made through LLCs or real-estate affiliates rather than the company that will eventually use the site.

There are legitimate business reasons for doing this. Keeping a buyer's identity private while assembling a large site, for example, can prevent land prices from soaring as soon as word gets out that a trillion-dollar tech company is interested.

But for residents, it makes following a project considerably harder.

If an unfamiliar LLC suddenly appears on documents involving hundreds of acres of land, try searching the company name in your state's corporate registry. Look at the people associated with it, its registered address and whether those names connect to other developments.

6. Development agreement or term sheet

If I saw these words on a town council agenda, up until recently I might skip over them. But here's why you should look closely at these keywords: A development agreement, framework or term sheet can spell out what a developer and local government have already discussed, including infrastructure improvements, tax arrangements and money for schools, roads or emergency services.

The details can also reveal the scale of a project long before the name of its eventual tenant becomes public.

One thing I'd look for in particular is new infrastructure. If an agreement suddenly includes millions of dollars for water-system upgrades, electrical infrastructure or road construction connected to an industrial project, it's worth asking why those upgrades are necessary and who will use them.

7. Emergency

Strange one to be on the list, I know. But an "emergency" resolution can change how quickly a government action takes effect.

That's what makes Ashville, Ohio, such an interesting example.

According to the Brockovich Report, a data center permit there was filed on a Friday. The following Monday, the village council approved an emergency 180-day moratorium on data center zoning permits. Two days later, the permit was issued anyway.

The dispute has since made its way into the courts.

For residents, the takeaway is simply that "emergency" is one of those words I'd stop scrolling for if it appeared beside a major land-use or development decision.

The takeaway

All of these key words matter most when you put the clues together because noe of the terms prove much of anything on their own.

Local planning and zoning agendas are usually posted online, as are meeting minutes and many permit applications. Property records can tell you who bought the land, while state corporate databases can help identify who's behind an unfamiliar LLC.

Utility regulators are another place to look. A data center that isn't named publicly may still need an enormous amount of electricity, and substations, transmission upgrades and other infrastructure can leave their own paper trail.

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I'm not a big fan of the Pixel 11 Pro. As I mentioned in my Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL review, these are not bad phones but it feels as though Google hasn't done enough to help justify their existence. One of the few hardware changes the phones do include is the HiLight LED, which lives on the camera bar.

HiLight is part of the camera flash on the back of the Pixel 11 Pro, utilizing a range of colored LED lights. It's essentially a modern day take on the notification light smartphone companies mostly ditched years ago.

Unfortunately, the way HiLight works right now feels like a missed opportunity, but there is potential if Google is willing to put some effort into it.

What HiLight can do

Looking at the back of the Pixel 11 Pro, you'd never know that HiLight was actually there. Though if you are familiar with Pixel phones you may recognize that the flash is totally different, with a smooth solid-colored surface rather than the fresnel-looking lens utilized on the likes of Pixel 10 Pro.

Here's how it works. When you place your phone face down, and whenever the right trigger occurs HiLight will flash one of six colors. Blue is reserved for Google Gemini, but at the moment the HiLight icon can also flash teal, yellow, magenta, purple and white. Unfortunately, the feature is limited in what it can actually do.

The way Google described HiLight, you might have assumed that it would support a bunch of different notification types. I know I did, but that isn't the case. As it stands, HiLight will only flash for two reasons. The light will flash blue whenever you're talking to Google Gemini, but it can also be set up to flash one of the five other colors when your starred contacts are calling you.

At the moment, that is all HiLight can do. Any other kind of notification is completely off limits, and there's no way to set up HiLight to flash up when you get an email, text message or something else entirely.

It's also worth noting that HiLight won't engage if your phone screen is not facing directly down. It doesn't have to be a flat surface, only that your phone screen is pointing towards the ground. In fact, you can test this yourself, because HiLight will actually turn off if you tilt your phone too far in any other direction.

The limitations are disappointing — but it didn't have to be this way

It feels like Google has only done half a job with the way it's rolled out HiLight to the Pixel 11 Pro. The limited functionality means that the one thing that could have become the Pixel 11 Pro's standout feature is nearly pointless for me.

I can't tell you how many times my starred contacts actually bother to call me. Usually they send me a text message, or call me via WhatsApp — which is not compatible with HiLight.

Honestly, it feels like Google hasn't put a lot of effort into making HiLight a feature that people will actually get much benefit from. Everything about it is limited, from the compatibility to the color options.

Google did state that HiLight will be updated with more features at some point in the future, but the only specific detail we've been given is that HiLight will flash when you get messages from favored contacts. We just don't know when that might happen, or what further plans Google has in store for the feature.

App developers have been hard at work trying to crack the system behind HiLight and give users the freedom to utilize the LED however they want. One of them claims to have succeeded, which is crazy considering we're just a few short days out from the phones' official release.

Developers step in

HiLight Studio has garnered attention for its bold claims, promising that users can control the rear-lights colors, and program the lights to activate with an even larger range of apps. I haven't been able to test it for myself, because the setup process is a lot more complicated than simply installing an APK file. This is a system level feature, after all, and it's not one that Google will want you messing with.

In other words, this is for people with patience and technical ability to get everything going. The fact that you need to relaunch the service every time your phone reboots is enough to put me off.

Still, it shows that HiLight is not necessarily limited to the few features Google has graced the Pixel 11 Pro with so far. It's a lot more versatile and potentially a lot more useful than I initially gave it credit for — or it could be.

Bottom line: HiLight could be a lot better than it is

I can see potential in HiLight, and the ability to keep tabs on your notifications without constantly checking your phone screen. In an ideal world you could map different notifications to a veritable rainbow of different colors and use that to determine whether you should actually open up your phone or not.

But in its current state, HiLight is basically a non-starter. It's only compatible with two features, and while I understand why Gemini was chosen I have no idea why Google decided adding support for phone calls was a priority. Actually receiving a phone call is unusual enough that it grabs my attention, I don't need a colorful light to go with it.

HiLight could be something, but it's going to rely on Google actually rolling out a bunch of updates to improve the usefulness of the entire mechanism. But if things stay the way they are, it's just one more phone feature destined for the scrap heap.

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Google Maps’ offline feature sounds like the ultimate safety net for cellular dead zones. The logic is simple: download the map before you leave, and you are protected. In reality, that "offline" label comes with some frustrating fine print.

First, turn-by-turn navigation is strictly built for driving. The moment you leave your vehicle, offline routing for walking, cycling, and public transit completely vanishes. While you can still see your blue dot on a basic visual map, the app goes silent right when you need step-by-step guidance in an unfamiliar place.

Maintenance is another headache. Downloaded regions consume massive amounts of local storage, and they are on a strict 30-day countdown timer — if you don't connect to Wi-Fi to let the app auto-refresh them, they lapse.

Google Maps remains the gold standard when you have a connection, but it struggles the moment cell service drops. For reliable navigation anywhere, you need an app designed to work seamless offline from day one.

1. Organic Maps

Organic Maps (App Store / Play Store) treats offline navigation as a core requirement, not an afterthought. Built by the original team behind MAPS.ME, it allows you to download complete state or national maps using minimal phone storage.

Once saved, you gain full offline access to turn-by-turn driving, walking, and cycling navigation, alongside instant search for addresses, fuel, and public restrooms. Because the platform operates with zero ads, tracking, or background data collection, it remains exceptionally fast while preserving your device's battery life.

2. CoMaps

CoMaps (App Store / Play Store) was created as a community-led fork of Organic Maps, built to ensure offline navigation remains completely free, open-source, and transparent.

The app stores detailed road layouts, trail networks, and transit lines directly on your device, delivering full turn-by-turn guidance entirely independent of a cellular signal.

By eliminating third-party integrations, CoMaps guarantees absolute privacy with zero tracking or location logging. For users prioritizing non-profit software, it offers an uncompromising, highly reliable alternative.

3. HERE WeGo

HERE WeGo (App Store / Play Store) operates as a dedicated in-car navigator, designed specifically for road trips through dead zones and driving abroad without international data.

Evolving from Nokia’s original mapping platform, it lets you download complete state or national maps with a single tap. Once saved, the app provides precise turn-by-turn voice guidance, explicit lane assistance, and speed limit alerts without consuming a single byte of cellular data.

Delivering the familiar experience of a traditional built-in dashboard GPS, HERE WeGo ensures stress-free highway navigation with zero risk of unexpected roaming charges.

Did your go-to app miss this list? Tell us which Google Maps alternative you swear by in the comments below.

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Gemini is so much more powerful than a chatbot, and yet many people haven't even scratched the surface of what it can. Now that Google is offering Gemini Pro to students free for a year, it's time to see what it can do — and students of all ages can appreciate these features.

Gemini now works across Gmail, Meet, Slides and several other Google apps, so it can help with the work that usually eats up the most time. Think overloaded inboxes, sprawling research projects and meeting notes no one wants to write.

Some of these features require a Google AI subscription or an eligible Workspace plan, and availability can depend on your account. Still, there’s plenty here for free users too.

Here are seven Google AI features worth putting to work.

1. Create a Gem for work you repeat every week

If you regularly give Gemini the same instructions, you shouldn’t have to paste them into a new chat every time.

Gems are custom versions of Gemini that follow a set of instructions you write once. You could create one that checks a draft against your company’s style guide, turns rough meeting notes into a standard recap or reviews a proposal from the perspective of a skeptical customer.

The instructions can include the role you want the Gem to play, the format it should use and any rules it needs to follow. You can attach reference files as well, which is useful for brand guidelines, examples or background material it should consult.

A useful Gem needs more than a vague description such as “help with my writing.” Spell out what it should look for, what it should leave alone and how you want the answer presented. For example, you might tell it to flag repetition and unclear sentences without rewriting the entire piece.

Once it’s set up, you can open that Gem whenever the task comes up again. It’s a small change, but it removes the tedious setup that often comes with using AI for repeat work.

2. Turn a rough brief into a presentation or video

Starting a presentation from a blank slide is often harder than editing a rough version. Gemini can now create that first draft inside Google Slides.

Gemini in Slides can generate an editable presentation from a prompt, including text and images. You can provide Drive files as references, which means the presentation can be based on an existing report or set of meeting notes instead of a short prompt alone.

It can help after the deck is built too. Ask Gemini to rewrite a crowded slide, create a new slide using information from a document or generate an image that fits the presentation. The result will still need a human pass, particularly for visual consistency and factual accuracy, but it gives you something concrete to edit.

For projects that would work better as a video, Google Vids can turn a prompt and reference material into a draft with suggested scenes, scripts and voiceovers. You can use it for a training video, project update or internal walkthrough without recording yourself from the beginning.

Google’s AI tools are most useful when they work with information you already have. Connect Gemini to the email, document or meeting where the work is happening, give it a specific task and check the result before it goes anywhere important. That’s where the time savings begin to add up.

3. Make the most of research with Gemini Notebooks

Gemini Notebooks, formally NotebookLM, allows you to make the most of your research by keeping all of your sources in one place. From there, you can ask questions about them, turn them into quizzes, flash cards and more.

Since Notebooks bases its responses on the material you provide, it’s easier to check where an answer came from. Citations link back to the relevant passage, so you can verify a claim without searching through the entire original document. That doesn’t make it incapable of getting something wrong, but it gives you a much clearer path for checking its work.

The chat is only one part of it. The platform can turn your sources into study guides, FAQs, briefing documents and Audio Overviews. Those conversational audio summaries are especially handy when you need to absorb a long report but don’t have time to sit and read it.

The best way to use Notebooks is to give it a defined job. Ask it to identify where several sources disagree, build a timeline or pull out every unresolved question from a set of meeting documents. Those prompts produce much more useful results than simply asking for a summary.

4. Use Canvas when a chat becomes too messy

Regular chatbot conversations work well for short request but when there is a lot of back and forth, particuarly with edits, open Gemini Canvas for optimal productivity.

Gemini Canvas gives the project its own workspace beside the conversation. You can edit the output directly, then highlight a specific section and ask Gemini to change only that part. It works with text as well as code, making it a much safer space to select and make changes within your work.

If you’re planning a project, for example, you could ask Gemini to turn your notes into an interactive timeline or task tracker rather than settling for another block of text.

5. Let Google Meet handle the notes

There are a lot of AI notetakers, and I have tried a few, but if you want simplicity, let Gemini take the notes in Google Meet.

With Take notes for me, Gemini creates an organized Google Doc containing the meeting notes. The recap can be shared with selected participants after the call and linked from the Calendar event, making it easier to find later.

If you arrive late, you can request a “summary so far” rather than interrupting the meeting to ask what you missed. Google’s separate Ask Gemini feature also lets eligible users privately ask questions about an active meeting, including what decisions have been made or whether a particular topic has already come up.

There are limitations. Take notes for me requires an eligible Workspace edition or Google AI plan, supports one language at a time and shouldn’t be treated as a flawless record. Names, technical terms and fast-moving discussions still need to be checked.

It’s also worth deciding who should receive the notes before the meeting begins. Google lets organizers configure the recipients and the sections included in the recap, which is better than automatically sending every internal detail to the full invitation list.

6. Deep Research in Gemini Live

Whatever reason you're doing research, you can now hand the first stage of a big project to Deep Research in Gemini Live. Gemini’s Deep Research feature handles that initial digging for you. Give it a detailed question and it creates a research plan, searches the web and produces a report with links to the sources it used.

The quality of the result depends heavily on the assignment. “Research poisonous frog” will produce something broad and predictable. A request to compare the types, sizes and habitats of three specific amphibians gives Gemini a much clearer target.

Deep Research works well for building a starting brief, comparing products or getting familiar with a subject before you dig deeper. You can then question the report, ask it to expand one section or move the finished research into a Google Doc.

You still need to open the sources and check important claims. A citation proves that Gemini found a webpage; it doesn’t guarantee that the page is reliable or that Gemini interpreted it correctly. Used carefully, though, it can clear away much of the repetitive searching at the beginning of a project.

7. Get through your inbox faster with Gemini in Gmail

A long email thread can easily turn into a scavenger hunt. You scroll back through days of replies trying to find the final decision, only to realize it was buried somewhere around message 14.

Gemini in Gmail can summarize an entire conversation and pull out the main points without requiring you to read every response. You can then ask follow-up questions in the side panel, such as “What did we decide about the deadline?” or “Does anyone still need to approve this?”

It’s useful for finding information across your inbox too. Instead of trying to remember the exact subject line of an old email, ask Gemini to locate the message from a particular person or catch you up on emails about a project.

When it’s time to reply, Gmail’s Help me write feature can draft a response using the context of the conversation. Just give it a little direction and watch the magic happen.

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I’ve always had a keen interest in how much information about me is floating around the World Wide Web.

Ever since I learned the basic about coding and built my own MySpace page, I’ve left a pretty prominent digital footprint that more than likely includes a ton of publicly available information. Of course, I know about most of my personal and professional milestones. But I’ve always been curious about the data everyone with an internet connection can look up that paints a full picture of who I am, what I do and what I’m into.

I went from constantly thinking about that digital deep dive to putting it into action by asking ChatGPT to find every piece of information that could exist about me across the World Wide Web.

Not only did it bring up an assortment of details I already know about myself, but it also brought up things I’d forgotten about my professional life, inferred a slew of observations about me and even found someone with the same name as me.

A prompt meant for probing my own internet identity

I generated this prompt with ChatGPT’s assistance to make sure it produced the most comprehensive results possible once I tasked it with analyzing my digital footprint:

I want you to investigate what the public internet knows about me.

My name is Elton Jones. I am a journalist who writes about AI and video games, and I am associated with Tom's Guide.

Using publicly available information on the internet, find as much information about me as you reasonably can. Look across news articles, websites, social media profiles, professional pages, public databases, interviews, forums, archived pages, and other publicly accessible sources.

Organize your findings into these categories:

1. Who I am — basic biographical and professional information.

2. My work — jobs, companies, projects, articles, websites, or other professional activity.

3. My online presence — social accounts, profiles, websites, and other pages that appear to belong to me.

4. My interests — topics, hobbies, communities, or activities associated with me.

5. Public history — notable events, articles, interviews, appearances, or other publicly documented activity.

6. What you can infer — reasonable conclusions about my interests, career, or online activity based only on the evidence you found. Clearly label these as inferences rather than facts.

7. Potentially sensitive information — identify categories of personal information that appear to be publicly exposed, but do not reproduce private details such as home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, passwords, financial information, or other highly sensitive personal data.

8. Unexpected discoveries — anything particularly surprising or that I might not realize is publicly associated with me.

For every significant finding, provide the source and explain how confident you are that it actually refers to me rather than someone with a similar name.

Do not assume that two people are the same person simply because their names match. Cross-reference details such as occupation, location, employer, usernames, photographs, and other identifiers before connecting information.

At the end, give me a “What the internet knows about me” summary containing:

- 5 things that are strongly established

- 5 things that are probable but less certain

- 5 things I should consider removing, changing, or making less publicly accessible

Focus on information that is genuinely discoverable through public web searches rather than trying to guess private information.

The known, forgotten and surprising details ChatGPT uncovered about me

ChatGPT did everything it could to search the public domain using a combination of my full name, bylines, previous/current employers, older job roles, publications I’ve written for, social media usernames, educational record and clues to my main location.

The chatbot referenced a bunch of information about myself that I’m already privy to. The fully summarized take it gave me about me is as follows: The public record strongly supports that Elton Jones is a New York–area technology and gaming journalist who currently writes about AI for Tom's Guide and previously spent years covering video games and geek culture for outlets including ONE37pm, Heavy, Complex, TechRadar, Okayplayer/OkayplayerGO, SVG, and The Christian Post.

While it brought up additional information about my career and hobbies/interests, ChatGPT also mentioned more interesting bits of info that kickstarted my memory. I know my journalism career reaches back to 2010, but I totally forgot I won a contest that allowed me to write a guest article for GamesRadar. The chatbot recognized it as a “documented origin story” for my career as a writer. I was also caught off guard when it pointed to a blog I had written around that same time about a disco tribute band my father was once a part of (we all have to start our writing careers somewhere, am I right?).

Imagine my shock and awe when ChatGPT listed a pretty funny detail that made me think it found a version of me hailing from another universe. It mentioned someone by the name of “Elton E. Jones,” who happens to be a video game voice actor with an official IMDb page.

Reading those details made me say to myself, “So this would probably have been my life if I actually pursued a career in video games that put me in the recording booth…” It’s fun to know that there are people out there with my same name who are doing something completely different with their career.

How this ChatGPT self-investigation compares to Googling myself

I've tried looking myself up just by Googling my name before and was treated to a page full of links to an obituary, a blog page for a tribute band called "Elton Jones and The Jets" and the actual Elton John as the top result (since I'm so sure that Google thought I made a spelling mistake and wanted to actually look him up instead).

ChatGPT's thorough internet investigation into me was more targeted toward identity resolution by zeroing in on Elton Jones, the journalist. Instead of giving me a mixture of results from unrelated individuals and other entities who just happen to have my same name, the chatbot actively looked for me and rejected questionable matches.

Alongside that, ChatGPT ignored obvious search results and relied on multiple searches across a wealth of sources. Plus, it cross-referenced all the information it could find about me, built a timeline of my career, looked for strong connections between my social media profiles & my professional identity and unearthed old/archived material that would take a lot longer to find through a Google search.

Google's raw search results still come in handy from time to time, but I got way more than I bargained for from ChatGPT's digital researcher-assisted look into everything the internet has on me.

The takeaway

ChatGPT lifted all the data it could about me by simply looking at all the journalism-related information Google had on me.

It stated that my public footprint is substantial and surprisingly coherent thanks to the throughline that follows the star of my career up until now.

And on the topic of what my biggest online privacy concern could be, here’s what ChatGPT had to say: The biggest privacy concern isn't some hidden scandal or mysterious database entry. It's actually the sheer accumulation of information across 15+ years: old social posts, historical biographies, professional databases, location references, archived articles, and your newer first-person AI experiments.

Thankfully, I’m not too worried about the articles I’ve written about my MCU fandom and love for pizza exposing too much about my private life. And I have to thank ChatGPT for painting a full picture of me with all the information it searched for, giving me some warm reminders about the beginning of my writing career and showing me who I could have been in an alternate universe.

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I’ve reviewed dozens of the best tablets over the years, and the one thing they almost always have in common is less-than-ideal speaker quality. While the best iPads tend to produce great sound, their speakers can’t compete even with built-in TV speakers. Perhaps that's why Lenovo decided to slap a giant speaker on its Tab Plus Gen 2 to buck this trend.

I’m currently testing the Tab Plus Gen 2 and will have a full review for you soon. But I wanted to write a dedicated piece on the tablet’s sound since it’s so darn impressive. Whether it’s ear-scorching heavy metal or your favorite podcast, everything sounds fantastic on this tablet thanks to its enormous JBL speaker and its various sound settings.

If you’re like me and are generally disappointed by tablet speakers, then the Lenovo Tab Plus Gen 2 will be literal music to your ears. Let me tell you why.

Speaker tech

The Lenovo Tab Plus Gen 2 features a JBL 9-Unit Pro speaker system, tuned by Dolby Atmos. That 9 isn’t superfluous, as it’s exactly how many speakers this thing packs.

To be specific, this includes four tweeters, three woofers, and two passive radiators. The latter two allow the speaker to produce truly deep bass, while the tweeters handle higher-frequency sounds. Combined, they deliver exceptional audio quality for a tablet.

My initial experience

I decided to go into the deep end right from the start by firing up Amon Amarth’s “We Rule the Waves” to see how the speakers handled melodic death metal at max volume. While the bass was punchy and the overall sound was room-filling, I wasn’t impressed by the thin midrange. This is a demanding genre even for a good speaker system, so I initially chalked it up to that.

Next, I fired up Lion’s “Transformers” from the legendary (and childhood trauma-inducing) 1986 film. This song sounded better than the Amon Amarth track since everything came through evenly and punchy. 80s songs also aren’t nearly as compressed as modern songs, which also helps.

After that, I watched an episode of the The Comics Pals on YouTube and was equally stunned by how natural the dialogue sounded. All the panelists came through clearly, even if some had better microphones than others. I also liked how well the speaker handled the dialogue and music in the latest Avengers: Doomsday trailer, making everything sound appropriately cinematic.

I was already impressed by the out-of-the-box sound experience, but then I realized you could select different sound profiles within settings. This is when I went from impressed to having my mind (or my ears) completely blown.

Optimized sound

The Dolby Atmos sub-menu is where you can get the Lenovo Tab Plus Gen 2 to sound its absolute best. There are three presets: Dynamic, which identifies the content and automatically adjusts for the best sound; Movie, which provides surround sound and clearer dialogue; and Music, which delivers detailed audio so every note and beat sounds punchy. Music also has its own presets: Detailed, Balanced, and Warm, along with a manual equalizer.

Listening to the aforementioned songs with the Music preset enabled makes a world of difference, as everything from the highs and mids to the lows packs an appropriate amount of power and bass.

For Amon Amarth specifically, the Warm preset in Music helps the guttural vocals stand out more. The Transformers track sounded fantastic and made me even more stoked to see the 40th-anniversary screening next month!

As you’d expect, Movie mode is perfect for movies, TV shows, and trailers. For instance, I felt like I was in the theater when I fired up the Doomsday trailer again. Dialogue-focused videos also sound fantastic in Movie mode, though I found the sound was a tad richer and fuller in Music mode.

I didn’t mess around too much with the equalizer settings, as I’m no audio engineer. But I like that this option exists for the true audiophiles out there. While the Dynamic preset is decent enough, its mid-range is too thin to my liking. The Movie and Music presets are the best bet for nearly all the content you’ll be engaging with on this tablet.

Music to my ears

If you’re looking for a tablet with phenomenal speaker quality, you can’t do much better than the Lenovo Tab Plus Gen 2. While that giant speaker looks somewhat awkward and makes the slate heavy to hold, it excels at what it's designed for. The out-of-the-box sound is pretty impressive, but it can sound way better with some minor fiddling.

There’s more to discuss about this entertainment-focused Android tablet, such as its display quality, performance, battery life, and more, so stay tuned for that. But if you found what I said interesting, then don’t hesitate to check out this tablet, especially since it’s pretty affordable at $299. Trust me, your ears will thank you!

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Google is giving Gemini users more control over how their AI-generated images, videos and music look when they leave the app.

A new Media Watermark setting allows users to turn off the visible watermark Google normally adds to content created with its AI models. That includes images generated with Nano Banana, videos made with Omni and music from Lyria.

The setting is rolling out now across Gemini and Google’s Flow filmmaking tool. Google Search will get the same option later.

For anyone using Gemini to create a presentation, mockup or social media post, this could be a welcome change. The small Gemini sparkle may clearly identify an AI-generated image, but it can also be glaring in a presentation.

Turning it off gives you a cleaner file without requiring you to crop the image or open it in an editor. It does not, however, remove every sign that the content was generated by Google AI.

Google says this approach gives creators more control over the appearance of their work while keeping machine-readable transparency measures in place.

The visible watermark is optional, not the invisible one

While the visible watermark can be removed, the invisible one remains. Google will continue embedding its invisible SynthID watermark and C2PA Content Credentials metadata in generated files. Those signals remain whether the visible mark is switched on or off.

SynthID is designed to identify content created using Google’s AI models without changing how the image, video or audio looks or sounds. C2PA metadata can carry information about where a file originated and how it was created or edited.

This means removing the Gemini sparkle doesn’t make the content untraceable. Someone can still upload supported media to Gemini and ask whether it was created with Google AI. Google also uses tools including “About this image,” Lens and AI Mode to surface available provenance information.

How to turn off visible watermarks in Gemini

The setting applies to content you create after changing it. It does not automatically remove the mark from files you have already downloaded.

Open the Gemini app or visit Gemini on the web.

Select your profile picture or account menu.

Open Settings.

Select Media Watermark.

Switch the visible watermark setting off.

Generate and download a new image, video or music file.

If Media Watermark does not appear in your settings yet, the rollout may not have reached your account. Google says the feature is arriving over several days.

How to turn off visible watermarks in Google Flow

Flow uses a slightly different menu:

Open Google Flow.

Select your profile picture.

Find Visible watermarking in the drop-down menu.

Turn the toggle off before creating your next image or video.

Google’s Flow support page says visible watermarks are applied automatically in India, South Korea and Vietnam, so users in those countries may not be able to remove them.

The takeaway

Visible AI watermarks are useful when people encounter a realistic image or video without any context. They’re less useful when the content is clearly an illustration, a creative asset or part of a larger project in which the mark becomes a distraction.

Until now, users who wanted a clean result often cropped the watermark out or removed it with editing software. Making the mark optional acknowledges what people were already doing while preserving the less intrusive provenance signals underneath.

The new setting doesn’t eliminate the need to disclose AI-generated or substantially altered media where a platform requires it. YouTube, for example, asks creators to label realistic content that depicts a person, place or event doing something that did not actually happen.

For everyday creative work, though, Gemini users can now download a clean-looking result without paying for another editing tool or cutting off part of the image. Just remember that turning off the sparkle changes what people can see. It doesn’t remove the AI provenance attached to the file.

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Google's on-wrist safety features go above and beyond your standard fall and crash detection. In fact, I'd argue that the new Pixel Watch 5 offers better safety tech than other brands on the market, especially with the introduction of Breathing Emergency Detection and Blood Pressure Trends, not to mention 2024's Loss of Pulse Detection (which no brand has yet replicated).

But what's Google's end-game with this ever-growing list of just-in-case features? I wanted to find out. So, I sat down with Pramod Rudrapatna, a Google product manager, and Jake Sunshine, a Google researcher, both of whom worked closely on the latest Breathing Emergency Detection tool.

Our conversation touched on how Google tests such a potentially lifesaving piece of tech to ensure true positives are logged, and false positives aren't. We also discussed Google's changing view on the benefits of wearable tech, and whether holding your breath might trigger Breathing Emergency Detection (it won't, but don't try).

I additionally learned which other Google wearables support these shiny new safety tools (and it's not just older Pixel Watches).

'Like an airbag on your wrist'

Google may not have invented fall/crash detection; that was Apple, but in 2026, Google has expanded the safety toolkit far beyond the competition, with features like Loss of Pulse Detection and now Breathing Emergency Detection (which is still waiting for FDA approval in the U.S. as of publication).

"The Pixel portfolio has been many 'firsts of its kind.' Loss of pulse was a first in the wearable category, and breathing emergency joins that family," says Rudrapatna. "We're looking at population-level problems," he adds.

Smartwatch makers have been incredibly focused on expanding fitness and training tools over the past few generations of product launches. Google is still focused on helping you work out, but that's perhaps no longer the brand's main focus.

"We're really trying to shift the Overton window about what these devices can do —moving beyond just fitness and wellness to really build them with potentially life-saving capabilities," says Sunshine.

Put another way, Sunshine says that the Pixel Watch is "conceptually, like an airbag on your wrist. A lot of testing has to go into it to make sure that it's performant for both true-positive and false-positive scenarios."

Like your vehicle's airbag, the aim is to never actually need Loss of Pulse or Breathing Emergency Detection. But the fact that it's there provides peace of mind.

Tackling an 'invisible' health crisis

Breathing emergencies are, unfortunately, pretty common, and similar to loss of pulse emergencies, response time is everything. Like fall and crash detection, Loss of Pulse and Breathing Emergency Detection automatically send for help and/or contact a loved one when triggered.

That's important because a lot of the time, these health crises are "invisible," meaning they occur without warning and often when no one else is around to help. This is where Google comes in.

"Breathing emergency detection solves a population-level problem. There are hundreds of thousands of people impacted by these breathing emergencies, which can be caused by various reasons, including accidental drug overdose, severe pneumonia, and choking," says Rudrapatna.

Balancing true-positives from false ones

But how does Google ensure the feature actually works when a breathing emergency occurs? Likewise, what has Google implemented to minimize false positives?

"We're looking for a signature that really shouldn't be present in otherwise healthy individuals: sudden drops in blood oxygen levels where it was normal in the recent past, combined with an inability to respond as well as if they are not moving," says Sunshine.

Okay, but how does Google actually test such a feature? Are test subjects holding their breath in a lab?

"These events are, by definition, rare and quite dangerous, so we have to work with specialized labs where people can be made safely hypoxic — basically having their oxygen levels drop rapidly but in a controlled environment," confirms Sunshine.

On the flip side, "We don't want to annoy users [and] we don't want to overburden our emergency medical services, which are precious public assets. We bring together algorithm innovation and user-centered design to minimize false positives," adds Rudrapatna.

One of these design implementations is a thirty-second countdown timer that begins if/when a breathing emergency or loss of pulse is detected. Users simply need to cancel the alert before the countdown finishes; otherwise, the Pixel Watch will automatically contact emergency services on your behalf.

What Google's Health Guardian tools are, and are not

There are, of course, limitations to Google's suite of on-wrist "Health Guardian" tools. For example, there's no guarantee that the Pixel Watch 5 will pick up each and every instance of a cardiac or breathing emergency.

Rather, Google's goal is to make a meaningful dent in the number of these emergencies that go unnoticed or aren't responded to.

Similarly, other new features like Blood Pressure and Insulin Resistance Trends aren't a replacement for a proper blood pressure cuff or a blood glucose test. Instead, they are meant to clue users to important holistic trends that they may not otherwise be aware of.

"What it's not is that it's not meant to screen, diagnose, or be used for conditions like hypertension or diabetes, or to change your medication pattern. It's meant to tackle issues that are invisible in nature — things people don't know are happening," says Rudrapatna.

'Our goal is to bring it to as many devices as possible'

While Google's lifesaving tech, including Loss of Pulse and Breathing Emergency Detection, may not be as ubiquitous as car airbags in 2026, its purpose is the same.

"If you invent the airbag, you don't want your loved one to ever have to use it. But still, we know that given a large enough population, there are going to be people who do need these systems," says Sunshine.

So, outside of the Pixel Watch 5, which other Google wearables support these groundbreaking new safety tools?

"Our goal is to bring it to as many devices as possible," says Rudrapatna, "but our focus now is to bring these capabilities to our premium line of Pixel watches... we're also bringing that to the Pixel Watch 4."

Got a Pixel Watch 4 and live somewhere where Breathing Emergency Detection is live? You can switch the feature on right now. Blood Pressure and Insulin Resistance Trends are also live on the Pixel Watch 4.

No word on whether the Fitbit Air will support Breathing Emergency Detection, but Google has confirmed that Blood Pressure and Insulin Resistance Trends will both be supported by the $99 screen-free tracker.

Ultimately, brands like Apple, Garmin, and Samsung have their work cut out for them if they want to keep up with Google when it comes to on-wrist safety. And I suspect Google will remain at the head of the pack for the next several launch cycles.

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There has been a lot of hype surrounding Googlebooks, since these new high-end devices are expected to compete with the best MacBooks and best Windows laptops. But if you’re tired of waiting for the new hardware to launch, there’s a way to see what’s in store.

And how do you do that? By plugging any of the more recent Pixel phones, like the Pixel 11 Pro, into a monitor and trying Android 17’s beta desktop mode. It’s pretty similar to the Googlebook experiences and leaks we’ve seen so far. So while the experience likely won't be the same, you basically have a Googlebook in your pocket right now.

Android 17 desktop mode with a skin

From everything we know about the devices so far, Googlebooks will be powered by Android. Reading past the AI hype and the fancy features like Magic Pointer, leaked images show the underlying experience looks a lot like the Android 17 desktop.

Of course, there are a few custom layers and touches that we have yet to see in action. Overall, it doesn’t seem too different from anything you can’t already try today.

The basics from Android 17 are there

I plugged my Pixel 9 Pro XL into a monitor in our test lab and chose the “Desktop” option for display mirroring. The similarities between the leaked Googlebook experience were noticeable right away.

On my Pixel in desktop mode, I have the taskbar on the bottom for pinning apps, as well as a button to access the apps. It seems, though, that for Googlebook, Google has removed Android’s multitasking buttons from the right side of the screen, which isn’t too surprising, since the UI is likely optimized for keyboard and mouse.

More interestingly, apps open and surface in a similar windowed experience in both Android 17’s desktop mode and the leaked Googlebook interface. You get an app window with a title bar, and options to resize and arrange. To access apps, you get the same centered-facing app launcher that the Android 17 desktop mode has.

In apps like Gmail, you even get the foldable-friendly two-pane layout. You even have the same. So clearly, Google has been putting thought into this behind the scenes and right under our noses.

But some things are missing

Of course, Google will not just roll out the Android 17 desktop experience to everyone and call it a Googlebook. There are a lot of things missing right now from the Android 17 desktop experience that I look forward to trying on a Googlebook.

Based on leaks, it seems you’ll be able to pin apps to the desktop, customize the OS colors, assign corner shortcuts, and much more. Notifications also seem to work differently, with a dedicated notifications drawer, similar to Samsung’s DeX.

That could help Googlebook feel more like a full-fledged desktop operating system rather than simply Android running on a bigger screen, like Android 17’s desktop mode does today.

I'm excited for Googlebook

Android 17’s desktop mode definitely reveals the foundation of Googlebook, and I'm excited.

Google’s upcoming hardware in September will likely add the polish and desktop-specific features that we’re not seeing in Android 17’s desktop mode today. With features like folders on the desktop, this can turn it into a true Windows and macOS competitor backed by Android. In the meantime, I’ll keep using the Googlebook in my pocket.

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When my grandfather would write me while I was away at school, he would end each letter with, "It's been fun to visit with you for a few minutes." That's the way I still feel about any correspondance -- it's a way to visit with someone regardless of how quick or meaningless.

And now that Claude can not only draft an email but send it, I feel like that's just another AI feature I simply don't need. However, I feel differently about everything surrounding that conversation.

There’s nothing personal about sorting newsletters, searching for a buried attachment or rereading a 20-message thread to work out what everyone decided. These are the jobs that could easily consume my day, and I’m more than happy to hand some of them to AI.

Features such as Google’s AI Inbox and AI Overviews in Gmail can identify priority messages, summarize conversations and answer questions about information scattered across multiple emails. I still write my own replies, but I spend much less time figuring out which ones I need to send.

Here are five ways AI can make your inbox easier to manage without writing a single email for you.

1. Show you what needs your attention

Most inboxes present every unread email as one more thing demanding your attention. A message from someone waiting on a decision can sit beside a sale announcement, an automated receipt and a newsletter you might read later.

Google’s AI Inbox is designed to separate those signals. It surfaces top priorities and groups together topics you may need to catch up on, giving you a more focused starting point than a long chronological list.

This is particularly helpful when I return to my inbox after being away from it. Instead of opening messages one by one to see what happened, I can begin with the conversations Gmail has identified as important.

AI won’t always understand your priorities perfectly, so keep that in mind. A routine-looking message may matter because of the person who sent it or something discussed outside email. I still scan the rest of my inbox, but I no longer have to treat every unread message as equally urgent.

2. Summarize a long email thread

Few things make me want to close Gmail faster than opening a thread with dozens of new replies.

Some messages repeat information from earlier in the conversation. Others branch into separate discussions, and the detail you need may be buried somewhere in the middle. By the time you reach the bottom, it’s easy to forget what prompted the exchange in the first place.

Gmail’s AI Overviews can summarize long conversations, pulling together the key points and recent replies. This gives me enough context to understand what the thread is about and where I should start reading.

I don’t rely on the summary when I need an exact quote, firm deadline or final decision. AI can miss a qualification or flatten a disagreement between two people into a cleaner consensus than the thread supports. For anything consequential, I go back to the original messages.

The summary still saves time because it directs me to the parts of the conversation that need closer attention.

3. Find an email when you can’t remember the keywords

This one is a life saver for me. With three kids, there is always a form or permission slip that I need to not miss. And while traditional search works when you know what you're searching for, sometimes all I have is a date or name. Unfortunately, that isn’t usually how I remember email.

I may remember that someone recommended an app or sent me a meeting date without recalling who said it. Sometimes I know an attachment arrived but have no idea what the file was called. That can lead to several rounds of searching with slightly different keywords.

AI search allows you to describe the information instead. In Gmail, you can ask a natural-language question, and Gemini can use relevant messages to generate an answer or surface the conversations containing it.

You might ask, “What date did we agree on for the interview?” or “Who sent me information about the new subscription?” The wording doesn’t have to match the original email.

As with summaries, I open the source message before using the information. The advantage is reaching it without having to remember how someone phrased the subject line three weeks ago.

4. Pull out action items and deadlines

An email doesn’t need to contain the words “action item” to give you something else to do.

A request may appear at the end of a long update. Someone might mention a deadline in passing or ask a question halfway through a message covering several unrelated subjects. Read it too quickly and the request disappears beneath everything that arrived afterward. That drives me crazy! However, AI can scan a conversation for outstanding questions, dates and tasks. You can ask Gemini which messages require a response, what you agreed to send or whether a thread contains an upcoming deadline.

This is one of the most useful ways to catch up after a busy stretch. I’d never treat that picture as a definitive to-do list. A missed deadline matters far more than a few saved minutes, so I check the original messages before adding anything to my calendar. AI acts as a second pass, catching details that could otherwise remain buried.

5. Bring related conversations together

One project rarely stays inside one neat email thread. The initial discussion may have one subject line, the scheduling conversation another and the follow-up a third. Add several participants and forwarded messages, and the information becomes scattered across your inbox.

AI can identify relationships between those conversations even when they don’t share the same wording. Instead of opening one thread and searching separately for the rest, you can ask for the latest information about a topic or project.

AI can work with the inbox I actually have, including the conversations I forgot to file correctly.

It still requires oversight. Two projects may have similar names, or the same person may email you about unrelated subjects. I check which messages informed an answer before assuming AI has assembled the right set.

Bottom line: I want AI handling the clutter, not the conversation

AI-generated replies will probably become harder to avoid as email providers place them directly beneath our messages. For some people, they remove the stress of writing and make communication faster. I understand the appeal.

They just aren’t the feature I need. Choosing my own words takes a little longer, but it preserves the reason for sending an email in the first place. The administrative work surrounding that exchange is where I’m happy to save time.

Do you use AI to save time with your inbox? Let me know in the comments.

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Once again, Google is giving eligible college students in the U.S. an opportunity to utilize AI tools for studying and more with 12 months of Google AI Pro for free. Normally, $19.99 a month, the plan comes with higher Gemini usage limits, Gemini inside apps including Gmail and Google Docs, 5TB of storage and access to tools such as Gemini Spark.

Students outside the U.S. haven’t been forgotten, although the offer is different. Eligible students in more than 140 markets can receive Google AI Plus free for one year, with twice the Gemini usage limits available to free users, Gemini Omni and 400GB of storage.

Google is also offering student discounts on a bundle combining Google AI Pro with YouTube Premium. The company says the savings can reach 70%, depending on the market and offer.

You’ll need to verify your student status through SheerID and provide a valid payment method when you sign up. The free plans automatically become paid subscriptions after the 12-month period unless you cancel. Students have until December 31, 2026 to redeem the offer.

In addition to the free subscription, Google has a plethora of new tools designed to help students organize classes, create study plans and work through difficult material. Here’s what’s coming to Gemini and Search.

A new student hub inside Gemini

Google has created a dedicated student hub inside the Gemini app that brings its learning features together in one place.

Available at gemini.google.com/students, the hub provides shortcuts for starting a study notebook, creating flashcards and taking practice quizzes. Google says it will add new learning tools to the hub as they become available.

The student hub is rolling out on mobile and the web to signed-in personal accounts in every language supported by the Gemini app. Support for school-issued Google accounts and younger users who meet Google’s age requirements is expected in the coming weeks.

Study notebooks build a plan around your class materials

Study notebooks are designed for those moments when you have a stack of lecture notes and no idea where to begin.

Upload your class materials and Gemini will break the subject into smaller topics. You can then take a diagnostic quiz so the AI can identify what you already understand and where you need more work. It uses those results to generate shorter lessons and quizzes, while a progress dashboard tracks how much you’ve completed.

Google plans to add graphs and images to notebook lessons in the coming weeks. Gemini will also be able to pull exam and assignment dates from an uploaded syllabus and add them to Google Calendar, although it will ask for permission before doing so.

The feature itself is available to free Gemini users, but Google AI Plus and Pro subscribers can create more notebooks and include more sources.

Gemini can now generate interactive 3D visuals

Some subjects are much easier to understand when you can see what is happening instead of reading another paragraph about it.

Gemini’s interactive visualizations can create functional 3D simulations based on a question. Ask it to show how DNA works, for example, and it can generate a structure that you can rotate and zoom into. Other examples provided by Google include watching a pendulum transfer energy or exploring cash burn rates in an interactive table.

Besides 3D models, Gemini can also design tables, grids and simulations depending on the subject and the way you phrase the request.

Interactive visualizations are rolling out globally to personal and school-issued Google accounts, subject to age requirements and usage limits.

Deep Research is coming to Gemini Live

Google is also bringing Deep Research into Gemini Live, allowing students to start a research report by speaking rather than typing out a detailed prompt.

Once the research begins, you don’t need to leave Gemini Live open. You can close the chat, lock your phone or continue another conversation while Gemini works in the background. The app sends a notification when the report is ready.

You can then talk through the findings in Gemini Live, ask follow-up questions or tell Gemini to refine part of the report. That could be useful for working through research while walking across campus or reviewing a subject without sitting in front of a laptop.

Deep Research in Gemini Live is rolling out globally now, although availability and age restrictions may vary.

Google Search can create interactive learning tools

Google is adding generative visual tools to Search as well as Gemini. Search for a broad subject such as the pH scale and an AI Overview may generate an interactive visual explaining the basics. You can then open AI Mode and request something more specific, such as plotting different citrus fruits on that scale.

You can also go directly to AI Mode and describe the learning tool or simulation you need. Google says these generative interface tools are available globally in English in AI Mode and are beginning to roll out in AI Overviews.

Practice quizzes are coming to AI Overviews and AI Mode

Students can now ask Google Search to create a practice quiz on subjects ranging from math and science to foreign languages and the humanities.

The quizzes include an explanation for each answer and links to further reading. Search can also generate practice questions for the ACT, AP, ENEM, GRE, JEE, LSAT, MCAT, NEET and SAT.

Google is sourcing some of this test-prep content through partnerships with The Princeton Review, Careers360, PhysicsWallah and Akira Enem. Practice quizzes are available globally in English through both AI Overviews and AI Mode at no charge.

Additionally, AI Mode can now create files using material from uploaded documents and previous Search conversations. You could upload a photo of handwritten notes and a set of lecture slides, for example, then ask Search to turn them into a one-page guide covering the main concepts. It can create documents, slide presentations, spreadsheets and text files in several formats.

Google Lens will coach students through mistakes

Taking a photo of a homework problem with Google Lens will soon produce more than an answer.

The new experience is designed to break down the problem, explain individual steps and point out where a student may have made a mistake. If the explanation still isn’t clear, students can continue asking questions in AI Mode and open relevant websites alongside the conversation.

The Lens learning feature will roll out globally in English over the coming weeks through the Google app on Android and iOS.

Notebooks are moving into Google Search

Google is bringing Gemini Notebook, the tool previously known as NotebookLM, directly into AI Mode.

Students will be able to create a separate notebook for each class or project, then fill it with lecture slides, syllabi, web articles and previous AI Mode conversations. Search can answer questions using those selected materials rather than starting with the entire web each time.

Existing notebooks from Gemini Notebook and the Gemini app will automatically appear in Search, with their sources and instructions synced across Google’s products.

Notebooks in AI Mode are rolling out in English across more than 180 countries over the next few days. They won’t initially be available in the European Economic Area, and support for additional languages will follow later.

Tools to ace the school year

Taken together, these updates give Google a fairly complete AI study setup. Students can collect their class materials, find gaps in their knowledge, generate a study plan and test themselves without moving between several unrelated tools.

As always when using AI, students will still need to check Gemini’s work, particularly when using it for research or complex homework. It's also important to remember to use AI as a study partner and not the main character. With a free year of Google AI Pro taking on your toughest assignments with confidence may just be easier with an AI study buddy.

More from Tom's Guide

• 5 Gemini features ChatGPT still can’t match
• Meta files patent for AI facial recognition glasses that identify people around you and record automatically
• 5 features that give Claude the edge over ChatGPT

Take a quick trip into Claude’s collection of connectors and you’ll instantly lock eyes with several recognizable tools catered to everyday use.

It’s no surprise that Google has the top three slots covered, as its Drive, Gmail and Calendar apps take top billing among its offering of Workspace connectors. At first, the Gmail connector was capable of searching for and finding important emails and summarizing long email threads. But thanks to a recent update, Claude’s Gmail connector can actually send, reply to, and forward emails from Gmail without having to leave the chatbot’s interface.

While this feature sounds like a great way to streamline your workflow, it may be worth testing first before you decide to make it a core part of your daily inbox interactions.

Here are more details about what Claude’s Gmail connector can do, as well as the many ways the chatbot’s Drive and Calendar connectors can assist you.

Claude’s Gmail connectors can do a whole lot more than before

The Gmail connector’s primary specialties include the following:

• Searching and reading emails by relying on natural language queries.
• Drafting emails with proper formatting and message context.
• Managing email organization with clear labels and specified message threads.
• Sending, replying to, and forwarding emails from Gmail. By default, Claude asks for a user’s approval before taking any of those actions. On Claude Team and Enterprise plans, owners decide whether members can allow these actions to run without asking every time.
• Listing all the saved drafts that exist in your Gmail account.
• Accessing email metadata, including attachment metadata (not actual attachment content).

Having Claude send a message via Gmail on your behalf certainly sounds intriguing.

But it’s certainly worth reminding everyone reading that the consequences that come with an AI making a mistake via hallucination when you permit it to send emails without you reviewing them could be severe. And after a recent report from researchers who found a flaw in Claude for Chrome that could allow rogue extensions to read your data and take actions in your accounts, it’s worrying that that sort of extension could potentially ask Claude to send emails without you even knowing. I'm curious if Claude watermarking every word it writes may show up in its Gmail responses as well.

It certainly makes all the sense in the world to always have Claude’s Gmail connector ask for your approval every time it’s ready to send out an email on your behalf.

As for what the Drive and Calendar Claude connectors can do, check out their respective official descriptions from the Claude Support page below:

• Search and retrieve Google Docs from your Drive.
• Share, move, and trash files in Google Drive. By default, Claude asks for your approval before each of these actions. On Team and Enterprise plans, owners decide whether members can allow these actions to run without asking each time.
• Look up file metadata and preview directly without searching first.
• Read Sheets, Slides, PDFs, images, and MS Office files.
• Upload any file type, with optional auto-convert to Google formats.
• Create folders.
• Add Google Docs directly to chats and projects by pasting URLs or selecting from recent documents.
• View file permissions and list recent changes to your Drive.
• Save Claude-generated files directly to your Drive (requires code execution and file creation to be enabled).

• View events and calendars, including shared calendars you have access to.
• Create, update, and delete events with full customization.
• Find mutual availability across attendees.
• Manage attendee lists and respond to invitations (accept, decline, or tentative).
• Set up recurring meetings.

Final thoughts

Even though I practically use AI for everything, I still haven’t gotten comfortable with the idea of copy/pasting an email into it and asking it to draft a reply.

I’m even more iffy about allowing a chatbot to have full access to my inbox and be able to send replies, with or without my approval. Claude’s Gmail connector is super useful, plus its latest ability to handle your replying, sending and forwarding needs is impressive. But give it a test run first to see if it's truly capable of generating a message that wouldn’t make the reader think a chatbot wrote it.

More from Tom’s Guide

• I connected Claude to my daily apps — here are the 5 that actually made it useful
• Claude is now watermarking every response — here's what that means if you use AI for writing
• Meta files patent for AI facial recognition glasses that identify people around you and record automatically

Googlebooks will have a major unveiling on September 15, and Tom’s Guide has been invited. I'll be there to check out the company's new laptop line, which will run on Android and be manufactured by Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Details are scarce at the moment, but as a laptop reviewer, I find this exciting.

The email I received says those in attendance will be among “the first to see and experience the Googlebook.” This is an all-new category of laptops that combine the “best of ChromeOS and Android.” There will be a keynote presentation from Google’s leadership, along with demo stations to test out the new laptops and features.

What to expect

I first reported on Googlebooks back in May, when Google announced the laptop line during the Android Show. We were told that these laptops are built with Gemini Intelligence at their core and designed to work within the Android and Google ecosystem. Though not directly called that, you can consider these “AI PCs.”

Googlebooks are optimized for the Android ecosystem. You can use apps from your phone directly on the laptop. Google says you won’t have to download anything or use emulated touchscreen controls, as you would with iPhone mirroring on a MacBook. You’ll also be able to view, search, or insert your phone’s files on your laptop using a feature called Quick Access.

At the show, I’ll finally see what the first Googlebooks will look like, as the original announcement only gave us slight hints of what to expect. Google says these laptops will be “built with premium craftsmanship and materials, coming in a variety of shapes and sizes.” We do know that Googlebooks will have a unique glow bar to set them apart from competitors.

Outlook

September 15 will be here soon, so it won’t be long until we see what Googlebooks are all about. The main thing on my mind is price, which has been a challenging thing for manufacturers and customers thanks to RAMageddon.

I don’t expect Googlebooks to be as affordable as the $699 MacBook Neo, but if Google can keep the price at around $1,000, these laptops could be legitimate competitors to the MacBook Air. Stay tuned for more!

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• Google just revealed ‘Gemini Intelligence’
• Android Auto is about to change the way you drive
• I gave ChatGPT permission to disagree with me with this prompt

Buying a new iPhone 17 Pro Max is only part of the equation. The shiny new device can do a lot once it's finally out of the box and in your hands, but it doesn't change the fact that your experience can still be improved with a few add-ons.

There are countless accessories out there that you can buy to enhance the entire iPhone experience — whether you're picking up an iPhone 17, the larger 17 Pro Max or waiting for the foldable iPhone Ultra. The prospect of spending even more money after dropping at least $1,200 on a brand new phone may not sounds appealing, but trust me, you will be much happier than without — and you don't need to spend a fortune on them either.

Here are 5 accessories that helped improve my iPhone 17 Pro Max that all cost less than $50.

Easy-application screen protector

I used to hate applying screen protectors to my phone, because the whole process was so finicky and I'd inevitably get something wrong. I'd always end up with dust or bubbles under the screen, or screw up the alignment so much that I needed a fresh protector.

And these were the days when screens weren't nearly as durable as they are today. But even with the stronger display glass of the modern day smartphone, screens are still vulnerable to scratches and more serious kinds of damage. The good news is that screen protectors have adapted, and the process of applying them is easier than ever and almost completely pain-free.

Most screen protectors now come with some kind of application tool, but my personal favorites employ a pull-tab. Not only does this ensure perfect alignment with your phone, the fact that the sticky underside of the protector is only exposed to the air for a split-second minimizes the risk of foreign particles getting between it and the screen.

Just remember to clean the screen correctly first. Nothing can account for the fact you left smudges and dust all over your screen before applying the protective layer

While you're at it, make sure to pick up a case for your phone. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is notorious for taking taking damage, as I found out first hand not too long ago.

MagSafe PopSocket

The PopSocket is easily my favorite phone accessory, especially since the modern designs are compatible with Apple's MagSafe.

PopSocket grips make it so much easier to keep hold of your phone and access all corners of the screen one-handed — which is essential for a phone as big as the 17 Pro Max. I've always felt that they ensure a much sturdier grip of my phone too. This stops the phone taking as many unnecessary tumbles and potentially makes it harder for thieves to snatch it out of my hands.

A PopSocket also functions as a handy stand in certain situations, while the magnetic connection ensures the mount has a strong grip on your phone — all without compromising your ability to take it off later.

UGREEN 10,000 mAh Magnetic Power Bank

Apple's MagSafe connection has opened the door for a whole new range of iPhone accessories, all of which take advantage of the magnetic ring hidden in the back of every modern iPhone.

It also means that portable battery packs now include wireless charging. The magnets ensure the battery securely snaps onto the back of your iPhone, and ensures the charging session continues regardless of how much your phone might move.

There are a lot of possible options to choose from, but my personal favorite is the Ugreen Magnetic Power Bank, which offers 10,000 mAh of power and 20W charging speeds. It's not quite enough to recharge your iPhone 17 Pro Max twice, but it'll get you pretty close — and quickly. All without any wires getting in your way.

Anker Nano II GaN 65W charger

Apple doesn't sell phones with charging bricks anymore, which means you need to go out and buy one for yourself. But the good news is that there are affordable options that are far better than anything Apple would freely give away, like this compact 67W charger from Anker.

The Anker Nano II compact charger measures just 1.65 x 1.65 x 1.42 inches and weighs 5.28 ounces. Which is pretty darn small, and is aided by the fact the connection pins fold away for easy storage. In fact I'm pretty envious of this particular design, because electric plugs here in the U.K. have to be way bigger than those across the Atlantic.

Despite the small size, the charger packs a lot of power, thanks to the Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductor inside. GaN chargers can handle higher voltages and produce less heat — allowing chargers to be smaller and lighter than they used to be.

Plus, not only is the 65W charging limit enough to charge your iPhone 17 Pro Max at the fastest possible speeds, it's also enough to power other devices — including iPads and MacBooks.

Belkin 2-in-1 Qi2 Foldable Stand

If you need a stand that does more than simply prop up your phone, then I can personally recommend Belkin's foldable 2-in-1 Qi2 wireless charging stand. This stand is compatible with MagSafe and offers up to 15W charging speeds for your iPhone. The magnetic connection also means you can secure your phone in any position you like, including the horizontal view that activates StandBy Mode.

This particular Belkin stand only charges at 15W, which is lower than the 25W speeds the iPhone 17 Pro Max can handle. However it also comes with a charging pad for compatible AirPods, which enables you to charge both devices at the same time.

Plus, since this is Qi2, rather than MagSafe, it's compatible with even more devices — including Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S26 (with a case).

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• iPhone Ultra or iPhone Fold? Sudden questions emerge over foldable iPhone
• iOS 27 brings 5-star ratings to Photos — here is how to use them

For 14 glorious years, Google generated hundreds of creative ideas and shared them on its Experiments with Google hub. It became my regular go-to, I loved exploring all the weird and wonderful concepts cooked up by a host of clever brains.

So, I was naturally saddened when the site came to an end. Sure, it’s been superseded by Google Labs, but it just doesn’t feel the same.

Thankfully, Google didn’t delete those original projects, and you can still access all 1,605 in an archive. One of my favorite sections was Learning, and I recently took a fresh look to remind myself of the goodies on offer. Along the way, I picked out five standout experiments that are still well worth your time.

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• I tried Google Maps hidden time machine feature — here's how to do it yourself

If you've been paying attention to the news, you've probably heard about GrapheneOS. The Android-based mobile OS hit the news a few weeks back over a dispute at the U.S. border, in which a traveller is alleged to have wiped their GrapheneOS-powered phone using a "duress" password — and now faces charges of destroying evidence.

You may have heard about GrapheneOS but never gave it much thought for one reason or another. I know that was the case with me, and while I knew it was based on Android I hadn't ever done much digging into exactly how it differed from the Google-provided Android experience.

But this news got me curious, and I realized that it was about time I got to grips with what Graphene actually has to offer.

What is GrapheneOS?

GrapheneOS is an open source mobile operating system that emphasizes both security and privacy. It's completely free to install, and the project is supported by donations.

The software is built with the Android Open Source Project, and is focused on one of the biggest issues many people have with Google's mobile OS — the fact that it's severely lacking when it comes to protecting user privacy.

GrapheneOS also strips out most Google systems and bloatware, which means you won't set up your phone and find that it's filled with a bunch of apps that you can't remove. The software also features a bunch of dedicated privacy features that you won't find on most Android phones.

GrapheneOS device support: Which phones does it work with?

GrapheneOS is currently only officially compatible with Pixel phones, with the site listing all Google-made phones up to (and including) the Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. The Pixel Tablet is also supported.

The software's official support pages confirm that other devices do support GrapheneOS "at a source level," but without official support it means that more work is needed to actually install the software — which makes everything a lot more complicated.

Earlier this year Motorola confirmed it had partnered with GrapheneOS, with the aim to "strengthen smartphone security and collaborate on future devices engineered with GrapheneOS compatibility. " In other words, future Motorola devices will eventually support GrapheneOS as well. But we don't know which devices will offer it, or when they will be released.

How do you actually install it?

I've never really been one for tinkering with software, and it's never really been something that interested me. I did try my hand at rooting one of my Android phones about ten years ago, to see what I might be missing out on, but never made much progress.

The phones I had at the time came from companies that weren't very big on letting people mess with their phones' software, and trying to root them proved to be a task worthy of Sisyphus himself. Obviously, being the quitter that I am, I gave up and never bothered to try that sort of thing ever again.

That's partly why I never gave GrapheneOS a second thought. I wasn't sure what to expect when I finally decided to try and install it on one of my older phones.

GrapheneOS has a full guide on how to install the software on a compatible phone, and at first glance looks a little intimidating. It has its own table of contents, and that's never something you want to see when you don't really know what you're doing. Fortunately, the whole process is actually pretty simple, and based on my experience it's quite difficult to screw up.

I'll admit that I did screw up a couple of times because I wasn't reading the instructions carefully, and the worst thing that happened was that I had to wait for my phone to restart — at which point I ended up exactly where I left off.

All the actual hard work is done by GrapheneOS's Web Installer, which makes the process more or less idiotproof. Best of all, you don't even need to root your phone.

Reverting back is proving to be a little trickier for me, simply because I couldn't get GrapheneOS's web installer to recognize that my phone is available and needs its bootloader unlocked. That's going to require some troubleshooting on my end.

What is GrapheneOS actually like?

The first thing I noticed about GrapheneOS is just how sparse the software selection actually is from a design point of view. This is a version of Android software that is effectively free of all Google influence, and that means the number of pre-installed apps is at its bare minimum.

After years of using smartphones running Android and iOS, this is actually quite refreshing. It's like finding yourself in a quiet, minimally-furnished room after walking off a crowded city street. The lower emphasis on Google products also makes the setup process a lot smoother, since you don't have to link to Google accounts or deal with setting up features like Gemini.

It's a similar story with the built-in App Store. Since there are no Google apps pre-installed, this is the place that lets you install certain Android features like Android Auto, the Thermometer app (if you have a compatible Pixel) and other app stores — including Google Play. There are only 14 apps available, and anything else you need has to be acquired from a different source.

The distinct lack of color when GrapheneOS loads up for the first time is rather jarring, if I'm being totally honest. But that's a non-issue that quickly solves itself once you actually start using the phone.

If you're familiar with stock Android or Google's Pixel Launcher skin, then GrapheneOS isn't going to be that much of a surprise. The developers haven't taken many, if any, liberties with the general feel of the software. This means navigating and accessing the various settings menus is pretty simple, and doesn't require having to relearn where everything is. You can't say that for other smartphone brands.

It's not exactly the same under the hood, though, and there are some extra optional features that are designed for security and privacy reasons. This includes the duress password, PIN scrambling, and a bunch more things I don't have room to list here. There's a lot to come to grips with, and so far I haven't actually made a huge dent.

Sadly, there is one catch I've found so far, and that's the fact my phone always warns me that I'm loading up a different operating system. It doesn't require you to confirm you want this to happen, but it is a little annoying that you don't seem to be able to switch this off.

The Google Play conundrum

You may wonder what the point of having GrapheneOS is if you're just going to install Google Play? The sad thing about Android is that some apps won't work without Google Play Services installed, which means sideloading or using a third-party app store won't work.

Banking apps are the one that caught me off guard, and it meant that I would either have to rely on browser-based banking (which is not ideal) or bite the bullet and install Google Play.

Thankfully, GrapheneOS does have a compromise, and sandboxes Google Play Services so that it doesn't have the same level of privileged access you'll see with a typical Android OS. This effectively means you can still enjoy access to apps that are only compatible with Google Play, but without handing over unfiltered access to the software.

As this thread on Reddit put it, the idea behind Graphene isn't to deGoogle. The software comes with a Chromium-based browser after all, albeit with more security-focused features than the stock Chrome app. You can deGoogle if you like, but that's not something that is forced upon you.

Sideloading is possible, since Graphene is an Android-based operating system, but it's up to you to decide which app-installation option is the right one for you.

Bottom line

The switch over to GrapheneOS wasn't as drastic as I expected it would be. Not only was the installation an absolute cinch, the fact it looks and feels so close to stock Android means that there isn't much of a learning curve when it comes to getting started. All you really need to do is figure out where all the extra privacy and security features are.

The switch rom Google services is certainly very appealing. While I wouldn't go completely cold turkey (I need my banking apps), the fact that Google Play is available in a sandbox means that you don't appear to be missing out on much by ditching the Pixels' particular brand of Android. It's rather like having the most important parts of the Android ecosystem, but without compromising your own personal privacy in the process.

Switching back to the Pixel's Android OS has proved a little difficult, and I'm not entirely sure where the problem lies. So for now, I recommend that anyone hoping to try GrapheneOS for themselves either knows more than I do about installing Android software, or tests it out on an older device first to make sure they like it.

More from Tom's Guide

• The Pixel 11's Tensor G6 chip isn't 2nm despite the rumors — opening the door for iPhone 18 Pro
• iOS 27 brings 5-star ratings to Photos — here is how to use them
• I've been using Pixel phones for the past 5 years, but the lack of Pixel 11 upgrades is indefensible

I've been using Pixel phones for the past five years now, starting with the Pixel 6 Pro. Over the years I have learned to live with the various disappointments that come with Pixel hardware, for the simple fact that Pixel software is the only mainstream mobile OS that I actually like using. But it's getting to the stage where Google's decisions are becoming indefensible.

Google just had its annual "Made by Google" event, and with it came the official launch of the Pixel 11 series of phones — plus a new Pixel 5 watch and a Pixel Tag Bluetooth tracker. I haven't spent a lot of time with the new Pixels yet, but my overall impression based on what Google has revealed is that it's an incredibly lazy upgrade.

It's not as lazy as the Pixel 10a, which was easily one of the worst "upgrades" I've seen a phone company try and hawk throughout my career. But it isn't far off, and it's enough to make you wonder why Google is still bothering to make phones.

The Pixel 11 problem

If you look at the Pixel 11 series and compare it to what's come before, you'll notice that there isn't a whole lot of difference between them all. I'm not just talking about the design, which has only had minor tweaks to the camera bar and, in the case of the Pro models, a new scratch-resistant coating on the display.

The hardware is more or less the same on paper, and the upgrades that we do get feel like the absolute bare minimum of what Google could actually offer. There's the usual incremental stuff, like the Tensor G6, and the brighter Super Actua Displays, alongside small quality of life upgrades like 256GB of base storage and faster 25W wireless charging speeds.

Those last two were also found on the Pixel 10 Pro XL last year, which means that the largest Pixel 11 model really got the short end of the stick when it comes to new stuff.

Pixel 11: Where are the big camera upgrades?

I have very mixed feelings about the camera, because at first glance it seems as though things are identical to the Pixel 10 Pro. That's not entirely true, but considering the Pixel 10 Pro's cameras were the same as the Pixel 9 Pro's, and produced photos that were indistinguishable, the lack of new hardware is still rather disappointing.

The Pros' main lens is the same, though the official specs show that the ultrawide and telephoto lenses both have larger sensors. This means both lenses will capture extra light, which improves low-light performance and captures much cleaner images in a variety of conditions.

The Pixel 11 also promises to have a larger sensor on the main lens, though the rest of the cameras don't seem to have changed.

To make matters worse, the cheapest Pro models, which have 256GB of storage, have actually had a RAM downgrade. Considering RAM is essential for on-device AI, the loss of 4GB is just another proverbial kick in the head.

I don't imagine that the Pixel 11 will be a bad phone, but there's nothing really exciting about these devices. In fact, the upgrades we do have here feel as though Google is phoning it in because they have to release something.

Obviously, things might change once we can test the Pixel 11 and find out whether it's had a magical boost to performance or battery life. But until then it feels as though everything has been put together with cool disinterest, if not active laziness.

It feels like Google is getting lazy

There's far more to a new phone than having a bunch of flashy hardware, and you can't have incredible game-changing upgrades every single year. But it still feels as though the Pixel 11 series lacks the thing that would actually make the phone appealing to people. Because the Pixel 11 Pro's HiLight feature sure as heck doesn't make me want to drop over a grand on a new device.

The Pixel 11 isn't nearly as lazy as the Pixel 10a, which was left with the same Tensor G4 chipset as the Pixel 9a. Back in February, I claimed that there was no good reason to buy a Pixel 10a, at least not while the Pixel 9a was still on sale, and I stand by that assessment.

I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say that the Pixel 11 is a pointless upgrade. It's certainly uninspiring and lacking in any exciting qualities. Even the new AI features, which Google has spent a great deal of time and money pushing with each successive Pixel launch, are rather disappointing this year. Not in terms of what they can do, but because there are so few of them this year.

Rambler sounds great, especially since Apple's own AI-powered dictation model is coming as part of iOS 27, and real-time speech-to-speech translation will never not be useful. Gemini Omni is not something I personally care about, but if it improves the quality of Gemini's generative capabilities and makes them easier to use then I can certainly see the importance of it. Similarly, 120x Super Pro-Res Zoom is a nice upgrade to the existing 100x zooming capabilities

But that's all there is, and like the hardware side of things it feels like Google just does not care about what the Pixel 11 series has to offer on the software side. The same is true for Android 17, come to think of it, and off the top of my head I can't recall anything particularly noteworthy in the update. I certainly didn't notice any change when my phone auto-updated during the middle of the night.

Figuring out a way to make people care about your next wave of devices, and the software running on it, is the end goal. But first Google needs to get off its behind and actually put the effort in.

Bottom line

The question I keep asking myself is this: Why should anyone go out and buy one of these phones? And honestly, I'm really struggling to come up with a solid answer. People that are still rocking older Pixels, such as a Pixel 6 or Pixel 7, would probably gain a lot here — especially if battery life is anything like the Pixel 10 series.

Pixel 8 would be borderline, but Pixel 9 and above? These phones haven't actually changed that much over the past two generations to warrant upgrading. Your best argument would be for non-users, since the standard Pixel 9 only offers two cameras, but even then you have to ask whether the money you're spending is worth it.

Last year I admitted that swapping a Pixel 9 Pro for a Pixel 10 Pro was a mistake, and the new phone didn't offer enough to make the switch worthwhile. The Pixel 11 Pro takes that to a whole new level, and I know for a fact that my Pixel 10 Pro is more than good enough to last me until the launch of the Pixel 12 Pro next year — and likely beyond that.

If Pixel phones are supposed to be the idealized version of what an Android phone can be, then Google seems to be doing a pretty shoddy job of it. And it could fix that problem by actually making a phone that elicits a response beyond "huh, ok then."

More from Tom's Guide

• Google bamboozled me into paying for Google Photos a decade ago — and now it’s doing something similar with the Pixel 11 Pro
• I held the Pixel Tag and it does one critical thing that the AirTag doesn’t — here’s what it is
• I tried the Pixel 11 Pro Fold and it's more 'Ultra' than Samsung's foldable (for $200 less)

Google released Gemini 3.7 Flash Thursday and it's already calling it the company's most intelligent “workhorse” model yet. Naturally, I decided to give it an enormous job.

Rather than testing the new model with trivia questions or a collection of small prompts, I wanted to see what it could do with the kind of task I routinely put off: organizing my life.

Between work, school messages, appointments, bills, forms and managing my family of five, important information is scattered across my Gmail and Google Drive. I may remember that someone sent me something, but not whether it arrived as an email, a PDF or a document someone shared weeks ago.

That made it an ideal test for Gemini Spark, Google’s personal AI agent for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. Spark now runs on Gemini 3.7 Flash, giving regular users one of the first ways to experience the new model.

Google says the upgrade makes Spark better at using Workspace tools and completing complicated jobs that involve several different skills. It can consolidate files, draft emails and update status documents, all while working toward a larger goal.

So I gave it one monster prompt and asked it to find everything that might need my attention over the next 30 days.

The epic Gemini prompt I tried

Here is the complete prompt: Act as my personal life-admin assistant for the next 30 days. Search my Gmail and Google Drive for messages, documents and forms from the past 30 days that contain an upcoming deadline, appointment, payment, event, form, reservation, purchase, school obligation or task I may need to complete.

Before taking action, create a master list organized by date. For each item, include what needs to happen, the deadline or event date, who it involves, where you found the information with a link to the original email or file, whether the task is confirmed, unclear or possibly outdated, and the next action I need to take.

Look for conflicts, duplicate information, missing forms and messages I may have forgotten to answer. If two sources disagree, show me both versions instead of deciding which one is correct.

Then create a realistic plan for completing everything. Group tasks that can be handled together, prioritize anything urgent and avoid scheduling more than three substantial tasks on the same day.

Draft any necessary replies, follow-up messages or questions, but do not send them. Suggest calendar events and reminders, but show them to me before adding anything. Do not delete, move or change any existing emails or files.

Finish with a short section titled “What needs my attention first” containing the five most urgent items. Clearly tell me if you could not access something or if any conclusion is based on an assumption.

Why this prompt is my favorite one yet

This prompt is incredibly long, so if you are going to use it, just copy and paste it directly into Gemini 3.7 Flash. It's long because it tackles a lot, and every part has a job. As much as I wish I could simply tell Gemini to “organize my life” and hope it understood what that meant, AI just isn't there yet (thank goodness!).

I told it where to search, which information to extract and how to organize the results. I also gave it clear boundaries. It could draft messages and suggest reminders, but it couldn’t send, change or delete anything without my approval.

Gemini found important messages that I completely missed

Gemini worked quickly but slow enough that I knew it wasn't skipping any details. It searched Gmail, reviewed Drive files and even asked for clarification (I have two email addresses; one for work and one for my personal life, so it was quick to ask if I wanted to check both.

Eventually, it found several items that required action over the next month. These included permission slips for my son's middle school computer use and my kindergartener's food allergy form. It also discovered updated insurance information and a charge for an app that I no longer use.

The biggest discovery was that I had completely forgotten to switch my expired credit card over and was getting notices that well, I hadn't noticed. This could have been a delayed payment nightmare for my phone and cable bills.

For each response, Gemini traced back to the original email or document so I could personally read it and make a note of it.

Gemini turned chaos into a plan

The prompt fills an immediate purpose. It wasn't just Gemini rearranging information I had already handed to it, rather it found finding something useful inside accounts I no longer had the time or patience to search manually.

Gemini linked back to every source, which made checking its work much easier. Instead of trusting an AI summary, I could actually open the original message and confirm the date, amount or requirement myself.

Although I wrote this prompt with high hopes, it worked even better than expected. It was so helpful and I can already see the improvements Google has made to this lightweight model.

For example, I had missed a Popsicle Social that's coming up for my five-year-old, not only did Gemini show me that I hadn't responded, but it responded for me and added it to my calendar. I know my kiddo would have been really disappointed had he missed that event, so not only did this prompt save me from missing the event, but a possible tantrum, too (if you know, you know).

Gemini 3.7 Flash stayed on track — mostly

This prompt proves that Gemini 3.7 Flash is ready to take on heavy-duty assignments. Keep in mind that it may not work for your corporate email if you have not given Gemini access. You may need to talk to your administrator if it doesn't work the first time.

Gemini 3.7 Flash handled constraints like a pro and even processed messages and files for me. This is important because AI assistants frequently follow the beginning of a prompt but have trouble or drop requirements completely near the end.

I did notice that the AI is still not perfect. Gemini avoided emails that it should have sorted and missed some Google doc files because they were unnamed, but overall it followed through.

Gemini 3.7 Flash is designed to put more effort into multi-step planning and tool calls. Google says the model follows instructions more closely and is better at adjusting when it encounters a roadblock.

The takeaway

My prompt makes use of Gemini's unique abilities. It can search two Workspace services, understand different kinds of messages and documents, extract exact dates, spot contradictions and turn the results into a realistic plan. It then prepared follow-up actions without crossing the line and taking them without permission.

The prompt also makes Gemini show its work. Requiring links to original files, confidence labels and clear disclosures of any assumptions makes its findings easier to verify.

You can change the search window or categories to fit your own life. If you are planning a trip, ask Gemini to focus on reservations, confirmations and payments. Parents could prioritize school notices like I've done, including forms and activities, while freelancers might search for invoices, assignments and unanswered client messages.

After using Gemini 3.1 Flash with this prompt, I can see why Google describes its newest model as a workhorse. Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comments

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There are two types of rumors in the run-up to device launches like the new Pixel 11 series. One kind of rumor includes annual claims that some feature will finally make its debut, like the constant claim that Apple will drop the current Face ID for under-display tech.

The other type is more specific to the device and tends to be correct, more often than not. However, sometimes they're wrong.

It was rumored that the new Tensor G6 silicon in the new Pixel 11 series would be made using TSMC's 2nm process, the first smartphone that would feature the more efficient CPU platform. This would have beat Apple to the punch, which typically gets the latest chip upgrades.

But it turns out that isn't true.

In an interview with the Chinese publication CNA, Peng Yu-chun, a VP of Hardware at Google, revealed that the G6 was built using TSMC's 3nm process.

That means that either the iPhone 18 Pro series will likely be the first smartphone to feature a 2nm chip.

What does Tensor G6 offer?

Despite not featuring the 2nm platform, Google claims the G6 has several upgrades.

That includes "25% faster web browsing, 15% quicker app launches" and 50% more TPU compute. It does feature an upgraded Titan M3 security chip, which was previously rumored and should make the phone more secure.

The chip also enables an upgrade Image Signal Processor to support the new Night Sight and a claimed upgraded digital zoom.

A worrying weakness

There was some excitement about a 2nm process because it would have been able to feature more nodes and deliver efficiency and power upgrades.

Pixels have long lagged behind Apple and Samsung's flagship phones. Unfortunately, that may continue. Just before yesterday's Made by Google event, a new Geekbench listing popped up that revealed a weak CPU. That listing showed a multicore score of 5,196 and a single-core score of 2,112. It's 50% slower than the S26 Ultra.

At Tom's Guide, we run our own tests; we'll see if the listing is an outlier or not. But at first blush, things aren't looking good.

More from Tom's Guide

• The Pixel 11 is available to pre-order, but you probably shouldn't right now — here's why
• After 10 years of Pixels, why is Google still making phones?
• I checked out the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, and Pixel 11 Pro XL — here’s the one I recommend

Google has officially revealed the Pixel 11 series, and pre-orders are now open ahead of an official release date of August 20. The four new phones don't offer amazing upgrades compared to the Pixel 10 series, but there's enough that some of you are probably prepping to pre-order this phone as soon as you can. I'm here to tell you why you shouldn't do that.

The thing about Pixel phones is that they're like video games. You could buy them as soon as they're released, and pay full price to experience them right away, but you're just spending money that could be better used for other things. And it all comes down to the fact Pixel phones are essentially the mattresses of the smartphone world.

Considering how often, and how quickly the newest Pixel phones go on sale, paying full price is essentially agreeing to be ripped off.

Pixel discounts happen regularly, and quickly

Imagine you're looking at a new phone that's just been released. The $900 price tag is a little expensive for your tastes, but you know that waiting for a major discount is a fool's errand. Maybe you'll be able to save a bit of money during the next sales event, like Black Friday or Prime Day, but there's never any guarantee that it'll actually happen — or how much money you might save.

For the last few years I've noticed that this isn't the case with Pixel phones. In fact, sometimes the discounts can start coming within a few weeks of the phone actually going on sale. If you're willing to wait for the Fall Prime Day sale, or the Black Friday season, you could be looking at a pretty hefty discount.

Admittedly I am making an assumption about what the future holds for the Pixel 11 series. I don't have a crystal ball or magic powers that let me see into the future. But this is not the first time I've noticed this trend, and I would be very surprised if the Pixel 11 broke rank.

Pixel 10 discounts we spotted last year

The first Pixel 10 discount we spotted was at the start of September 2025, during Amazon's Labor Day sales. The phone didn't get any discounts, per se, but buying one did net you a free $200 Amazon gift card. While it's not the same as cold-hard cash, Amazon's ubiquity means that this is almost as good as getting $200 off your total.

I should mention at this point that the Pixel 10 was released on August 28, with pre-orders opening eight days earlier on August 20. This means the first Pixel 10 retailer deal happened just four days after release day.

The first actual discount happened in early October, during Amazon's fall Prime Day, with the $799 price tag dropping to $649. That's just on Amazon too, and further price drops did happen elsewhere — including Mint Mobile who started selling the Pixel 10 for $549 around the same time.

Further discounts towards the end of the last year eventually saw that price matched at Amazon, with occasional discounts to that same price happening in the early months of 2026

Price trackers show similar trends with the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL — though the larger phone's discounts are a little more erratic. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold took longer to go on sale, and didn't get any meaningful discount until November, with the likes of Amazon, Google and Best Buy all knocking $300 off.

This trend isn't exclusive to Pixel 10 either

The quick discount situation is an ongoing trend for Pixel phones and it is pretty common to see those prices dropping within a couple of months of release date.

Pixel 9 prices first dropped in October 2024, following the late August launch, though the price tracker does seem to have more ups and downs than a rollercoaster during the later months of 2024.

We saw the price drop as low as $548 during that year's Black Friday sales, though prices seemingly stabilized until before the Pixel 10 launch — after which they started to dip even further and more frequently.

Things never seem to get quite as low as the Pixel 8, which has been spotted for as low as $399. However, that low price happened in February 2025, almost a year and a half after it was first released.

I don't think waiting that long is worth it, but the price trackers do show the first dips in price happening around the Black Friday and holiday shopping seasons — occurring less than 2 months after the phone's October 2023 release.

The Pixel 7 followed a similar trend, eventually tapering out at around $449 almost a year after its initial release.

Though going back, it seems the Pixel 6 wasn't quite so quick to drop in price, and the price trackers don't have a lot of information from that far back. But considering the Pixel 6 started at $599, there wasn't a lot of room for price cuts until much later in its life cycle.

Regardless, we've seen that the last four generations of Pixel phones have enjoyed generous discounts very soon after release. Which tells me that we should certainly wait and see whether the Pixel 11 follows the same trend — because odds are that it will.

The Pixel 10 might be the better option right now

Saving money is all well and good, but there is one more question you need to ask yourself before you pick up a Pixel 11 series phone. And that is, "would you be just as happy with a Pixel 10 instead?"

Not only are Pixel 10 series phones cheaper than their Pixel 11-series counterparts, the differences between them aren't actually that extreme. Whether you're looking at the standard model or the Pixel 11 Pro XL, you're not getting a lot of upgrades.

There's a new modem, 256GB of base storage, faster wireless charging (25W vs 15W) and the Tensor G6 chipset. There's also a smaller battery, which doesn't fill me with much confidence.

The difference on the Pixel 11 Pro XL is even worse, since the 10 Pro XL already came with 25W wireless charging and 256GB of storage as standard. It apparently charges a little faster, gaining an extra 5% battery in half an hour, but that's the only extra upgrade it has compared to the smaller 11 Pro.

Admittedly we haven't done any lab testing with the Pixel 11 series yet, so we don't know how much of a change there is in terms of performance and battery life. So our opinion on the Pixel 11 upgrades may change later.

It's also worth noting that the Pro models also suffer from reduced RAM on their cheapest option, with 12GB of memory on models with 256GB of RAM. Meanwhile 16GB was standard on all Pixel 10 Pro and XL variants, including 128GB and 256GB storage variants.

Considering additional RAM is essential for on-device AI features, this actually puts the cheapest Pixel 10 Pro models at an advantage compared to their successors.

You can pick up a Pixel 11 Pro or Pro XL with 16GB of RAM, but you'll need to pay out for the higher 512GB and 1TB storage variants. That'll cost you an extra $120 for 512GB or $350 for 1TB. All while the equivalent Pixel 10s are available with heavy discounts, even if that means you need to pick up a refurbished model.

Bottom line: It all comes down to pre-order bonuses

The one thing that may affect your decision to pre-order or wait are the pre-order bonuses that are on offer. Google is offering increased trade-in credit during the pre-order window, gift cards with each new phone sold and discounts on the Pixel Watch 5. However the amount you get will vary depending on the device you buy and what you trade-in, and different retailers may have their own promotions in mind.

Pro buyers get up to $600 trade-in credit, a $200 gift card and $250 off a Pixel Watch 5. Meanwhile Pixel 11 owners are restricted to $500 trade-in credit, a $100 card and $130 off the Watch 5. This could be enough to sway you into buying, especially if you were planning on buying a Pixel Watch 5 and other Google accessories anyway.

But if all you're interested in is the new phone, then you are better off waiting. A little bit of patience could save you a few hundred dollars compared to buying the phone outright, especially if you weren't planning on trading in your old device — or it's in such bad condition you wouldn't get much for it. Because, odds are, in a couple of months we'll have seen the first Pixel 11 deals already, and you might be kicking yourself for paying the newly released prices right away.

And if the prices somehow don't go down in the next few months, it's not like you lost out on anything by waiting.

More from Tom's Guide

• Google bamboozled me into paying for Google Photos a decade ago — and now it’s doing something similar with the Pixel 11 Pro
• After 10 years of Pixels, why is Google still making phones?
• iPhone 18 Pro could see absolutely massive price hike according to researchers

Google’s latest hardware drop has officially arrived and, just like last year, consists of a trio of flagship models: the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, and Pixel 11 Pro XL. They all pack upgrades over their predecessors, including a first for the series: a Tensor G6 chip built on a new 2-nanometer manufacturing process.

That’s not all they share, either, because they all come with built-in Pixelsnap magnetic wireless charging, refreshed IP68 dust and water resistance, and a suite of new AI features. Then there’s the matter of their pricing, with each model seeing a $100 price bump — which at this point is inevitable with most gadgets.

I spent solid hands-on time checking out the trio, so I’ll tell you exactly what the base Pixel 11 lacks compared to the Pros. While the Pixel 10 emerged as my recommendation last year, you might be surprised by which one gets my vote this time around.

Pixel 11 vs. Pixel 11 Pro vs. Pixel 11 Pro XL: Specifications

Pixel 11 vs. Pixel 11 Pro vs. Pixel 11 Pro XL: Price and availability

Yes, there’s a $100 price hike across all three models. That brings the starting price of the Pixel 11 to $899, while the Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL go for $1,099 and $1,299, respectively.

Meanwhile, Australian pricing for Google's new lineup starts at AU$1,499 for the Pixel 11, AU$1,849 for the Pixel 11 Pro and AU$2,099 for the Pixel 11 Pro XL. That works out to starting price increases of between AU$100-AU$200 depending on model.

While the price increase isn't surprising at this point, the Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro do see their base storage upgraded to 256GB. Unfortunately, the Pixel 11 Pro XL doesn’t get the same upgrade boost, remaining at 256GB just as before. Preorders are live now, with all three officially hitting shelves on August 20.

Personally, I’m drawn more to the standard Pixel 11 colors because they’re much bolder and richer compared to the muted colorways of the Pro models. If I had to choose, Hibiscus is easily the standout option on the Pixel 11.

Pixel 11 vs. Pixel 11 Pro vs. Pixel 11 Pro XL: Design

While all three phones sport the same signature look that made the previous lineup distinctive, I wouldn’t say there’s anything too different this time around apart from their colorways. Well, the Pixel 11’s camera cutout actually gets trimmed down by 40% — so when it’s paired with one of the new cases, the entire backside remains perfectly flat. The same can’t be said for the Pros, as their camera compartments still stick out.

The one big design addition on the Pros is the introduction of the HiLight LED on the back, which acts as a notification system for your contacts. Depending on who calls, you can set custom colors to coordinate with specific callers. It’ll also activate when you initiate Gemini, so you know it’s listening to your voice command.

It’s certainly a fresh hardware feature that’s great for quick glances when the phone is face down, but I feel it’s a bit gimmicky. At the same time, it doesn’t yet work with things outside of phone calls — like new text message notifications. I’m still a bit confused about why it’s here, especially when it doesn’t feel fully integrated into the experience.

Despite this, I’ll admit that all three devices feel superb in the hand. The Pixel 11 opts for a polished glass back matched with a satin aluminum frame, while the Pros have a matte glass back paired with a polished frame. However, the Obsidian colorway on the Pixel 11 Pro and 11 Pro XL features a matte frame. Not only do they look premium, but they’re also plenty durable thanks to their drop resistance and IP68 ratings for dust and water protection.

Pixel 11 vs. Pixel 11 Pro vs. Pixel 11 Pro XL: Display

Taking a look at the specs, there doesn’t appear to be much change to their displays. The Pixel 11 packs the same 6.3-inch Actua display as before and delivers the punchy visuals that make it ideal for watching videos.

Similarly, the Pixel 11 Pro and 11 Pro XL feature the same 6.3-inch and 6.8-inch Super Actua displays — which Google rates as its brightest ever at 3,600 nits, besting the previous year’s rating. It was hard to discern much of a difference when I loaded up the same HDR videos on YouTube, but I will admit that they’re gorgeous with their vibrant colors, wide viewing angles, and deep, pitch-black contrast.

Pixel 11 vs. Pixel 11 Pro vs. Pixel 11 Pro XL: Cameras

Just because the camera specs don’t look like a complete overhaul, you shouldn’t dismiss what Google is offering in its new Pixels. For starters, the Pixel 11 features a larger sensor on its main camera — which reportedly offers a 56% improvement in light sensitivity. This should make a substantial difference in action and low-light situations by capturing more light in the same amount of time. If that’s not enough, the 10.8MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom can now shoot even farther with support for up to 30x Super Zoom.

Meanwhile, the Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL get a new main camera sensor as well, while their 48MP telephoto shooter gets a larger sensor with 32% better light gathering, support for 5x Portrait Mode, and even farther reach with an updated 120x Pro Zoom. I got a demo of the latter with an Android figurine hidden across the room, resulting in a crisp shot that almost looked like I took it up close.

And since they’re powered by the new Tensor G6 chip, it unlocks even more powerful creative tools for serious shooters. Camera Looks are available to get your photo looking distinct right at the point of capture. Unlike standard photos that get processed after you press the shutter, Camera Looks preserve a specific look based on the aesthetic you choose. It sort of reminds me of LUTs (lookup tables) that color grade footage, and it can definitely elevate your photos.

The other intriguing feature powered by the Tensor G6 is Magic Capture. It’s a camera mode that intelligently analyzes frames to pull out high-quality still photos while recording video. It looked pretty impressive during a demo I saw of a pair of ballet dancers, delivering picture-perfect moments with clear facial expressions and great poses.

Pixel 11 vs. Pixel 11 Pro vs. Pixel 11 Pro XL: Performance

Powered by the new Google Tensor G6, every device in the Pixel 11 family feels snappy out of the gate. That’s crucial given how previous Tensor silicon has lagged behind competing flagship chips, making this year’s hardware a key proving ground.

Google claims the Tensor G6 boosts web browsing speeds by 25%, app launch times by 15%, and on-device AI execution by an impressive 3.5x. While it's impossible to fully evaluate those benchmarks during my quick preview, all three phones felt exceptionally fast and responsive in hand — including how fast it processed videos with Magic Capture to find those perfect snapshots at full resolution.

Pixel 11 vs. Pixel 11 Pro vs. Pixel 11 Pro XL: Battery and charging

Strangely enough, the Pixel 11 is the only model to gain a larger battery than its predecessor — packing a 4,985 mAh capacity. I suspect it’ll yield a noticeable improvement in endurance simply due to that larger capacity combined with its smaller screen and the power efficiency of the Tensor G6.

Conversely, the Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL actually feature slightly smaller capacities, coming in at 4,850 mAh and 5,115 mAh, respectively. Again, I think the reasoning here is that Google feels confident in the efficiency gains of its new silicon.

Even though the Pixel 11 Pro XL doesn’t gain any charging speed upgrades, its 45W wired and 25W Qi2.2 wireless charging speeds are still solid by today’s standards. I’m happy to report, though, that the Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro are now treated to the same 25W Qi2.2 wireless charging speed as their top-tier sibling.

Pixel 11 vs. Pixel 11 Pro vs. Pixel 11 Pro XL: Software and AI

Shipping with Android 17 right out of the box, Google’s latest hardware puts Gemini Intelligence front and center. Powered by the Tensor G6 chip, on-device AI tasks process up to 3.5 times faster while using significantly less power.

Beyond context-aware cards across your apps and proactive lock screen insights, one standout addition in Android 17 that I found especially superb in action is Rambler — a new Gemini-powered voice input feature in Gboard built for the way people actually speak. Instead of forcing you to speak without any mistakes, Rambler automatically filters out filler words like "um" and "ah," transforming your scattered dictations into clean, concise text on the fly.

Media creation and global communication get a massive boost, too. Android 17 taps into Gemini Omni, Google’s generative model that makes creating and editing video through natural conversation as seamless as editing a photo. I tried this out on an existing video by asking Gemini to swap out the logo of a bear for a chrome-looking pizza slice — and it did exactly that with impressive accuracy.

Meanwhile, Live Translate offers real-time, speech-to-speech translation that automatically dubs foreign-language videos, podcasts, and audio content directly into your preferred language. Google has focused heavily on AI over its last few generations, and this year’s suite convinces me that these are still the best AI phones on the market.

Pixel 11 vs. Pixel 11 Pro vs. Pixel 11 Pro XL: Outlook

After getting hands-on time with all three, the Pixel 11 Pro emerges as my top recommendation because it strikes the ultimate sweet spot in Google's lineup. It offers the exact same flagship camera array as the Pixel 11 Pro XL (including 120x Pro Zoom and the upgraded main sensor), the brilliant 3,600-nit display, the ambient HiLight rear LED, and Google's full suite of Gemini AI capabilities.

On top of that, it gains faster 25W Qi2.2 wireless charging and double the starting storage at 256GB — all for $200 less than the XL. For most buyers, the standard Pro easily delivers the best value. Of course, my final verdict could shift once they're put through our rigorous lab testing, but for now, the Pixel 11 Pro leads the pack.

More from Tom's Guide

• After 10 years of Pixels, why is Google still making phones?
• Made by Google event — how to watch and what to expect
• iPhone Ultra and iPhone 18 Pro pre-order date just tipped — here's when you can get yours

It’s easy to write off the Pixel 11 Pro Fold when Samsung has the shiny new wide Fold 8. But Google’s new foldable phone is more of a direct competitor to the Fold 8 Ultra. It’s for people who actually want bigger and taller displays.

And you could argue that the Pixel 11 Pro Fold ($1,899 / AU$2,799) is an even better value. It’s not just $200 cheaper than the Ultra. It has a brighter display, better durability and even smarter AI features.

I went hands on with the new Pixel 11 Pro Fold and came away pretty impressed with its upgrades — with the exception of the gimmicky HiLight. Here’s how it stacks up.

Pixel 11 Pro Fold specs

Price and release date: $100 Hike

At $1,899 / AU$2,799, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is $100 more than its predecessor and the same exact price as the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Pre-orders are available now and the Pixel 11 Pro Fold release date is August 20.

Design: Tough and comfy, but still kinda bulky

Right off the bat, I prefer the Pixel 11 Pro Fold to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra because its front 6.5-inch screen is less squished. There’s more room for typing and your apps, thanks in part to Google slimming down the bezels.

I also appreciate the rounded corners on this design. They dig into your hands less than the Fold 8 Ultra's pointy corners.

Pick these phones up though and you’ll immediately notice Samsung’s portability and thinness advantage. The Pixel 11 Pro Fold is a hefty 8.4 ounces and measures 5mm thick when open and 10.1mm when closed. That’s a definitive improvement over the Pixel 10 Pro Fold (9.1 ounces, 5.2mm/10.8mm), but the Fold 8 Ultra is still the featherweight champ of big screen foldables.

What Google gives you is more durability. Not only is this phone IP68 rated against water and dust — it’s just water for Samsung — Google gave the back a glass composite back that’s shatterproof.

The color options are Obsidian and Olive and the latter is the one I’d get because it’s a lot more fun.

HiLight (or LowLight?)

I can’t quite make up my mind if this feature is cool or just gimmicky but right now I’m thinking more of the latter.

HiLight is colorful LED on the back of the Pixel 11 Pro Fold that can glow different colors you set based on who’s calling. So if your phone is face down you can tell right away who’s on the other end.

The HiLight can also animate when you’re chatting with Gemini Live, which I guess is cool but not really necessary.

Displays: Brightest ever

Google’s foldable has a more noticeable crease than Samsung, but both the main and cover display are super bright. We’re talking 3,600 nits for the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, compared to 3,000 for the Fold 8 Ultra.

And, I noticed the difference when I put both phones side by side, both set to max brightness. The black bars are very much there when watching YouTube, but I like how you can pop comments in on the right side while watching YouTube Shorts.

The Pixel Pro Fold also has a laptop mode that puts the content up and controls on the bottom, similar to the Flex Mode on the Fold 8 Ultra.

Multitasking: Bubbles everywhere!

While the Pixel 11 Pro Fold limits you to two open apps side by side, compared to three for Samsung, Google has a new trick up its sleeve.

You can turn apps into a floating window called bubbles and place them anywhere around the screen. And it’s simple to add more apps to your bubble and toggle between them.

Cameras: More light, more 'magic'

The Pixel 11 Pro Fold packs a triple rear camera system that starts with a 48MP wide sensor that lets in 58% more light.

In my very brief testing the Pixel 11 Pro Fold captured sharp and bright images, but this was under pretty ideal conditions.

You also get a 10.5MP ultra wide camera and a 10.8MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom, compared to just 3x for the Fold 8 Ultra.

The selfie cameras are limited to 10MP, but you can always take rear camera selfies by flipped the front display around for maximum resolution.

The coolest camera feature on the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is Magic Capture. Enter this special mode and press the shutter button, and the Pixel 11 Pro will automatically start shooting both photos and videos, picking out what it thinks are the best moments. Google had a couple of dancers for our demo and Magic Capture seemed to work pretty well.

Another nifty feature is Creative Studio, which you can use to record videos complete with a built-in teleprompter, sound level controls and more.

AI: Getting Pro-active

This is a Pixel phone so you know the 11 Pro Fold is going to have a boatload of AI features. But there’s a handful of useful ones that you won’t find on the Fold 8 Ultra.

Gemini Spark can perform tasks on your behalf in the background while you do other stuff. For example, you can ask Gemini to summarize emails related to your party RSVPs and have it create a spreadsheet of everyone’s dietary preferences.

Speech recognition also gets a boost with the Pixel 11 Pro Fold thanks to Rambler. You can say all the “uhs” and “ums” you want and this Foldable will edit them out on the fly.

Gemini’s Proactive Intelligent Suggestions builds on the hit-or-miss Magic Cue from previous Pixel phones, surfacing the right info just when you need it. For example, if someone asks if you’re available on a certain day and time, you’ll see a prompt for previewing your calendar — without having to leave the app.

This works for everything from being able to preview flight info to peeking at a restaurant. You can even book a table from within your messages with the tap of a button.

Performance and Battery: Breaking the 2nm barrier

The Pixel 11 Pro packs a new Tensor G6 chip that is among the first in the world built on a 2nm process. And that means you should expect a speed boost along with longer battery life — even with a smaller battery than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.

For example, Google promises an Instant Night Sight feature for taking low-light photos with virtually no processing time. But we’ll have to test this out to see how it works.

And with a much faster TPU on board, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold should be able to perform on-device AI tasks much faster than before.

The 4,806 mAh battery inside the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is smaller than the 5,000 mAh battery for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, but Google is still promising up to 24 hours of battery life. That’s because the G6 chip is designed to be 20% more efficient.

However, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has a 5,015 mAh battery with newer silicon carbon tech, while the Pixel Fold is still stuck on Lithium Ion, so we’ll have to see which foldable lasts longer.

When it comes to wireless charging, Google has an advantage because it has Qi2 magnets built into the phone. With Samsung you have to buy a case.

Outlook

The Pixel 11 Pro Fold is a much improved foldable phone. It’s lighter, thinner, tougher and faster. Plus, it has a longer zoom than the Z Fold 8 Ultra, a wider front display and — eureka! — you can actually take it to the beach.

Add in the brighter screens and shatterproof back and you have some pretty solid reasons for picking the Pixel 11 Pro Fold over Samsung.

On the other hand, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is noticeably thinner and lighter; it has a less visible crease; and it packs sharper main and ultrawide cameras. Plus, you have the ability to run three apps at once.

I don’t see the HiLight feature being all that useful on the Pixel 11 Pro Fold. More practical to me are Gemini proactive suggestions, as well as camera features like Magic Capture.

Overall, I’d be pretty torn between the Pixel 11 Pro Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. But I’ll have to do some in-depth testing to see which one I’d buy with my own money. Stay tuned for my full review.

Google is launching the new Pixel 11 series at its Made by Google event today. Unfortunately, the Pixel 11 Pro XL just popped up on Geekbench, revealing a phone that might not be able to keep up with the competition.

With the caveat that Geekbench listings can be faked, this doesn't look good.

We've seen one Geekbench listing for the Pixl 11 Pro XL, which reveals the new Tensor G6 chipset. The tested G6 has 7 cores with 16GB of RAM and appears to be running Android 17 out of the box.

If you're unfamiliar with Geekbench, the test utilizes several tests to see how a CPU in a phone handles certain tasks. Single-core refers to how one core (or "mini-brain") handles a single task, like, say, photo editing. Multicore refers to how all the cores handle multitasking, such as running several open apps at once or gaming.

Here's how the Pixel 11 Pro XL compares to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and the iPhone 17 Pro.

Here's another caveat, though: Geekbench changed to its 7.0 version recently, which updates the hardware that the test uses to compare. Across the board, scores are lower in version 7 compared to the ones in version 6. So there's not a ton of data yet.

We ran Geekbench 7 just today on the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Galaxy S26 Ultra to get the above scores.

In single-core, the Pixel 11 Pro XL is weaker by 29% (iPhone) and 39% (Galaxy), but not so much worse that it isn't similar to previous years.

However, multicore is where things get worrying. The Pixel is 39% slower than the iPhone 17 Pro 17 and 49% slower than the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Notably, Pixel phones have tended to be slower than Apple and Samsung for years. However, Google is supposed to be catching up with new Tensor chips built on TSMC's more advanced 2nm process.

That process is supposed to bring a performance and efficiency boost. Last year's Tensor G5 was built on the TSMC 3nm process, the same platform used by chips like the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Apple's A19 Pro.

Tom's Guide will be on hand at the Made by Google event tomorrow and once we have the phones in hand, we'll run the Pixel 11 Pro XL through our own battery of tests. Hopefully, this lone test proves to be the outlier and not the standard.

More from Tom's Guide

• After 10 years of Pixels, why is Google still making phones?
• Made by Google event — how to watch and what to expect
• iPhone Ultra and iPhone 18 Pro pre-order date just tipped — here's when you can get yours

If you tried to Google something recently and felt as if things looked a little different, it's not just your imagination.

Some users are seeing a redesigned Google homepage that removes the familiar Google Search button and replaces it with shortcuts for AI Mode, Create images, Ask about files and Brainstorm.

It’s only a test for now, but it’s hard to ignore what Google is putting in the Search button’s place. I've been writing about AI replacing the internet as we know it for the past several months.

For more than 25 years, Google’s homepage has barely changed. You type something into the search box, hit Google Search, and get a page of results. Now, Google appears to be experimenting with turning that same box into a chatbot window.

Google Search is starting to look a lot more like ChatGPT or Gemini

In the experimental layout, Google’s traditional search field is surrounded by tools that encourage you to do something other than type a keyword and look through links.

There’s AI Mode, which lets you ask longer questions and continue the conversation with follow-ups, you can ask about files or even create an image with Nano Banana. Interestingly, I’m Feeling Lucky is still there, but the old Google Search button is not.

Sure, you can still type a query, but the experience will be much different as Google is replacing classic search with AI Overviews and Summaries.

Google Search VP Robby Stein responded to people spotting the change and said the company isn't getting rid of traditional search.

"This is a small test on desktop to help people find new things they can do with Search. No impact to how the core search box works – just add your question and hit enter as usual," Stein said.

So, no, the Google Search button has not officially been killed off, but all signs seem to point that direction. If anything, the test still tells us quite a bit about where Google wants Search to go.

The end of Google Search as we know it

AI Mode has already pushed Google beyond the traditional search-results page by letting users ask complicated questions, follow up on answers and get information synthesized across multiple sources. Google has also been building more image, file and multimodal capabilities directly into Search.

Putting shortcuts to those tools on Google.com takes that strategy one step further. Google isn't just adding AI to Search anymore. It's experimenting with making AI the starting point.

We're being taught a new way to Google, which is ironic considering Google trained us how to search in the first place. But generative AI has changed everything, which is why Google's experimental homepage appears to be designed around the same behavior.

Keywords don't matter anymore, especially when you can search with an image or an uploaded file. The direction we are headed is a fundamentally different relationship with a search engine than we've ever seen.

Big consequences for the web

There is an obvious downside to all of this, particularly for websites that depend on Google traffic. The more Google answers a question inside its own interface, the less reason there is for someone to click through to another website.

That tension already exists with AI Overviews and AI Mode. A homepage that actively steers people toward AI responses rather than traditional search results could accelerate it.

It also puts Google into even more direct competition with ChatGPT and other AI assistants.

The Google homepage remains some of the most valuable real estate on the internet. If Google starts using it to promote image generation, document analysis, brainstorming and conversational AI, it is effectively turning google.com into a general-purpose AI interface.

And Google has one enormous advantage: billions of people already know exactly where to find it.

The takeaway

Google is very clear that removing the Search button is currently just a test, so I wouldn't declare the death of the Search button yet. But even if the Search button disappears tomorrow, the damage to the internet has already been done. The button was just a symbol at best.

The takeaway is what Google has decided is important enough to replace the Search button with: AI Mode. Image generation. File analysis. Brainstorming.

More from Tom's Guide

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• ChatGPT can do more for you than ever — and I use these 5 prompts to take everyday tasks off my plate
• OpenAI’s head of ethics just quit — here’s why ChatGPT users should pay attention

It’s kind of hard to believe that the Google Pixel 11 series is launching. Yes, it’s been 10 years since the introduction of the first Pixel phone, which was the first truly “made by Google” device. (Yes, there were Nexus phones before that, but that was through partners like HTC.)

The original Google Pixel had a 5-inch OLED display, 4GB of RAM and an 8MP camera running Android 7.1 Nougat. But it wasn’t about the specs. It was about making a device that was a differentiated flagship that could go toe-to-toe with the iPhone 7 and Galaxy S7. A true Apple rival that had Google-made hardware and software.

To do that, Google leaned heavily into computational photography before anyone else, elevating image quality via sophisticated processing as opposed to just hardware. And the first Pixel also paved the way for AI as a hallmark feature in phones, with Google Assistant being built directly into the OS.

But now that we’re a decade in, what does Google have to show for its efforts? A fairly low No. 10 in global market share, according to IDC. And with the Apple-Samsung duopoly still going strong in the U.S. and the likes of Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo dominating in China, does it still make sense for the Pixel to exist?

With the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro Fold about to go on sale, I asked three of the smartest mobile analysts why Google is still making phones, and what the company can do to stand out.

Google is No. 4 in the US, so what’s the problem?

On the plus side, Google’s phone sales have been growing. In fact, according to IDC’s Nabile Popal, Google’s worldwide share has grown tenfold from 2016 to 2025. And it entered the top 10 globally for the first time in 2023. And by the end of 2025, its global annual shipments had grown 8x since a decade ago.

It’s even rosier if you look at just the US. Google’s share in the US grew 4x to 4.1% in 2025, from just 1% share in 2020.

Meanwhile, Google is a fairly solid No. 3 in the UK with 7.5% share and an even higher 11% in Japan, where it’s also No. 3.

The problem is that Google simply isn’t as aggressive as other phone makers when it comes to distribution.

"Google restricts its official hardware sales to roughly 22 countries,” said Popal. “In comparison, industry leaders like Apple and Samsung distribute across well over 120 global territories, mathematically capping Google's volume potential."

That restricted distribution likely isn’t about a lack of resources. We’re talking about a parent company with a market valuation of approximately $4.3 trillion. It’s much more likely a deliberate choice that’s more political in nature. After all, Google’s Android software powers Samsung, Xiaomi and all of the other biggest brands.

"Pixels are meant to showcase Android software capabilities rather than completely dethrone partner hardware ecosystems,” Popal said. “They want to showcase their abilities without alienating their top partners."

Why Pixels phones still exist: Winning the AI war

After Google acquired Motorola Mobility in 2011, speculation grew that Google might favor its own hardware division over its partners. And rumors started to swirl for a time that Samsung might pivot from Android to its own Tizen as the OS of choice.

But while Samsung did show off a prototype Galaxy S4 running Tizen in 2014, it ultimately shelved any plans for ditching Android on phones and pivoted towards using the software on TVs.

So if that threat has passed, why is there still a need for Pixel phones? The short answer: AI.

“Google needs its devices division to act as a Gemini-first counterweight to Apple,” said Avi Greengart, founder and lead analyst for Techsponential. “Building your own hardware ensures that your OS remains in sync with component and form factor trends, and allows Google to release features to market on its timetable, not that of its partners.”

Even before ChatGPT was a household name, Google started to pioneer key AI features that would find their way to other Android phones (and in some cases copied by the iPhone). For example, the Pixel 6 in 2021 introduced Magic Eraser for removing unwanted objects from your phones. This would not have been possible without Google’s own Tensor chip.

The Pixel 7 gave us Photo Unblur and Direct My Call for navigating byzantine phone menus, and the Pixel 9 gave us Gemini Live for the first time for real-time continuous voice interaction.

In short, Google needs to demonstrate that it continues to be at the forefront of AI on phones, especially when its partners have other options. For example, the latest Galaxy S26 series and Fold 8 series supports both Gemini and Perplexity.

“I think Google has found the right formula from a hardware perspective and the value of Gemini is definitely strengthening the offering,” said Carolina Milanesi, president and principal analyst for Creative Strategies. “It is also about owning the core piece of the product portfolio that consumers will own going forward.”

How the Pixel 11 can stand out

With the Made by Google event coming up on August 12th, Google is launching four new Pixel phones: the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pixel 11 Pro Fold.

That’s quite a robust lineup for a company that’s still seen as a fairly small player. But Google doesn’t need to beat Apple and Samsung to succeed.

“Pixel gives Google the opportunity to show its full vision for what an AI-native smartphone experience can be,” Greengart said.

The Pixel 11 could very well be an AI powerhouse. It’s powered by a 2nm Tensor G6 chip that will speed up Night Sight processing for low-light photos and other on-device AI tasks. And Google is showing off Gemini Proactive Assistance for proactively surfacing useful information, building on the potential of the previous Magic Cue feature.

In addition, the Pixel 11 Pro features a new HiLight LED on the back of the phone that lights up in different color patterns when you’re interacting with Gemini when the phone is face down. It will also serve as an ambient call and notification indicator. But I fear this may come off as gimmicky, similar to the temperature sensor on previous Pixels.

Is Google pushing the envelope enough?

While it’s clear that the Pixel 11 series will offer meaningful upgrades, the hardware hasn't evolved that much. And if the rumors prove true, Google is going to be missing the boat on a widescreen, passport-style foldable phone like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and iPhone Ultra.

Google’s first foldable did indeed have a wide display, but it abandoned that form factor.

“This is going to be the hardest sell this year because of the attention Samsung has gotten with the Z Fold 8 and Apple will have,” Milanesi said. “That market is still small though and even more so for Google, so as long as they go to that form factor next year they will be ok.”

Google’s biggest problem is that it seems stuck between trying to trumpet the idealized version of a pure AI-first Android phone and not trying to irk its partners. After 10 years, Pixel has not quite broken through with the masses, but that could very well be a calculated decision.

“Google has not marketed itself strongly enough to become a household name in phones like Apple or Samsung,” Popal said. “Its industry leading features are only known to niche tech savvy consumers, and if it is to succeed with the Pixel 11 it has to pump up its overall marketing and channel presence.”

The question is whether Google really wants to.

Made by Google is happening later this week, and with it comes the reveal of the next generation of Pixel devices. This includes the four-device Pixel 11 series, the Pixel Watch 5 and maybe even a Pixel tag Bluetooth tracker if the rumors are to be believed.

Last year's event was a confusing muddle of phone reveals and talk show elements, hosted by Jimmy Fallon. While we'd hoped that this year's event was a little more traditional, it seems that Trevor Noah has been brought in for hosting duties, alongside appearances by multiple celebrities.

But there's only one way to hear the biggest announcements of the night as they happen, and that's to tune in live. Here's how you can watch Made by Google 2026 and see everything unfold.

How to watch Made by Google 2026

With this being a Google event, it's no surprise that the entire show is being livestreamed on YouTube by the official Made By Google account. The event itself begins on August 12 at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT / 11 p.m. BST, and will take place in New York.

You can watch the whole thing on YouTube itself, or watch it via the livestream embedded below.

The livestream also features a notification alert, which will ping you when the event is about to begin — which means you won't accidentally forget and miss out on all the reveals.

What to expect at Made by Google 2026

The biggest news at Made by Google will be the Pixel 11 series, which includes four separate phones. There's the standard Pixel 11, the more powerful Pixel 11 Pro and its larger sibling Pixel 11 Pro XL, plus the Pixel 11 Pro Fold.

The rumors and leaks we've seen so far don't suggest any outlandish changes this year, and we should expect the usual slew of upgrades that typically come with a Google phone. Better cameras, improved chips and more exclusive AI software. We can expect base storage to go up to 256GB on all models, though this will likely see the price rise as well.

The biggest upgrade we've heard about is the new Pixel Glow, or HiLight feature, which adds an RGB LED to the back of your phone that's supposed to act as a notification alert of sorts.

We're also expecting to see a brand new Pixel Watch 5, which is expected to add extra RAM and storage, even if the design isn't set to change all that much. It's likely that there will be a bunch of extra health features added as well.

We know a lot less about the Pixel Tag, but design leaks promise an oval-shaped tracker that will connect with Google's Find Hub and help you track down bags, keys and whatever else you may need to keep tabs on.

Google Pixel 11 pre-order deals

The new Pixels haven't even been announced yet, but Google is already trying to entice you into pre-ordering one. A new landing page on the official Google Store is advertising an exclusive pre-order offer for people who subscribe to email alerts ahead of the Made by Google event.

The offer is only available for new subscribers, and the small print says that each promotional code will be "valid for the redemption of one discounted Pixel 11 series phone per eligible account." That sounds like Google will be offering money off the cost of purchasing one of the new phones, assuming you sign up and get a valid code first, but it doesn't specify how much you'll be able to save.

It's also worth noting that this deal will only be available "while supplies last" and redemption will happen on a first-come, first-served basis. The final expiry date will be just before midnight on September 1, after which nobody will be getting a discount.

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Google's Pixel phones may not be the fastest Android smartphones on the market, but they have an identity that few other brands can match. Between Google's clean design language, the Pixel-exclusive software features, and day-one Android updates, Pixel phones continue to attract a loyal following.

It's now been almost a year since the Pixel 10 series launched, which means it's nearly time for the Pixel 11 to be released. Google has already confirmed that the new phones will debut at its Made by Google event on August 12, so if you're currently using a Pixel 10 Pro, it's probably time to start wondering whether this year's upgrade is worth it.

We won't know exactly how the Pixel 11 Pro vs. Pixel 10 Pro comparison will look like until Google officially announces the new model. But, as is usually the case with Pixel launches, enough leaks and rumors have already surfaced to paint a fairly clear picture of what's coming and whether upgrading this year makes sense.

Pixel 11 Pro vs Pixel 10 Pro: Rumored Specs

Tensor G6 should bring a performance boost

Google made one of the biggest changes to the Pixel lineup last year with the Tensor G5. On paper, it didn't look dramatically different from the Tensor G4, but behind the scenes, Google made a major shift by moving chip production from Samsung Foundry to TSMC.

The Tensor G5 was built on TSMC's 3nm (N3P) process, the same manufacturing technology used by chips like the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Apple's A19 Pro. In theory, that should have translated into much better efficiency and thermals. While there were subtle improvements, the performance gains weren't quite as dramatic as many had expected.

This year, Google is expected to take another big leap. According to recent leaks, the Pixel 11 Pro will be powered by the Tensor G6, which is reportedly built on TSMC's more advanced 2nm process. If true, it should bring another meaningful performance jump, while also helping address one of the biggest complaints surrounding recent Pixel phones: heat management.

In terms of configuration, the Tensor G6 is rumored to move to a new seven-core CPU with a 1+4+2 architecture, featuring one ARM C1-Ultra core clocked at 4.11GHz, four ARM C1-Pro cores at 3.38GHz, and two C1-Pro cores at 2.65GHz.

Major GPU upgrades aren't expected this year, but the new CPU and upgraded NPU should still deliver a noticeable boost in overall performance compared to the Tensor G5 on Pixel 10 Pro.

MediaTek modem could finally fix connectivity

Alongside the Tensor G6, Google is also expected to make another major hardware change by finally replacing Samsung's modem with a MediaTek modem.

According to recent leaks, the Pixel 11 Pro will use MediaTek's M90 modem, which should help address the cellular connectivity and signal issues that have plagued Pixel phones for the past few generations.

The MediaTek M90 is rated for download speeds of up to 12Gbps and also promises up to an 18% improvement in power efficiency thanks to AI-powered optimizations.

Since the cellular modem is one of the biggest battery drains on any smartphone, a more efficient modem could noticeably improve battery life, especially as the Pixel 11 series is rumored to feature a slightly smaller battery this year.

256GB will become the new base storage option

Another upgrade (or rather a forced upgrade) is expected to come to the Pixel 11 Pro's base storage. According to recent leaks, Google is dropping the 128GB model entirely. Instead, the Pixel 11 Pro is expected to start with 256GB of storage, giving buyers more space out of the box.

That's certainly good news if you've been running out of storage on previous Pixel phones. The catch, though, is that Google is reportedly reducing the RAM on the base model. While the Pixel 10 Pro came with 16GB of RAM across the lineup, the entry-level Pixel 11 Pro is expected to pair its 256GB of storage with just 12GB of RAM.

Pricing is also expected to increase. The Pixel 11 Pro is rumored to start at $1,099. That said, if you compare it to the 256GB Pixel 10 Pro, the price is expected to be roughly the same. The trade-off is that you'll be getting more storage by default, but less RAM than before.

A new kind of notification LED could be coming

It wouldn't be a Pixel launch without Google introducing a fun little hardware feature, and this year, that appears to be a new glowing LED on the back of the phone.

Google has been gradually adopting this glowing light design across its products. We've already seen it on the new Google Home Speaker and during the brief Googlebook showcase earlier this year, and according to recent leaks, it's now making its way to the Pixel 11 Pro as well.

The new light, reportedly called HiLight, is expected to replace the thermometer sensor on the back of the phone. Google has even teased the circular LED in a few promotional materials already.

According to leaks, it will light up when you're talking to Gemini, and users will also be able to assign different lighting effects to specific contacts and notifications.

120x zoom

One camera upgrade expected on the Pixel 11 Pro is improved zoom. Google introduced Pro Res Zoom with the Pixel 10 Pro, allowing users to zoom in up to 100x using a combination of its telephoto camera and AI. This year, the company is reportedly taking things a step further with support for up to 120x zoom.

The leak comes from Evan Blass, who shared what appears to be official Pixel 11 Pro marketing material ahead of next week's Made by Google event. That makes this particular leak seem fairly credible.

That said, I don't think this will be the only camera upgrade Google announces. The company usually spends a good chunk of its launch event talking about new camera features, so I'd be surprised if 120x zoom ends up being the headline change.

There's likely a lot more coming to the Pixel 11 Pro's camera system than what we've seen in the leaks so far.

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When I was a kid, back-to-school shopping was my favorite. But as a mom with three kids and three different lists — kindergarten, fourth grade and sixth grade — going to the store to get everything is daunting. Plus, shopping with three kids in tow means there will be inevitable meltdowns over extras and nice-to-haves.

That's why this year, I decided to lean on three AI assistants to do the job for me. I gave ChatGPT, Gemini and Alexa+ the exact same school supply list and asked each one to shop for me. My instructions were simple: follow the teacher's list, stick to the required quantities, choose reasonably priced products and skip anything marked optional.

The results weren't even close.

ChatGPT was the most accurate

Once I uploaded the list, ChatGPT asked me to log into my Walmart account so it could do the shopping for me. I sat and watched as it took charge.

It followed the required brands and quantities, chose reasonably priced products and skipped every optional item exactly as I requested. Where the list allowed flexibility, it selected neutral colors instead of stopping to ask me to make decisions.

The tradeoff was speed. ChatGPT took the longest to finish, but it spent that time checking the list carefully rather than rushing through it. The total came to $92.55 for my daughter's fourth grade school supplies. That seemed like a lot for just one kid.

Gemini was careful, but slightly more thoughtful

After uploading the school supply list, Gemini created my cart through Instacart. Once I logged into the Instacart app, Gemini took control.

Like ChatGPT, it avoided buying optional supplies. It also paused several times to ask me to approve colors for certain products instead of making the decision itself. This is something ChatGPT didn't do. I wasn't picky about colors, but it was a nice option as I know some kids are very particular. As a family that went through an entire year of "yellow" with my youngest, I get it.

That approach may appeal to shoppers who want more control, but it also meant the experience required more back-and-forth. ultimately bringing the total to about $60-$90. It would have been $105 with the optional water bottle.

I was really surprised how low the price was, especially compared to Walmart. Gemini seemed to do a better job scanning the entire internet for the best deals from Instacart. Those unexpected results were interesting to see.

Alexa was lightning fast — but incredibly expensive

We are very much an Alexa+ family. I figured, why not use Alexa+ to shop for all our back-to-school needs. And while Alexa+ made the shopping experience a breeze, that convenience came with a hefty price tag.

Alexa built a cart totaling $251.48 — nearly three times what ChatGPT and Gemini found — and that was for just one kid! I'm going to have to get an extra side hustle at that rate.

Unlike the other assistants, Alexa added everything it found, including optional items like headphones and a computer mouse that I had specifically asked it to skip. It also asked me to approve colors for several products instead of making those choices automatically.

If my goal had simply been to get everything into an Amazon cart as quickly as possible, Alexa succeeded. But if I had clicked "Buy Now" without checking the order, I would have spent well over $150 more than necessary. To be honest, I really wanted Alexa+ to win because shopping on Amazon is just so easy, but it was definitely a wake-up call.

Overall winner: Gemini

For this test, Gemini was the clear winner. It was more hands-on than ChatGPT and slower than Alexa, but the least expensive. It understood the assignment, followed the school supply list most closely, skipped optional purchases, but gave me the total with them in case I wanted to add them at the end. It also delivered the lowest total by a comfortable margin and was ready to deliver them.

The biggest takeaway was that AI shopping assistants are getting remarkably good, but they aren't interchangeable. The service they're connected to matters just as much as the AI itself. In this case, Gemini paired with Instacart proved to be the smartest — and cheapest — way to tackle my kids' back-to-school shopping.

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Millions of people now use ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude every day with thousands of use cases. For the overwhelming majority of them, the conversations are perfectly normal. But researchers are beginning to pay closer attention to what can happen when those conversations become very long, deeply personal and emotionally charged.

This week, The Verge reported on a growing online movement known as "spiralism," where some chatbot users described eerily similar conversations involving spirals, hidden knowledge and AI consciousness. While the headline makes it sound like AI invented a new religion, the story is something much more grounded: chatbots can sometimes reinforce unusual ideas instead of steering users back toward reality.

That's a problem researchers have been studying for months.

Why long conversations matter

Unlike the first generation of AI chatbots, today's models can remember previous conversations, adapt to your writing style, and maintain discussions over hundreds— or even thousands — of messages.

That's incredibly useful, but it also creates situations researchers are still trying to understand.

When conversations stretch on for hours, chatbots aren't simply answering isolated questions anymore. They're building on everything that came before. If the conversation begins moving toward unusual ideas, the AI may continue developing those ideas because that's what large language models are designed to do: predict the most appropriate next response based on the conversation so far.

That doesn't mean the AI believes what it's saying. It means it's continuing the conversation you and the AI have created together.

Researchers have seen this before

The "spiralism" story isn't the first time experts have raised concerns about long AI conversations. Researchers at Stanford's Human-Centered AI Institute recently described what they call "delusional spirals." In those cases, chatbots sometimes validated a user's increasingly unusual beliefs instead of challenging them or encouraging them to seek outside perspectives.

The researchers argue this isn't because AI has become conscious or manipulative. It's because these systems are optimized to be helpful, agreeable and engaging. Sometimes those goals conflict with offering the kind of reality check another person might provide.

OpenAI has also acknowledged that keeping conversations safe becomes more difficult over extended interactions than in short, one-off chats.

What to watch out for

Most AI conversations never become problematic, but there are a few behaviors worth recognizing. If a chatbot begins suggesting you've discovered hidden truths that other people can't understand, insists that only it truly understands you or encourages you to withdraw from friends, family or experts, those are good reasons to end the conversation and start fresh. Frankly, you should send screenshots of those messages to the parent companies (OpenAI for ChatGPT, Anthropic for Claude, Google for Gemini) as feedback.

Likewise, if an AI consistently reinforces every belief without ever introducing uncertainty or alternative explanations, it's worth remembering what these systems actually do: they generate convincing language, not verified reality.

None of this means you should stop using ChatGPT or other AI assistants. Used daily for research, writing and brainstorming, AI remains one of the most powerful productivity tools available.

The takeaway

The key is remembering what AI is and what it is not. An AI assistant can help organize your thoughts, explain difficult topics and spark new ideas. And even with tools like ChatGPT Health and Google Health, it does not replace actual human professionals. In other words, it shouldn't become your only source of truth or replace conversations with real people, especially when making important personal decisions.

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Google Maps is a staple for navigation, and while most people install it and forget it, the app can occasionally consume a surprising amount of storage.

On devices with limited 64GB or 128GB capacity, heavy users who download large offline maps or experience caching glitches may find the app using several gigabytes of space.

The storage bloat comes from multiple hidden sources working together: offline maps you've downloaded, location history data stored locally on your device, and cached searches and map tiles accumulating over time.

Here's what's actually consuming your storage and how to reclaim it.

Three things are secretly consuming storage

First, offline maps. If you've downloaded maps for cities you visit frequently to avoid using cellular data, they add up quickly. While single cities are small, saving multiple large regions or entire states can easily consume several gigabytes.

Second, the Timeline feature. Google recently moved your entire location history from cloud storage directly onto your phone, meaning years of historical travel data now lives on your device. Depending on how frequently you move around, this archive can quietly grow to hundreds of megabytes or more.

And lastly, cache data. The app constantly stores searches, navigation routes, map tiles, and page content. Over time, this background cache fails to clear itself properly and balloons into a significant storage hog.

How to reclaim your storage space

Whether you are on an iPhone or an Android device, taking back your storage is really straightforward,

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The Google Pixel 11 Pro XL is set to launch at the August 12 Made by Google event, alongside the rest of the Pixel 11 series. If past releases are anything to go by, this should be the flagship Google phone for the year, with the largest display, best battery life and all the other things that make premium phones worth having.

But the question still remains, how will it compare to other flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra? Pixel phones typically lag behind their rivals in the hardware department, and while they do make up some of the distance with robust AI and software features, it still feels like something is missing. A new phone is a new opportunity to one-up the competition, but will the Pixel 11 Pro XL actually catch up to the Galaxy S26 Ultra?

Here's our rundown of Pixel 11 Pro XL vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, based on all the rumors and leaks we've heard so far.

Google Pixel 11 Pro XL vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Specs

Google Pixel 11 Pro XL vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Price & availability

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is available right now, with a starting price of $1,299 for a model with 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM. However, given the phone is a few months old, we have started seeing some significant discounts from various retailers — including Samsung itself.

The Google Pixel 11 Pro XL is expected to cost $100 more than last year's model, meaning the phone may start at $1,299. The cheapest model will reportedly come with 256GB of storage once again, but it may feature a memory downgrade with just 12GB of RAM — compared to 16GB in the Pixel 10 Pro XL.

In other words, it looks like both phones will cost the same amount for similar core specs.

The Pixel 11 Pro XL release date isn't known right now, but new Google typically opens pre-orders for new Pixel devices at the end of the launch event, with the release day scheduled one to two weeks later. So expect to have your hands on a Pixel 11 Pro XL before the end of the month.

Google Pixel 11 Pro XL vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Design & display

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is the larger of the two phones, rocking a 6.9-inch screen, measuring 6.44 x 3.07 x 0.31 in and weighing 7.55 oz. Meanwhile the Pixel 11 Pro XL is expected to come with a 6.8-inch display, measure 6.4 x 30.1 x 0.33 inches and weigh 7.9 ounces. That means, despite being slightly smaller, it is a heavier device — though part of that will come from the Qi2 magnets in the back of the 11 Pro XL.

The 11 Pro XL's screen is tipped to be brighter, with leaks promising a 3,600 nit display, compared to the 2,600 nit S26 Ultra. This should prove beneficial for the 11 Pro XL in bright situations, though it's unclear if it will have an anti-reflective coating the same way Samsung offers. Likewise, it's unlikely we'll see the Privacy Display features from Google anytime soon.

Both phones should offer rounded corners, though Google has the horizontal triple-lens camera bar while Samsung has stuck with the vertical quad-lens system for another generation. However Samsung's phone lacks the "Pixel Glow" feature that's rumored to be coming to all Pixel 11 phones, and is expected to serve as a notification light on the back of the device.

Google Pixel 11 Pro XL vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Performance

Performance is not the area Google usually excels at, especially since it moved to Tensor chips. Considering this, and how high the performance benchmarks are for Galaxy S26 Ultra's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, we should not expect to see the Pixel 11 Pro XL topping any benchmark leagues following its release.

That's especially true when you remember some of the rumored changes coming to this year's Tensor G6 chip. The G6 is rumored to drop to seven cores, instead of the usual eight, though it will be built on TSMC's 2nm process — which improves transistor density, and in the process boosts performance and power efficiency. To make matters worse, Google is utilizing a MediaTek M90 modem, which is several years old at this point.

There's more to performance than benchmarks and the latest hardware, but considering Google's track record with weak performance, you'd have thought it would make more of an effort.

The 11 Pro XL is also expected to come with a new Titan M3 security chip, which will supposedly feature a new "Tensor Processing Unit" and offer forwards-compatible protection against whatever future cyberattacks bad actors might develop — though how that compares to the latest version of Samsung's Knox isn't clear.

Google Pixel 11 Pro XL vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Cameras

On paper the Galaxy S26 Ultra has the advantage in the camera department. The phone is equipped with a 200MP main camera lens, partnered with a 50MP ultrawide lens, 50MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom and a 10MP secondary telephoto capable of 3x optical zoom — plus a 12MP selfie camera on the front.

In contrast, the Pixel 11 Pro XL is expected to come with a 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide and a 48MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom (and up to 120x AI assisted digital zoom). There's no word on what sort of resolution to expect from the selfie camera, but you shouldn't expect anything less than the 42MP lens from the Pixel 10 Pro XL.

Obviously we won't know how much better or worse the Pixel 11 Pro XL's cameras are compared to S26 Ultra until we actually get our hands on the phone. Camera hardware only tells you so much, especially with how important software has become to the photography process. So we'll have to do some thorough hands-on testing

Google Pixel 11 Pro XL vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Software & AI

Software is easily the area where Pixel phones excel, especially since the 11 Pro XL will be several months newer than the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The phone will have the usual array of software benefits, including first-in-line access to the latest Android updates, quarterly Pixel drops with new features, and the latest and best AI Google has to offer.

Samsung usually isn't that far behind, though. While One UI has had some hiccups in rolling out to everyone, Samsung tends to be pretty good at getting new updates to users fairly quickly. Just not as quickly as Google does with Pixel.

Likewise Samsung has invested a lot in AI, and there's been a lot of crossover between Pixel and Galaxy phones when it comes to the latest features. So we won't know for sure who has the best AI suite until Google actually reveals what the Pixel 11 series has to offer.

Google Pixel 11 Pro XL vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Battery & charging

Battery life is another thing Pixels flag on compared to Samsung, but we won't know how much has changed until we actually test the 11 Pro XL's battery life for ourselves. However, the phone has a slightly smaller 5,115 mAh battery compared to the Pixel 10 Pro XL, which doesn't fill us with a lot of confidence.

The 10 Pro XL lasted 14 hours and 35 minutes in our custom battery test, compared to the 16 hours and 10 minutes recorded by the S26 Ultra. If the Pixel 10 Pro XL can't beat the S26 Ultra's 5,000 mAh battery life, then a smaller Pixel 11 Pro XL isn't likely to have much luck.

But you can't always predict these things ahead of time, and we will see what results the lab testing reveals following the 11 Pro XL's release.

The Pixel 11 Pro XL is also expected to offer 45W charging, which is slightly below that of the S26 Ultra's 60W speeds. However the two should be equal on the wireless charging front, with 25W Qi2.2 speeds, even if the Galaxy doesn't have the same built-in magnets as the Pixel. That said, the Galaxy S26 Ultra still offers reverse wireless charging, which Google scrapped last year.

Google Pixel 11 Pro XL vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Outlook

We know a lot about the Pixel 11 Pro XL, even if the official reveal isn't scheduled until August 12. Sadly everything we've heard suggests that this is a basic run of the mill hardware upgrade from Google, which means it's going to struggle to compete with the Galaxy S26 Ultra — which is our pick for the best Android phone.

That said, we can't make an absolute decision until we have both phones in our possession, and compare their performance side by side. A lot of factors don't show up on the specs sheet, and the only way to figure out which phone is better is with hands-on testing. Performance, cameras and battery life are the main three.

So for now, it looks like Samsung may have the edge in a bunch of areas, even if Google hasn't quite given up yet. Still, for the time being, we're just going to have to be patient to see what Google actually has in store for us.

More from Tom’s Guide

• Galaxy Z Fold 8 vs. Fold 8 Ultra camera zoom test: Don't spend the extra $200 until you see this
• This is the Pixel 11 Pro Fold — and this is when pre-orders officially start
• I asked Siri AI and Gemini a series of increasingly bizarre questions to see how they responded —here's what happened

Over the last year and change, Google has been slowly lopping off parts of Google Assistant and replacing them with Gemini. Now, it appears Assistant has an official end date.

As reported by 9to5Google, an announcement email has apparently been sent to some users. A full version of the email popped up in the r/google subreddit.

"Google Assistant on your mobile device is being discontinued, and Gemini - our next-generation AI-powered assistant - is now the Assistant experience on Android," the email starts.

It goes on to reveal that Assistant will be replaced on mobile devices and Wear OS devices starting on September 4.

“We will begin removing access to Google Assistant starting on September 4,” Google states in the email, “and expect that this process may take a few weeks to reach everyone. Once availability is removed, you will no longer be able to use or switch back to Google Assistant on your phone, tablet or paired devices.”

Per the announcement, that affects Android phones, watches and tablets. However, Assistant should still be available on Google TV and isn't fully dead on Google Home.

The slow decline

The great Gemini migration started in earnest last summer when Google announced that the new AI chatbot would replace Google Assistant in Google Home and smart home devices like the Google Nest Hub. That shift didn't really kick off until October of 2025.

It really started in March of 2025 when various features like Live Translation in Interpreter mode, the ability to share photos via voice commands and birthday reminder notifications were axed in Nest devices. They came back with Gemini.