Google hires former Apple chip architect to lead design on custom processors

The pieces are falling into place for Google to produce its own silicon for future Pixel devices.

Google has made a big move towards developing its own system-on-a-chip (SoC) for its own Pixel devices with the hiring of Manu Gulati, who has been helping develop chips for Apple since 2009. As first reported by Variety, Gulati has just recently updated his LinkedIn page with his new title — Lead SoC Architect at Google.

Google has reportedly been interested in developing its own chips for Android devices for some years now, likely seeking the same success that Apple has found since it started designing its own chips for iPhones and iPads. Poaching Gulati to lead their team is a big move — a quick search of patents linked to Gulati shows 15 patents assigned to Apple related to SoCs with Gulati listed as an inventor. On top of his work at Apple, Gulati has 27 years of experience in the chip design industry having previously working for AMD and Broadcom as well.

The Pixel and Pixel XL represented Google’s attempt to design an Android phone that combined hardware with optimized software. Adding the ability to custom design the SoC as well onto future Pixel devices will allow Google to better integrate and leverage all the powerful machine learning capabilities highlighted at last month’s Google I/O conference.

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Google Pixel and Pixel XL review
• Google Pixel XL review: A U.S. perspective
• Google Pixel FAQ: Should you upgrade?
• Pixel + Pixel XL specs
• Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
• Join the discussion in the forums!

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Modern Dad’s Father’s Day Favorites!

Don’t think about it too hard. Any Dad (heck, any person) would love to have any of these great gift ideas.

I gotta be completely honest here: While this is an excellent Father’s Day gift guide full of things that any dude would be thrilled to get any day of the week, the simple fact is not a single one of these products requires actually having sired any children. Consider having offspring a bonus, in that case. Or a drain on your bank account. Your call.

In any event, here are six things I’d love to get on Father’s Day. Your Dad would, too.

KeySmart key organizer

Does your favorite Dad have a rat’s nest of unlockers bulging from his pocket? KeySmart is a way-cool way to organize your keys. But that’s not even the best part: accessories like a bottle opener (!), USB drive (!!) or golf divot tool (!!!) make it even cooler.

Plus, KeySmart has a new version coming that’ll integrate the Tile Bluetooth tracker, making it virtually impossible to ever lose your keys!

See at Amazon

Sonos Play:1

Look, I know people with Sonos won’t shut up about it. But for good good reason, right? It’s that good, and it’s that simple. And getting one for Dad means everyone gets to use it.

Start with a Play:1. It’s ridiculously great for its size, and it rarely goes on sale. They’re great on their own, but you’ll be amazed at what a pair of things things can do to a room. Plus, you you can snag two for a bit of a discount before Father’s Day!

See at Amazon

Philips Hue starter set

The thing about smart lights is you look at ’em and just can’t find an excuse to shell out the money. They’re just lights, right? Wrong!

And Father’s Day is the perfect excuse to upgrade to these little connected wonders. Careful, though: It’s easy to get addicted. I’m getting close to switching out every single one of my lights, much to the chagrin of my wife. And once you get a feel for what you want where, you can give the colored lights a go!

See at Amazon

Ring Pro Doorbell

I’m not going to stop talking about the Ring Pro until everyone who has a front door has one. It’s that good. Ring Pro plugs into — and requires — existing low-voltage wiring, and from there you connect it to a Ring account and control things via a phone, tablet or computer.

Ring Pro means I don’t have to worry about who’s coming around, or whether my packages are still there, or when the kids get home. And right now you can get a good deal on it, or its battery-powered brother, too.

See at Amazon

Ember Mug

This is one of those things I don’t think I’d buy just any day out of the week. But now that I have one, I use it as much as possible. Because coffee!!! Ember Mug takes your too-hot coffee and quickly lowers it to a more manageable temperature. And then it keeps it there thanks to a small battery and heater in the base.

This is definitely a luxury. But once you try it, you’ll wonder how you ever drank coffee without it.

See at Amazon

HDHomerun Connect

If you’ve got a Dad who’s cut the cord but is still struggling to fill gaps in that TV content, then this is what you need. First, get a good antenna. The 60-mile [Clearstream 2MAX](HDHomerun Connect: http://moderndad.com/405v0) is serving me very well. Then you’ll want to pair that up with HDHomerun Connect.

This little wonder has two tuners and takes that over-the-air signal and spits it out to almost any device you can think of. Android. iOS. Windows. Linux. Xbox. Apple TV. Android TV. … The list goes on. (Everything except Roku.) So you can watch on your phone, or a tablet, or a TV. And if you pair it up with something like Plex, you can record shows or even watch your live, OTA channels while you’re not at home. It’s been a game-changer for me.

See at Amazon

A REALLY GOOD waffle iron!

OK, this one isn’t really techy. But it does beep.

If you love waffles and don’t have a good waffle iron, you’re really not living life. This one’s nice and heavy and holds the heat well, and it’s even gotten my kids to give up the frozen stuff on the weekends. Splurge a little at Amazon. It’s worth it.

And, seriously: Real maple syrup. Don’t short-change yourself with that cheap stuff. Your taste buds will thank you.

See at Amazon

U.S. unlocked Galaxy S8 and S8+ currently $100 off at Samsung and Best Buy

A great deal on a brand new phone.

The U.S. unlocked Galaxy S8 and S8+ haven’t even been out of pre-order status for more than a couple weeks, but already have their first notable sale. Both Best Buy and Samsung’s own online store have knocked $100 off the unlocked models, dropping the Galaxy S8’s price to $625 and the Galaxy S8+ to $725.

This is a really great deal, particularly as the carrier-branded versions from all of the major U.S. operators are still pegged at $750 and $850 for the GS8 and GS8+. These prices are even cheaper than Best Buy’s “open box” phones that were on sale last week.

You may not be entirely sold on getting the U.S. unlocked model … but big savings like this could sway your thinking. We have no idea how long the sales will last, so give ’em a look now.

See at SamsungSee at Best Buy

How to add a second user and Google account to your Chromebook

You can add as many accounts to your Chromebook as you like, and there are even some handy ways to administer them all.

A great thing about Chromebooks is that whenever you sign into one, it syncs all your apps, extensions, and settings, so you always have the same experience. It’s pretty cool knowing exactly what to expect and where everything is.

And Chrome is ready for multiple users on the same machine, each with their own private section of the storage. When you log in, you’ll have your stuff and when someone else logs in they’ll have their stuff. And the two never mix so you won’t have to worry about who can see what.

All you need to do is add another user, and this is how you do it.

How to add a second user/Google account to your Chromebook

Check the settings and make sure you don’t have other users blocked. Open Settings and scroll down to Users. There are four checkboxes, and they are labeled with exactly what each does.

• Enable Guest browsing allows anyone to use your Chromebook’s browser. They can’t save or install anything and no history is saved.
• Enable supervised users lets you create a managed account. {here’s everything you need to know about doing that](https://www.androidcentral.com/how-add-supervised-user-account-your-chromebook).
• Show user names and photos on the sign-in screen is a privacy setting. you can uncheck this if you don’t want to show who has an account. You’ll need to enter your Gmail address to login instead of clicking your profile if you uncheck this one.

• Restrict sign-in to the following users lets you choose who can log in from the list of active accounts. Choose which ones from the box below.

  

Log off and go back to the start screen.

In the bottom left you’ll see Browse as Guest and Add person.

• Click Browse as Guest to start up the guest account if you want to use your Chromebook without any personalized settings or save any history. You’ll need to have enabled guest browsing in the settings from step one.

• Click Add person to add a new account to your Chromebook.

  

The account creation is just like you saw the first time you logged in. You supply your Google account (usually a Gmail address), then provide the correct password and pass any two-factor authentication challenge you may have on the account. If you’re adding a person who doesn’t already have a Google account, you can create one in the wizard by checking More options.

When you’re done, the account information will be saved and the new profile is there at the start screen. You can create as many accounts as you like and each will always have their own personalized settings and apps. This is pretty awesome for sharing with a friend or family member or even separating work and play.

Chromebooks

• The best Chromebooks
• Should you buy a Chromebook?
• Google Play is coming to Chromebooks
• Acer Chromebook 14 review
• Join our Chromebook forums

‘Android Excellence’ highlights the Play Store’s best apps and games

Google’s new Android Excellence category tells you what you should download from the Play Store, and what developers should emulate.

Google has launched a new category within its longstanding Editor’s Choice section of the Play Store: Android Excellence.

According to the company, “We’ve seen a significant increase in the level of polish and quality of apps and games on Google Play,” and is taking a quarterly approach to recognizing those titles. For users, an app highlighted by an Android Excellence tag offers “incredible user experiences on Android, use[s] many of our best practices, [has] great design, technical performance, localization, and device optimization.” In other words, the best of the best.

The section will be refreshed four times per year, says Google, and while it’s not clear how Android Excellence will differ from the apps found in the Editor’s Choice category, it’s good to see Google taking time to highlight the apps and games that will work well on its platform’s phones, tablets and, soon, Chromebooks. Perhaps more importantly, though, these apps show developers what to emulate when they create their own apps and games, since Google often stresses the numerous best practices that devs should follow.

Some of the highlighted titles include Citymapper, Memrise, Vivino, Pocket, B&H Photo Video, Hitman GO, After the End: Forsaken Destiny, Reigns, and CATS: Crash Arena Turbo Stars.

How to pause and clear your YouTube history

We all have videos we’d rather forget.

YouTube hosts a lot of fascinating, entertaining, and educational content. It also hosts a lot of trash, and we’d rather not have that trash in our search histories, our watch histories, or in the YouTube recommendations that are generated from those histories. Do you want Google to autocomplete to “red hot baby mommas” every time you start looking for a Red Hot Chili Peppers video? Did you forget to switch accounts before handing it off to your little ones and now your recommendations are littered with those mind-numbing toy demos?

Or worse. Much, much worse.

Never fear, we can scrub that data from YouTube and get you back to what you really want to see — more cat videos.

• How to delete single videos from your watch history
• How to clear your watch history
• How to pause your watch history
• How to delete single searches from your search history
• How to clear your search history
• How to pause your search history

How to delete single videos from your watch history

If you just want to purge one or two videos from your history, it’s easy to purge them directly from your History page.

Launch YouTube on your Android phone or tablet.
Tap the Library tab in the bottom-right corner of your screen.

Tap History.

Tap the three-dot menu icon to the right of the video you’d like to delete.

Tap Remove from Watch history. You will see the video vanish from the history, with the message that This item has been removed from your history.

You will see the video vanish from the history, with the message that This item has been removed from your history.

How to clear your watch history

Deleting your entire watch history can seem a little extreme, but there does come a point where it’s easier to just get yourself a clean slate and start over. Getting a clean slate is nice and easy, too:

Launch YouTube from your home screen or the app drawer.
Tap your avatar in the top right corner of your screen to open the Account screen.

Tap Settings.

Tap History & privacy.
Tap Clear watch history.

Tap OK to confirm that you want to purge your watch history.

A small toast notification will appear on the bottom of the screen to indicate your Watch history cleared successfully. You can now start fresh. Want to avoid doing this again? There’s a handy setting in this same menu you should familiarize yourself with.

How to pause your watch history

YouTube gets that there are eventually going to be other people who use your account on your devices or times you use their service outside your normal time-killing. Thankfully, YouTube will let you press pause on your watch history should you need to turn your phone over to a small child or a drunk roommate or need to go exploring things for work/school/passion projects.

Launch YouTube.
Tap your avatar in the top right corner of your screen to open the Account screen.

Tap Settings.

Tap History & privacy.

Tap Pause watch history.

The toggle will turn blue as it slides over to on. From now until you switch it back off, videos you watch in either YouTube or YouTube Music on any device will not be added to your watch history. To turn it back off, come back and tap Pause watch history again to turn it off.

How to delete single searches from your search history

Every time you tap the search bar in the YouTube app, your search history opens up, revealing what you’ve searched for, in case you want to search for it again. Problem is sometimes we hit enter before we mean to, and we hit search without realizing what horrible words autocorrect has put in the search box. If you need to delete this errant searches, or searches of a more embarrassing manner, here’s how to delete them.

Launch YouTube.

Tap the search icon.

Press and hold the search query you wish to delete.

Tap Remove.

The search will disappear. If you only need to purge one or two searches, this is easy, but if your search box has been completely overrun with searches you’d rather forget, we can give ourselves a clean slate

How to clear your search history

You want to go nuclear and start your search queue completely over? Not a problem. YouTube will let you clear your YouTube search history easily.

Launch YouTube.
Tap your avatar in the top-right corner of your screen to open the Account screen.

Tap Settings.

Tap History & privacy.
Tap Clear search history.

Tap OK to confirm that you want to purge your search history.

Now when you tap the search icon in YouTube, things will be much cleaner, at least for a little while. If you know you’re going to be searching for things you’ll never want to search for again or things that don’t remotely relate to what you want in your recommendations, you can keep them from getting added to your search history in the first place.

How to pause your search history

By pausing your search history, you can hand your phone off to your kid and let them search for all those ridiculous toy unwrapping videos and Frozen sing-alongs without the searches polluting your stream. It’s a good tool to have, I only regret that it takes this many taps to reach it — this should be something you can turn on from the search bar.

Launch YouTube.
Tap your avatar in the top right corner of your screen to open the Account screen.

Tap Settings.

Tap History & privacy.

Tap Pause search history.

The toggle will turn blue as it slides over to on. As with watch history, while the pause is engaged searches will not be added to your history on any device. To turn it back off, come back and tap Pause search history again to turn it off.

Questions?

Let us know in the comments below.

One (or five) reasons you’ll love the OnePlus 5

2016 turned out to be a breakout year for OnePlus.

Last year, we saw the release of the OnePlus 3 and the revamped OnePlus 3T, with both phones living up to the company’s #NeverSettle tagline. The OnePlus 3T stood out in particular, earning solid reviews and picking up accolades, including a mention on Android Central’s list of the best phones you can buy.

For a company with the aim of creating the next “flagship killer,” it certainly hit its stride by the end of last year and continued to surprise us — which gives us good reason to be excited for what’s next. Its next flagship, the OnePlus 5, will be unveiled to the world on June 20, 12 PM EDT as part of a global event to be streamed live on the OnePlus website. So what does OnePlus have in store for us in 2017?

We’ve been hearing rumblings about the next OnePlus phone since April, and we’re sure to learn more over the next few weeks. OnePlus always tries to include the best specs possible in its phone, and while we wait to learn more we know OnePlus is building its new phone around the Snapdragon 835, as announced by Qualcomm on Twitter:

#OnePlus5 is coming soon and we couldn’t be more excited that it’s powered by #Snapdragon 835. ✋ https://t.co/Q4srf6LrqC pic.twitter.com/DP41b2jtcq

— Qualcomm (@Qualcomm) May 24, 2017

This is pretty big news, as the Snapdragon 835 is Qualcomm’s most advanced chipset, offering better efficiency for battery life without compromising on processing power. It’s also optimized for photography, supporting zero shutter lag, smoother digital zoom, and true-to-life colors for improved image quality overall.

Photography is expected to be a main focus of the OnePlus 5. Back in May, OnePlus announced it was teaming up with DxO to enhance the photography on its new flagship. DxO is the de facto photography authority, offering extensive analysis of over 9,000 cameras, lenses and mobile phones. No specifics were given regarding the partnership, but the forum post teased at the possibility of smartphones capable of delivering DSLR-quality photos. The OnePlus will feature a dual-camera setup, so it should certainly offer the best photography experience on a OnePlus phone yet.

If you’re excited to be one of the first to try it out, you’re not alone. OnePlus has revved up the hype machine, announced the return of “Lab” which allows all you mobile photographers out there to enter for a chance to review the new OnePlus 5 camera simply by submitting some of your best shots from Instagram. It only takes a few minutes to enter, so join the thousands of fans who have signed up since the announcement.

OnePlus has also planned a series of pop-up events in major cities planned following the announcement. Details on when and where the pop-up events will be held will be shared at the keynote, though we do know that popular tech YouTuber MBKHD will be a special guest at the New York pop-up edition. People line up every year to try and be among the first to try out the latest OnePlus phone, so keep an eye out to see if there’s a OnePlus pop-up event in your city!

All-in-all, it sure seems like OnePlus has figured things out, evolving from a scrappy upstart hoping to make waves in the smartphone market into a marquee brand with phones capable of going toe-to-toe with any other flagship on the market. Given the huge strides made in 2016, we’re excited to see what they have in store for us and you should be too.

Make sure to check out the OnePlus 5 livestream on June 20 and be sure to keep an eye on Android Central for the latest OnePlus news and opinions in the run up to the OnePlus 5’s official launch.

Excited about the OnePlus 5 launch? ⬇️

Continue the conversation in the forums!

Best Wireless Charging Pads for Galaxy S8

Your new Samsung Galaxy S8 supports wireless charging, so take full advantage of the convenience!

Update June 2017: The Samsung Fast Charge Convertible Wireless Charging Pad is now for sale on Amazon!

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is a beautifully designed phone packed with convenient features. That includes wireless charging, which allows you to forgo dealing with cables and elegantly have your phone charging on your desk at work or nightstand at home and simply grab it when it’s time to get up and go.

There are a variety of wireless charging stands and pad options compatible with the Galaxy S8, from chargers designed by Samsung to third-party products. Here are your best available options for the Samsung Galaxy S8.

• Samsung Fast Charge Convertible Wireless Charging Pad
• Samsung Wireless Charging Pad w/ 2A wall adapter
• Spigen Qi Wireless Charging Stand
• Tylt Qi Wireless Charging Stand
• Aukey Wireless Charging Pad

Samsung Fast Charge Convertible Wireless Charging Pad

Samsung has come out with a completely redesigned wireless charging pad/stand, which launched alongside the Galaxy S8. Besides the premium leather-like appearance and ingenious design which allows you to easily convert this pad into an angled charging stand, you can be sure that this charging pad was created with your Galaxy S8 in mind.

The charger comes with a spare Samsung Fast Charge wall charger — because let’s be honest, you can never have too many Samsung wall chargers — and allows you to fast charge your Galaxy S8 wirelessly at your home or office. At over $60, this is the most expensive option on the list, but if premium quality and functionality are your top priorities this is the one you want.

See at Amazon

Samsung Wireless Charging Pad w/ 2A wall adapter

If functionality and cost are your two biggest buying factors, you’ll want to consider Samsung’s older wireless charging pad, which has been deeply discounted on Amazon.

These UFO-like charging pads can charge Qi-compatible devices and are Fast Charge-compatible with your Galaxy S8. It also comes with a Samsung 2A wall charger — always great — and also has a standard one-year warranty. This is a great option if you’re looking to set up wireless charging at your home and at work because they’re so damn cheap right now. You can also get the older style as a charging stand if you prefer that look instead.

See at Amazon

Spigen Qi Wireless Charging Stand

Spigen is one of the best accessory makers, and its Qi Charging Stand is a fine example to back that claim. This charging stand is angled so you are still able to see your display easily while your phone is charging. If you need a way to quickly top off your phone on your desk or a new place to keep it safe on your nightstand, this may be the choice for you. Pick yours up for under $30 at Amazon.

See at Amazon

TYLT Qi Wireless Charging Stand

TYLT has been in the wireless charging game for years, proving itself to be one on of the most trusted third-party manufacturers. This is another angled wireless charging stand that lets you keep your phone accessible while it charges at your desk. What separates TYLT from Spigen’s stand is the color options — you can get this charging stand in black, red, blue and yellow.

See at Amazon

Aukey Wireless Charging Pad

Aukey’s wireless charging pad for Qi-enabled devices is sleek and minimalist, which might jibe well with your personal tastes. It’s roughly the size of a coaster and available in both black and white, so it won’t take up too much space on your desk or nightstand. The trade-off here is that the smooth charging surface may not be the best for the slick glass back of the Galaxy S8, but it should also charge through most cases.

See at Amazon

Do you charge wirelessly?

Have you owned any of the wireless chargers we’ve featured here? What has been your experience? Let us know in the comments below!

‘Metroid: Samus Returns’ will soon spelunk alien caverns on the 3DS

In addition to teasing the fourth installment of the Metroid Prime series at E3 on Tuesday, Nintendo also announced that the armored space heroine will be returning to the 3DS in a 2.5-D side-scrolling adventure titled, “Metroid: Samus Returns”.

Developed by MercurySteam, the team that created “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow”, this new Metroid is a reboot and rethinking of the classic “Metroid II” from the GameBoy glory days. It’s slated for release on September 15th.

Source: Nintendo (Twitter)

Nintendo Spotlight E3 2017: Find out what was launched for Switch

Nintendo has a massive presence on the showfloor at E3 each year, but hasn’t hosted a physical press conference for a while.

Instead, it streams a pre-recorded Nintendo Spotlight video on the morning of the massive game show opening its doors for the first time. This year’s, for E3 2017, was particularly special as several much-anticipated Nintendo Switch games were shown in more depth, and several new games were announced – including new Metroid Prime and Pokemon RPG titles.

Here then are the highlights of the Nintendo Spotlight E3 2017 and some of the trailers if you miss them first time around.

• E3 2017: All the games, rumours and what to expect from the world’s biggest games show

Nintendo Spotlight E3 2017 highlights

The main game everyone was itching to see more on was undoubtedly Super Mario Odyssey. We saw plenty of gameplay during the event, which you can see in the trailer below. We also found out the release date and it’s only around the corner really: 27 October 2017. Yes!

Two surprise reveals were Metroid Prime 4 and a “new core Pokemon RPG” for Switch. Unfortunately there’s no footage of either yet and they are unlikely to appear for a year at least, but Switch fans around the globe will be very excited by the news.

We were also surprised by the announcement that Rocket League is coming to Switch this year. The incredibly fun competitive cross between football and driving will be available this holiday season and it will feature cross-network play – so you can play other Rocket League players, even if they don’t have a Switch.

In the cute terms, Kirby, Yoshi and Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle really up the ante.

And Fire Emblem Warriors and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 add a couple of battle RPGs to the mix – which is no bad thing at all.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild DLC was shown, in addition to the release of the four guardians as Amiibos. All great stuff.

Pocket-lint will be playing Super Mario Odyssey and much more at E3 2017. You can find out exactly what we think in the next couple of days.