Google Investigating Reports of Possible Screen Burn-In on Pixel 2 XL as iPhone X Unlikely Affected

Multiple reports have surfaced over the past few days about potential screen burn-in or image retention issues with Google’s new Pixel 2 XL smartphone.

Pixel 2 XL with apparent screen burn-in via Michael Kukielka‏
Android Central’s Alex Dobie‏ shared a photo on Twitter on early Sunday that shows faint outlines of Android’s navigation buttons at the bottom of the display. 9to5Google, The Verge, and Ars Technica also experienced the issue.

That’s some pretty wild OLED burn-in on the Pixel 2 XL after maybe 7 days of full-time use pic.twitter.com/EPJTs6D0Kg

— Alex Dobie (@alexdobie) October 22, 2017

In a statement to The Verge, Google said it is “actively investigating” the reports.

The Pixel 2 XL screen has been designed with an advanced POLED technology, including QHD+ resolution, wide color gamut, and high contrast ratio for natural and beautiful colors and renderings. We put all of our products through extensive quality testing before launch and in the manufacturing of every unit. We are actively investigating this report.

Google hasn’t confirmed how many users are currently affected.

Google sourced the Pixel 2 XL’s plastic OLED display from LG, which could be the root of the problem, given that the smaller Pixel 2 and original Pixel’s Samsung-supplied OLED displays have experienced far fewer issues.

Apple is also sourcing OLED displays exclusively from Samsung, so if the issue stems from LG, then the iPhone X shouldn’t be affected either.

LG’s own V30 smartphone has suffered from many of the same display issues, which has also included banding and uneven colors.

Screen burn-in is typically a result of static images or on-screen elements displaying on the screen uninterrupted for a prolonged period of time. The issue can result in persistent discoloration or a “ghosting” effect on the screen.

Tags: Google, Google Pixel
Discuss this article in our forums

Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of iOS 11.1 to Developers

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming iOS 11.1 update to developers, a few days after releasing the fourth iOS 11.1 beta and over a month after releasing the iOS 11 update to the public.

Registered developers can download the fifth iOS 11.1 beta from Apple’s Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.

iOS 11.1 introduces hundreds of new Unicode 10 emoji like crazy face, pie, pretzel, t-rex, vampire, exploding head, face vomiting, shushing face, love you gesture, brain, scarf, zebra, giraffe, fortune cookie, pie, hedgehog, and more.

Several emoji also feature some small design changes in iOS 11.1, including the dolphin, octopus, bee, snail, and whale characters, among others. The new designs are more detailed and realistic than existing designs.

The update also introduces a fix for a Reachability bug that’s been present since the release of iOS 11 and it brings back the 3D Touch App Switcher gesture that has been missing from iOS 11 since its release. With the return of the gesture, iPhone users can once again 3D Touch at the left edge of the display to bring up the multitasking App Switcher interface.

A few other small features are included in the iOS 11.1 beta. The built-in keyboard in iOS 11.1 now offers up multiple emoji symbols when using an emoji-related word, there’s an updated camera icon under Restrictions, a new animation when tapping the status bar to scroll upwards, and a faster unlock animation.

As for security fixes, iOS 11.1 addresses a serious vulnerability in the WPA2 Wi-Fi standard that protects many modern Wi-Fi networks. Using a key reinstallation attack or “KRACK,” attackers can exploit weaknesses in the WPA2 protocol to decrypt network traffic to sniff out sensitive information.

Though not in the developer/public beta right now, the iOS 11.1 update could introduce the Apple Pay Cash feature, which Apple employees are currently testing in a special version of the beta.

iOS 11 marks a major update to the operating system with systemwide design tweaks, a new Lock screen experience, a revamped Control Center, ARKit, new app features, and an entirely new interface for the iPad that includes a Dock, Drag and Drop support, and a redesigned App Switcher for better than ever multitasking.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
Discuss this article in our forums

Apple Seeds Fourth Beta of tvOS 11.1 to Developers

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.1 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the third tvOS 11.1 update and more than a month after releasing tvOS 11 to the public.

Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the tvOS 11.1 beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that’s installed using Xcode on the Mac.

The tvOS 11.1 update appears to focus on bug fixes and performance improvements rather than outward-facing design changes, and no new features were found in the first three betas. Should anything notable surface in the fourth tvOS 11.1 beta, we’ll update this post.

While there are no major outward-facing changes, Apple says the update addresses a serious vulnerability in the WPA2 Wi-Fi standard that protects many modern Wi-Fi networks.

tvOS 11 introduces features like full support for AirPods, automatic switching between light and dark mode based on local time, Home screen syncing options designed to keep multiple Apple TVs in a single household in sync, and new background modes and notification support.

Related Roundup: Apple TVBuyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums

Apple Seeds Fourth macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 Beta to Developers

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming macOS High Sierra update to developers, less than a week after releasing the third macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 beta and a month after releasing the new High Sierra operating system to the public.

The fourth macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 beta can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center or through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store with the proper profile installed.

macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 focuses primarily on bug fixes, performance improvements, security enhancements, and other under-the-hood changes.

It includes a fix for a serious vulnerability in the WPA2 Wi-Fi standard that protects many modern Wi-Fi networks. Using a key reinstallation attack or “KRACK,” attackers can exploit weaknesses in the WPA2 protocol to decrypt network traffic to sniff out sensitive information. This attack is not possible with the patch in macOS 10.13.1.

The update also introduces a range of new Unicode 10 emoji like crazy face, pie, pretzel, t-rex, vampire, exploding head, face vomiting, shushing face, love you gesture, brain, scarf, zebra, giraffe, fortune cookie, pie, hedgehog, and more. The new emoji are also available in iOS 11.1 and watchOS 4.1.

macOS High Sierra is a major update that introduces APFS, a new more modern file system, HEIF and HEVC photo and video encoding improvements for smaller file sizes without compromising quality, Metal 2, and several new features for Safari, like autoplay blocking for videos and Intelligent Tracking Prevention to better protect user privacy.

For more on what’s new in macOS High Sierra, make sure to check out our macOS High Sierra roundup.

Related Roundup: macOS High Sierra
Discuss this article in our forums

Hard drive full? Here’s how to uninstall Steam games to save space

Modern digital game distribution makes buying and installing games easier than ever. If you play games on a PC, there is a very good chance you’re using Steam. But with many games requiring more and more storage space for all those HD textures and uncompressed audio tracks, most players don’t have space for every game on their hard drives.

Luckily, Steam lets you uninstall and reinstall any game you’ve paid for whenever you want. The process is almost as easy as installing them in the first place. In this guide we’ll teach you how to uninstall Steam games, taking you through the process step by step.

If you’re in running low on storage space but don’t want to delete your favorite games, consider some indie titles instead, or how about a bigger, better hard drive?

Uninstalling through Steam

The quickest and easiest method to uninstall a game is through Steam itself.

Step 1: Open the Steam client and log in, if required.

Step 2: Click the “library” tab in the top navigation menu.

Step 3: Locate and right-click the game you want to uninstall in your library, which should open a drop-down menu. On that drop-down, click “uninstall.”

Step 4: Steam will confirm with you whether you want to completely delete the game. When you are ready, click the “delete” button.

The game will now be uninstalled. The game name will now appear grayed out in your Steam game list.

If you ever want to reinstall it, simply double-click the game’s name, or right-click and choose “install” from the pop-up menu. Then follow the on-screen instructions. To save space on your main drive, you could consider installing the game in a secondary location.

Uninstalling through Windows

If you’d rather not uninstall your games directly through Steam, you delete the game at the system level. Much like any other Windows application, you can uninstall your Steam games through Windows’ own “Programs and Features” menu.

Although this process will still take you to the Steam interface for the final step, you might prefer this method if you’re cleaning out various parts of your system at once.

Step 1: Search for “programs and features,” or navigate to the “Control Panel” shortcut in the Start menu, and click the “uninstall a program” option under “programs.”

Step 2: Find the game you want to uninstall. Listing every program by name or install date may help you find things quickly. When you’ve found it, click “uninstall” from the menu above, or right-click the game and click “uninstall” from the resulting menu.

Step 3: You will then be taken to the Steam interface. Log in, if needed. When presented with the final confirmation box, click “Delete” to finalize the uninstall. Your game will be deleted.

There is no way to reinstall a game purchased on Steam without using the Steam interface. If you want to reinstall the game at a later date, enter Steam, select the game from your library, and either double-click the game name. You can also right-click the game name, then select “install.” From there, simply follow the on-screen instructions.

Uninstalling manually

Although the above methods are the best ways to remove a game from Steam, you can also delete the game manually. This is the best way to ensure that the game has been removed from your system entirely, though it won’t remove the game from your Steam library, which may get confusing down the line.

Step 1: Navigate to your Steam installation folder. When running Windows 10, the default installation location is C:Program Files (x86)Steam.

Step 2: Open the “Steamapps” folder, followed by the “Common” folder.

Step 3: You should now see a list of game folders. Find the game you want to remove, then either select its folder and press the delete key on your keyboard or right-click the folder and choose “delete” from the resulting menu.

The game will now be removed from your computer. It may still show up as ‘white’ or installed, in your Steam library, but it won’t be playable without updating and reinstalling all of its respective files.

If you want to completely remove every mention of a game from your system, you may also need to delete its configuration and save files, which are typically located in either your “Saved Games” folder, “Documents” folder, or “AppData” folder in C:Users[YourUsername].

Editor’s Recommendations

• Confused by Chrome? This is how to uninstall unused Chrome extensions
• Need to uninstall a program in Windows 10? Here’s how to do it
• Want to know how to password protect a PDF? These are the best ways
• Got a new TV? Save some money with our guide on how to wall mount a TV
• Samsung MU7500 unboxing and setup: Get this curved screen beauty ready

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL hands-on – The Pixel line, refined

Last year marked a big shift for Google’s mobile efforts. In a bid to compete against Apple, Samsung, LG, and other top-tier smartphone manufacturers, Google launched its very own consumer-friendly smartphone lineup to compete with the best devices on the market. Fast forward one year, and Google’s next attempt at winning over consumers comes hot on the heels of its 2,000-employee acquisition from HTC. This year, the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL bring a refined design, top-of-the-line specs, and what’s being touted as the best smartphone camera ever.

Without any further delay, let’s take a closer look at Google’s Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.

Pixel 2 XL: The Google smartphone… redefined

The Pixel 2 XL is considerably different than the Pixel 2, with the latter more of an iterative upgrade that serves a different purpose. It’s very reminiscent of the LG V30, which makes sense, since it was manufactured by LG.

Like its smaller sibling, the Google Pixel 2 XL is made up of a mostly-aluminum chassis with a curved glass panel towards the top of the device that houses the camera. The fingerprint sensor is a little larger than last year, making it easier to find. The glass panel on the back side is smaller and stops short of covering the fingerprint sensor.

The key difference with the Pixel 2 XL this year is its display. Google chose a 6-inch pOLED 18:9 display at a QHD+ (2,880 x 1,440) resolution. Although the top and bottom bezels are not as small as on LG’s flagship, the display takes up a large part of the overall handset and is flanked by two front facing stereo speakers.

The whole package is powered by a very respectable 3,520 mAh battery that should offer all-day battery life

The Pixel 2 XL is powered by a Snapdragon 835 processor with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB or 128 GB of internal storage. It also sports an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, which offers protection against dust and liquid and brings Google’s flagship in line with other flagships of 2017.

As had been rumored, Google has removed the headphone jack on both devices this year, instead opting to rely on USB Type-C to power wired headphones. The whole package is powered by a very respectable 3,520 mAh battery that should offer all-day battery life. In fact, Google says a 15 minute charge can deliver up to 7 hours of battery life.

These new cameras are apparently in a league of their own

Around back, the Pixel 2 XL sports a single rear camera. While last year’s devices offered up a stellar camera experience, these new cameras are apparently in a league of their own. According to DxOMark’s ranking – which should be taken with a grain of salt – the Google Pixel 2 scores a whopping 98, making it the best smartphone camera ever tested by DxO. The camera itself is a 1/2.6-inch 12.2 MP sensor with an f/1.8 aperture. Despite only having one camera, the Pixel 2 is capable of the same depth effect bokeh that dual camera devices offer. Is it any good? It’s difficult to say from our brief time with the device, but we can’t wait to put it to the test!

Running the latest Android 8.0 Oreo, the Google Pixel 2 XL also comes with a couple of new software additions, the most notable of which being the Always-On Display. This isn’t your normal Always-On Display, however. Google built a useful new feature into the device that will make it much easier to identify that song you’re hearing in a restaurant. The Pixel devices will constantly listen to the music around you and identify the song at the bottom of the Always-On Display without the user doing anything.

Editor’s Pick

Android 8 review: Oreo is for everyone

Three years ago Google introduced us to its new design language called Material Design. It was flat, graphical and colorful. It was the visual change that ushered in the beginning of a new age for …The Pixel Launcher has also been updated. Google has done away with the “pill” and weather widgets that took up a lot of the real estate on the Pixel. There’s now an “at a glance” section at the top of the launcher that gives you easy access to upcoming events and weather.

Google recently acquired 2,000 engineers and some important Intellectual Property from HTC for $1.1 billion and the fruits of this are already apparent. Rather than a button to launch an Assistant like on the Galaxy S8, the Pixel 2 XL comes with an Active Edge feature (think HTC Edge Sense) that lets you squeeze the sides of the phone to launch the Assistant. It’s not as powerful as Edge Sense, though it’s still plenty fun to use.

The Pixel 2 XL comes in Just Black and (our personal favorite) Black & White color options. Call it a panda, Stormtrooper, zebra, or whatever, this color combination is rather unique and definitely stands out. However, the all-black Pixel 2 XL comes with a textured metallic back, while the Black & White version has a glossy finish that offers less grip and attracts more fingerprints.

At a cost of $849 – or up to $1200 in Europe once converted – the Pixel 2 XL is definitely not a cheap phone, though it’s cheaper than its two main rivals. The Galaxy Note 8 starts around $930 while the iPhone X will cost $999 when it launches at the end of the month. Pre-orders for the Pixel 2 XL begin today and will ship in 6-8 weeks, although there’s no exact shipping date given by Google at this time.

Pixel 2 – an upgrade to the Pixel

The Pixel 2 shares just about everything – specs, features, and design – as the Pixel 2 XL, aside from a few outliers

The Google Pixel 2 shares just about everything – specs, features, and design – as the Pixel 2 XL, aside from a few outliers. For starters, this device comes with a 5.0-inch Full HD OLED display with a more traditional aspect ratio of 16:9. The decision to go with a 16:9 display is certainly questionable, however. While the Google Pixel 2 XL sports an aesthetic that’s more in-line with other 2017 flagships, the Pixel 2 stands out because it looks more like a 2016 flagship, thanks to its big bezels on the top and bottom.

One other difference between the two models — battery size. The Pixel 2 comes with a 2,700 mAh battery, which is a tad small compared to other devices on the market. However, Google remains confident that the Pixel 2 will be able to achieve all-day battery life on a single charge.

Last but not least, you don’t need to pay as much for the Google Pixel 2. The Pixel 2 is available starting at $649 for the 64 GB model and $749 for the 128 GB variant. It’s available in Kinda Blue, Just Black, and Clearly White color options.

Don’t miss: Google Pixel 2 price, release date, and availability details

What do you think?

After much aplomb, Google’s new flagships are finally here and bring a ton of great features to the table. They’re not perfect, though. They are priced higher than most people would like, and the lack of headphone jack will certainly turn some people away.

But what do you think? Are you planning on buying either one, or are you going to pass? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Everyone likes Apple apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers put paid apps on sale for free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest iOS app deals available from the iOS App Store.

These apps normally cost money and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged. 

Levitagram

Levitagram lets you create professional looking levitation photos in a snap. All you need is an iPhone; no professional cameras, computer, or Photoshop skills required.

Available on:

iOS

Listaway

Listaway: To-Do List, Task Manager, and Reminders is an outstanding planner app that helps you organize your life on your terms.

Available on:

iOS

Mindfulness Daily

This app supports quick, effective guided practices to reduce stress and anxiety, improve performance, and enhance sleep (along with a growing list of other evidence-based benefits of mindfulness like pain management).

Available on:

iOS

Thunderspace

During the day, Thunderspace won’t let you focus on all the noise around you. And at night it will make you very sleepy. Do not use while operating a machine, vehicle, or star destroyer.

Available on:

iOS

10K Runner

Go from Couch to 5K to 10K with the official and often imitated 10K Runner program. This app has over 1.2 million success stories of people who are now running 10K’s, and you can do it, too.

Available on:

iOS

Healthy CrockPot

The Healthy Crock Pot Recipe app contains recipes with a wide range of ingredients. Get featured recipe and categories based on season, trends, popularity, and more.

Available on:

iOS

Editor’s Recommendations

• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time
• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time
• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time
• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time
• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Best Halloween apps for the ultimate spooky October 31

You’ve laid out your costume, bought the candy, and decorated the house, but have you remembered the most important part of your Halloween preparations? If you haven’t downloaded all the spooky, scary, downright necessary apps for your phone, the answer, unfortunately, is a resounding no. Luckily, we’re here to help with our favorite Halloween apps that are sure to make this weekend the best in recent memory … until next Halloween, that is.

Five Nights at Freddy’s ($4)

This app is the official mobile port of the mega-hit game Five Nights at Freddy’s. Is there anything else more addictive and spookier than this? You’re inside Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, and your job is to watch the security cameras. You only have a limited amount of electricity you can use each night, so when you run out of power, you’ll have no lights and no more security doors to protect you from the animatronics out there.

Available from:

App Store Google Play

Make a Zombie

Create millions of unique zombie combinations with this app. There are many backgrounds, bodies, clothes, heads, and more to choose so you can create a personalized zombie. The app is compatible with AirPrint so that you can print your little zombies and stick them on the bathroom mirror to give your family a good scare late at night. Just don’t tell them we gave you that idea.

Available from:

App Store Google Play

Halloween City

This game lets you create and manage your own Halloween City. You can decorate the city with lots of witches, vampires, werewolves, mummies, and of course zombies. You can also crossbreed to get new monsters and try them in the game. Collect coins to unlock more items, and you can take pictures of the city you have created to share them with your friends. Collect monsters and defeat your enemies in this fun game that can keep you entertained until Halloween approaches.

Available from:

App Store Google Play

Hidden City

Fulfill quests, explore scary dungeons, research amulets, and fight monsters in a quest to rescue your friend. You’ll have access to 35 spooky locations, and over 2,600 quests to complete. This game has Game Center support, and it also supports the iPad Pro. Give Hidden City a try if you like to solve challenging puzzles. The game is free to download but it has in-app purchases.

Available from:

App Store Google Play

The Walking Dead: Dead Yourself

Fans of The Walking Dead will love this app, which turns your perfect selfie into a zombified nightmare. Snap a selfie or import one from your camera roll, and then edit it, adding zombie eyes, mouths, and props from the show. When you’re done turning into a zombie, you can share your gruesome face on Facebook, Twitter, and the Walker photo gallery. You can even vote for your favorite zombie faces as you scan through the Walker gallery.

Available from:

App Store Google Play

Ghost Lens – Clone & Ghost Photo Video Editor

If you want to create a ghostly effect by merging two similar photos of yourself together, you can do it with Ghost Lens or the Android app Ghost Photo Maker. Your photos will turn suddenly into evidence of paranormal activity, so you can scare the living daylights out of yourself and everyone you choose to share the ghostly pics with.

Available from:

App Store Google Play

Vampify ($1)

If you’ve ever wondered what you’d look like as a vampire, look no further than Vampify. The iOS version creates 3D animated vampire faces that snarl and bite — some even drip blood. You can share your new undead selfie on social networks and check out others on Vampify’s Instagram account. The Android version is more simple: It turns you into a vampire with editing tools. The end results are pretty terrifying, so don’t expect to turn out like Damon or Elena from The Vampire Diaries.

Available from:

App Store Google Play

Skullduggery! ($3)

Halloween wouldn’t be complete without a fun game, and that’s where Skullduggery! comes in. Basically, you slingshot around as a skull using the elastic parts of your brain. What’s weirder is you’re actually a collection agent for the IRS, so your mission is to run around going after deadbeats and collecting money. The game is chock full of ridiculous puns and bad jokes, but it has plenty of fun mechanics to keep you entertained.

Available from:

App Store Google Play

Track & Treat by Glympse (Android) or Glympse (iOS)

No app lineup would be complete without a tool for the concerned parents on Halloween trying to keep an eye on their little trick-or-treaters. Luckily, Glympse has released an app for just such an occasion: Track & Treat. The app helps you keep an eye on your little princess and princesses, tracking their movements in real time. You can see where your children are, how fast they’re moving, and if they’re starting to veer off the beaten path, all from your own mobile device or desktop.

Available from:

App Store Google Play

A StoryBots Halloween

The Storybots are back as Halloween characters this year. You cast each member of your family in spooky roles like the Mummy (perfect for moms), vampire, ghost, Frankenstein’s monster, and the werewolf. The app will create a fun video using animations and photos you take of each character. You can then share the video on the social network of your choosing.

Available from:

iTunes

Update: We’ve made this list even spookier by adding Five Nights at Freddy’s, Hidden City, Make A Zombie, and Halloween City.

Editor’s Recommendations

• Don’t know what to be? Check out these hilarious inflatable Halloween costumes
• How to create spooky Halloween effects with smart home lighting and sound
• The 10 best horror games of all time
• Turn your phone into a jack-of-all-trades with 100 of the best Android apps
• Get smart: The 25 best educational apps for iPhone and Android

Pay with Google is a digital wallet for online shopping

Why it matters to you

Hate typing in your credit card information and shipping addresses? Pay with Google ensures you’ll rarely have to again.

Despite the rising popularity of online shopping, some aspects of the experience — like checkout — haven’t exactly advanced with the times. If you’re signing up with a retailer you’ve never shopped with before, chances are you’ll be prompted for billing details, shipping addresses, credit card numbers, and gobs of other information you’ve entered a million times before. But Google wants to streamline things.

Pay with Google, a web service announced in May at Google’s I/O 2017 developer conference, is an evolution of the Mountain View, California-based search giant’s Google Payments framework. It’s a two-pronged solution: On the user side, it’s a unified digital wallet for credit and debit cards, and on the developer side, it’s a hassle-free alternative to built-from-scratch checkout systems.

Starting Monday, October 23, retailers, app developers, and others can implement Google Payments with just a few lines of code. When a shopper reaches the checkout page, they’ll see a Pay with Google button that, when tapped, shows all the payment methods they’ve added to their Google account (i.e., the info they’ve entered when setting up YouTube, the Google Play Store, Chrome, or Android Pay.) Selecting a card from the list sends the payment information to the merchant and completes the transaction.

Google isn’t charging merchants a fee for Pay with Google, but instead, they have to add support manually. About 15 already have, and others plan to integrate it in the near future.

Here’s a full list of Pay with Google-approved services, apps, and retailers:

• DoorDash
• Dice
• Yelp
• Eat24
• Fancy
• Gametime
• Hotel Urbano
• Peixe Urbano
• iFood
• Instacart
• Kayak
• Magazine Luzia
• Postmates
• Spot Hero
• Wish
• Hu.com.br
• Airbnb
• Boxed
• Caviar
• HungryHouse
• Just Eat
• Guzman y Gomez
• Deliveroo
• Hotel Tonight
• Papa John’s
• TicketCamp
• Stubhub
• TouchTunes

Pay with Google’s backbone is the more than 40 payment providers who have signed on at launch. The pedigreed list includes PayPal’s Braintree, Stripe, Vantiv, Worldpay, Adyen, and Groupe Paysaf. Other partners including ACI, Assist, Ebanx, First Data, Global Payments, GMO, IMSolutions, and TapPay, have pledged to join in the coming months.

“If you’ve ever paid for something on your phone or tablet, you know just how frustrating checkout can be. Maybe you had to fill in a bunch of forms,” Pali Bhat, Google’s VP of product management, wrote in a blog post. “Maybe your session timed out. Maybe you encountered an error and had to start all over again. Paying with Google makes checkout so fast and easy, you can make the most of every moment — whether you’re grabbing a dinner spot or a parking spot.”

Editor’s Recommendations

• When will Google finally go all-in on smartphones?
• Everything you need to know about Android Pay
• Turn your phone into a jack-of-all-trades with 100 of the best Android apps
• If you think Harley Street bikes look tame, check the Bandit9’s Dark Side custom
• Google Home Mini review

Common Movies Anywhere problems and how to fix them

Movies Anywhere is a new and growing service, and it isn’t anywhere near perfect yet. Here are the issues and bugs with Movies Anywhere and how to deal with them.

Movies Anywhere is a service that allows you to get all your digital movies from participating studios on the major platforms. This allows us Android users to free our digital movies from iTunes purgatory and allows multi-platform users to get their movies on all their devices. It’s a great idea, but it’s a new service, and as with all new services, Movies Anywhere has bugs and issues that it’s trying to work out. Here are the current issues facing Movies Anywhere.

My movies aren’t showing up

Movies Anywhere was originally Disney Movies Anywhere, just for Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars movies. Now, Disney has managed to talk other major studios to joining them on this venture, but it’s a long way away from getting every studio onboard. These are the studios currently supported on Disney Movies Anywhere:

• Disney
• Sony Pictures
• 20th Century Fox
• Universal
• Warner Brothers

Hopefully, more studios will see the benefits of Movies Anywhere as these five studios have, but until then, our digital libraries on Movies Anywhere are going to be ever so slightly incomplete. If you’re preparing to buy a movie in Google Play and want to ensure it’s Movies Anywhere-eligible, look for the Movies Anywhere logo on the listing alongside the badges for closed captions and Family Library.

Eligible movies not syncing

When you’re first connecting accounts, it can take a while for your movies to sync, especially if you’ve got an extensive library. Movies Anywhere has some syncing issues between supported retailers, and while unlinking and re-linking accounts has helped some users get things syncing quickly, we do not recommend it.

If you need to move your Movies Anywhere connection from one Google Play account to another, you’ll have to wait six months between disconnecting from the old account and connecting to the new one, as Movies Anywhere only allows you to connect with one account each participating digital retailer for 180 days.

If you just bought a movie, give it half an hour to sync. If you’re still having issues, contact Movies Anywhere support for help.

Android TV app

Movies Anywhere is available for Android TV right now, and it will allow you to browse your library. Unfortunately, it is not streaming any movies or bonus content, which makes it pretty useless. Hopefully, the app will be fixed soon, but until then, Movies Anywhere supports Chromecast, so you’ll have to use that instead.

Special Features and missing/mislabeled

Some movies, especially movies from Disney Movies Anywhere, seem to be missing many of their special features, and many special features are unlabeled, leaving you just a screenshot to guess by. The database will hopefully be cleaned up and properly labeled as time goes on, but if you notice anything amiss with your special features, make sure to contact Movies Anywhere support so that they know what they need to fix.

Your experience

How was your experience with Movies Anywhere been? Let us know your comments and concerns in the comments!