Chrome learns to mute sites based on your web history

Right now, your web browser’s response to auto-playing content tends to take one of two extremes: either it mutes everything or blasts your ears. But there are some times you do want sound right away, such as a livestream or a game — do you have to remember to turn sound on every time there, too? Google doesn’t think you have to. The latest version of Chrome automatically mutes and plays tabs based on your browsing history. If you tend to slap the mute button most of the time on a given site, Chrome will eventually provide blissful silence all on its own. Let the audio flow on a regular basis, however, and Chrome will know to leave that site alone.

You don’t need a history for this to work, either. If you have a clean slate, Chrome will default to autoplaying on 1,000-plus sites where users tend to be comfortable with sound. Google readily admits that there will be moments where you’ll have to unmute a clip, but it’s betting that this will offer a more “predictable” surfing experience over time.

Source: Google Chrome Blog

Google’s Advanced Protection Program Now Works With Native Apple Apps

Google today announced that it has expanded support for its Advanced Protection Program to native Apple apps that include Apple Mail, Calendar, and Contacts, improving the feature for iOS users.

For those unfamiliar with the Advanced Protection Program, it’s designed for high-profile Google product users who need maximum protection from hacking attempts. It’s a feature aimed at journalists, activists, business leaders, and others who feel vulnerable to targeted security breaches.

The Advanced Protection Program offers Google’s strongest security against phishing, accidental sharing, and fraudulent account access through the use of two physical Security Keys and restrictions on what apps and services can access Google content.

Prior to today, the Advanced Protection Program only allowed customers to use Google apps, but it is now expanding to encompass dedicated Apple apps so iOS users will not need to change their usage habits.

Apple’s Mail, Calendar, and Contacts apps can now access Google’s Gmail, Calendar, and Contacts data. Google users can learn more about the Advanced Protection Program and enable it through Google’s Advanced Protection Program website.

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JetBlue hopes its new A320 cabin will ‘bring humanity back to air travel’

Despite the recent loss of Virgin America, competition in the skies over the U.S. is as fierce as ever.

JetBlue’s founding mission is to “bring humanity back to air travel,” and on Wednesday, May 2, it launched a new interior for its A320 aircraft that it hopes will help it to maintain its lofty pledge.

Marking the first major cabin overhaul of the carrier’s original fleet since the airline launched in 2000, the new design offers plenty of goodies.

First up, passengers will be able to kick back in a comfier seat, which, at 18 inches, is the widest available for the A320. JetBlue is also promising the most leg room in coach of any U.S. airline and adjustable headrests that it describes as “a new feature for JetBlue’s A320s.”

Expanded entertainment choices will be offered via 10.1-inch high-definition seat-back displays that feature  picture-in-picture capability. Flyers will find more than 100 TV channels, plus an extensive choice of on-demand movies, TV shows, and games. There’ll also be an “enhanced 3D flight map” so you can track progress to your destination.

NFC pairing will be possible, too, turning personal handheld devices into remotes or gaming controllers, while improved Fly-Fi connectivity will provide coverage to almost the entire JetBlue network.

Passengers will also find at least two “easily accessible” power connections at every seat, and new LED lighting will enhance the look and tone of the in-cabin ambiance.

JetBlue boasted that the new cabin interior creates an environment “that feels more like lounging in your living room than flying at 35,000 feet.”

Certainly, with its focus on comfort, we’re pretty confident JetBlue won’t ever equip its planes with any of the wacky seat designs we’ve been seeing lately, many of which propose squashing us in for short-haul flights.

JetBlue will work steadily over the next nine months to replace its old cabins on 12 aircraft with the new design, with its entire fleet of 130 planes to be fitted out within three years.

The A320 flies to most of JetBlue’s 101 destinations, so with a bit of careful planning when you book your ticket, you should be in for a more comfortable ride.

The first aircraft sporting the new interior took off from Boston Logan International Airport on Wednesday, headed for Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport.

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Apple faces complaints over its iPhone battery-replacement pledge

At the end of last year, Apple admitted to slowing down older iPhones to preserve battery life and stabilize performance. Customers were upset about Apple’s lack of transparency regarding the issue, and the company apologized by offering to replace batteries for a reduced fee.

But Apple later said that if it finds any phone damage that could hinder the replacement process, it will have to make the necessary repairs — and charge for them — before it can fit the battery. While that may sound reasonable, the company now stands accused of being overly harsh in implementing the terms of the replacement service, with some iPhone owners claiming they’re being asked to pay large sums of money without good reason.

An investigation carried out by the BBC reveals a range of stories from U.K.-based iPhone owners who say that Apple has been finding “unnecessary faults” with their handsets, with the company refusing to replace the battery unless they pay for the repair first.

In the U.K., Apple reduced the fee for a new battery from 79 British pounds ($107) to 25 pounds ($34) until the end of 2018.

Josh Landsburgh told the BBC he feels he’s been treated unfairly by Apple. Landsburgh said he sent away his iPhone for a new battery, but a short while later received an email from the company pointing out a small dent on the edge of the phone. The tech giant said he’d have to pay 200 pounds ($270) to fix the dent before it could replace the battery at the reduced fee.

Landsburgh refused to pay, and had the battery replaced locally without any issues. The action meant, however, that he voided his Apple warranty.

“They’re trying to regain trust and they come back to you with, ‘Give us more money than you were planning to initially,’” he told the BBC.

Phone fault?

Another customer, David Bowler, said Apple found a fault inside his phone — with the speaker and microphone — and told him he’d have to pay 250 pounds ($340) to sort it out before a new battery could be fitted. Bowler insisted there was nothing wrong with his phone, a claim verified by the BBC when it sent the handset to an independent repair specialist.

On its website, Apple states: “If your iPhone has any damage that impairs the replacement of the battery, such as a cracked screen, that issue will need to be resolved prior to the battery replacement.” But the BBC’s investigators suggest that in some cases, the phone’s fault — if indeed there is one — has no apparent effect on the battery-replacement procedure, and that in light of the controversy that prompted Apple’s discounted offer, the company should be willing to deal with the issue in a more favorable manner.

While it would obviously be unacceptable for the company to “make up” faults with the phone, it would be equally concerning if it was charging customers for repairs that weren’t entirely necessary in order to replace the battery. With the BBC’s investigation having just been broadcast on a consumer affairs show, it will be interesting to see if the turmoil surfaces similar claims among others who have requested a new iPhone battery.

Battery bother

At the end of last year, Apple admitted to slowing down old iPhones. The company said it did so to preserve battery life and stabilize the handset’s performance, as a well-used battery could cause apps to suddenly crash.

Many iPhone owners were upset that Apple hadn’t been clearer about its actions when it began throttling older iPhones via a software update in 2016. Some accused the company of deliberately — and secretly — frustrating users with under-performing handsets to encourage them to fork out for an upgrade, a strategy known as planned obsolescence.

Apple has insisted the system is supposed to benefit customers’ user experience by preserving battery life and reducing the chance of sudden shutdowns with old phones. But the resulting backlash prompted the company to slash the cost of its battery replacement service for iPhones — in the U.S. from $79 to $29 — until the end of 2018.

With the introduction of iOS 11.3 in March, Apple gave owners of its handset more battery data as well as the option to disable throttling.

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China nabs world record for biggest drone display, but it’s a bit of a mess

Drones are flying their way into lots of industries, transforming the way businesses conduct their operations and helping companies work more efficiently.

Already well established in the movie business, the remotely controlled flying machines are also being used in agriculture, maintenance, and police work. Delivery services are a target, too, with Amazon and others keen to use the technology to launch full-fledged operations as soon as regulators allow.

But how about drones for entertainment, as in “drone shows” for audiences? It’s already happening, with Intel having partnered with Disney to produce night-time aerial displays in Florida using hundreds of drones sparkling with LED lights.

Another company, Ehang — better known for its larger “flying taxi” than its smaller Ghostdrone quadcopter — is also getting into the game, and this week nabbed the world record from Intel for the most drones flying in a single display.

But according to a report from the South China Morning Post, some of the drones refused to play ball.

China-based Ehang deployed its fleet of 1,374 Ghostdrones at a Labour Day show in the city of Xi’an, about 500 miles south-west of Beijing. Besides entertaining hordes of spectators, the aim was also to beat Intel’s record when it flew 1,218 drones at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in February.

Ehang’s display lasted 13 minutes and spread across a distance of more than 0.6 miles (1 km). It looks spectacular in the company’s just-released video (above), but the Post pointed out that some of the maneuvers appeared to fail.

It seems the computer-driven control hub back on the ground suffered a glitch, resulting in about half the drones failing to fly into position, messing up the creation of various Chinese characters. Footage from another video (below) appears to show at least one of the quadcopters tumbling to the ground during the display.

Despite the mishaps, Guinness World Records was still happy to award the record to Ehang for its efforts, while the company is said to be preparing a statement to explain what caused the drones to fly out of sync.

Ehang had been building up to its record attempt. In March last year, the company launched 1,000 of its drones in Guangzhou as part of Chinese Lantern Festival celebrations.

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Nokia 6.1 has Android One, takes funky ‘Bothie’ pictures, and is yours for $270

Remember the Nokia 6 (2018) revealed at Mobile World Congress, and how it wasn’t drastically different from the Nokia 6 (2017) launched the year before? Good, because now HMD Global has added another Nokia 6 phone to the list, and the main alteration relates to the name and where it will be sold. This is the Nokia 6.1, and it’s coming to the U.S. on May 6.

If you were excited about the Nokia 6 (2018), you’ll be excited about this one too, because it’s practically identical. The Nokia 6 was given a European price and confirmed release at MWC, without much noise about the United States. The Nokia 6.1 is going to be sold in the U.S. through Best Buy and Amazon for $270 — a far cheaper price than when converting over the 280 euro price of the Nokia 6.

What do you get? An aluminum unibody with a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display that has a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. This isn’t a bezel-less phone with an 18:9 aspect ratio — it sticks rigidly to tradition when it comes to the screen. The camera on the back has a single 16 megapixel lens, and around front is an 8-megapixel camera. Using Nokia’s Dual-Sight feature, you can take a picture with both cameras at the same time. Not surprisingly, these are called Bothies, and they’re way more fun that you may expect.

A Snapdragon 630 processor powers the phone, but at the time of writing we don’t know if it comes with 3GB or 4GB of RAM, or how much storage space will be available. Two versions of the Nokia 6 exist: one with 3GB/32GB and the other with 4GB/64GB.

One of our favorite features of the new Nokia 6 is Android One. By including this almost stock version of Google’s Android operating system, the phone will receive timely version and security updates, and won’t be hobbled by masses of bloatware. It’s a major selling point for Nokia’s 2018 range of phones.

The Nokia 6.1 has a 3,000mAh battery with fast-charging using a USB Type-C port, and a fingerprint sensor on the back.

The black/copper colored Nokia 6.1 will arrive at Best Buy and Amazon on May 6 for $270. We haven’t tried this one out yet, but expect it to be the same as the Nokia 6 we used at MWC 2018.

Editors’ Recommendations

• HMD announces an all new Nokia 6 for 2018 at Mobile World Congress
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Dell, HP may be building premium Chromebooks to compete with Google Pixelbook

New Chromebooks built to compete with Google’s premium Pixelbook are reportedly in the works at Dell, HP, and three other manufacturers. Targeting professionals, they are expected to arrive in the latter half of 2018 sporting high resolutions, seventh-generation Intel processors, and up to 16GB of system memory. They’ll also supposedly support the Wake on Voice feature provided with Google Assistant. 

Typically, the Chrome OS team relies on a single “master board” when designing a new wave of Chromebooks. This master board is spun off into a number of variants for each Chromebook manufacturer. In this wave, the master board that is reportedly dubbed “Nami” that produced five variants: Akali, Nami, Pantheon, Sona, and Vayne. Sona is believed to be HP’s variant while Vayne is linked to Dell. 

That said, all five variants are expected to rely on high-voltage seventh-generation Intel processors, requiring internal fans to keep them cool. The actual model numbers are unknown at this point, but they are expected to be more powerful than Chromebooks supplied without fans. Presumably these Chromebooks will rely on integrated graphics given that you never see a Chromebook with a discrete graphics chip. 

Outside the processor aspect, the new Chromebooks are expected to include 8GB or 16GB of system memory, depending on the model, and backlit keyboards save for the Akali variant. As for storage, the hardware type is up in the air: will they use soldered eMMC storage or PCIe NVMe M.2 SSDs? 

Finally, the Nami design indicates that the upcoming Chromebooks will sport a 360-degree form factor packing screens with a 2,400 x 1,600 pixel resolution. But manufacturers could decide to use different screens with different resolutions to better distinguish their products from the competition. 

Google launched its premium Pixelbook in October 2017. With a starting price of $999, it features a 12.3-inch screen with a 2,400 x 1,600 resolution backed by a seventh-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor. It also provides 8GB or 16GB of system memory and between 128GB to 512GB of NVMe M.2 SSD storage, depending on your configuration. 

The last Chromebooks manufactured for enterprise shipped in 2016. Since then, Google in August 2017 launched Chrome Enterprise, a subscription service built for businesses relying on Chrome OS-based devices. Costing $50 per device each year, the service provides IT with tools for managing Chrome OS services and devices. 

Chromebooks currently classified by Google as enterprise solutions include the Acer Chromebook 14, the Samsung Chromebook Pro, the HP Chromebook 14, the Lenovo Thinkpad 13 Chromebook, and more.  For instance, Samsung’s model attempts to compete with the Pixelbook packing a sixth-generation Intel processor, 4GB of system memory, 32GB of storage, and a 12.3-inch screen with a 2,400 x 1,600 resolution for a lighter $599. 

Meanwhile, development of the new enterprise wave is still in the early stages, so they’re not expected to appear until the fall or winter. There’s also no information regarding stylus support, but the upcoming Chromebooks are expected to run Linux-based apps along with Android apps from Google Play.

Google will likely talk more about Linux-based apps running on Chrome OS during its developers conference next week.

Dell, HP may be building premium Chromebooks to compete with Google Pixelbook

New Chromebooks built to compete with Google’s premium Pixelbook are reportedly in the works at Dell, HP, and three other manufacturers. Targeting professionals, they are expected to arrive in the latter half of 2018 sporting high resolutions, seventh-generation Intel processors, and up to 16GB of system memory. They’ll also supposedly support the Wake on Voice feature provided with Google Assistant. 

Typically, the Chrome OS team relies on a single “master board” when designing a new wave of Chromebooks. This master board is spun off into a number of variants for each Chromebook manufacturer. In this wave, the master board that is reportedly dubbed “Nami” that produced five variants: Akali, Nami, Pantheon, Sona, and Vayne. Sona is believed to be HP’s variant while Vayne is linked to Dell. 

That said, all five variants are expected to rely on high-voltage seventh-generation Intel processors, requiring internal fans to keep them cool. The actual model numbers are unknown at this point, but they are expected to be more powerful than Chromebooks supplied without fans. Presumably these Chromebooks will rely on integrated graphics given that you never see a Chromebook with a discrete graphics chip. 

Outside the processor aspect, the new Chromebooks are expected to include 8GB or 16GB of system memory, depending on the model, and backlit keyboards save for the Akali variant. As for storage, the hardware type is up in the air: will they use soldered eMMC storage or PCIe NVMe M.2 SSDs? 

Finally, the Nami design indicates that the upcoming Chromebooks will sport a 360-degree form factor packing screens with a 2,400 x 1,600 pixel resolution. But manufacturers could decide to use different screens with different resolutions to better distinguish their products from the competition. 

Google launched its premium Pixelbook in October 2017. With a starting price of $999, it features a 12.3-inch screen with a 2,400 x 1,600 resolution backed by a seventh-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor. It also provides 8GB or 16GB of system memory and between 128GB to 512GB of NVMe M.2 SSD storage, depending on your configuration. 

The last Chromebooks manufactured for enterprise shipped in 2016. Since then, Google in August 2017 launched Chrome Enterprise, a subscription service built for businesses relying on Chrome OS-based devices. Costing $50 per device each year, the service provides IT with tools for managing Chrome OS services and devices. 

Chromebooks currently classified by Google as enterprise solutions include the Acer Chromebook 14, the Samsung Chromebook Pro, the HP Chromebook 14, the Lenovo Thinkpad 13 Chromebook, and more.  For instance, Samsung’s model attempts to compete with the Pixelbook packing a sixth-generation Intel processor, 4GB of system memory, 32GB of storage, and a 12.3-inch screen with a 2,400 x 1,600 resolution for a lighter $599. 

Meanwhile, development of the new enterprise wave is still in the early stages, so they’re not expected to appear until the fall or winter. There’s also no information regarding stylus support, but the upcoming Chromebooks are expected to run Linux-based apps along with Android apps from Google Play.

Google will likely talk more about Linux-based apps running on Chrome OS during its developers conference next week.

How to talk to every Amazon Echo in your house at the same time

Using your Echo to talk to your entire house is just one voice command away.

It’s no secret that your Amazon Echo is capable of a multitude of different features, and one of my favorites that seems to have slipped under the rug this year is called Alexa Announcements.

Similar to Google Home’s Broadcast feature, Alexa Announcements allows you to use your Echo or smartphone to send a message to all of your connected Alexa speakers. For example, instead of yelling up and downstairs that dinner is ready, you can talk in a normal voice and have Alexa send your message throughout your entire house.

Alexa Announcements can be incredibly handy at times, and thankfully, using it is as easy as can be.

How to use Alexa Announcements from an Echo speaker

To use the feature from another Echo speaker, simply say:

• Alexa, announce that…
• Alexa, tell everyone…
• Alexa, broadcast…

…followed by whatever you want to say.

After you initiate your command, the Echo you’re talking to will say “announcing” and then relay the message to all of the Echo speakers that are connected to your Amazon account (excluding the one you spoke to).

How to use Alexa Announcements from your phone

Alternatively, Alexa Announcements can also be used from your phone. If you just got out of the office and want to let your significant other know you’re on the way home, tap on the blue Alexa icon near the bottom of the Alexa app and say your message prefaced by one of the three hot words mentioned above.

Alexa on your phone will say “announcing”, and all of the Echos at your home will play back your message.

That’s it

With that said, that’s really all you need to know about Alexa Announcements! It’s an incredibly easy feature to use, and at the same time, can also be one of the most helpful. If you need more help or want to share your favorite uses for Alexa Announcements, sound off in the comments below!

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Sign up for Google’s User Research program and help guide Android’s future — Here’s how!

Sign up for the Google User Research Experience.

Google doesn’t build Android in a vacuum (literally and figuratively). The company works with many people, including Android users like you, to add features, improve performance, and make the OS better, year after year.

One way you can help is by signing up for the Google User Research Experience, which gives you access to unreleased products, services, and Android features before anyone else. By signing up, you participate in studies (and get cool incentives when you do) that can help shape the future of Google and Android, and your experience within that ecosystem.

The commitment is pretty minimal, but the really cool part about it is that you join a growing community of people doing the same thing — helping make Android better, and Google better informed about what users want. We even have a forum you can visit after signing up, where you can meet other participants and discuss the things you’re allowed to discuss.

Are you interested? Sign up for the Google User Research Experience now and then jump into the forums to learn more!

Sign up now!