Author: Clinton

Google Lens, the visual search tool that the company announced this summer at Google I/O is starting to generally roll out to Pixel owners.  The new tool is embedded in Google Assistant and allows you to tap the Lens icon and then by using your phone’s camera, view an object, tap it and identify it.

The good news is that the new feature is rolling out to Google Pixel and Pixel 2 owners globally in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India, and Singapore but the device’s language must be set to English for the feature to enable and work.  You will also be prompted when Lens comes to your device to give it permission to access your camera.

Microsoft continues to polish their Microsoft Edge browser for Android in the latest preview update.  This new update, version 1.0.0.1267 for those keeping score at home, is rolling out now to those who have installed it and brings a host of bug fixes and performance improvements to the browser.

Along with those bug fixes, there are a couple of new features that are noteworthy in the update.  First, there is now an option for a dark theme.  This is designed to make viewing in low light situations easier by turning the background dark.  It is similar to what the Twitter app does in low light or at night.  Unfortunately, this new feature right now requires a manual intervention.  You have to set it to the dark theme in settings.  Hopefully this will change to an auto-sensing or time-based setting before release.

Today the second Developer Preview of Android Oreo 8.1 was released to those in the Android Beta Program.  The update brings the November 2017 Android Security Update to the beta program and OTA updates for those with devices enrolled should start flowing today and throughout the next few days.

This will be the last Developer Preview of Oreo 8.1 before it is generally released next month.  You can read about all the major updates & changes coming in Oreo 8.1 here.

The 2nd preview more-or-less fixes bugs and other issues found in the first preview released last month.  The new Pixel Visual Core, which was not in DP1, is now enabled in this second preview.  For those that are familiar with this feature, it is Google’s first co-processor for image processing and Machine Learning.  Currently it is only available in the Pixel 2 lineup.

Following through on their commitment to get Android Oreo updates out to various devices, Sony has begun rolling out the latest Android build to the Sony Xperia XZ and the XZs today.  The build, version 41.3.A.0.401 for those keeping score at home, comes in at just over 1.2GB in size and brings all the goodness of Oreo to these two devices as well as some Sony specific features.

Xperia Actions comes with this update and it gives recommendations on the best configuration for the device based on scenarios.  They have also added Smart Text Selection which suggests actions based on the content of selected text.

Due to the size of the upgrade, it is only going to be available to download via WiFi and you will want to make sure you have at least 70% of battery life remaining prior to updating (or have your phone charging via AC).  The update will take about 15 minutes to complete including a reboot after it is done.

Good news this morning for HTC U11 owners here in the Americas, the Android Oreo update the company has promised before the end of the year has arrived.  Starting today, U11 owners will start getting the OTA update to Oreo with the process likely taking several days (or even a week or two) to complete.

This is for the unlocked variant only.  If you are locked to a carrier then the update will be later.

The news of the rollout came from HTC’s VP of Product Management Mo Versi on Twitter.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. The Oreo OS update will be available for download on the HTC u11 unlocked version starting on Monday! Enjoy!

— Mo Versi (@moversi) November 25, 2017

You will be able to manually check for the update in the System Updates area of Settings on your U11.

As part of Cyber Monday, AUKEY has rolled out some big discounts on their Amazon storefront on a wide range of PowerBanks.  AUKEY PowerBanks are some of the best external power packs for Android and iPhones out there, offering a lot of power in small packages.  Chances are, there is something for everyone in this sale.

How it works with AUKEY is straightforward.  You find the product on Amazon (links below) and use the provided coupon codes to get the discounted price.  You will enter the coupon code during the checkout process.

AUKEY 20000mAh Portable Charger, Slimline Design Power Bank

This model has three USB ports, one USB-C port and one Lightening port so it will charge any Android or iPhone.  With the 20000mAh battery, you can charge an iPhone 7 nearly seven times and a Galaxy Note8 four times.

The pack is normally $39.99 but you can get it for $32 with the coupon code AUKCM010.  Head here to check it out.

AUKEY 30000mAh USB-C Portable Charger with Quick Charge 3.0

As the name suggests, this PowerBank has a 30000mAh battery and supports USB-C, USB-A and Quick Charge 3.0 on one of the two USB-A ports.  This pack will generally give you an additional charge of your phone over the 20000mAh pack mentioned above but it will certainly charge your non-USB-C devices faster with the QC 3.0 tech.

The pack is normally $59.99 but you can get it for $45 with the coupon code AUKCM012.  Head here to check it out.