The upcoming Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are expected to be the first Google smartphones to ship with a Google-designed processor. According to the latest rumor, they could also be Google’s first phones that come with a promise of 5 years of software updates.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is continuing to refine Windows 11 ahead of launch. The company released a second preview build to members of the Windows Insiders program today, and it brings a number of small tweaks including a new search box in the Start menu.
Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web:
- Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.65 [Windows Blogs]
Microsoft has rolled out a second Windows 11 preview to Insiders. The Start menu now has a search box. Taskbar can now show across multiple displays. And there are tweaks to system alerts, power mode settings, snap layouts for smaller devices and more. - Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro – Full Final Specifications [FrontPageTech]
According to @frontpagetech the Google Pixel 6 will have a Google CPU, 6.4 inch AMOLED display, 50MP + 12MP (wide) cameras & 8GB of RAM, while the Pixel 6 Pro will have a 6.71″ screen. 50MP + 48MP (tele) + 12MP (wide). Both get 5 years of software updates. - Google Play services discontinuing updates for Jelly Bean [Android Developers Blog]
Google Play will drop support for Android Jelly Bean (Android 4.1 – 4.3) in August. Odds are this won’t affect many people. But if you d have a device running 9-year-old software, expect some apps to eventual stop working. - Review: Vilo Mesh Router ($20 each or 3-pack for $60) [Wired]
Vilo introduces the cheapest mesh WiFi system to date: each $20 node is a WiFi 5 (802.11ac) router/extender with top speeds of 867 Mbps (5GHz band) or 300 Mbps (2.4 GHz) and 3 Gigabit Ethernet ports per node. $60 gets you a 3-pakc for whole-home WiFi. - Update: OnePlus Nord 2 5G will be exclusive to Europe and India [Liliputing]
Update: The OnePlus Nord 2 5G will be the first budget phone from OnePlus to feature a MediaTek processor rather than a Qualcomm chip. It’ll be officially unveiled July 22, but it will be sold exclusively in Europe and India, and not in North America. - Dell is at work on two next-gen Intel Alder Lake Chromebooks [Chrome Unboxed]
Looks like Dell has a few new Chromebooks in the works, featuring 12th-gen Intel Core “Alder Lake” processors. Those chips haven’t been released yet, so don’t expect these to ship until later this year.
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Still using a phone that was released back in early 2013 with Jelly Bean and only upgraded to Lollipop. Not as snappy as my newer phone, but any flagships from that era are still perfectly capable of running YouTube and most other Google apps, at least until they require another forced update that simply won’t support the older operating systems. Guess it’s fine if they want to drop support, but in that case, it’s not okay when they bar older apps from working, which will eventually happen. Just more e-waste of perfectly fine hardware.
Pixel 6 – Googles own SoC .. I am not even that pissed that its gonna probably cost 900€ and its SoC wont be as powerful as Snapdragon 888 when 888+ will be the standard … I am worried about app and other kinds of compatibilities .. Is google gonna bother with supporting Aptx ? Are developers gonna bother adding support for a SoC in so few phones even if its a Google SoC ( I know google can incentivize developers but its no Apple ecosystem anyway ) ?