Android

A new setting in Android 15 called “adaptive timeout” suggests that phones will be able to turn off the screen faster if they detect you’re not around. Right now, the system is more worried about keeping it turned on when you are nearby.

But not because of the hardware: because of Google’s Find My Device network. All the reviews I’ve read so far say that it’s just not finding the devices. Here’s Android Central:

The next day, I marked all Bluetooth trackers as lost. Surely, at least one of the five trackers would be found over the next few days? Shockingly, three whole days passed before I heard anything back.

And get this: it wasn’t even the network that helped me find my “lost” trackers.

Looks like Motorola will be the next company to get into the tracker tag game. MySmartPrice spotted the Moto Tag on a UAE certification site, and seems to be an extremely likely candidate to join Google’s Find My Device network.

There’s no information about a potential launch date, but the sooner the better — tracking tags from Chipolo and Pebblebee are both on backorder.

Phone Link already lets you share files from PC to certain Android phones — a new Windows Insider Preview now adds your phone directly to the Windows Share menu, too. Also, you can quickly summon jump lists by right-clicking an app pinned to the Start Menu. More here.

Next, can I get phone mirroring without needing to unlock my Samsung, pretty please?

Android Authority reports that the latest APK for Google Messages contains a new fab that allows users to chat with Gemini directly instead of tapping the button at the bottom of the messages list.

It's a slightly more streamlined process, but given this isn’t even available to beta testers yet there’s no word on when it could be generally available.

Earlier this year Motorola launched a trio of Edge phones internationally. Now, the budget-friendliest of the bunch will be making its way to the US as the Motorola Edge 2024. It’ll cost $549 unlocked when it goes on sale June 20th.

Fingers crossed that the Edge 50 Ultra makes it to the US later this year — I’m ready for a wooden phone revival.

The Apple TV app is available in Apple’s ecosystem, Windows, and some smart TV platforms, and that’s about it.

But now Apple is seeking an Android engineer to “help build an application used by millions to watch and discover tv and sports.” Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman believes company is preparing to bring Apple TV Plus to Android phones.

Last week, Google announced that it’s bringing Gemini to the Gmail mobile app, and now we have a glimpse at how it might work. Android Authority contributor AssembleDebug found references to the new Gemini button in the Gmail app on Android, and showed off how you can ask for help summarizing emails and writing responses.

The Unicode Consortium has proposed adding these seven additional emoji to the standardized catalog referenced by iOS, Android, and other devices.

The beta review period for Unicode 16.0 lasts until July 2nd, after which the new emoji should be officially approved. It can, however, take several months for companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google to make their own designs so don’t expect to see them immediately.

Android Police spotted that as of the April 30th Hue Android app update, you can change what all the lights in a zone or room do after they regain power by tapping the three dots menu for that room or zone, then Edit Room > select all > Edit.

You can also just tap “Move to” and move them somewhere else. The iOS app works the same way.

As promised, owners of older Pixels are starting to see Magic Editor features unlocked and free to use in Google Photos. Other Androids and iPhones will get them, too, but you’ll need a $9.99 Google One subscription to save more than 10 edits per month.

The editor lets you make complex photo adjustments automatically, such as removing people from scenes.