Android

Android 15’s fourth beta is now available, marking the second release since it reached platform stability. Google says that “apps targeting Android 15 can be made available in Google Play” since APIs and app-facing behaviors are now final. Seems like the newest Android OS version is right on track for the big event in August.

HMD has announced the Skyline, a $499 Android phone with an emphasis on repairability and creator-friendly features like a 50-megapixel selfie camera with autofocus. It’s also one of the first phones to support the MagSafe-like Qi2 charging standard — or will be when it ships in August. Bet we’ll see a few more new Qi2 phones around that time, too.

You can grab the app from Google Play right now. It’s free and “accessible with all plans, including Pro and Team,” the company says in a blog post.

Anthropic released an iOS app in May.

Google has been testing adding Ultra HDR image capture to a limited camera API for Android 14 that’s aimed at the basic camera needs of social media apps, according to Android Authority.

Once the changes are available to developers, you’d no longer need to capture Ultra HDR images in a separate app to upload to Instagram.

A teardown from Android Authority showed a new My Week feature that could let you share weekly photos with friends and family members. Those who receive the weekly memory may then be able to view a slideshow of the shared photos and leave a comment.

Google seems to have identified the “issue” locking up Pixel 6, 6 Pro, and 6A phones that were factory reset recently.

Now, there are two recommended ways shared by Google in the Pixel Phone Help forum to avoid the problem:

Leaving your device powered on and idle for 15 minutes after it has rebooted following a system update

Factory reset your device before taking the latest (June) system update.

Google’s July Pixel update is here with a “fix for back gesture navigation not working in certain conditions.” Sounds annoying! It doesn’t seem to be a widespread problem — I found a thread on the XDA forums complaining about broken navigation, and that’s about it. But if this bug was bothering you, rest assured that the fix has arrived.

Google Keep is one of a long list of note-taking apps we like, and if you’re using it on a “large screen Android device,” it has a new feature for you.

Expanding on the ability to open two instances of the app at once, now the platform will let you sign into separate accounts at the same time — no hacks required.

The announcement, made in a social media post by Nick Twork, Lucid Motors’ new head of communications, comes over a year after the company added CarPlay support to its vehicles.

Speaking to Android Authority, Qulacomm’s head of handsets, Chris Patrick, says that the company will make announcements later this year about how it plans to help “keep Android phones closer to up to date.”

While definitely improved in recent years, updates are still slow to come for some OEMs — and plenty of budget phones only see one or two OS updates. Say more, Qualcomm.

“The I/O Crossword” isn’t anywhere near as zany as Wordle’s original name, but it is awfully cute. Google says it created the crossword with the help of Gemini Advanced and a bunch of its own developer tools. You don’t have to be a developer to join in and help solved the puzzle, but it would probably help — I’m stumped.

RCS appears to be working for people with the iOS 18 beta installed — no tinkering necessary. RCS support is part of the second iOS 18 developer beta, but despite toggling the feature on it wasn’t working for people yesterday. 9to5Mac notes that this has changed today, indicating that carriers in the US have flipped the switch to enable RCS. It’s happening! It’s really happening!