Techmeme
October 15, 2019, 5:30 PM

Top News

Chris Welch / The Verge:
Google debuts 5.7" Pixel 4 for $799+ and 6.3" Pixel 4 XL for $899+ with gesture recognition, two rear cameras with a telephoto lens, no notch, coming October 24  —  The most-leaked phones ever are now official  —  You've seen them, you've read plenty about them, and now Google's latest smartphones …
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Google says the Pixel 4 won't support its Daydream mobile VR platform, which is being phased out as it also stops selling the Daydream viewer  —  Google's Daydream, Android's built-in virtual reality platform, is as good as dead.  Following the company's annual hardware event today …
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
With the Pixel 4, Google is debuting its first voice recorder mobile app, which can transcribe speech in real time without an internet connection  —  Google is debuting a new voice recorder app on the Pixel 4, and it has some features that very much set it apart from traditional recorder apps.
Stephen Shankland / CNET:
Pixel 4's dual camera system adds better zoom capability, live-view HDR+ to fine-tune shots, revamped portrait mode, and extends Night Sight to astrophotography  —  Over the last three years, Google's Pixel phones have earned a well-deserved reputation for photographic strength.
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Hands-on with Pixel 4 and 4 XL: while its camera improvements are nice, the focus is on face unlock, radar, over-the-phone hand gestures, faster voice commands  —  Face unlock, new screen tech, faster voice commands, and radar  —  If you follow tech, you probably already know about the new features in Google's Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL.
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google unveils Pixelbook Go, a laptop with 16:9 13.3" display, a 4K option, Intel CPUs, and up to 256GB SSD; pre-orders open today in US and Canada for $649  —  It's small, it's cute, it's $650  —  For the first time, Google is making a Chromebook that actually approaches a reasonable price …
Sandeep Waraich / The Keyword:
Reed Albergotti / Washington Post:
Kids keep finding ways around Apple's Screen Time parental lock, often sharing tips and tricks online; frustrated parents say the company is slow to respond  —  Apple's Screen Time is meant to give customers a way to control their kids' devices, but intrepid youngsters have exploited bugs and workarounds.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Google unveils Nest Wifi Router, which is mesh-capable but lacks Wi-Fi 6, coming in Nov. for $269 for a two pack, and Google Assistant-enabled Nest Wifi Point  —  If you're in the market for a new router, good news: Google just announced a replacement for its long-in-the-tooth Google Wifi.
Scott Scrivens / Android Police:
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Twitter to restrict user interactions with world leaders' tweets that violate its rules, will let users quote-tweet, but not retweet, like, reply, or share  —  Twitter said it will restrict how users can interact with tweets from world leaders who break its rules.
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Level Home emerges from stealth with $71M and debuts $249 Level Lock, which makes existing dead bolt locks smart, and partners with Walmart for in-home delivery  —  As companies like Google, Amazon and Apple hone their strategies to build the brain that helps you use the smart home of the future …
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Google says its Stadia cloud gaming service will launch on November 19 for those who spent $130 on the Founder's Edition package  —  It streams games to the Pixel 3, Chromecast Ultra, and Chrome web browsers — and likely Pixel 4  —  Google's Stadia cloud gaming service is right around the corner …
Andrew Webster / The Verge:
Fortnite's “black hole” hiatus ends after nearly two days, as Chapter 2 arrives with new maps and gameplay features, like fishing, swimming, and new vehicles  —  It took a while, but the black hole did its job  —  For two years now, Fortnite's ever-changing battle royale island …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook should ban political ads and let candidates communicate via their pages since it doesn't need the money and doesn't want to police political speech  —  Permitting falsehood in political advertising would work if we had a model democracy, but we don't.
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