Google Pixel

Just when you thought we’d learned (and seen) everything there is to know about the Pixel 9 lineup, Android Authority reveals details about iPhone-like satellite features hinted at within Android 15 beta 4.

There’s notification text saying, “Your Pixel has been updated to support satellite communication,” and other text about two years of free satellite service, although that may be just placeholder text.

That’s according to 9to5Google. As it happens, Android 15 may support directly controlling smart home devices with your phone via Thread, a key component of the Matter smart home protocol.

Pixel 9 phones wouldn’t be alone — Apple put Thread radios in the iPhone 15 Pro phones, too.

Mishaal Rahman reports that Android 15 adds a Thread Network Stack to allow Android smartphones with Thread radios to directly control Thread smart home devices.

But there aren’t any such phones yet. Only the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max have Thread. With the Pixel 9 launching next month, that could soon change.

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.

One user on X shows off what appears to be the Pixel 9 in a shade of bubblegum pink. Google is expected to reveal its new Pixel lineup during a surprise hardware event on August 13th.

Google spit out a surprise Pixel 9 hardware event announcement last week. It’s set for August 13th, two months earlier than the October phone events it’s held in the last few years.

But why? AI reasons? Yeah, probably, as David Pierce and Nilay Patel discussed on The Vergecast.

Images of what looks like a damaged Pixel 6-style Fold showed up on the XDA forums, in a May thread that quietly petered out.

The phone, which forum members assumed was fake, appears to be a legitimate prototype of a foldable that was once rumored for a 2021 reveal, according to Android Authority, citing an unnamed source within Google.

And it looks a lot like the Pixel Watch 3 leaks we saw the other day. Just bigger. How much bigger? Apparently the case will be 45mm, which as far as chonky smartwatches go isn’t that big. Even so, we love to see a bigger size option for folks with larger wrists — especially if that means a larger battery too.

Old:

Unauthorized Parts: You will not send in a Device containing non-Google-authorized parts – if You do, Your Device will not be returned to you.

New:

Unauthorized Parts: If You send a Device containing non-Google-authorized parts for repair, in certain situations (e.g., safety), Service Provider may not be able to repair Your Device. Service Provider will return Your Device except when health or safety requirements prevent us from doing so. If Service Provider can’t return Your Device, Google will work with You on next steps.

Google claims it never actually kept people’s phones.

We have no problem recommending the Pixel 7 Pro now Woot is selling the unlocked 128GB model for $399 ($500 off) through May 31st.

It’s an amazing value, but not guaranteed to get newer Android versions beyond October 2025. The Pixel 8a promises updates through May 2031.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission.

This feature was available before Sonos sued Google but didn’t return when Google restored most software features following its victory last October.

But with Android 15 Beta 2, Pixel users will once again be able to control the volume of grouped speakers with the phone’s buttons from outside the app that’s casting.

Android 15’s second public beta introduced customizable vibrations for notifications for different apps.

9to5Google notes Pixel phones go a step further, using the phone’s microphones and sensors to adjust vibration intensity based on your surroundings. Pixel phones are particularly noisy when they vibrate on a hard surface like a table, and this feature seems to address that problem. Now that’s what I call a good vibe.

Starting June 10th, a Google support page says the digital wallet app will start requiring Android 9 or higher and Wear OS 2 or higher to work, as earlier versions no longer get security updates.

As 9to5Google notes, it only required Android 5.2 when it fully rolled out in 2022.