It has been speculated on. It has been rumored. It has been hoped for. And in keeping with an interview with TechRadar, it is occurring. Android ecosystem president Sameer Samat says Google plans to mix Chrome OS and Android “right into a single platform.”
Google has saved its cellphone and pill working programs distinct from its laptop computer platform. There was loads of crossover over time—the most important being the introduction of Android apps to Chromebooks again in 2016—however they’ve all the time coexisted. With Samat’s new assertion, although, change is afoot.
Within the interview, Samat additionally adopted up on a remark made to WIRED’s Julian Chokkattu at Google I/O this 12 months, hinting at a future Google laptop computer, stating that “he is involved in how individuals are utilizing their laptops nowadays.” The final Google laptop computer was the Pixelbook Go in 2019, which adopted the ill-fated Pixel Slate 2-in-1 in 2017. If Google does plan to merge the brand new platforms, having flagship Google {hardware} available is a should. —Luke Larsen
Pixels Are on the Approach
Rick Osterloh, senior vice chairman of gadgets and providers at Alphabet Inc., through the Made By Google launch occasion in Mountain View, California, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. Alphabet Inc.’s Google is rolling out upgraded smartphones, watches and earbuds, aiming to tackle Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. and provide extra methods to make use of synthetic intelligence. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg by way of Getty PhotosBloomberg/Getty Photos
In different Google information, the corporate has set a date for its Made by Google occasion, the place it is anticipated to debut the Pixel 10 sequence smartphones, a brand new Pixel Watch, and new wi-fi earbuds. The keynote takes place on August 20 in Brooklyn, New York, and it kicks off at 1 pm ET (10 am Pacific). It will be livestreamed as regular.
Google used to carry its large {hardware} occasion in October, however modified issues up final 12 months, placing the Pixel launch date forward of the iPhone, with extra respiration room forward of the vacation procuring season. The spotlight of this 12 months’s launch—aside from marking 10 years of Pixel—is that Google is rumored to be transferring to TSMC chips for its Tensor G5 chipset resulting from points with Samsung’s foundry.
Sony Surprises With a New Digital camera
Courtesy of Sony
Sony has dropped a brand new full-frame digital camera out of the blue, the RX1R III. The RX1R sequence was final up to date 9 years in the past. Why now? If I needed to guess, I might say it has rather a lot to do with the success of compact fixed-lens cameras, just like the Leica Q sequence, Fujifilm X100 sequence, and the Fujifilm GFX100RF. Sorry you needed to wait virtually 10 years, RX1 followers, however higher late than by no means.
What do you get out of a 10-year growth cycle? Seems … not that a lot. The RX1R III is just about a repackaged a7R V when it comes to picture capabilities. There’s the identical 61-megapixel full-frame sensor paired with the a7R V’s Bionz XR picture processor and the devoted AI chip. That is a big improve for this digital camera relative to the final mannequin within the sequence, however there is not any brand-new tech right here.
Extra fascinating are the design adjustments. The RX1R III ditches the pop-up digital viewfinder of the RX1R II in favor of a rear-mounted viewfinder, making it look a bit like Sony’s high-res journey digital camera, the a7R C. Additionally, Sony dropped the articulating rear display; this one is mounted just like the very first RX1R. In all probability the most effective improve right here is that the RX1R III makes use of Sony’s bigger batteries, the NP-FW50, which can dramatically enhance battery life.
One factor that hasn’t modified in any respect since this sequence was launched in 2012 is the built-in Zeiss Sonnar T* 35-mm f/2 lens. The massive query right here is, how will this more-than-a-decade-old lens work with the most recent and best autofocus? We’ll let you understand once we get our palms on a evaluation unit later this 12 months. —Scott Gilbertson
Omega’s Summer season Seamaster
Courtesy of Omega
Omega this week dropped a vibrant, summery model of its glorious Seamaster Diver 300M, following on February’s bronze gold and burgundy watch. Whereas, sure, it isn’t precisely a groundbreaking departure from final 12 months’s authentic, it hits all the appropriate notes, primarily because of how sturdy November’s first iteration was. Nevertheless, this mannequin has an edge over its siblings.
The aluminum bezel and classy mesh bracelet stay, however look intently and you will see refined adjustments, most pleasing of which is that the wave-pattern on the dial has been changed with a flat, matte-textured black. For the orange fanatics, observe the lollipop seconds hand, and indices at 12, 3, 6, and 9 have all been given a pop of coloration. A last flourish is the matching orange “Seamaster” dial signature.
