Pixel

AppWizard
June 9, 2025
Recent insights from the Wear OS 6 developer preview and an APK teardown have revealed new features for the upcoming Pixel Watch 4, including an Adaptive Charging tool that stops charging at a predetermined percentage (likely around 80%) and a rebranded Water Lock mode. The Pixel Watch 4 may also automatically lock your phone if it is left behind. The official rollout of Wear OS 6 is expected to begin in late summer. Additionally, the update will introduce a new Material 3 Expressive UI, dynamic color theming, and a third-party watch face storefront. The Pixel Watch 4 may be thicker than its predecessor to accommodate a larger battery, enhancing the battery life with the new adaptive charging feature.
AppWizard
June 9, 2025
The Google Pixel VIPs app has launched on the Play Store for select Pixel phone users, serving as a precursor to the upcoming Pixel VIPs home screen widget. This widget aims to consolidate information about preferred contacts into a single interface. The app allows users to connect with important contacts, view their last call and message, real-time location, and activity suggestions. It also enables selected contacts to bypass Do Not Disturb mode. The widget will support up to eight contacts, include birthday reminders, and offer notes functionality, with indications of WhatsApp integration. However, downloading the app does not currently provide access to the Pixel VIPs widget, which will require a future update or server-side change.
AppWizard
June 9, 2025
The PC Gaming Show 2025 featured over 60 trailers in a nearly three-hour livestream, showcasing new titles and updates on previously announced games. Major reveals included world premieres of titles such as Ambrosia Sky, Ratatan, and The Alters, covering a variety of genres like roguelikes, co-op shooters, and survival sims. Key titles highlighted include: - Ambrosia Sky: A first-person sci-fi game where players confront an alien fungus in a space colony. - Far Far West: A co-op game where players are robo-bounty hunters in a Wild West setting. - Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition: Revives classic Dungeons & Dragons adventures with new features. - Fresh Tracks: A skiing adventure game with music elements. - Terminull Brigade: A co-op hero shooter set in a digital realm. - Ratatan: A rhythm-action game featuring online co-op battles. - Moomintroll: Winter's Warmth: A narrative-driven game about friendship and resilience. - Necesse: A sandbox action-adventure game focused on building and exploration. - Den of Wolves: A session-based shooter involving cooperative heists. - All Systems Dance: A game that combines dance battles with a dystopian narrative. - Spooky Express: A management simulation game set in a monster-themed theme park. - The Rogue Prince of Persia: A roguelite experience featuring acrobatics. - Enginefall: A multiplayer social sandbox aboard a mega-train. - EVE Frontier: A player-driven sandbox in a harsh cosmic environment. - Skyrig: A game focused on building rigs to extract gases in a stormy atmosphere. - Kaizen: A Factory Story: A factory design game set in 1980s Japan. - Dawn Apart: A colony simulation game on a destructible voxel planet. - Modulus: A factory-building game with customizable modules. - Generation Exile: A turn-based city-builder aboard a generation starship. - Pathfinder: Abomination Vaults: A co-op hack-and-slash ARPG. - Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault: Continues the story of its predecessor with action-RPG elements. - Barotrauma – Home & Harbor: An expansion for managing a deep-sea outpost. - No, I'm Not A Human: A narrative-driven game set in a dying world. - Botsu: A physics-based competitive gaming title. - No More Room In Hell 2: A co-op survival game in zombie-infested zones. - Farever: An online co-op action RPG in a fantasy world. - Mandrake: A narrative game about uncovering family mysteries. - Pizza Bandit: A cooking and shooting game. - Demonschool: A tactics RPG combining university life with battles. - The Last Caretaker: A survival game set in a flooded world. - Railborn: A game about building trains and managing resources. - Voyagers of Nera: A cooperative survival-crafting game in a magical ocean world. - Icarus: Great Hunts Campaigns: Offers nonlinear missions with unique stories. - Garbage Country: An exploration sim in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. - DarkSwitch: A vertical city builder around a great tree. - Sprint X Strike: A chaotic battle game in a post-apocalyptic setting. - Worship: A multiplayer roguelite about cultists performing rituals. - Stars of Icarus: A starship combat game emphasizing teamwork. - 007 First Light: A game featuring a young Bond's journey. - goblinAmerica: A game where players possess U.S. presidents to correct historical mistakes. - EverSiege: Untold Ages: A rogue-lite action-strategy game. - Pigface: A narrative-driven game about confronting the past. - TerraTech: An open-world sandbox adventure game. - Paralives: A life simulation game focused on building and managing lives. - Lost Rift: A cooperative survival game on an archipelago. - Hell Clock: A roguelike ARPG. - Militsioner: A narrative-driven escape game. - Arcane Eats: A roguelike deckbuilder. - Guntouchables: A cooperative survival game against mutants. - Ultrakill – Layer 8: Fraud: Details are yet to be revealed. - Stario: Heaven Tower: A game about building ecosystems. - Dispatch: A superhero workplace comedy. - Wheel World: An open-world mission game. - FBC: Firebreak: A cooperative FPS in a federal agency. - Anno 117: Pax Romana: A historical city-building game. - Baby Steps: A walking simulator exploring self-discovery. - Warhammer 40,000: Darktide – Arbites: Players enforce law in a Warhammer universe. - Endless Legend 2: A fantasy strategy game. - Berserk or Die: A survival game against overwhelming odds. - Mycopunk: A game about uncovering a fungal catastrophe. - Bippo Plus: An interactive experience for Playdate owners. - Morbid Metal: A roguelike with simultaneous character control. - Love Eternal: A psychological horror platformer. - Bus Bound: A public bus service management game. - Atmosfar: A survival and co-op road trip adventure set for early access in 2026. - Void/Breaker: A sci-fi FPS with destructible environments. - Grave Seasons: A farming simulation with a mystery element. - Eyes of Hellfire: A multiplayer horror game with puzzles. - Deadwire: An action game with hacking elements. - Dinkum: A life simulation game on islands. - Void Martyrs: An action game set in a grimdark world. - CloverPit: A unique gameplay experience set to release in summer. - Eclipsium: A title with intense visuals and gameplay elements. - Abyssus: A cooperative FPS adventure. - Ascendant: A multiplayer shooter with chaotic gameplay. - Mewgenics: An endless cat breeding RPG set for release on February 10, 2026. - Dead Reset: A sci-fi horror FMV adventure. - Bernband: A lighthearted cyberpunk game. - Wanderburg: A roguelike adventure with a castle on wheels.
AppWizard
June 8, 2025
Google overhauled its weather app, replacing the weather frog with a new Pixel Weather app for the Pixel 9, which can now be accessed through Google Search. Users expressed dissatisfaction with the need to search for the frog, leading to the emergence of a third-party app called Weather Master. In a poll, 59% of users reported using whatever weather app is pre-installed on their phone, 38% used a third-party app, and 3% did not use a weather app at all. Weather Master features an animated frog, displays current temperature and forecasts, offers a Quick Summary section, and provides clothing and activity suggestions. It allows for customization and includes a radar function, though it has limitations in depth of information and visual data transitions. Despite its flaws, Weather Master is considered user-friendly and has become a preferred choice for some users over Google's official offering.
AppWizard
June 7, 2025
Google introduced Linux Terminal support integrated into Android for Pixel users running the latest stable version of the operating system. The terminal operates within a virtual machine, ensuring separation from core device functions. A recent poll showed that 24% of users have enabled the Linux Terminal app, 51% are considering it, 10% do not want it, and 15% have phones that do not support it. Key commands include "help" for available commands and "man" for manual pages. Users can install system information tools like neofetch and htop, as well as terminal games such as Bastet, Pacman4console, Moon-Buggy, nsnake, and ninvaders. SSH can be installed for network device control, and text editor nano can be used for note-taking. Users can also install cmatrix for a Matrix-like display and stress testing tools. Nyan Cat can be displayed in the terminal as well. Future plans include full-scale Linux apps in Android’s desktop mode.
AppWizard
June 6, 2025
Google is testing a generative AI weather summary to enhance user experience for weather updates, providing a comprehensive overview between hourly and 10-day forecasts. This feature is currently limited to Southern California, including cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego, and is accessible only to users signed into their Google accounts via the Google app and mobile web searches. It does not extend to the Google Weather app. Additionally, the Pixel Weather app has introduced a pollen tracker in the U.S., featuring a five-day view of pollen levels and insights into seasonality and cross-reaction data.
AppWizard
June 6, 2025
Nintendo's 2023 Direct presentation featured the game Stray Children, directed by Yoshiro Kimura. The game has a unique pixel art style and will make its English debut later this year on PC. Players control a young, dog-like boy transported to a fantastical realm inhabited by children, avoiding "The Olders," monstrous adults. The gameplay involves combat in compact arenas with bullet-hell style attacks. Stray Children was released in Japan last year for the Nintendo Switch, and while an English localization is promised, the exact release date is unconfirmed but anticipated for 2025.
AppWizard
June 5, 2025
Google's Material 3 Expressive design initiative is being introduced in the Google Messages beta, with a broader rollout expected with Android 16 or shortly thereafter. The design features lozenge-shaped buttons replacing round buttons, larger sizes for a refined aesthetic, and a redesigned “+” menu for adding emojis and stickers. The updates are currently mixed in visibility among users, particularly in the UK. The adoption of Material 3 Expressive may vary among manufacturers, with brands like Motorola likely to embrace it fully, while Samsung may implement it less comprehensively. In markets like China, brands such as Xiaomi and Honor may continue using their existing design languages, potentially leading to inconsistencies with Google apps.
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