Android

Oppo has launched the Find X8 series globally, including the X8 Pro with dual telephoto lenses. The standard X8 comes with just one zoom lens, and it looks an awful lot like the OnePlus 13 — also expected to launch globally sooner than later. Both brands sure are leaning into the big circular camera bump look, but there’s an essential piece of hardware still present: the alert slider.

November’s Pixel Watch update is here to address last month’s botched Wear OS 5 rollout for older devices, but the curious thing is the update note says the next one is months away:

Pixel Watch 1, Pixel Watch 2, and Pixel Watch 3 devices will receive the November 2024 software update, with the next update planned for March 2025.

It’s odd since Google generally pushes out an update every month. There’s also simply no reason given. Well, a lot can happen in four months.

Message Plus was supposed to be shut down by now, but it appears that Verizon’s messaging client is sticking around just a little longer. The new shutdown date is December 9th, so you have just over a month to wrap up all your conversations and head over to Google Messages. I, for one, will not miss uninstalling it from every Android phone I use.

9to5Google spotted the handy feature quietly added to the app on both Android and iOS.

Whoever you send a link to needs to have the app installed on their device, or else it’ll just send them to the app store listing (or the Google TV site if they’re on a computer.)

The Snapdragon 8 Elite chip comes with ultra wideband baked in, and it won’t require smartphone makers to add extra hardware to take advantage of it, reports Android Authority.

Not every Android phone supports UWB, which is used for precision location features (think AirTags). Perhaps that’ll change with the 8 Elite, given Qualcomm’s chips’ popularity with Android device makers.

Mosseri, who now heads up Instagram, talked a bit about the project in response to a post from our EIC Nilay Patel about the HTC First.

If you want to do some time-traveling, check out Dieter Bohn’s review from 2013.

If you signed up for Google’s waitlisted feature that lets you ask Gemini questions to surface photos and videos, you might be getting it soon, as 9to5Google reports that the feature seems to be going live for some who’ve joined the list.

If you’re not already on the waitlist, you can jump in the queue by signing up on Google’s site.