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Google Shuts Down Budget Google Pixel Slate Tablets Line

The Celeron-powered Google Pixel Slate tablets have been removed from the Google Store after being available for a limited time on the website. The two models, which have been out of stock in recent months, were exclusive to the Google Store. The delisting is a clear hint that Google decided to kill the line, a move which shouldn’t be surprising since they didn’t enjoy a good reputation.

Budget Google Pixel Slate line shut down by Google

With a price of $599 and $699, these versions of the Google Pixel Slate line offered an affordable alternative to the iPad. The more expensive versions were appreciated by a large number of reviewers and customers. However, many customers complained that the Celeron iteration offered a horrible users experience. The range is powered by Chrome OS, and the experience has been described as being laggy in the case of the Celeron versions.

The strongest advantages of the device were the build quality and hardware feature. The power button featured a built-in fingerprint sensor, allowing users to unlock their device instantly. The keyboard accessory received a large amount of praise since the smart use of magnets means that you can choose an excellent angle for the display without the need to rely on a few rigid variations.

High-end Google Pixel Slate models are still available

A high-quality 12.3-ich Molecular Display offered a great pixel density of the 293 pixels per inch. Prospective customers can choose between several performance options, with the ceiling being represented by an 8th Generation Intel i7 processor and 16 GB of RAM.

On the media side, an 8MP sensor with Full HD capability is featured on the rear while an 8MP dual camera setup delivers decent selfies. The setup includes a pair of dual front speakers, two USB-C ports, the fingerprint sensor which was mentioned before and a 48Wh battery. The most affordable version offered by Google after the cull is the 8th GEN Intel M3, with a starting price tag of $799.

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Google Sticks To Its Plan To Remove Chrome Ad-Blockers

Google had a tentative of dismissing the APIs that content blocking extensions and Chrome ad-blockers utilize, just a couple of months back. The planned reinstatement API would not have the same capacities, and would not be as powerful, so users and developers hugely complained about it. However, Google is not quite minding the complains and stand firm in their decision.

The actual platform utilized by Chrome extensions is known as Manifest V2, and it was rolled out back in 2012. The tech giant has been developing Manifest V3 for some time now, and it will come with new functionality and changes to the current browser characteristics.

The adjustment that has got the most negative complains was the company’s plan to replace the current WebRequest API, utilized by each content blocking extension, with a much more restricted declarativeNetRequest API. Rather than extensions managing the network filtering, they would offer a filter list that Chrome will then analyze. Numerous developers, most prominently the designer of uBlock Origin and uMatrix openly went against the planned changes.

Google Sticks To Its Plan To Remove Chrome Ad-Blockers

Google has allegedly rethought the plan in the last months, but in no small measure, the tech giant is sticking to the initial plan. A developer advocate at Google said in a forum post that Chrome is depreciating the blocking abilities of the webRequest API in Manifest V3, but not of the whole webRequest API, but still, blocking will still be on to operate distributions. Put differently, content blockers will eventually need to transfer to the new restricted API, or they will stop functioning for regular users.

Google has then revealed the outlines of the optimizations it has created to the new declarativeNetRequest API since the first time it was rolled out. Extensions will be accessible to delimit blocking rules in two paths, namely while installing and while operating. The limit is 30,000 during installation at the moment, and 50,000 while working.

Google stated in a forum post that they are planning to move up these numbers, but they won’t have updated values until they can run performance trials to discover a great upper bound that will function across all supported devices. To make it simpler to understand how the restriction might impact the ad blockers, imagine that EasyList has about 76,000 rules at the moment. These adjustments will most probably not satisfy users who are using ad blockers at the moment, but the Manifest V3 is still a long way until it will roll out, and Manifest V2 won’t be removed for one more year for two.

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Google I/O 2019 Keynote Goes Live Today: What to Expect From This Year’s Event?

Today, Google’s conference for developers known as Google I/O will begin, revealing their new tech and initiative. While a few years earlier Google was only showcasing new tech, starting with 2016, it has shifted into a slightly different perspective.

It began with integrating Google devices into homes, continued with the arrival and development of AI, and last year it even ended with recommending people to use its products less.

We all remember the “Digital Wellbeing” initiative from CEO Sundar Pichai’s keynote in 2018. It was that moment when we all realized that the developers’ conference has shifted towards the public, showing the world how the company wants to be seen:

It’s clear technology can be a positive force, but it’s equally clear that we can’t just be wide-eyed at the innovations technology creates. Now the path ahead needs to be navigated carefully and deliberately, and we feel a deep sense of responsibility to get this right.

Google I/O in 2019 – May 7 – 9

This year, Google will surely announce more smart devices, Assistant should be improved, and AI could migrate to more devices. We will also see home devices, such as Nest Hub Max smart display, being revealed.

The Android operating system should also be part of this event. Android Q will be the star of the event, and so should be the new Pixel 3A and 3A XL phones, which have already been leaked.

We will certainly learn more about the Stadia gaming service as well.

While last year we had “Digital Wellbeing,” Google could make this year be one where they assure the public and fans that they’re a reliable and responsible company. Now let’s see how we can watch the event which will start today and end on May 9.

The event is taking place in Mountain View, California, at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. The most important piece should be the keynote which will begin at 10 am PT (1 pm ET).

If you want to see all of this and more, check out the next links where you can watch the event live.

Keynote starts at: New York: 1 pm, San Francisco: 10 pm, London: 6 pm, Berlin: 7 pm, Moscow: 8 pm, New Delhi: 10:30 pm, Beijing: 1 am (May 8), Tokyo: 2 am (May 8), Melbourne: 3 am (May 8).

The event will soon begin, and you can watch it live on the Google website or their YouTube Channel.

Check back here for more important updates and our new coverage of the event.

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Google Tests Out The Material Theme Redesign For Google Play Store

Lately, Google has been busy expanding its new version of Material Theme to all of their domains. Apps like Google Photos, Gmail and Google Drive have recently been through redesigns. The company is still testing out their new Material Theme to more apps.
As the list of redesigned apps continues to expand, the most recent addition being Google Play Store.

The latest Google Play Store update brings to the table version 12.5.53. Activating the Material Theme redesign makes significant changes, including the following:

  • A bottom bar with tabs for Home, Games, Movies, and Books
  • Rounded corners for the search bar
  • Lack of nested tabs and icons for categories
  • Rounded square icons in the homepage
  • Larger Buttons for Installing Apps
  • Circular download indicator around the app icon

Google Tests Out The Material Theme Redesign For Google Play Store

The website 9to5Google found some interesting strings within the app, which have been interpreted as support for installing Android system updates straight from the Play Store. Other rumors say the strings are actually meant to give users the option to install APEX packages.

Android Q currently has six APEX packages and, according to some sources, OEMs will be forced to use Google’s packages. The new Google Play Store user interface has been tweeted by Kieron Quinn, a software developer who was among the lucky ones that had the chance to test out the new version. Here are some screenshots of the new design:

According to Quinn, the version does crash sometimes, but it is quite stable for a prototype. Another issue is that the toolbar keeps disappearing. We are hoping to see the final version of the Google Play Store Material Theme redesign at Google’s I/O event next week.

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Google Test A New Android Update System In Android Q Beta

Android Q is still in development, and it looks like Google plans to add some interesting features. Google Pixel owners have access to the beta version of the upcoming OS, and some users discovered that Google might be testing a new way to deliver Android updates.

A few threads surfaced on popular platforms, with select users stating that they received some updates via the download manager feature of the Google Play app. Until now firmware updates could be accessed by using the Settings app and the change may raise some interesting questions.

The new feature may seem a bit odd since it’s different from the usual standard used by the industry. It is believed that the new update protocol would allow the tech corporation to release the updates directly, eliminating the annoying delays which are often caused by OEM and carriers. Faster updates sound good in theory, but there is more to them than the delivery time.

In Android Q Beta, Google tests a new method to deliver Android updates

Many Android users don’t know that updates arrive at a slower pace because manufacturers and carriers have to check how the update interacts with the device before it is released for everyone. Google tried to speed up the process in the past with Project Treble and the A/B Seamless update protocol, but some believe that the rate at which updates are released can be improved.

If the updates aren’t optimized for the device there a high risk of facing major bugs and problems and a bricked device isn’t exactly fun to use.

Select sources claim that some Pixel devices restarted immediately after these updates were installed. No prompts appeared during the process, which appears to be automatic. It is likely that power users will not appreciate this implementation since it takes away some of the freedom provided by the OS.

There is plenty of time to refine the feature before Android Q will become available and it may not make it to the final version. Only time will tell.

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