Google Pixel 2 mic not working during calls? Try blowing into bottom speaker

Google Pixel 2 mic not working during calls? Try blowing into bottom speaker

Among the several issues still plaguing the Google / , there's one that causes the phone's microphone to not work in some critical scenarios, like during a call or while using Assistant. There's a dedicated discussion going on over at Google's Product Forums, and officially, the company is currently in the process of collecting bug reports. However, in a recent post, a user shared that they were able to resolve the problem by blowing into the bottom speaker. Here's their complete post: Another user even shared a video confirming the process actually works. You can access the video . Multiple other users also confirmed the solution works. So there you go. You can try this workaround to get the mic working until Google officially comes up with a permanent solution to the problem. |

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iOS 11 now on more than half of iPhones and iPads

iOS 11 now on more than half of iPhones and iPads

Back in October, iOS 11 to become the most popular version on iPhones and iPads. That number has grown to 52% since then half of iGadgets run the latest major version. Adoption has been slower than last year iOS 10 before the end of October. Still, a major reason for numbers flowing from the old version to the new one is people buying a new iPhone and this year the hottest model the iPhone X launched later in the year. Also a number of devices (iPhone 5 and 5c, iPad 4) were left behind on version 10 and will not be going up to 11. They are mission out on and .

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Apple reportedly working on iPad with Face ID for 2018

Apple reportedly working on iPad with Face ID for 2018

Apple is working on a new iPad with Face ID for 2018, according to a report by . The report states that that this new iPad will have a similar sized display to the current but will get rid of the current Home button with Touch ID in favor of the new Face ID technology introduced with the . Other changes include a thinner bezels, which are likely a result of not having to reserve space button for a physical home button anymore. states that the new iPad will not have an OLED display, something the iPhone X has and what's responsible for what the experts call the best smartphone display ever tested. As depicted in the image above, we believe the new iPad will still have some bezels due to the way tablets are held compared to smartphones. This also means the Face ID sensors will be placed within a thin bezel instead of intruding into the display. Considering Apple is using the same displays we don't think there would be any notches in them. The new iPad is expected to go on sale next year around the same time as this year's iPad Pro launch.

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iPhone X: Here is how to get rid of the notch

iPhone X: Here is how to get rid of the notch

Irritated by the iPhone X notch? Do you want it gone? As part of our upcoming tips and tricks feature we looked at creating wallpapers to minimize the impact of the notch. We created a wallpaper template with a black mask at the top that emulates curved edges symmetrical to the ones at the bottom of the iPhone X OLED screen. You can then apply this to any image that you want, making it appear as if the screen finishes just below the notch and thus hiding it. The full wallpaper we used is shown below. You can download it by . Being honest, this only hides the notch when you're interacting with the lockscreen and homescreen. Elsewhere the visibility of the notch is dependent on the app itself. But hey, every little bit helps, unless that is you want to use the notch to show people you've got the latest shiny new iPhone X. Creating these masks, whilst not difficult, requires you to fire up your favorite image editor. However, whilst we writing the feature, we discovered that an app has now come to the rescue. by developer Cromulent Labs has created an app that allows you to take any image from your iPhone X and create wallpapers that hide the notch on your new iPhone X. We haven't checked all individual app stores, but we can confirm Notcho was available in the UK and USA. No matter which way you create it, you need just a little patience when setting your new wallpaper within settings, as a little moving and pinching is required to align it perfectly but it's worth the effort for the effect.

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Twitter flips the switch for the new 280 character limit

Twitter flips the switch for the new 280 character limit

Today, Twitter has lifted the 140-character limit for its general users to 280. The micro-blogging platform first tested the new limit on a select group of Twitter users, particularly those with large amounts of followers and celebrities. The took place over about six weeks, during which Twitter has collected some interesting data. Only 5% of tweets sent were longer than 140 characters while only 2% were over 190. Mind you, this data was collected before the limit was changed for the vast majority of Twitter users. Wed be interested to learn if well see long tweets all the time, or if people will just keep it short and sweet as theyve been doing since Twitter launched. Twitters reasoning for the increase in character limits is to bring more users who want a bigger canvas to express themselves more easily. The limit is not being raised for Japanese, Korean, and Chinese users because these languages has much denser characters in their languages, thus not requiring them to cram very much. Anyway, those whose limits have been raised will see a new circular character limit indicator, which replaces the digital counter.

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Amazon launches Fire TV Stick Basic Edition in over 100 countries

Amazon launches Fire TV Stick Basic Edition in over 100 countries

Amazon has launched a new version of the Fire TV Stick for the global market, called the Fire TV Stick Basic Edition. This media streaming player will be available in over a 100 countries worldwide where Amazon launched its Amazon Prime Video service last year. The new Basic Edition is essentially the second generation Fire TV Stick but without the Alexa functionality, as many of these 100 countries do not have Alexa. The remote it comes with lacks the microphone and the Alexa button. While that is fine, the device is strangely also available in the US, which does have Alexa. Even more strangely, at $49.99, it costs more than the previous Fire TV Stick that comes with the Alexa remote and costs just $39.99. I'm not quite sure what is happening there but if I had to guess they will eventually phase out the Fire TV Stick with Alexa remote in the US and drop the price of the Basic Edition but for now it makes no sense to get the Basic Edition in the US.

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Measuring the bezels of the iPhone X - can Apple win the bezel-less war?

Measuring the bezels of the iPhone X - can Apple win the bezel-less war?

says Apple about the . An admirable goal, though Apple is hardly a pioneer here Sharp went bezel-less years ago, Xiaomi pushed the concept into the public consciousness. Still, you cant deny the X is a massive improvement over all iPhones dating back to the original. We decided to measure Apples achievement how thin are those bezels? Is it a huge improvement over the iPhone 8 Plus? Obviously yes for the top and bottom bezels, but we think those are of secondary importance. Its the side bezels that matter with todays large screens, thick side bezels can make the phone so wide as to be impossible to hold comfortably. We measured the side bezels of the iPhone X at 4.13mm. Thats almost a full millimeter thinner than the iPhone 8 Plus bezels (and dont forget any saving here counts twice). Its not as thin as it could have been though, the two Androids we used as control are both comfortably under 4mm. Perhaps Apple didnt want to go too thin the iPads have great palm rejection, but even then you dont want accidental touches. As you may have noticed, we didnt include the Galaxy flagships as their curved screens are difficult to measure but also exacerbate the accidental touch issue. Anyway, if you look closely, youll see that the bottom bezel is slightly thinner than the side bezels. So Apple have gone thinner but chose not to for one reason or the other. Note that the top bezel includes the notch with the TrueDepth camera. Its impressive that this notch is smaller than the bottom bezel of the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, even though it contains a minified Kinect. Also, its only a millimeter more than the top bezel on the LG V30, despite housing one of the stereo speakers. If you want to imagine a V30 with stereo speakers, you can look at the Pixel 2 XL. In short, Apples engineers deserves kudos their product strikes a great balance between minimal dead space and ergonomics.

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