The latest version of Wear OS has landed, just in time for Android 17 to start rolling out on Pixel smartphones. Wear OS 7 is not a huge departure from Wear OS 6, but the update brings a handful of new features that are either available now or coming soon.
What you need to know
- Google Photos received another reimagining tool called "Video Remix."
- Similar to its other Remix option, Video Remix lets users reimagine a video with new lighting, an entirely different theme or style, and more.
- The Create tab's Remix was our introduction to this for photos in 2025, and a Remix option as since hit Google TV.
New AI capabilities are rolling out in Google Photos.
What you need to know
- Meta AI announced Muse Image, its newest image generator that builds off what it started with Muse Spark.
- Muse Image is "rooted" in the user's social circle (or anyone publicly on Instagram), able of adding people into an image if they're @-mentioned.
- The latest AI also brings image generation to WhatsApp chats and 30 new effects for Instagram Stories.
Meta AI introduced us to its new direction with M
What you need to know
- Meta is rolling out a mandatory update that disables the camera entirely if the glasses' privacy light is tampered with or covered.
- Earlier glasses only showed a prompt when the LED was covered, but users bypassed it by drilling holes or using mods.
- Meta will also remove ads and posts promoting tampering services and take action against any accounts linked to them.
- The change follows growing misuse of Met
Google pulled a Google on Pixel Studio image generation, meaning the feature was killed just like countless other projects before it. Now that the AI image-generating feature is gone, there are still quite a few ways to create custom stickers on a Pixel phone.
What you need to know
- Google now counts Android backups like SMS, call history, and settings toward your Google storage quota.
- New backup controls let you choose exactly which data, including call history and settings, gets backed up.
- Google says the average Android backup is only around 40MB, so most users won't notice a major impact.
Google has started counting your Android phone's backup data against your Google account
Google and Android are pretty much synonymous, given that the former owns and develops the latter. However, over the years, Android has more or less grown into its own entity, spanning not just your phone but wearables, vehicles, and more. Meanwhile, Google as a company continues to expand its reach beyond just Android and Search, and lately it's been all about AI.
What you need to know
- Google Maps may soon let you order food with Gemini, cutting out apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash.
- Hidden code in the latest Google Maps app points to an upcoming "Ask Maps to order food" feature, but it's not live yet.
- The feature appears to build on Gemini's Ask Maps experience, taking users from restaurant discovery to placing an order in one conversation.
Google Maps has long been the go-to app fo
What you need to know
- Google announced Android 17 QPR1 Beta 6 is rolling out for enrolled Pixel testers a week after Beta 5 dropped.
- The patch is lighter, focused mostly on fixing issues Pixel testers have been reporting on the Issue Tracker.
- Beta 5 carried a significant number of fixes for Pixel users, such as solutions for vanishing widgets, the Game Dashboard, and more.
The next beta for Android 17's first quarterly upd
I use Gemini for all sorts of things on my phone, from general assistant help and smart home control to generative AI creation. The app tries to be a jack-of-all-trades, capable of creating text, images, audio, and video from simple prompts.