Google collaborates with Jeremy Scott for new Live Case designs

Hoping to add a bit more color and flair to Pixel and Nexus phones, Google partnered with Jeremy Scott to create new, funky Live Case designs. Channeling the same playful vibe the designer goes for in fashion, the cases are colorful and cartoonish. The cases are plastered with emojis and cartoon characters we’re sure would attract the younger crowd. There are also companion live wallpapers that will rotate through each emoji every day. These can even be animated with a shake of the phone. Aside from that, Google is offering a sticker pack from Jeremy Scott on its Allo app.

The cases are made for the Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 5X, and Nexus 6P with prices starting at US$40 (about CA$55). These can be designed through Google’s case maker, too. There are nine color and emoji case choices you can mix and match. You can even control the zoom level and rotation.

Source: Droid Life

Google partners with uBreakiFix to offer same day repairs for the Pixel

Google Pixel owners in Canada and the US will have less of a downtime if and when their device’s screen, charging port, or battery breaks/fails. Google has partnered with uBreakiFix to deal with potential damages the Pixel or Pixel XL finds itself having. uBreakiFix specializes in walk-in screen repairs within one business day and has 250 retail locations in Canada and the US. uBreakiFix will charge $129 to repair the Pixel’s screen, $149 to fix the Pixel XL’s display, and $79 to repair either the charging port or the battery. You can opt to mail your devices to the company if there isn’t a retail location near where you are.

Source: 9to5Google

Google gets rid of fingerprint gestures and Night Mode for non-Pixel Nexus devices

Looks like Google is really trying to push Pixel as a special device. The older Nexus devices are losing some key features, including fingerprint sensor gesture support, Night Light Mode/Night Mode. It’s understandable that Google will want to elevate Pixel and features like fingerprint gestures isn’t exactly supported by older Nexus devices. But dropping Night Light Mode/Night Mode is a bit off to us. This feature works like Night Shift on iOS, where it turns down the blue light the screens emit as the sun goes down. Night Mode was introduced to Android 7.0 Nougat, while Night Light is exclusive to Pixel on Android 7.1

According to Googler Ian Lake, Night Light does the color tinting through hardware that isn’t seen on the Nexus. But we can’t think of why they’d get rid of Night Mode since it’s a software solution. And according to SlashGear, it seems Night Mode has even been removed in Android 7.1, too. This leaves even the Nexus 5X and 6P without this feature. We hope Google rethinks this strategy. 

See photos taken by the Google Pixel

Google's Pixel smarphone has been received with glowing reviews for its hardware as well as the new Assistant feature and what's now considered as one of the best smartphone cameras in the market. The Pixel still loses points for being pricey, lacking water resistance and storage expansion. The Pixel does shine in the camera department and while I find it adds some post-processing fairy dust to saturate photos a bit more, the results are quite amazing. Check out some recent unedited photos taken by the Pixel XL's 12.3 megapixel camera.

Note: Click on the Blue Camera with a Gear icon to get a full-screen slideshow.