Month: November 2025

Streaming media was supposed to be the next great evolution in home entertainment, and while in many ways it is, we’ve also seen it introduce nearly as many problems as it’s solved. One of the biggest has simply been keeping track of what’s available where — while some content is locked down tightly to one streaming platform, there’s also a ton of it that’s available across multiple services, or floats back and forth between a few. Now Google is providing a helpful new tool for quickly tracking down where we can watch something.

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Google is now rolling out call recording more widely in its Phone by Google app for Pixel phones. The company promised to bring the feature to Pixel 6 and newer devices back in September, and it appears that rollout is now well underway.

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Updated: November 12, 2025 (11 PM ET): After the release of the November Android Canary build, we can now confirm that toggling off the new “Show on home screen” option in Pixel’s At a Glance settings indeed hides the widget completely from the home screen while keeping it visible on the lock screen and Always-on Display. The screen recording above demonstrates how the feature would work, should it eventually be released in a stable build.

Original article: November 12, 2025 (4:30 AM ET):  Google could finally give Pixel users long-awaited control over the At a Glance widget. In the latest Android Canary build with Android System Intelligence version B.17.playstore.pixel10.825046611, we spotted a new “Show on home screen” toggle in the At a Glance settings, suggesting that you might soon be able to turn off the widget on your home screen while keeping it active on the lock screen.

The Google app is finally getting the new Pinterest-like “Images” tab, months after the feature was made available to beta users for testing. The new tab is joining the existing “Home,” “Search,” “Notifications,” and “Activity” tabs at the bottom of the Google app screen on both Android and iOS.

Update: November 12, 2025 (12:07 AM ET): We noted in our original article that the new Power Saving Mode in Google Maps might work for walking or using two-wheeler directions. However, Google’s support page now makes it clear that the feature is only available in driving mode and doesn’t support other travel modes, such as walking or biking navigation.

Once you start navigating, you can view a power-saving version of the navigation map right on your lock screen by pressing your phone’s power button. To exit this mode, simply tap the screen or press the power button again. If you want to return to the power-saving navigation view, just press the power button once more.

Nova Launcher is receiving yet another update, despite its founder, Kevin Barry, announcing in September that he would no longer be involved in its development. At the time, Barry had stated that he was the only one working on the third-party launcher and that with his departure from Branch, the analytics firm that acquired Nova Launcher in 2022, the project would no longer be maintained.

The Android apps that come preinstalled on a phone have several advantages. For one, they’re already there — you don’t need to visit the Play Store and sift through numerous options to find one that might meet your needs. Secondly, they’re usually from the manufacturer itself, which means they’re tightly integrated into the broader framework of your phone.

However, as is often the case in life, what’s easiest isn’t always the best, and this is especially true for smartphone apps that non-tech-savvy users might employ. These users might benefit more from a more approachable or supportive product that you or they would need to install.

Many Android apps ask for your current location to show you more relevant results or help with directions, but most don’t need your precise GPS coordinates to do the job. That’s why Android offers two levels of location accuracy: Precise and Approximate. These options are controlled by two different Android permissions and are intended for different kinds of apps.

If an app requests a precise location, Android provides the most accurate estimate it can, usually within 3 to 50 meters (about 10 to 164 feet). If an app requests an approximate location, however, Android will only provide a rough estimate of your device’s location, which may only be accurate to within 3 square kilometers (about 1.2 square miles). This is why navigation apps always require your device’s precise location, while most other apps can function perfectly well with either.