Google’s latest Android Messages updates include iOS reactions and YouTube previews

Chatting with an iPhone user has always been frustrating for Android device owners, because iMessage emojis appear as text on Google Messages. As it previewed last month in a beta, Google has started rolling out a feature for Messages that translates iMessaging “Tapbacks” as emojis. It will first arrive to Android devices set to English, “with additional languages to follow,” Google wrote in a blog post. 

Until now, a “thumbs up” to a text that says “see you in ten?” sent from an iPhone would be translated to “liked ‘see you in ten?'”, for example. With the new feature, Android users receive emojis instead, though they may not match exactly what was sent — a “heart” reaction yields the “face with the heart eyes,” for instance. To make that clear to the user, they’ll also see “translated from iOS.”

Apple iMessage emojis arrive to all Google Message users
Google

That’s not the only feature that will make inter-device communication easier. Taking the opportunity to slam iOS’s lack of RCS messaging, Google pointed out that photos and videos can look blurry when shared with Apple devices. However, it’s sort of fixing that by bringing Google Photos into Messages. “You can send your videos as Google Photos links right inside the conversation, preserving their clarity,” it said. A similar feature for photos is “coming soon.”

Google also launched other features within Messages to help keep you on top of things. Organized Inbox sorts your messages into personal and business tabs, much as Gmail can do. It’ll also automatically delete one-time password text messages after 24 hours to further reduce clutter, if you want. And if you forget to reply to a message, “gentle nudges can remind you to reply to messages you may have missed or need to follow up on,” Google said. 

Other new features include birthday reminder nudges if you’ve saved someone’s birthday in your contacts app. It also launched new emoji functions, letting you “create the perfect emoji if you have Gboard set as your keyboard in Messages.” It added that Emoji Kitchen now has “over 2000 new emoji mashups available as stickers, letting you replace heart eyes with pretzels or rain disco balls,” it cited as examples. And finally, Google revealed that YouTube videos will now appear directly in conversations if you send a link. 

DJI’s Mavic Air 2 Fly More combo pack is 20 percent off today only

As the weather gets warmer and spring approaches, many of us will be spending more time outside. If you’re looking for a new gadget that you can bring with you on family outings, DJI’s Mavic Air 2 could be a good option — especially now that it’s on sale at Amazon. The online retailer has knocked 20 percent off the Fly More combo pack, which includes a bunch of extra things in addition to the drone, bringing the whole thing down to $789. The discount is only good for today, but it allows you to get a plethora of handy accessories essentially for free, since the drone on its own costs $799.

Buy Mavic Air 2 Fly More combo at Amazon – $789

Here’s what you’re getting in the combo pack: the Mavic Air 2 drone, a remote control, three flight batteries, extra low-noise propellers, RC cables, a battery charger and charging hub, a shoulder bag and a few additional accessories. Ultimately, you’re getting everything you’d need to take the drone with you on your next trip and, if you plan correctly, enough battery power to keep it in the sky for a long time.

DJI came out with the Mavic Air 2 in 2020 as a follow-up to the original Mavic Air of 2018. It has a lot of updates when compared to its predecessor, key among them being its extended flight time of 34 minutes. DJI achieved that by outfitting the drone with electronic speed controllers, a new battery and a refined design. The Mavic Air 2’s camera uses a 1/2-inch Quad Bayer sensor and can shoot up to 48-megapixel images and 4K video at 60fps.

In addition to new safety features, the Mavic Air 2 has a number of fun features that both newbie and experienced drone pilots will enjoy experimenting with. The “scene recognition” feature can detect sunset, blue skies, snow, grass and trees and automatically adjust camera settings to shoot the best photos and videos possible. FocusTrack has a number of improvements, too, including better a Point of Interest 3.0 feature that has better surface recognition and dynamic tracking. While nearly $800 is still a lot of money to drop on a high-tech toy, it’s a great deal if you want a solid DJI drone with as many useful accessories as possible.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Xbox Series X/S 用戶現在可以「釘選」兩個遊戲來快速啟動

Xbox 的三月更新已經上線，主要是為玩家帶來了兩個方便的小功能。首先，Xbox Series X/S 的玩家可以在快速恢復遊戲列表中，訂選兩個遊戲讓它們常駐在裡面；再者不太常使用「分享」按鍵的玩家，現在也可以將該按鍵指定為其它的功能。…

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra 評測：真有這樣的需要嗎？

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra 有著碩大的 14.6 吋巨屏尺寸、可比高階筆電的定價，直接跨界挑戰別個品項，企圖越過原本還有的一線。到底這是否一件好事呢？實際效果又是如何呢？這邊就讓小編跟大家分享一下體驗吧。…

Apple’s 5K Studio Display should support Windows, including the webcam and speakers

Apple’s new 27-inch 5K Studio Display — including its 12-megapixel webcam and fancy speakers — should work just fine with Windows PCs, Apple has told The Verge. However, certain features enabled by the monitor’s built-in A13 Bionic processor will only function on Macs, Apple said.

There was never much doubt that the display itself would function on a PC, but the resolution may depend on your PC configuration. In effect, you’ll need a graphics card with compatible Thunderbolt or USB-C ports and support for 5K or higher resolution (most modern GPUs have these features).

The status of the webcam was not very clear, though. According to Apple’s Studio Display web page, “camera features and firmware updates require a connection to a Mac.” However, an Apple spokesperson confirmed to The Verge that the camera should work like a normal USB webcam when plugged into a PC. 

One “camera feature” that won’t work on a PC though, is Center Stage. On a Mac, that feature uses digital zoom to keep the subject or subjects in the frame, even if they move around. Other features enabled by the A13 chip, like Spatial Audio and “Hey Siri,” are also unavailable on Windows computers, the spokesperson said. 

At $1,600, the Studio display is pretty expensive for a 27-inch display, especially if you get it with the ridiculously overpriced height adjustment bracket. On the plus side, it does look nice and and the 12-megapixel webcam and high-end speakers add a lot of value. If that’s not important, you could get a 32-inch 4K display with similar specs for far less money.

Sony、Sennheiser 耳機特賣，六折入手 WH-XB910N

疫情期間外出的機會大大減少，再加上近期新聞上甚少出現好消息，很可能會對心理造成大大小小負擔。不論是聽音樂還是看電影，都可以有效地舒緩一下壓抑的情緒，配合上一款效能不俗的耳機，即可讓你短暫地脫離一下現實。現在 Amazon 上 Sony 以及 Sennheiser 都正推出特賣，多款耳機 6 折起發售，可以趁這個機會入手。…

Sony halts PlayStation hardware and software sales in Russia

Sony is joining Microsoft in stopping Russian sales following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. CNBCreports Sony has halted all PlayStation hardware and software sales in Russia, and has cut access to the digital PlayStation Store. The company called for “peace in Ukraine” and said it would donate $2 million to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees as well as Save the Children.

The decision comes a week after Ukraine Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called on Microsoft and Sony to block Russian players, and a few days after Microsoft stopped all sales in the country. Nintendo put its Russian eShop in “maintenance mode,” but that may have been due to a payment service freezing processing for purchases made using rubles.

Numerous Western game developers have stopped selling their work in Russia, including Ubisoft, Take-Two, CD Projekt Red, EA, Activision Blizzard and Epic. However, Sony’s move might be the most damaging yet. Russian gamers will have a much harder time expanding their game libraries, and they can forget about buying the already-elusive PlayStation 5. Sony may feel the sting when it dominates Russian console sales (according to IDC data), but there might not be much practical choice when there’s so much industry pressure to take a stand on the Ukraine war.

Twitter begins rollout of alt text badges for greater accessibility

Twitter has begun testing two new features the company promises will improve the alt text experience on its platform. The company said it would spend about a month trialing the features, which add easy-to-access descriptions to images, before rolling them out globally at the start of April. As Twitter notes, adding a description or “alt text” to an image allows people with low vision or a cognitive disability to “fully contribute” to the platform. They’re also useful if you don’t have the fastest internet connection.

If you have access to the test, you can add alt text to an image by tapping the “Add description” button that appears after you upload a picture. As a rule of thumb, you want to be concise but descriptive when writing alt tags. You’ll then see an “alt” badge appear at the bottom left corner of the image you can tap to read the description. Twitted noted it’s also working on a feature that will remind people to add descriptions to images, and said it would have more to share about that functionality “soon.”

Comprehensive support for alt tags shows just how much Twitter has come along on the accessibility front. In 2020, the company famously introduced a voice note feature that didn’t come with accessibility tools like closed captioning. The company eventually apologized for its actions and went on to establish two dedicated accessibility teams. “We know these features have been a long time coming,” the company said Wednesday, alluding to that history. “We’re grateful for your patience.”

Xbox Series X/S users can now pin games to resume quickly

The March Xbox update is rolling out, and it brings a few useful features to Microsoft’s consoles. Xbox Series X/S players can now pin two games to the Quick Resume group.

That could be useful if you’re the type of person who, say, likes to play a quick round of Halo Infinite multiplayer or enjoy a Forza Horizon 5 race if you need a break from an Elden Ring boss. Pin a couple games to Quick Resume (by pressing the menu button when you highlight a game tile) and it should be easier to hop between them.

Games you pin to the group will stay there unless you remove them manually or they have a required update. If you already have two pinned and want to add another, the console will ask which one you want to replace.

The Xbox dashboard, showing the Groups section. The Quick Resume group includes two tiles with a pin icon.
Xbox

If you don’t tend to use the Share button often, you might get more out of it if you change its function. You can reassign a different action to the button, such as muting the volume, opening your friends list or achievements or bringing up the search menu. Microsoft says there are more actions available for Elite Series 2 Controllers, Xbox Adaptive Controllers and other devices too via the Xbox Accessories app. There’s also a Xbox controller firmware update, which should improve performance on Xbox One controllers with Bluetooth support, among other things.

Elsewhere, there’s a new audio setup wizard for Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. You’ll find it under the “volume and audio output” area of the general settings. It should help you find the optimal settings for your speaker setup.