CorysTechTime

  In what has turned into an annual tradition, I have picked up the all new Pixell 11 Pro and its siblings featuring the Pixel Watch 5, and the Pixel Buds Pro 2. I also got a couple of accessories with the matching Pixel case and Pixelsnap Ring Stand. Now, I am a creature of habit so I went with the black color way or Obsidian and Hazel respectively. Google did not change much in terms of design outside of the camera bar on the P11P and that is ok with me. I'm glad that Google went with a black bar design this year as it makes the phone look even more premium and flat out gorgeous. That's it for now. I'll get everything unboxed, set up and will share more soon.

If only Google would make a tablet like the Onn 8.1 I would be an extremely happy camper. But we are here and Google hasn't so we have this budget tablet from Walmart. While I won't give it away this early, however, the Onn 8.1 tablet is an interesting option in the budget space.  What I like about the Onn 8.1 tablet The stand out feature of the tablet for me is the size and the aspect ratio of the display. I must admit that the size is ideal for travel, reading and consuming media. The aspect ratio is not wide and I prefer that as apps tend to look better while filling the space on the screen really well. The software is what I would consider stock Android and it's my favorite of what's available. I also like how light weight the tablet is making it easy to hold in just about any orientation. Battery life is relatively good especially when in standby mode. The body of the tablet seems to be durable. I'm rocking this thing case-less and there are no scratches on the...

The release of the newly announced Googlebook cannot come fast enough for me. I am in the market for a new laptop and have my sights set on a Googlebook with the hope Google is making one. So far there are about five laptop manufacturers that are slated to be producing and releasing one this calendar year. Although, details are sparse surrounding the Googlebook I've seen just enough to know that I want this device to be a part of my tech ecosystem.  My current tech ecosystem Admittedly, I've been holding out for a minute to get a new laptop. Fortunately, my current device is still meeting my needs but barely. Right now, I am rocking a Pixelbook Go from 2019 and using a Pixel 10 Pro with a Pixel Tablet. I'm fine with this setup but my needs for more capable and powerful computing is getting harder to ignore. My Pixelbook Go does not seem as connected to my other devices as I would like which would explain why I don't use it as much. ChromeOS has not progressed much over ...

  Its hard to believe that Google is on their 4th generation smartwatch but they are. In this short amount of time I can honestly say that each version got better. Maybe not by leaps and bounds but modestly with each revision. I've owned each version of the Pixel Watch and the improvement year over year is evident to me. Not just in the hardware department but the software too. I was really close to not upgrading from the PW3, however, after seeing the increase in battery life, charging speeds improvements and upgraded display quality I was all in. Now after spending a year with the device I am glad that I went with the latest model. Day to day There is no real noticeable design change if you look at the watch straight on. The major change is on the left side with the charging pins being quite visible. I don't mind the look at all and think having the charging pins visible gives the watch some much needed character. Overall I like the design and it just works.  Software is sol...

It's not every day a cellphone provider makes this many announcements but I am here for it. If you haven't heard already, Google Fi announced new features and upgrades that are coming to Google's wireless service soon. First we have Wifi Auto Connect Wifi Auto Connect is a feature that switches Pixel users seamlessly to Wifi in crowded places such as airports , malls and stores . I can easily see this feature being clutch when one may want to do something on their device that's data heavy in congested places. Next up we have AI Enhanced Audio With AI Enhanced Audio you get calls free of wind, construction and traffic. This feature also works on landlines . Google uses AI  to automatically filter out distracting background noise and clarify voices on both ends of the line for more natural-sounding conversations. Then there's Web Calls and Messages With web calls and messages , you’re able to call, text and check voicemails from any computer or tablet’s web bro...

 

 

 

 

 

Recently I picked up the Pixel 10 Pro for me and the 10 Pro XL for my wife. Unboxing the devices is the same as past years with the phone, booklets and a cable for charging. There was no e sim due to Google removing the sim slot in the US. Where things got a bit interesting is that Google shipped the trade-in box with the new devices. I think this is a genius move and much needed change to simplify the entire purchasing and trade-in process. Setting up both devices was pretty seamless even with the e sim. Speaking of the e sim this may differ depending on the carrier. I use Google Fi and setting up the new phones and moving my number over to the P10P and P10PXL for my wife was effortless. The rest of the set-up was the same as prior years and an overall great experience. I'll use the phone for a week or so and share my thoughts here. Check out the pictures below of me unboxing the devices.

Another month another ChromeOS release. For August 2025, Google highlights a couple of new features with ChromeOS desk sync and Touchscreen calibration tool. Check out what the features bring to your ChromeOS devices below and let me know how the update is treating your laptops or desktops. ChromeOS desk sync Starting from ChromeOS 139, ChromeOS desk sync helps users quickly pick up from where they left off when switching to another device. Desk sync restores all windows, tabs, and even cookies from the previous session to allow for a seamless transition. Touchscreen calibration tool With ChromeOS 139, you can now calibrate boundaries of external touch screen displays. Chromebook users can now calibrate boundaries of external touch screen displays connected to a Chromebook. This setting helps with aligning external display boundaries, so that touch inputs correspond correctly to the displayed content. ChromeOS M139 announcement 

Believe it or not but YouTube Music did not always have podcasts. As a matter of fact YT Music was not the home for music for Google. That was once Google Play Music but in December of 2020 YT Music took over the music duties for the company. In 2023 YT Music absorbed podcasts from Google Podcasts which brings us to where we are now. For the sake of time I am only going to mention the podcast function within the app/service. What does YouTube Music offer? YT Music is a real basic podcast player that has got the essentials right. The service offers podcasts that are available on the service and the option to add podcasts via an RSS feed. Podcasts can also be downloaded, playback speed can be adjusted, audio/video switching (YT Music podcasts only), sleep timer, trim silence (new), and background play without the need for a YT Music subscription.  There is also library support to manage your collection of podcasts, a dedicated podcast section and search and recommendation for podcast...

With the next Made by Google event just days away I thought it was a good time to take a look at the Pixel Watch 3 from 2024. The Pixel Watch 3 was quite the leap over the Pixel Watch 2 and I expect the PW 4 to follow suit. Now, I don't expect any groundbreaking new features but instead further refinement in areas needing the most improvement. But before we get to that lets quickly review the PW 3 after 1 year.  Pixel Watch 3 1 yr review First and foremost the PW 3 has held up really well over the last year.  There are no noticeable scratches or cracks and the overall performance has been the same since the day I bought it. Battery life is great and gets me through an entire weekend with only needing to charge Monday morning. Speaking of charging, the PW 3 still charges relatively quickly with it being fully charged by the time I am leaving for work. The health features with a focus on running and the additions of Target and Cardio have proven to be useful for tracking and imp...

  Recently, I was going back through some Google I/O videos and came across an interesting promotional video for the upcoming Wear OS 6 update. The video highlighted the visual changes that are to come but this very quick transition to the apps list caught my attention because there was an icon not currently on my Pixel Watch 3. It was the same Pixel Weather icon on my Pixel phone and tablet.  Not sure if this means a new app in Pixel Weather is coming to the Pixel Watch or if they will keep everything the same and just change the icon. I'm hoping with the icon change we will see new features also added to the app. I don't recall any new features being added to the current weather app on Wear OS for some time so we may be due. Check out the screenshot below and let me know what you think in the comments section. 

ChromeOS has not been exactly setting the world on fire with new features but Google may be on to something with Select to Search and Text Capture. Last month Google rolled out this new feature with ChromeOS 138 and it quickly became my favorite to boost productivity. To activate the feature you can tap and hold on the launcher icon or select the everything button and the space bar. There is also an icon in the launcher at the top right next to Gemini.  Once you have it activated just use your finger to tap and drag over the subject and the results will display on the opposite side of the search. You can also tap and drag using the trackpad. Under the subject you get an action you can take which is to copy the text. I wish there was a way to copy the image or share what was selected. I'm sure those actions will be added in a future update but this is it for now. Overall Select to search and Text capture is an awesome new feature and I am looking forward to Google building on what t...

  Yesterday, Google released ChromeOS M138 to stable and is now available to download. Contrary to previous ChromeOS updates there were a couple of features I found to be fairly exciting. Now, this may be the case since I am still rocking a non Chromebook Plus device. With that being said, Select to search and Text capture is that standout feature for me. Select to search and Text capture allows you to select an image or text to get more information about it without leaving where you are. Think Circle to Search on Android devices. To invoke the Select to search and Text capture feature tap and hold on the launcher icon or select the launcher icon and tap on the Google Lens icon on the top right next to the Gemini icon. From there, whatever you select to search will appear on the opposite side of your search. You can also copy text if selected. Pretty useful feature. Check out what else is new in this ChromeOS release. ChromeOS freeform wallpapers As early as ChromeOS 138, freeform ...

Google had quite the week with updates the last few days. Along with Android 16 being released to stable, Google also released an update to Chromebook devices with ChromeOS 137. Like recent updates there does not seem to be anything particularly exciting in this update. I don't foresee this changing in the near future due to continued work being done on the transition to the Android kernel. Check out what's new in this update and let me know how it is treating your device. FaceGazeEnabled Policy: A new policy, FaceGazeEnabled , gives administrators more control over access to the Face Control feature (which allows users to control their Chromebook with facial gestures and head movements) at an organizational level. Crosstalk Cancellation: This feature enhances the internal speaker audio experience by making it sound as if audio is surrounding the user's head, rather than coming directly from the speaker. It aims to provide an immersive, headset-like spatial audio experie...