#pixel-9-pro — Public Fediverse posts

Weekly output: Consumer Cellular’s SpeakEasy brand, Uber’s take rate, Google Play Store fees, Pixel 9 Pro screen replacement, Qualcomm’s data-center ambitions, Meta scrapping “Off-Meta Activity” privacy setting, Feds poleaxe Polestar

It’s been a while–years, I think–since I had four stories published on one day by one client. But I only wrote two of Friday’s total on Friday, so don’t draw too many conclusions about my potential productivity.

Patreon readers got an extra post this week in which I unpacked an unfortunately botched bit of business development.

6/22/2026: Consumer Cellular Adds SpeakEasy Mobile Sub-Brand For the 75-and-Up Set, PCMag

The interesting part of this announcement was the two simplified phones that Consumer Cellular’s new brand is bringing to the market.

6/23/2026: Uber driver pay is falling as the company’s take rate rises, new research finds, Fast Company

I didn’t have this report about Uber driver pay on my to-do list as I made my way to Web Summit Rio three weeks ago. But once I got there, a notice about a press conference featuring study author Len Sherman of Columbia University’s business school got my attention, and I’m glad that it did.

6/25/2026: Google Details Reduced Play Store Fees That Trim Its Take to 10% in Many Cases, PCMag

Almost six years after Epic Games’ lawsuit challenged Google’s Android app-store rules, the tech giant finally broke down the changes forced by that litigation. I needed much less time to get this post written and filed Thursday morning; it feels good when that happens.

6/26/2026: I Needed to Replace My Pixel 9 Pro’s Screen. It Was Easy, With One Big Caveat, PCMag

I waited a couple of weeks after this successful screen repair to make sure that my phone wouldn’t fall apart in my pocket–and then worried after publication that I would then choose that moment to drop it onto a sidewalk.

6/26/2026: Qualcomm Darts Into the Data Center Business With Dragonfly, PCMag

I had assumed that somebody on staff would cover Qualcomm’s investor day Wednesday in New York but watched it remotely anyway, and then one of my editors asked if I could do a writeup of that event. Of course I said yes.

6/26/2026: Meta to Scrap ‘Off-Facebook Activity’ Feature That Curbed Web Tracking, PCMag

I could have written this post weeks ago, but getting an e-mail from Meta Thursday morning to the account I use for Facebook that reminded me of this impending privacy downgrade was the nudge I needed. Electronic Frontier Foundation staff technologist Lena Cohen’s comments were then the excuse I needed to remind readers of how this privacy problem is made worse by continued Congressional inaction on privacy.

6/26/2026: Feds Poleaxe Polestar, Banning Future US Sales of Its EVs, PCMag

I wasn’t originally going to jump on this, but once that headline popped into my head I had to write the post. Then I made sure to include three essential bits of context: how the connected-car rule that Polestar ran afoul of dates to the closing days of the Biden administration, how few cars Polestar has sold, and what a mess connected-car privacy remains even if you look only at American manufacturers–thanks in large part to continued Congressional inaction on privacy.

Weekly output: Consumer Cellular’s SpeakEasy brand, Uber’s take rate, Google Play Store fees, Pixel 9 Pro screen replacement, Qualcomm’s data-center ambitions, Meta scrapping “Off-Meta Activity” privacy setting, Feds poleaxe Polestar

It’s been a while–years, I think–since I had four stories published on one day by one client. But I only wrote two of Friday’s total on Friday, so don’t draw too many conclusions about my potential productivity.

Patreon readers got an extra post this week in which I unpacked an unfortunately botched bit of business development.

6/22/2026: Consumer Cellular Adds SpeakEasy Mobile Sub-Brand For the 75-and-Up Set, PCMag

The interesting part of this announcement was the two simplified phones that Consumer Cellular’s new brand is bringing to the market.

6/23/2026: Uber driver pay is falling as the company’s take rate rises, new research finds, Fast Company

I didn’t have this report about Uber driver pay on my to-do list as I made my way to Web Summit Rio three weeks ago. But once I got there, a notice about a press conference featuring study author Len Sherman of Columbia University’s business school got my attention, and I’m glad that it did.

6/25/2026: Google Details Reduced Play Store Fees That Trim Its Take to 10% in Many Cases, PCMag

Almost six years after Epic Games’ lawsuit challenged Google’s Android app-store rules, the tech giant finally broke down the changes forced by that litigation. I needed much less time to get this post written and filed Thursday morning; it feels good when that happens.

6/26/2026: I Needed to Replace My Pixel 9 Pro’s Screen. It Was Easy, With One Big Caveat, PCMag

I waited a couple of weeks after this successful screen repair to make sure that my phone wouldn’t fall apart in my pocket–and then worried after publication that I would then choose that moment to drop it onto a sidewalk.

6/26/2026: Qualcomm Darts Into the Data Center Business With Dragonfly, PCMag

I had assumed that somebody on staff would cover Qualcomm’s investor day Wednesday in New York but watched it remotely anyway, and then one of my editors asked if I could do a writeup of that event. Of course I said yes.

6/26/2026: Meta to Scrap ‘Off-Facebook Activity’ Feature That Curbed Web Tracking, PCMag

I could have written this post weeks ago, but getting an e-mail from Meta Thursday morning to the account I use for Facebook that reminded me of this impending privacy downgrade was the nudge I needed. Electronic Frontier Foundation staff technologist Lena Cohen’s comments were then the excuse I needed to remind readers of how this privacy problem is made worse by continued Congressional inaction on privacy.

6/26/2026: Feds Poleaxe Polestar, Banning Future US Sales of Its EVs, PCMag

I wasn’t originally going to jump on this, but once that headline popped into my head I had to write the post. Then I made sure to include three essential bits of context: how the connected-car rule that Polestar ran afoul of dates to the closing days of the Biden administration, how few cars Polestar has sold, and what a mess connected-car privacy remains even if you look only at American manufacturers–thanks in large part to continued Congressional inaction on privacy.

I won't lie I haven't used the thermometer on my #pixel9pro anywhere as much as I have in the last few days.

Actually using it to get a refund for a hotel/Airbnb which lied about the towel heater being on during the night. Can you even imagine one small fan against the ambient heat and then a heater you can't turn off heating up the small bathroom and in turn the bedroom?!

I won't say it was a great option to add to a smart phone but it's unique and surprisingly useful in the #ukheatwave

Just wish Expedia/VRBO wouldn't keep me on hold forever...

I won't lie I haven't used the thermometer on my #pixel9pro anywhere as much as I have in the last few days.

Actually using it to get a refund for a hotel/Airbnb which lied about the towel heater being on during the night. Can you even imagine one small fan against the ambient heat and then a heater you can't turn off heating up the small bathroom and in turn the bedroom?!

I won't say it was a great option to add to a smart phone but it's unique and surprisingly useful in the #ukheatwave

Just wish Expedia/VRBO wouldn't keep me on hold forever...

On the Pixel 9 Pro there's a service called AI Core. I believe it manages the onboard AI processing for things done on the Pixel.

Disabled it on Friday night and cleared the storage it was using. Not only did I gain about 5GB of phone storage, but my battery has been surprisingly good since.

A light use day today, but 78% at 5:30pm feels like something that wouldn't happen before.

#Pixel #Android #Google #Pixel9Pro

On the Pixel 9 Pro there's a service called AI Core. I believe it manages the onboard AI processing for things done on the Pixel.

Disabled it on Friday night and cleared the storage it was using. Not only did I gain about 5GB of phone storage, but my battery has been surprisingly good since.

A light use day today, but 78% at 5:30pm feels like something that wouldn't happen before.

#Pixel #Android #Google #Pixel9Pro

Life is a bit flat right now, and I really don’t have the desire to take any photographs. Forced myself to take this single image today, with a little edit I didn’t mind the result.

#Photography #StreetPhotography #Pixel #GooglePixel #Pixel9Pro #PixelPhotography #Perth #Australia

Life is a bit flat right now, and I really don’t have the desire to take any photographs. Forced myself to take this single image today, with a little edit I didn’t mind the result.

#Photography #StreetPhotography #Pixel #GooglePixel #Pixel9Pro #PixelPhotography #Perth #Australia

Funkstille beim Pixel 9 und 10: Neuer eSIM-Bug nervt User
https://www.schmidtisblog.de/funkstille-beim-pixel-9-und-10-neuer-esim-bug-nervt-user-1799230/

#Google #Pixel10 #Pixel10Pro #Pixel10ProFold #Pixel10ProXL #Pixel9 #Pixel9Pro #Pixel9ProFold #Pixel9ProXL

Funkstille beim Pixel 9 und 10: Neuer eSIM-Bug nervt User
https://www.schmidtisblog.de/funkstille-beim-pixel-9-und-10-neuer-esim-bug-nervt-user-1799230/

#Google #Pixel10 #Pixel10Pro #Pixel10ProFold #Pixel10ProXL #Pixel9 #Pixel9Pro #Pixel9ProFold #Pixel9ProXL

Has anyone got a good system for getting non-Android Auto ready apps to show on a vehicle infotainment screen? I'm running #Android 16 on a #Pixel9Pro and would like to get #APRSDroid and some other apps to show up. Fermata and AAAD did not work for me.

Has anyone got a good system for getting non-Android Auto ready apps to show on a vehicle infotainment screen? I'm running #Android 16 on a #Pixel9Pro and would like to get #APRSDroid and some other apps to show up. Fermata and AAAD did not work for me.

10/53 — 2026 03.06 Pixel 9 Pro #photography #pixel9pro

10/53 — 2026 03.06 Pixel 9 Pro #photography #pixel9pro

I also took a photo of the same mushrooms using my #Pixel9Pro, which definitely creates a very different vibe from the TG-7. Probably a lot more processing is being done behind the scenes by google to balance all the light levels out.

I also took a photo of the same mushrooms using my #Pixel9Pro, which definitely creates a very different vibe from the TG-7. Probably a lot more processing is being done behind the scenes by google to balance all the light levels out.

Exterior Glass Face

#Photography #Pixel #GooglePixel #Pixel9Pro #PixelPhotography

Exterior Glass Face

#Photography #Pixel #GooglePixel #Pixel9Pro #PixelPhotography

#Google hat einige seiner #Android-Geräte bereits mit der #Apple-Funktion „#AirDrop“ ausgestattet, mit der ihr Dateien kabellos und ohne #Internetverbindung teilen könnt. Das ursprünglich dem #iPhone vorbehaltene Feature funktioniert nun auch von Android auf iPhone. In den nächsten Tagen erweitert Google die Liste der Geräte, die AirDrop von Android auf iPhone unterstützen um das #Pixel9, #Pixel9Pro, #Pixel9ProXL und das #Pixel9ProFold.

Mehr dazu: https://www.appgefahren.de/?p=394892

#appgefahren #AppleBlog #iPad #Mac

#Google hat einige seiner #Android-Geräte bereits mit der #Apple-Funktion „#AirDrop“ ausgestattet, mit der ihr Dateien kabellos und ohne #Internetverbindung teilen könnt. Das ursprünglich dem #iPhone vorbehaltene Feature funktioniert nun auch von Android auf iPhone. In den nächsten Tagen erweitert Google die Liste der Geräte, die AirDrop von Android auf iPhone unterstützen um das #Pixel9, #Pixel9Pro, #Pixel9ProXL und das #Pixel9ProFold.

Mehr dazu: https://www.appgefahren.de/?p=394892

#appgefahren #AppleBlog #iPad #Mac

Honestly lazy photography but visually appealing

#Photography #Pixel #GooglePixel #Pixel9Pro #PixelPhotography #Light #Shadow​

Honestly lazy photography but visually appealing

#Photography #Pixel #GooglePixel #Pixel9Pro #PixelPhotography #Light #Shadow​

In today's episode of "arghh damnit phones are actually good cameras sometimes"

Coffee vibes

#Photography #SmartphonePhotography #Pixel #GooglePixel #Pixel9Pro #PixelPhotography

In today's episode of "arghh damnit phones are actually good cameras sometimes"

Coffee vibes

#Photography #SmartphonePhotography #Pixel #GooglePixel #Pixel9Pro #PixelPhotography

7/53 — 2026 02.13 — Crepuscular rays over Monterey Pixel 9 Pro #photography #CrepuscularRays #Monterey #clouds #pixel9pro

7/53 — 2026 02.13 — Crepuscular rays over Monterey Pixel 9 Pro #photography #CrepuscularRays #Monterey #clouds #pixel9pro

While I’m generally not fond of smartphone processing these days, it does work well for black and white conversions.

#Photography #BlackAndWhitePhotography #Pixel #GooglePixel #Pixel9Pro #PixelPhotography #Dogs

While I’m generally not fond of smartphone processing these days, it does work well for black and white conversions.

#Photography #BlackAndWhitePhotography #Pixel #GooglePixel #Pixel9Pro #PixelPhotography #Dogs

Phones are annoyingly good at photos sometimes. I still prefer using my dedicated cameras at most instances, but every so often…

#Photography #Pixel #GooglePixel #Pixel9Pro #PixelPhotography

Phones are annoyingly good at photos sometimes. I still prefer using my dedicated cameras at most instances, but every so often…

#Photography #Pixel #GooglePixel #Pixel9Pro #PixelPhotography

Google bricht starre Trennung auf: AirDrop-Support via Quick Share landet auf dem Pixel 9
https://www.schmidtisblog.de/google-bricht-starre-trennung-auf-airdrop-support-via-quick-share-landet-auf-dem-pixel-9-1791512/

#Google #Pixel9 #Pixel9Pro #Pixel9ProFold #Pixel9ProXL #QuickShare

Google bricht starre Trennung auf: AirDrop-Support via Quick Share landet auf dem Pixel 9
https://www.schmidtisblog.de/google-bricht-starre-trennung-auf-airdrop-support-via-quick-share-landet-auf-dem-pixel-9-1791512/

#Google #Pixel9 #Pixel9Pro #Pixel9ProFold #Pixel9ProXL #QuickShare

CES 2026 travel-tech report: notes on taking notes

I gambled heavily at CES 2026 in a way that could have blown up disastrously but did not. By which I mean, choosing the year’s busiest workweek to put a new note-taking app into intense service didn’t leave me struggling to reclaim lost input or untangle duplicate records.

(I also got in a little gambling of the blackjack sort; that worked out okay too.)

Evernote’s new management choosing to impose a 92 percent rate increase pushed me to migrate most of my existing 15 years’ worth of notes to Obsidian before my Evernote subscription would renew at that jacked-up $249.99/year rate Jan. 2. And then Evernote’s customer-retention offer of a year of service at the old rate came after I’d gotten over the worst of the migration, so I boarded my flight from Dulles Sunday morning with a new set of note apps on my phone and laptop.

Obsidian’s $48/year, end-to-end encrypted synchronization service didn’t allow the luxury of seeing keystrokes or onscreen-keyboard taps on one device show up on the other device’s screen almost instantly as Evernote had in recent months. But it proved reliable enough even over the iffy bandwidth at CES, with a couple of cases of the service flashing a “merging changes automatically” notice when the automatic sync lagged my device-to-device switches. I didn’t notice more than a few characters lost in the bargain.

I was less happy with some weird onscreen-keyboard misbehavior that delayed my work for a minute or less each time.

I turned to an extra app, Google’s Pixel-only on-device transcription of recorded audio, for two longer conversations that I needed to capture at length before writing them up. That more private AI service did not seem as accurate as Evernote’s cloud-based AI transcription; it looks like I’ll need a start-to-finish playback of the original recording to check the results.

The hardware I brought to Vegas, meanwhile, remained unchanged from last year’s except for my buying a smaller, faster-charging USB-C power adapter last spring. The HP Spectre x360 laptop that I’d purchased in 2023 showed its age in the form of a shorter battery life compared to last year; I don’t expect to take it to CES 2027. My much newer Pixel 9 Pro, meanwhile, continued to serve as a terrific phone for photography and for standing-up notetaking.

I wish I could be as complimentary about the T-Mobile service on my phone, but I saw my phone struggle for connectivity often enough (especially in the bandwidth hellscape that is much of the Venetian Expo) that I wished I’d repeated my earlier Wirecutter-review trick of bringing some new loaner WiFi hotspots to CES.

And then there was the time Sunday night when everything seemed to conspire against me: The crowds at a goat rodeo of a Samsung keynote seemed to crumple T-Mobile’s network, I saw no event WiFi advertised, and even my phone somehow charged at its slowest possible rate off that charger. CES regularly serves up moments like that; getting past them does make the rest of the year’s events seem easier.

#ces #consumerElectronicsShow #Evernote #HPSpectreX360 #LasVegas #noteTaking #Obsidian #Pixel9Pro #TMobile #Vegas

CES 2026 travel-tech report: notes on taking notes

I gambled heavily at CES 2026 in a way that could have blown up disastrously but did not. By which I mean, choosing the year’s busiest workweek to put a new note-taking app into intense service didn’t leave me struggling to reclaim lost input or untangle duplicate records.

(I also got in a little gambling of the blackjack sort; that worked out okay too.)

Evernote’s new management choosing to impose a 92 percent rate increase pushed me to migrate most of my existing 15 years’ worth of notes to Obsidian before my Evernote subscription would renew at that jacked-up $249.99/year rate Jan. 2. And then Evernote’s customer-retention offer of a year of service at the old rate came after I’d gotten over the worst of the migration, so I boarded my flight from Dulles Sunday morning with a new set of note apps on my phone and laptop.

Obsidian’s $48/year, end-to-end encrypted synchronization service didn’t allow the luxury of seeing keystrokes or onscreen-keyboard taps on one device show up on the other device’s screen almost instantly as Evernote had in recent months. But it proved reliable enough even over the iffy bandwidth at CES, with a couple of cases of the service flashing a “merging changes automatically” notice when the automatic sync lagged my device-to-device switches. I didn’t notice more than a few characters lost in the bargain.

I was less happy with some weird onscreen-keyboard misbehavior that delayed my work for a minute or less each time.

I turned to an extra app, Google’s Pixel-only on-device transcription of recorded audio, for two longer conversations that I needed to capture at length before writing them up. That more private AI service did not seem as accurate as Evernote’s cloud-based AI transcription; it looks like I’ll need a start-to-finish playback of the original recording to check the results.

The hardware I brought to Vegas, meanwhile, remained unchanged from last year’s except for my buying a smaller, faster-charging USB-C power adapter last spring. The HP Spectre x360 laptop that I’d purchased in 2023 showed its age in the form of a shorter battery life compared to last year; I don’t expect to take it to CES 2027. My much newer Pixel 9 Pro, meanwhile, continued to serve as a terrific phone for photography and for standing-up notetaking.

I wish I could be as complimentary about the T-Mobile service on my phone, but I saw my phone struggle for connectivity often enough (especially in the bandwidth hellscape that is much of the Venetian Expo) that I wished I’d repeated my earlier Wirecutter-review trick of bringing some new loaner WiFi hotspots to CES.

And then there was the time Sunday night when everything seemed to conspire against me: The crowds at a goat rodeo of a Samsung keynote seemed to crumple T-Mobile’s network, I saw no event WiFi advertised, and even my phone somehow charged at its slowest possible rate off that charger. CES regularly serves up moments like that; getting past them does make the rest of the year’s events seem easier.

#ces #consumerElectronicsShow #Evernote #HPSpectreX360 #LasVegas #noteTaking #Obsidian #Pixel9Pro #TMobile #Vegas

Pixel 9-Nutzer dürfen sich freuen: Google bringt überraschend AirDrop-Austauschfunktion auf frühere Modelle
https://www.schmidtisblog.de/pixel-9-nutzer-duerfen-sich-freuen-google-bringt-ueberraschend-airdrop-austauschfunktion-auf-fruehere-modelle-1790875/

#Google #Pixel9 #Pixel9Pro #Pixel9ProFold #Pixel9ProXL

Pixel 9-Nutzer dürfen sich freuen: Google bringt überraschend AirDrop-Austauschfunktion auf frühere Modelle
https://www.schmidtisblog.de/pixel-9-nutzer-duerfen-sich-freuen-google-bringt-ueberraschend-airdrop-austauschfunktion-auf-fruehere-modelle-1790875/

#Google #Pixel9 #Pixel9Pro #Pixel9ProFold #Pixel9ProXL

1/53 — 2026 01/01

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://mntyfrsh.tumblr.com/post/804874916500471808

1/53 — 2026 01/01

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://mntyfrsh.tumblr.com/post/804874916500471808

1/53 — 2026 01/01 I was obsessed with the building in the distance (Fox Plaza), which I've somehow never managed to see or notice before today. Pixel 9 Pro #photography #sanfrancisco #foxplaza #pixel9pro

1/53 — 2026 01/01 I was obsessed with the building in the distance (Fox Plaza), which I've somehow never managed to see or notice before today. Pixel 9 Pro #photography #sanfrancisco #foxplaza #pixel9pro