Tag: pixels

Pixel’s new satellite feature could show people where you are on Google Maps

Post author By lisa nichols
Post date April 18, 2024
No Comments on Pixel’s new satellite feature could show people where you are on Google Maps

[ad_1]

Recent leaks claim Google is working on further integrating satellite connectivity to their Pixel phones and could introduce support for the tech in Google Maps. This information comes from two industry insiders: AssembleDebug who shared his findings with PiunikaWeb and Nail Sadykov over on Telegram. Beginning with the former, users will apparently be able to share their location with others via satellite connection.

Hints of the location-sharing tool were found in the strings of code on the latest Google Maps beta. It’s unknown exactly how it’ll work. The report doesn’t go into detail. They do, however, say people “will be able to update their location” in the app every 15 minutes to maintain accuracy. But there’s a catch – you can only refresh your whereabouts “up to five times a day.” It makes sense why Google would implement some sort of restrictions.

This is supposed to be an emergency, potentially life-saving feature akin to Emergency SOS on the iPhone and Google may not want people messing around with it.

Setting up a satellite connection

As for the other update, Nail Sadykov states he found evidence of something called the Android Satellite Pointing UI.

It appears to be a help guide for Pixel that’ll teach people how to connect their smartphone to an orbiting satellite. A video posted to the unofficial Google News channel on Telegram shows how the process could work.

Users will have to hold their phone in front of them and physically move it around to find a satellite. Once found, you’ll need to keep moving the device until a blue satellite icon reaches the middle of an on-screen circle and stays there for several seconds. Holding the icon in place allows the device to establish connection. If you don’t connect, you’ll receive an on-screen message telling you the session failed.

Pixel's new satellite connectivity guide

(Image credit: Nail Sadykov)

Sadykov goes on to say the guide will be a part of the Pixel’s “Adaptive Connectivity Service (ACS) app”. It’s unclear if he meant the currently available feature or if there will be a new app solely for ACS.

He says it’ll be possible to minimize the window into a floating widget on the home page so you can continue texting while trying to establish a connection. When it’s all done, Pixel owners can see Satellite SOS running by swiping down on Quick Settings. You’ll also receive a short message in the menu telling you to avoid buildings, trees, and mountains to ensure a clear view of the sky and not interrupt service.

Potential arrival date

An arrival date for everything you see here is unknown, although both sources believe their respective features will launch on the Pixel 9. The two groups mention a third leak from April 15 about the Pixel 9 series possibly receiving the Samsung Modem 5400 to enable satellite connectivity. The same satellite icon (albeit red) and guide animations from Sadykov’s post were found in the earlier report. PiunikaWeb also mentions seeing the same symbol.

So what we’re seeing today could be the fruits of this new labor – at least potentially. Things could always change at the last minute. Be sure to take all this info with a grain of salt.

While we have you, check out TechRadar’s roundup of the best Pixel phones for 2024.

[ad_2]

Source Article Link

Tags feature, Google, Maps, people, pixels, Satellite, Show

Featured

I tested the Google Pixel’s Long Exposure photo mode – and it’s another reason to leave my pro mirrorless camera at home

[ad_1]

Google‘s Long Exposure photo mode is actually decent. There, I said it. Photographer me is putting his neck on the line by saying that another smartphone computational photography mode, recently given its own tab in Google’s revamped Camera app, is one less reason to use a ‘proper’ camera – and mine’s a TechRadar-approved best mirrorless camera, no less.

I was on a short family break at the coast recently and set an early alarm to sneak out for a little solo time at first light at a secluded cove nearby. It would be me, the gentle lapping waves, and hopefully a little color in the sky. Of course, I would take a camera too.

Hot tea in a travel flask, banana, notepad and pen, mirrorless camera, two pro lenses covering the 24-200mm focal length between them, an ND filter plus a tripod, and I was good to go. Oh, and the Google Pixel 6 was in my pocket.

Image 1 of 3

Sunrise beach with long exposure effect blurring the ocean water movement — The standard version of the headline image, completely unedited.(Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

A steep descent through a wooded area and the sheltered east-facing cove came into view. I’ve learned the importance of enjoying nature first before taking a camera out of the bag, especially given my screen-intensive day job.

After grounding myself in the peace and unrushed pace of the quiet sunrise I started moving around the beach looking for compositions that caught my eye, for photos that would transport me back to what it was like being there.

Sunrise was lovely – not award-winning, but adding a splash of color. The outgoing tide was steadily revealing more of the beach. Small waves crashed against the clay-red sandy incline, climbed up the beach a little, and then retreated around small rocks, creating interesting patterns.

I’ve taken a few long exposure seascape photos down the years, and love the technique, especially for accentuating the movement of water as it retreats around rocks. I take a quick snap of the scene on the Pixel 6 and it occurs to me that I’ve not properly used its Long Exposure photo mode yet, now prominent in the camera app with its own tab.

Image 1 of 2

The Long Exposure photo mode blurs movement, while keeping still objects sharp. The creative technique can be used in several ways, with blurring moving water a popular choice. Having observed the water trails, I line up the picture and take the snap.

It works a little like Night Sight – you need to keep your phone as steady as possible while the long exposure is captured. That way the still objects – in this case the rocks, cliff faces, and untouched sand – remain sharp. This computational photography mode is like a pro mirrorless camera’s in-body image stabilization on steroids.

The phone stores both the regular photo and the long exposure effect image (I’ve included both versions of every image for comparison). I have to say, the effect in this scenario is convincing (see above), similar to what I’d expect from my mirrorless camera which remains in the bag 50 meters away up the beach.

Whatever camera you use for long exposure photography (be it mirrorless or a cameraphone) – in this context of accentuating retreating ocean waters – you need to keep trying and trying and trying to get the shot. Timing is so hard.

Your best bet is starting the capture with the wave at its peak up the beach and just as the water starts to retreat. That way the natural path back to the ocean, be it straight or snaking around rocks, is accentuated and depicts the tidal energy.

Image 1 of 2

Not all scenes are worth using the Long Exposure photo mode for. The water is too far away in this composition and now I’m blowing out highlights.(Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

Google Pixel’s Long Exposure mode isn’t perfect – detail is usually softer than in the standard version – but it’s pretty darn good and convincing enough that I didn’t really need to bring my mirrorless camera, tripod, and ND filters along for the ride. If I owned the OM System OM-1 II (or OM-1), I could use that camera’s Live ND computational photography mode instead and leave the tripod and ND filters behind.

I haven’t lost faith in my ‘proper’ camera, far from it. Towards the end of my time at the beach, while still alone, a playful seal popped its head up like a floating rock. I steamed back up the beach to my bag, grabbed the camera with a 70-200mm lens, and got a few photos that far exceed what I could possibly hope to get with the Pixel 6 – though some of today’s best cameraphones might have done a decent job.

I’ll also still use my ‘proper’ camera with tripod and ND filters for long exposure photography, too. It’s just that now I might think twice if lugging all of that gear to get the creative effect is worth it when I have the computational mode in a device that slips into my pocket.

A seal in the ocean.

Sammy, from considerable distance, taken with my pro mirrorless camera that I still love. (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

[ad_2]

Source Article Link

Tags camera, Exposure, Google, Home, leave, Long, mirrorless, mode, Photo, pixels, Pro, reason, tested

Featured

Engineers enlist NASA to send yet another time capsule to the moon — 24 sapphire discs will contain ‘the very essence of humanity’ printed over 170 billion pixels but who will read them?

[ad_1]

NASA, in collaboration with a team of international scientists, researchers, designers, and artists led by French engineer Benoit Faiveley, is set to send another time capsule to the moon.

The project, titled “Sanctuary on the Moon”, is part of NASA’s ambitious Artemis CLPS program and enjoys the support of UNESCO and the patronage of French President Emmanuel Macron.

Sanctuary on the Moon aims to engrave 24 sapphire discs with “the very essence of humanity”. The discs, currently being engraved at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), will contain a diverse portrait of our species in micropixels – up to 7 billion per disc.

An inspiration for generations to come

This will be the first time the collective human ‘recipe’ in the form of male and female genomes will be taken to another world, and the project aims to pass on an intelligible message to future generations of humans – and other intelligent life forms who might happen to stop – by using universal symbols of our knowledge and culture. The plan is to tell the story of “who we are, what we know, and what we do” and the discs will include examples of mathematics, culture, paleontology, art, and science, along with the human genome.

The moon, with its ancient surface impervious to natural disasters, is viewed as being the ideal location for this archival time capsule which will be housed in a container designed to endure the harsh lunar conditions for many years, meeting all the space certifications required by NASA.

Joel Kearns, NASA’s Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, expressed his excitement about the project. “We are delighted to take Sanctuary to the Moon”, he said. “We believe that this internationally curated repository of knowledge on the Moon will serve as an inspiration today and for many generations to come.”

The multidisciplinary Sanctuary team includes 11 renowned scientists, engineers, astrophysicists, paleontologists, cosmologists, and artists. The project has also received support from organizations such as CNES, CEA, INRIA, BCGSC, and UNESCO.

You can find out more about the Sanctuary on the Moon project here.

The Sanctuary team looking at the 'Life' disc on WILDER images wall, at INRIA Paris Saclay

(Image credit: Benedict Redgrove)