Technologies

Google Pixel’s Magnifier App Makes It Easier to See Small Text, Objects

Here’s how to get and use the new feature.

Google has launched a new app for Pixel phones: Magnifier, which lets you zoom in on text and objects to make them easier to decipher. So if you’re trying to read fine print, make out street signs, or you’re just… in the nosebleeds at a concert, you can leverage the Pixel camera’s impressive zoom capabilities to get a closer look.

To get the app, go to the Google Play Store and search for Magnifier (you’ll need a Pixel 5 or newer model to download). Hit Install.

Once you’ve opened the app, you can use the plus icon on the bottom right to zoom in up to 30x. You can also hit the settings button on the very bottom left to change the contrast and brightness, and to add a filter, which might make things easier to see. For instance, you can turn black text on a white background into blue text on a yellow background, if that’s easier on your eyes.

You can also snap a photo with the shutter button in the bottom center, and then go through those same functions like zooming in and changing the image contrast or brightness.

After you snap a photo, there’s also an option at the top of the screen to activate Google Lens (look for the small camera icon). Here, you can do a search, scroll through Google’s Shopping tab if you want to buy what you see, or translate text. You can also tap the «Listen» button under the Translate or Text tabs to hear text and numbers spoken aloud.

Based on my experience trying out Magnifier, objects and text show up impressively clear on screen, even when zoomed in at 30x. Google says this is thanks to AI zoom stabilization and hi-res zoom on the Pixel’s camera.

Magnifier was built in collaboration with the Royal National Institute of Blind People in the UK and the National Federation of the Blind in the US and is part of Google’s ongoing efforts to make its products and services accessible to more people.

More accessibility updates: Guided Frame

Google also rolled out an update to its Guided Frame feature, which was launched in 2022 to help blind and low-vision Pixel users take selfies. The feature uses audio and haptic cues to give users exact guidance for framing their selfies, and it’s now also available on the Pixel’s rear camera.

Guided Frame will pinpoint faces of people or pets, and talk you through how to move your phone to ensure everyone’s in the shot. So it might tell you to move the phone to the left or to the right, up or down, or closer to or further from the subject of the photo. It does this using Google’s TalkBack screen reader technology, which speaks aloud text and images appearing on someone’s screen.

Once everything’s perfectly framed, Guided Frame will automatically take the photo. It also works with food, drinks, documents and other objects and ensures they’re centered before auto capturing an image.

To use the feature on your Pixel, go to Settings, then click Accessibility. Tap TalkBack, and hit the toggle next to Use TalkBack.

Now you can go into your Camera, and Guided Frame will automatically be activated. Snap away.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 5, #500

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 5, No. 500.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. As an old-school Minnesota Twins fan, I was excited to see the last name of our most legendary player on the grid. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: QB is another one.

Green group hint: Hit it out of the park.

Blue group hint: Great gridiron signal-callers.

Purple group hint: Half of a thousand.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Football positions, abbreviated.

Green group: Members of the 500-HR club.

Blue group: First names of QBs to throw 500 career TDs.

Purple group: ____500.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is football positions, abbreviated. The four answers are CB, OT, S and TE.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is members of the 500-HR club. The four answers are Banks, Bonds, Foxx and Killebrew.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is first names of QBs to throw 500 career TDs. The four answers are Aaron, Drew, Peyton and Tom.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____500. The four answers are ATP, Daytona, Indy and WTA.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Feb. 5

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 5

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? The Across clues were kind of tricky today, but the Down clues helped me fill in the grid. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Battery warning from a smoke detector
Answer: CHIRP

6A clue: Word that can precede «book» or «tour»
Answer: AUDIO

7A clue: Extreme edge
Answer: BRINK

8A clue: Like a wobbly screw
Answer: LOOSE

9A clue: Type in
Answer: ENTER

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Alternative to streaming
Answer: CABLE

2D clue: One of the Great Lakes
Answer: HURON

3D clue: Dummy
Answer: IDIOT

4D clue: Wash under a tap
Answer: RINSE

5D clue: Game in which Paul Newman successfully cons a crime boss in «The Sting»
Answer: POKER

Technologies

Fitbit Launches Luffu, AI-Powered Health Tracking for the Whole Family

Soon, you may be able to access every family member’s health data in one place.

If you’ve ever wanted a way to keep all of your family’s health records in place, Fitbit may have come up with a solution. Fitbit, well-known for its fitness wearables, announced the launch of its own health care system on Wednesday.

Luffu, which translates to the Old English word for «love,» uses AI to create what it calls an «intelligent family care system.» The platform allows family members to share all their health information through an app.

It’s unclear when Luffu will be officially available, but you can sign up for the waitlist to get access to the limited public beta. Pricing or other details have not been announced.

Luffu will allow families to keep track of everyone’s doctor’s appointments, test results, vaccine records, medications, symptoms, diet and more. The platform uses AI to learn your family’s health history and patterns, and to alert you to any changes that should be addressed, such as missed medications or abnormal vitals. The AI function organizes the data submitted into the system. The app will also connect to third-party apps and wearables, such as the Fitbit.

Luffu is meant to lighten the mental load of family care by organizing all this health data in one place, its co-founder said.

«I was caring for my parents from across the country, trying to piece together my mom’s health care across various portals and providers, with a language barrier that made it hard to get a complete, timely context from her about doctor visits,» said Luffu co-founder James Park.

Luffu will include alerts and a space to log health and medication information via voice, text, photos, and other health portals and devices. The key medical information can be shared across the platform with spouses, caregivers and parents.

A representative for Fitbit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.