Technologies

Google Pixel Watch Update Brings 3 Big Missing Features

The Pixel Watch is getting blood oxygen level measurements and other additions more than six months after its release.

Google’s Pixel Watch is getting three health and fitness updates that could help bring it up to speed with the Apple Watch and other smartwatch rivals. Those additions include blood oxygen saturation measurements that take advantage of the Pixel Watch’s SpO2 sensor, high and low heart rate notifications, and the ability to automatically pause certain workouts.

When the update arrives, the Pixel Watch will be able to issue an alert if your heart rate falls outside of your normal thresholds. It’ll also be capable of checking nighttime blood oxygen saturation, a feature that was mentioned at launch but will now be activated. Both features are available on other wearables in Google’s product lineup like the Fitbit Sense 2 and Fitbit Charge 5, but have been absent from the Pixel Watch until this update.

The Pixel Watch is also getting the ability to automatically pause and resume running, walking and biking workouts. That should make it easier to accurately track these types of workouts, since it provides a more convenient way to account for breaks. However, it’s unclear whether this update will enable the Pixel Watch to automatically start a workout on the wrist, which is another capability Google’s watch has been missing.

The Pixel Watch, which launched in October, is Google’s first consumer smartwatch. It relies heavily on Fitbit’s health tracking features but stands out among other Android watches for its sleek design. When I reviewed the Pixel Watch in 2022, I praised the watch for its attractive curved display and premium feel.

However, the watch has some notable shortcomings, namely its lack of high and low heart rate notifications and inability to automatically launch workouts on the wrist. With the Pixel Watch’s forthcoming update, Google is addressing at least some of those setbacks.

In addition to adding these features to the Pixel Watch, Google is also announcing a few Fitbit and Pixel phone updates. Fitbit users will be able to see their daily readiness score, manage menstrual health settings and choose new clock faces from the wrist, although support may vary depending on which device you have. On Pixel devices, Google is introducing more emergency and safety tools, emoji wallpapers and a new macro focus video mode for the Pixel 7 Pro among other features.

Watch this: Pixel Watch Review: Google’s Answer to the Apple Watch

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, May 23

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for May 23.

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.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword isn’t too tough. Lots of similar clues ask you to solve for a certain word, and then add a Y. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. 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 at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Chooses to receive marketing emails, with «in»
Answer: OPTS

5A clue: Buck ___, first Black coach in Major League Baseball (1962)
Answer: ONEIL

6A clue: Like your epidermis?
Answer: SKINNY

7A clue: Like the element Fe?
Answer: IRONY

8A clue: Quite a lot of
Answer: MANY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Bulb in the kitchen
Answer: ONION

2D clue: Like an ink-filled writing tool?
Answer: PENNY

3D clue: Microscopic
Answer: TINY

4D clue: Acting deviously
Answer: SLY

5D clue: Green gumbo ingredient
Answer: OKRA

6D clue: ___ card (smartphone chip)
Answer: SIM

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for May 23, #242

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 242, for May 23.

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.

Connections: Sports Edition might be tough today. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it 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: Which year are you?

Green group hint: College conference.

Blue group hint: LA hoops stars.

Purple group hint: Football hometowns.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: College student classifications.

Green group: Big 12 schools.

Blue group: Lakers in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Purple group: NFL team locations.

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 college student classifications. The four answers are freshman, sophomore, junior and senior.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Big 12 schools. The four answers are Colorado, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Lakers in the Basketball Hall of Fame. The four answers are Baylor, O’Neal, West and Worthy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is first words in NFL team locations. The four answers are Green, Kansas, New and San.

Technologies

Yes, an Elden Ring Live-Action Movie Directed by Alex Garland Is Coming

No details or release date, but boy will it be cool to see Malenia wipe the floor with someone else for a change.

Unbelievably, the rumors were true: Alex Garland is indeed set to write and direct a live-action film adaptation of Elden Ring, FromSoftware’s phenomenally successful and difficult video game. Award-winning producer and distributor A24 will work with Garland on the movie.

The dark fantasy Elden Ring is one of the best-selling games of all time, wowing players with its tight gameplay, expansive world and compelling yet cryptic lore, so it’s no surprise that it’s headed for the silver screen. Its epic storyline, written in part by A Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin, could work well for a film — but it’s also a safe bet that many owners of the 30 million Elden Ring sales would go to see it, too.

Rumors had swirled that Alex Garland was adapting the game to film weeks ago, per Comic Book Resources, which seemed like an odd choice. But the director’s prior adaptations of nerd properties, from the gritty pulp dystopia of Dredd to the gnostic science fiction of Annihilation, could suit him to take on Elden Ring’s dark fantasy world.

Better still is Garland’s experience with A24, which has led to several of the director’s most compelling visions on celluloid. They first paired up for 2015’s Ex Machina, followed by 2022’s gender parable Men and the bleakly topical Civil War last year, and finally the Iraq War drama Warfare released last month.

There’s no release date or other details for Garland’s Elden Ring. But fans of the game won’t have to wait long to get another fix of their favorite game — its multiplayer spinoff, Elden Ring Nightreign, is coming out on May 30.