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

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 22 #598

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 22, No. 598.

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one — I definitely have at least two of these in my house. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Catch all.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A mess of items.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BATE, LICE, SLUM, CAPE, HOLE, CARE, BARE, THEN, SLAM, SAMBA, BACK

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

TAPE, COIN, PENCIL, BATTERY, SHOELACE, THUMBTACK

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is JUNKDRAWER. To find it, look for the J that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Oct. 22, #1586

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Oct. 22, No. 1,586.

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

Today’s Wordle puzzle features some letters I don’t often guess, but it’s not terribly difficult. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with S.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with T.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to an action displaying spectacular skill and daring.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is STUNT.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Oct. 21, No. 1,585 was DETOX.

Recent Wordle answers

Oct. 17, No. 1,581: GROSS
Oct. 18, No. 1,582: HAVEN
Oct. 19, No. 1,583: IDEAL
Oct. 20, No. 1,584: LIMBO

Quick tips for Wordle

#1: Check our list ranking the popularity of all the letters in the alphabet and choose your starter words accordingly. (TRAIN, STERN and AUDIO are good.)

#2: Don’t forget that letters can be used more than once.

#3: Many words are similar. You don’t want to use up multiple guesses that don’t advance your cause. So if the puzzle is STA_E, don’t guess STARE, STATE and STALE. Guess something that uses that R, T and L, like TWIRL.