Technologies

Magic Cue Might Be Pixel 10’s Most Helpful Feature. Here’s How To Use It.

With AI, Magic Cue can instantly pull up flight information, reservation details and photos in calls and texts, so you don’t have to dig for them.

You might be sick of hearing about all the AI features loaded on your phone. But if you have a Pixel 10, there’s one key capability that may be worth tapping into.

Magic Cue is one of Google’s latest AI flexes. It can surface information related to what’s on your phone’s screen, so you don’t have to dig for it yourself. For example, if you’re calling your airline, Magic Cue will automatically show your upcoming flight information on the call screen. Or if your friend texts to ask about what time dinner is, those details will appear within Messages without you having to look for them.

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

The Pixel 10 series is loaded with other impressive AI features, like a Voice Translate feature that can mimic the sound of a caller’s voice while translating what they’re saying. AI can also sharpen your zoomed-in photos and help you take better pictures with Camera Coach. And Circle to Search remains one of my favorite mobile tools. But Magic Cue is one of the few capabilities that succinctly delivers on the promise of AI to simplify tasks and act as a helpful mobile assistant.

Like many AI features, Magic Cue can be hit-or-miss, and in many ways it’s still finding its footing. But it stands out as one of the more practical and helpful AI features you can use on the Pixel 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL and 10 Pro Fold.

Which devices can use Magic Cue?

Only Google Pixel 10 phones can tap into Magic Cue. It’s powered by the Google Tensor G5 chip and the latest version of the Gemini Nano AI model. So if you have an older Pixel phone or a different Android phone, this won’t be available to you.

How to use Magic Cue

To use Magic Cue, you’ll first need to allow access to the capability in your Pixel 10’s settings.

When you open Settings, you’ll see Magic Cue listed near the bottom. Tap that and hit the toggles to allow suggestions and information to pop up based on what’s on your screen.

You’ll also see an option to choose which specific apps you want Magic Cue to pull data from, like Gmail, Messages and Calendar. That way if you have a flight reservation in your email or a dinner blocked off in your calendar, Magic Cue can surface that information when it relates to a conversation on your screen. Google’s support page for Magic Cue also notes that suggestions can show up on «select third-party messaging apps,» though I personally haven’t seen it appear in WhatsApp just yet, for example.

Within Magic Cue’s settings, you’ll also see whether an update is needed for the feature to work properly. Under the Magic Cue updates tab, it should say «Up to date.»

You’ll be able to use Magic Cue 24 hours after you set it up on your Pixel 10. It may take some time for it to process data across your apps and show relevant suggestions, but it’ll get better at providing information and actions as you continue to use your phone.

Magic Cue processes everything on-device, so you shouldn’t worry about your personal information being compromised.

How Magic Cue works

Once Magic Cue is enabled, it’ll suggest actions and surface information related to what you’re doing on your Pixel.

For instance, if you’re calling an airline, your flight details, including departure and arrival time and confirmation number, will appear on the call screen. That way, when a customer service agent asks for those details, you’ll have them readily available.

Similarly, if a friend texts to ask when your flight lands, those details will pop up automatically within Messages, and you can just tap to send. Or if someone asks where you’re having dinner tonight, Magic Cue can find that information from your calendar so you don’t have to drop it in yourself.

Magic Cue also works with Google Photos, so if someone asks for a picture of someone or something, you can tap the Share Photos button that pops up in Messages and select which suggested image is the right fit.

In my experience, Magic Cue has been helpful but not perfect. It does a good job of showing flight or reservation information from my email or calendar. But there are also times it’ll just say «View calendar» when someone asks what time something is happening. In those instances, Magic Cue isn’t really saving me any time or effort, since I can easily swipe to my calendar myself. But I have hope it’ll get better with time and more consistently feel like a magic trick.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Jan. 28

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 28.

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? 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: Remove from a position of power
Answer: OUST

5A clue: Not cool
Answer: UNHIP

7A clue: «Fine, see if ___!»
Answer: ICARE

8A clue: Kind of bored
Answer: JADED

9A clue: Primatologist’s subjects
Answer: APES

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Kind of board
Answer: OUIJA

2D clue: Prepare to use, as a pen
Answer: UNCAP

3D clue: Desirable place to sit on a hot day
Answer: SHADE

4D clue: Pair on a bicycle
Answer: TIRES

6D clue: ___ Xing (street sign)
Answer: PED

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

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 28, #492

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 28, No. 492.

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. 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: Stats about an athlete.

Green group hint: Where to watch games.

Blue group hint: There used to be a ballpark.

Purple group hint: Names are hidden in these words.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Player bio information.

Green group: Sports streamers.

Blue group: Former MLB ballparks.

Purple group: Ends in a Hall of Fame QB.

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 player bio information. The four answers are alma mater, height, number and position.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports streamers. The four answers are Netflix, Paramount, Peacock and Prime.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is former MLB ballparks. The four answers are Ebbets, Kingdome, Three Rivers and Tiger.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends in a Hall of Fame QB. The four answers are forewarner, Harbaugh, honeymoon and outmanning.

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

Technologies

Google Rolls Out Expanded Theft Protection Features for Android Devices

The latest Android security update makes it harder for thieves to break into stolen phones, with stronger biometric requirements and smarter lockouts.

Google on Tuesday announced a significant update to its Android theft-protection arsenal, introducing new tools and settings aimed at making stolen smartphones harder for criminals to access and exploit. The updates, detailed on Google’s official security blog, build on Android’s existing protections and add both stronger defenses and more flexible user controls.

Smartphones carry your most sensitive data, from banking apps to personal photos, and losing your device to theft can quickly escalate into identity and financial fraud. To counter that threat, Google is layering multiple protective features that work before, during and after a theft.

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

At the center of the update is a revamped Failed Authentication Lock. Previously introduced in Android 15, this feature now gets its own toggle in Android 16 settings, letting you decide whether your phone should automatically lock itself after repeated incorrect PIN or biometric attempts. This gives you more control over how aggressively your phone defends against brute-force guessing without weakening security.

Google is also beefing up biometric security across the platform. A feature called Identity Check, originally rolled out in earlier Android versions, has been broadened to apply to all apps and services that use Android’s Biometric Prompt — the pop-up that asks for your fingerprint or face to confirm it’s really you — including third-party banking apps and password managers. This means that even if a thief somehow bypasses your lock screen, they’ll face an additional biometric barrier before accessing sensitive apps.

On the recovery side, Google improved Remote Lock, a tool that allows you to lock a lost or stolen device from a web browser by entering a verified phone number. The company added an optional security challenge to ensure only the legitimate owner can initiate a remote lock, an important safeguard against misuse.

And finally, in a notable regional rollout, Google said it is now enabling both Theft Detection Lock and Remote Lock by default on new Android device activations in Brazil, a market where phone theft rates are comparatively high. Theft Detection Lock uses on-device AI to detect sudden movements consistent with a snatch-and-run theft, automatically locking the screen to block immediate access to data.

With stolen phones often used to access bank accounts and personal data, Google says these updates are meant to keep a single theft from turning into a much bigger problem.