Technologies

Google Introduces New Android Features in Pixel Beta Update

Participants in the Android Beta Program get first dibs on the next update, which is set to land in official form next year

Hot on the heels of the latest Android release earlier this month, Google is back with another update for Pixel users participating in the Android Beta Program. QPR3 Beta 1 is our first glimpse into changes coming for these phones and will be made available to devices in an official form sometime early next year.

The latest beta update includes some housekeeping features for added polish, as well as features that you may have seen elsewhere before. Outside of a few notable tweaks, changes are minimal, and additional features will be introduced as the beta updates continue to roll out over the coming months.

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Which Pixel devices are eligible for QPR3 Beta 1?

The Pixel-only update can be installed on any devices from Pixel 6 and beyond. The complete list of supported devices is below.

Pixel 6 and 6 Pro
Pixel 6a
Pixel 7 and 7 Pro
Pixel 7a
Pixel Fold
Pixel Tablet
Pixel 8 and 8 Pro
Pixel 8a
Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, and 9 Pro Fold
Pixel 9a
Pixel 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL, and 10 Pro Fold

What’s new in this update?

For the first beta of this quarterly release, there’s a decent amount of tweaks to pore over, but we’ll touch on just a few highlights.

Adjust flashlight brightness

Google has introduced a way for Android users to adjust the brightness of their flashlight while it’s on, and it resembles the way iOS handles this feature. It’s a welcome feature for those times when you may need just a little light, not a blaring spotlight.

Remove the At A Glance widget

The At A Glance widget has adorned Pixel home screens for a long time, providing helpful information without requiring you to search for it. Weather, calendar updates, Pixel Watch charging notifications, and an easy way to turn your flashlight on and off are just some of the things the widget can do. Previously, it was more of a permanent fixture on your home screen that you couldn’t remove, even if you wanted to.

With QPR3 beta 1, you can now remove the widget completely, regaining some space on your home screen.

Better placement showing apps that are using your location

Google has improved the way you’re notified when an app is using your location. Previously, the location symbol would appear at the top right corner of your phone’s status bar, blending in with the other icons there. Now, a blue notification dot will appear at the top right of your screen, making it easier to notice when your location is being used.

How to install the Android QPR3 Beta 1 update

If you have a compatible device, the easiest way to install the latest QPR3 update is to sign up for the Android Beta Program. Here’s how:

Go to the Android Beta Program website.
Log in to your Google account.
Scroll down to view your eligible devices.
Next to the device on which you want to install the update, click «opt in.»

That’s it. Eventually, you’ll receive a notification that an update is available, and from there, you can download and install the latest Android beta from Google.

Technologies

Ultrahuman Ring Pro Brings Better Battery Life, More Action and Analysis

The company’s new flagship smart ring stores more data, too. But that doesn’t really help Americans.

Sick of your smart ring’s battery not holding up? Ultrahuman’s new $479 Ring Pro smart ring, unveiled on Friday, offers up to 15 days of battery life on a single charge. The Ring Pro joins the company’s $349 Ring Air, which boosts health tracking, thanks to longer battery life, increased data storage, improved speed and accuracy and a new heart-rate sensing architecture. The ring works in conjunction with the latest Pro charging case.

Ultrahuman also launched its Jade AI, which can act as an agent based on analysis of current and historical health data. Jade can synthesize data from across the company’s products and is compatible with its Rings.

«With industry-leading hardware paired with Jade biointelligence AI, users can now take real-time actionable interventions towards their health than ever before,» said Mohit Kumar, CEO of Ultrahuman.

No US sales

That hardware isn’t available in the US, though, thanks to the ongoing ban on Ultrahuman’s Rings sales here, stemming from a patent dispute with its competitor, Oura Ring. It’s available for preorder now everywhere else and is slated to ship in March. Jade’s available globally.

Ultrahuman says the Ring Pro boosts battery life to about 15 days in Chill mode — up to 12 days in Turbo — compared to a maximum of six days for the Air. The Pro charger’s battery stores enough for another 45 days, which you top off with Qi-compatible wireless charging. In addition, the case incorporates locator technology via the app and a speaker, as well as usability features such as haptic notifications and a power LED.

The ring can also retain up to 250 days of data versus less than a week for the cheaper model. Ultrahuman redesigned the heart-rate sensor for better signal quality. An upgraded processor improves the accuracy of the local machine learning and overall speed.

It’s offered in gold, silver, black and titanium finishes, with available sizes ranging from 5 to 14.

Jade’s Deep Research Mode is the cross-ecosystem analysis feature, which aggregates data from Ring and Blood Vision and the company’s subscription services, Home and M1 CGM, to provide historical trends, offer current recommendations and flag potential issues, as well as trigger activities such as A-fib detection. Ultrahuman plans to expand its capabilities to include health-adjacent activities, such as ordering food.

Some new apps are also available for the company’s PowerPlug add-on platform, including capabilities such as tracking GLP-1 effects, snoring and respiratory analysis and migraine management tools.

Technologies

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Technologies

Spotify Expands Into Audiobook Rankings With Weekly Charts

The feature is available to both free users and Premium subscribers. Wuthering Heights is reaching the heights on both the US and UK charts.

If you’re a Spotify user, you may be familiar with features like the year-end summary Wrapped, as well as your daily usage stats. Now, the service has a new popularity chart tracking audiobooks.

Spotify’s audiobook charts are now available to free and Premium users within the service’s Audiobooks hub. While only Premium users receive 15 hours of audiobook listening per month, the company offers a larger selection of titles you can buy.

US charts and UK charts are both available now.

Read more: Best Music Streaming Services for 2026

Spotify says that the audiobook charts will help customers discover new and popular titles in real time.

«As we’ve proven with Music and Podcasts Charts, when content is easier to access, discover, and enjoy, the demand grows,» said Duncan Bruce, Spotify’s director of audiobook partnerships and licensing, in a statement on Friday.

Spotify launched audiobooks in 2022, and has since added features such as the AI catchup tool Recaps and PageMatch, which lets you swap more easily between a printed book and the audio version.

Spotify Premium currently costs $13 a month and includes more than 100 million songs, as well as audiobooks. Spotify Premium is currently CNET’s Editors’ Choice for best music streaming service.

The current US audiobooks chart lists Emily Brontë’s romantic classic Wuthering Heights as the top listen, followed by James Clear’s self-help book Atomic Habits and Freida McFadden’s psychological thriller The Housemaid. Audiobook popularity is also broken down by genre, with charts for romance, mystery and thriller books, self-help, science fiction and fantasy, biography and memoir, business and careers, teen and young adult, religion and spirituality, history, and parenting and relationships.

Powered by its blockbuster movie adaptation starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, Wuthering Heights also leads the overall chart for the UK.