Hey there, it’s a big day in the tech world, especially for phone enthusiasts. Google just revealed a whole new slate of Pixel 11 series phones, and among other things, they come with a stunning, colorful LED at the back that breathes with intelligence. Elsewhere, researchers have put together a genuinely convincing argument that ancient animal waste helped drive the rise of evolutionary complexity, which casts a strange light on where all of us actually came from.
Google TV crossed a number worth noticing. The platform now offers 10,000 free titles, and that changes how you think about what's already sitting on your smart TV. Then there's Doctor Who. We've got a case to make: the producers should stop treating David Tennant as a safety net. The show works best when it trusts itself to find its footing again.
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Top Stories
Google's new Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL get brighter displays, longer zoom, and a new way to grab your attention
Google has officially unveiled the Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL, and the two flagship phones arrive with a meaningful set of upgrades across display, camera, and everyday intelligence features. Both models are powered by the new Tensor G6 processor and Titan M3 security chip. The displays get brighter too, and an added anti-scratch shield reportedly improves scratch resistance by more than twice over last year's already Gorilla Glass Victus 2 panels.
Perhaps the most eye-catching hardware addition is HiLight, a ring of ambient LEDs around the flash that glows when the phone is face down, letting users know at a glance whether a call or notification is worth picking up for. Software running on Android 17 adds tools like Magic Capture for one-tap unblurring and cropping, live video translation, real-time sign language conversion through the camera, and expanded Gemini capabilities that can handle tasks like booking rides or calling businesses on the user's behalf. There’s a lot to unpack.
Google TV Freeplay adds 10,000 on-demand movies and shows at no cost
Streaming costs keep climbing, but Google is making it easier to hold the line on subscriptions. Google TV Freeplay, previously focused on free live television, has expanded into on-demand video for the first time, adding more than 10,000 movies and TV shows that viewers can watch at any time. Like the rest of Freeplay, the on-demand library is ad-supported, meaning no extra monthly fee is required to access it.
Content from studios including A24 and Lionsgate is available at launch, with titles such as Lady Bird, 17 Again, and Hell's Kitchen among the current offerings. New additions span news, sports, reality TV, and true crime, with Bloomberg TV+, Yahoo Sports Network, World of Love Island, and The Martha Stewart Channel among the latest arrivals. Because Freeplay is built directly into Google TV, there is no separate app to download or account to create.
Datamaxxing is a new AI trend that feeds your wearable health data to a chatbot so it can explain the patterns your smartwatch tracks but never contextualizes.
Datamaxxing sounds like the sort of wellness trend that would involve a spreadsheet, three supplements, and far too much free time. The basic idea is much more sensible. People are feeding data from their wearables into AI chatbots and asking them to explain what all those numbers actually mean. And yes, a lot of users have been documented who are building systems around exactly that idea.
There’s a genuine gap for AI to fill here. A 2026 Nature Communications study found that wearables are good at producing summaries, but much less useful when people want personalized answers about their own data. An AI agent built by the researchers reached 84% accuracy on objective numerical questions. Your smartwatch can tell you that your sleep was worse than usual or that your recovery score dropped. What it often can’t do is explain those changes in a way that feels useful. AI can make that data conversational. Instead of staring at charts. It’s quite fascinating.
Quick Hits
Computing
Mobile
Apple's all-glass iPhone is still on track for 2027, according to a leaker pushing back on recent cancellation rumors. (More)
BOE is pushing hard to become a supplier of OLED panels for the iPad Air, potentially challenging Samsung and LG's dominance in Apple's display supply chain. (More)
Google put Jimmy Fallon on stage. That's where the Pixel 10 launch started, and it's where a lot of longtime fans checked out. The event swapped the usual spec dives for comedy skits. (More)
Audio / Video
Dolby Vision 2 is rolling out now to select Hisense TVs, including the UR9 RGB LED and U7 models, bringing the newest enhanced HDR format to living rooms for the first time. (More)
Gaming
Micron admitted it has no clear timeline for when memory supply will meet demand, which is a very expensive way of saying things aren't getting better anytime soon. (More)
Blood Dungeon Messhof's Vampire Survivors-style roguelite hits Steam on August 25. (More)
Helldivers 2 joins the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog today alongside the launch of its Devoid of Liberty update. (More)
Entertainment
Reacher season 4 kicks off on Prime Video with a thrilling three-episode premiere, reaffirming Alan Ritchson as one of the best castings on streaming TV. (More)
AI
Gamgee, the startup born from that viral story about an Australian entrepreneur using ChatGPT and Grok to build a cancer vaccine for his dog, has officially launched to offer personalized mRNA cancer vaccines for dogs. (More)
There isn't enough concrete, specific news in this article excerpt to write an accurate Quick Hits item. It contains only a title and source with no actual details about a product, company, or development. (More)
Saber Interactive has confirmed that Rideshare "Stimulator" will lean on AI-generated dialog for the passengers you pick up. (More)
Smart Home
The article provides no usable product or news details to write an accurate Quick Hits item from. (More)
Cars / EV
BYD keeps finding new price floors, and its latest sedan drops through another one. The Seal 06 opens at $14,700 as a plug-in hybrid. Want the full EV version? That runs $16,100. (More)
Wearables
Garmin's Cirqa and the Oura Ring 5 offer surprisingly different sleep data despite both being screenless trackers, according to a 10-day head-to-head comparison. (More)
Rogbid's VisionW smart glasses pack ChatGPT and Grok AI, open-ear audio, and UV protection into a $69.99 package with a claimed 39-day battery life. (More)
Final Bits
Cornell researchers can predict hit papers before they blow up
Someone paid $200 for a mystery Xbox controller and may have gotten the Elite
Sony's Wolverine PS5 has claw marks ripped through its shell
Critical Role novelizes Campaign 2's future
Domino's launches a pizza called the Domino
Wardogs finally has a Steam Early Access release date
The X-Files: I Want to Believe gets a director's cut
Spotify will flag and limit AI persona artists
Bringing back David Tennant won't save Doctor Who's future
Ancient fecal pellets may have fueled the Cambrian explosion of animal life