How-To Guides about Android

This guide covers how to disable AI Mode in Chrome on desktop: the shortcuts that show up in the address bar, the New Tab Page search box, and the right-click context menu on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It doesn't touch Google Search's own AI Mode tab, which lives outside the browser entirely and gets a short, separate note near the end.

Tom's Guide walked away unimpressed with the Pixel 11 overall, but the outlet singled out one feature it called "genuinely useful": Magic Capture, a camera mode that records a short clip and lets AI pick the best still photos so users stop guessing when to hit the shutter (Tom's Guide, two weeks ago). Anyone figuring out how to use Magic Capture on Pixel 11 will find the basic setup simple, but getting the most out of it means enabling one setting in advance and thinking about your connection...

Most Galaxy tablet problems, including freezing, laggy apps, or a screen that stops responding, don't need a factory reset.

The best time to charge a Samsung Galaxy Watch comes down to timing: pick whichever stretch of your day you can afford to lose tracking data, charge during that window, and make sure whatever charge you end up with covers your next sleep period or workout.

As of this week, a Samsung Messages alternative app called Messages by OzarksMade is undergoing closed testing through Google Play, with a public launch set for 14 days after its testing Google Group hits 12 members and a post-launch price of $0.99. Treat that as a snapshot, not a finished product. Betas shift, thresholds get hit or missed, and pricing plans change before launch.

This guide walks you through preordering any of the three new Galaxy foldables in a way that minimizes total cost or preserves flexibility, depending on which matters more to you. By the end, you'll know which channel fits your situation, how to run a real cost comparison, and what to verify before submitting your order.

Google's new Search profile looks like the kind of feature every creator should rush to claim: a dedicated, shareable page that puts your work front and center inside Google Search itself. Before spending time hunting for one, it helps to understand Google Search profile eligibility rules, since they set a high follower bar and apply only in the United States for now. This guide walks through who qualifies, how to run a Google Search profile eligibility check on your own name, and what claiming...

Search "how to get Duolingo hearts back and remove ads" and you'll find posts promising a hidden switch or workaround. There isn't one documented in Duolingo's own materials. Duolingo has been phasing out Hearts in favor of a resource system called Energy, and ad-free access shows up in the company's public consumer materials as a subscription benefit.

Google Messages has changed where several familiar actions live. Swipe left on a conversation now reveals timestamps and RCS encryption status, and swiping right on an individual message opens a direct reply that quotes the original text above your response (9to5Google, last week). Learning these Google Messages gestures now will save you from hunting around for options that used to sit in plain sight.

Not every Galaxy Watch 9 health feature behaves the same way out of the box, which is exactly why deciding which Galaxy Watch 9 settings to enable on day one matters. Hard fall detection is a genuine toggle, and it ships off by default, doing nothing until someone switches it on (Samsung Support). Vitals and Sleep Coach aren't toggles in that sense. Vitals needs seven nights of overnight wear to build a baseline before it can flag anything unusual, and Sleep Coach needs at least seven days of...

Google has been replacing Google Assistant with Gemini in Android Auto, with the rollout expanding to 45 languages globally, per Google's announcement. If your phone already runs the Gemini app, you likely have access or will soon. The change matters more than a typical assistant update: Assistant frequently failed to register voice input at all, something a Tom's Guide tester called a near-daily occurrence. Gemini also removes the rigid syntax problem, so you can speak naturally and hold a...

The safest way to troubleshoot Gemini Error 1099 is to match the workaround to the specific way the error is appearing, because the same error code has appeared in at least three different patterns reported by users. Reports span multiple Reddit communities, affecting both free and paid users across Android, the web, iOS, macOS, and Chrome. The fix for a single stale conversation is not the same as the fix for an error that fires every time you press the Pixel side button, and neither applies...

Motorola Quick Launch lets you double-tap the back of your phone to trigger a custom action without touching the screen. According to AT&T's support page for the Razr+ 2025, when Quick Launch is enabled, you can double-tap the back to perform certain options like taking a screenshot or returning to the home screen. That phrasing matters: "certain options like" is not an exhaustive list, and this guide covers what AT&T explicitly documents.

The Google I/O 2026 keynote starts tomorrow, May 19, at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET and streams free at io.google. No special software, no paid subscription. The developer keynote follows at 1:30 p.m. PT, and the full event runs through May 20 with on-demand content dropping May 21.

Google treats AI Overviews the same way it treats knowledge panels: as a core Search feature that cannot be turned off. That same support page acknowledges, without much ceremony, that "AI Overviews can and will make mistakes." So you're getting a feature you didn't ask for, and it isn't guaranteed to be accurate.

Here's what actually happens when you buy the wrong charger: the phone charges, nothing explodes, and you never realize you're getting half the speed you paid for. The number on the box looked right. The cable fit. The problem was invisible.

The Pixel phone in your pocket comes with a hidden privacy feature that most people never discover. Google includes a built-in VPN service on new Pixel devices, but many users aren't aware of it. This free security tool can protect your browsing on public Wi-Fi networks and add an extra layer of privacy to your mobile internet activity, yet many Pixel owners remain completely unaware of its existence.

When you've got Android Auto's display brightness randomly bouncing between day and night modes, it's like having a strobe light in your dashboard when all you want is a smooth, comfortable drive.