Gear Information of the Week: Chrome OS Will Merge With Android and Sony Surprises With a New Digicam

It has been speculated on. It has been rumored. It has been hoped for. And in line with an interview with TechRadar, it is taking place. Android ecosystem president Sameer Samat says Google plans to mix Chrome OS and Android “right into a single platform.”

Google has saved its cellphone and pill working techniques distinct from its laptop computer platform. There was loads of crossover through the years—the most important being the introduction of Android apps to Chromebooks again in 2016—however they’ve at all times coexisted. With Samat’s new assertion, although, change is afoot.

Within the interview, Samat additionally adopted up on a remark made to WIRED’s Julian Chokkattu at Google I/O this yr, hinting at a future Google laptop computer, stating that “he is occupied with how persons are utilizing their laptops today.” The final Google laptop computer was the Pixelbook Go in 2019, which adopted the ill-fated Pixel Slate 2-in-1 in 2017. If Google does plan to merge the brand new platforms, having flagship Google {hardware} available is a should. —Luke Larsen

Pixels Are on the Manner

Rick Osterloh, senior vp of units and companies at Alphabet Inc., through the Made By Google launch occasion in Mountain View, California, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. Alphabet Inc.’s Google is rolling out upgraded smartphones, watches and earbuds, aiming to tackle Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. and provide extra methods to make use of synthetic intelligence. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg by way of Getty PhotosBloomberg/Getty Photos

In different Google information, the corporate has set a date for its Made by Google occasion, the place it is anticipated to debut the Pixel 10 collection smartphones, a brand new Pixel Watch, and new wi-fi earbuds. The keynote takes place on August 20 in Brooklyn, New York, and it kicks off at 1 pm ET (10 am Pacific). It’s going to be livestreamed as common.

Google used to carry its huge {hardware} occasion in October, however modified issues up final yr, placing the Pixel launch date forward of the iPhone, with extra respiration room forward of the vacation procuring season. The spotlight of this yr’s launch—aside from marking 10 years of Pixel—is that Google is rumored to be shifting to TSMC chips for its Tensor G5 chipset on account of points with Samsung’s foundry.

Sony Surprises With a New Digicam

Courtesy of Sony

Sony has dropped a brand new full-frame digital camera out of the blue, the RX1R III. The RX1R collection was final up to date 9 years in the past. Why now? If I needed to guess, I might say it has lots to do with the success of compact fixed-lens cameras, just like the Leica Q collection, Fujifilm X100 collection, and the Fujifilm GFX100RF. Sorry you needed to wait nearly 10 years, RX1 followers, however higher late than by no means.

What do you get out of a 10-year growth cycle? Seems … not that a lot. The RX1R III is just about a repackaged a7R V by way of picture capabilities. There’s the identical 61-megapixel full-frame sensor paired with the a7R V’s Bionz XR picture processor and the devoted AI chip. That is a big improve for this digital camera relative to the final mannequin within the collection, however there is no brand-new tech right here.

Extra attention-grabbing are the design modifications. The RX1R III ditches the pop-up digital viewfinder of the RX1R II in favor of a rear-mounted viewfinder, making it look a bit like Sony’s high-res journey digital camera, the a7R C. Additionally, Sony dropped the articulating rear display; this one is mounted just like the very first RX1R. In all probability the very best improve right here is that the RX1R III makes use of Sony’s bigger batteries, the NP-FW50, which can dramatically enhance battery life.

One factor that hasn’t modified in any respect since this collection was launched in 2012 is the built-in Zeiss Sonnar T* 35-mm f/2 lens. The massive query right here is, how will this more-than-a-decade-old lens work with the newest and best autofocus? We’ll let you recognize once we get our arms on a evaluate unit later this yr. —Scott Gilbertson

Omega’s Summer season Seamaster

Omega this week dropped a brilliant, summery model of its glorious Seamaster Diver 300M, following on February’s bronze gold and burgundy watch. Whereas, sure, it isn’t precisely a groundbreaking departure from final yr’s unique, it hits all the precise notes, primarily due to how sturdy November’s first iteration was. Nonetheless, this mannequin has an edge over its siblings.

The aluminum bezel and trendy mesh bracelet stay, however look intently and you may see delicate modifications, most pleasing of which is that the wave-pattern on the dial has been changed with a flat, matte-textured black. For the orange fans, observe the lollipop seconds hand, and indices at 12, 3, 6, and 9 have all been given a pop of coloration. A closing flourish is the matching orange “Seamaster” dial signature.