Troubleshoot your Pixel 2 with Google Assistant

There might come a day when you won’t need to talk to anyone to fix what’s wrong with your phone. Google is starting us off with Pixel 2. Android Police discovered Google Assistant on the Pixel 2 can help diagnose battery issues. Ask why the battery isn’t charging properly and it runs a diagnostic check as well as lets you know which apps are power-hungry. If you don’t get a satisfactory answer, it’ll offer to connect you to Google’s chat or phone support. They’re currently just testing this feature, though. As AP tried to test this out on the Pixel 2 XL and haven’t gotten the best results and it’s pretty limited for now, meaning Google still has some work to do. We don’t expect this to be ready anytime soon but it looks like we’re headed there. And that’s a pretty ingenious way to make use of the feature.

Some Google Store-bought Pixel 2 devices seem to have locked-down bootloaders

Review: Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

Aside from getting stock Android, one of the major considerations people buy Pixel devices is the ability to unlock bootloaders. This is important for those who like to tinker with their devices and install different ROMs, kernels, and the like. For Google devices you can usually unlock bootloaders through the “OEM unlocking” toggle in developer options. The Verizon models sold in the US has this option blanked out. And now it seems some of the Pixel 2 units (not the Pixel 2 XL) sold through Google’s own Store don’t have the option either. Android Authority theorizes that Google might have accidentally sold Verizon models instead of unlocked ones.

If this has affected you and you want it remedied, there is already a Google Issue Tracker page for it. And apparently Google’s engineering teams are “investigating the issue.” To help bring more attention to it and to your specific case, you can report the problem and contact customer support.

Google Pixel 2 renders Assistant useless with Bluetooth headsets

Review: Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

While the Google Pixel 2 XL has been taking the spotlight in terms of bad press, it looks like even the Pixel 2 is immune from it. An issue being reported widely on Google support forums talk about how Google Assistant seems to be having issues when used with Bluetooth headphones. It seems to mute the microphone when Assistant is invoked, basically rendering voice useless and defeating the purpose of the feature. There isn’t any fix for it yet but hopefully Google works on this soon.

Source: GSMArena

Google to bring Pixel 2’s Driving Do Not Disturb API to developers next year

The Driving Do Not Disturb feature in the Pixel 2 and 2 XL is one of the more practical features we need in our devices. Thankfully, more Android users might get access to this in the coming year. Google plans to release the API for this feature in early 2018. It gives developers a chance to integrate the Activity Recognition Transition API within their apps. We might see them in navigation and other apps we might often use on the road and we’re all for that. No specific timeline though but we should hopefully some apps introduce the feature in the first quarter of next year.

Source: Android Central