Sonos promises to add Google Assistant support to its One speaker before the end of 2018

Sonos seems to have finally set a deadline for itself. The Verge reported that the company plans to bring Google Assistant to its Sonos One speaker before the end of the year. Sonos CEO Patrick Spence told The Verge that Sonos is “working as hard as we can and so is Google to get it ready” in time for the holiday season. The Sonos One already supports Amazon Alexa and even has AirPlay 2 functionality to support Apple users. And if we do get Assistant soon, it’ll make the speaker an even more attractive purchase.

Source: 9to5Google

Location sharing on Google Maps now shows your contact’s battery level

While useful, we might have reached another level of creepy with the newest feature on Google Maps. Android Police first noticed this during an APK teardown of the app but now it’s going live for users. When you share your location on the app, it’ll now show your contact your battery level. And it isn’t just an estimate but more of an accurate number. But it is useful for those who might be wondering why the person they’re tracking isn’t answering. There doesn’t seem to be a way to turn this off, so if you share locations and want to lie about not answering their call because the battery is dead, then you might want to rethink that.

‘Yakuza 0’ comes to the PC

For the first time ever, SEGA is bringing its Yakuza series to the PC, starting off with Yakuza 0. The game is up on Steam now and brings enhanced features for the PC, including 4K resolution, full controller support, remappable keys, and an unlocked framerate. After this, Yakuza Kiwami, a remake of the first game, will be making its way to the PC as well.

Source: VG247

Samsung lets US customers pre-pre-order the Galaxy Note 9

While Samsung hasn’t officially launched nor named the upcoming Galaxy device but those in the US can “reserve the next Galaxy” already. Yes, the tech company is doing this without naming the device or its specs. The page does feature a teaser for the S pen-equipped Galaxy Note 9 and its launch event in New York happening on August 9. Signing up won’t mean payment is needed upfront. It just needs those who sign up to give their information, select a carrier, and “reserve” the device. What the page offers is “early access to pre-order,” which should guarantee that you get the phone by the 24^th.

There’s also an offer from Samsung to trade in an old, eligible phone to get up to US$450 trade-in credit that can be applied to the Note 9 purchase. This offer will stay valid until August 9, 2018, 11:59 p.m. ET, and will let people reserve the device from August 10, 2018 at 12:01a.m. ET to August 12, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Source: Mashable