How to watch today's Made by Google event stream

Today is G-Day where Google is expected to unload the latest 'Made by Google' products including the much leaked Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL flagship smartphones, new Chromebooks, a Pixel Slate and a gamut of smart speakers, smart screens and possibly new Pixel Buds, Google Clips or other newfangled accessories.

The proceedings kick off in NYC at 11 AM and you can watch the stream on YouTube as well as follow various #MadeByGoogle commentaries on Twitter. Tune in later today here for all the relevant news for the Canadian market from the event.

Google + for consumers will shut down by August 2019

Google + will not go out with a bang, or even a whimper. The long irrelevant play at creating a social media platform tied to Google services will instead be extinguished with hushed apologies for the recent discovery that Google had allowed a known exploit to exist without notifying its users.

Google + was once a vibrant and alternative to Facebook and Twitter which offered a good place to post and dialogue about various interests and ideas. The service, which was available on the web and then on mobile, lost traction and eventually withered due to poor management and promotion. Google has apparently pivoted it as an enterprise tool, but the consumer service will end next year.

The recent discovery that a three-year old vulnerability was left open by Google has sped up the service's demise. The Wall Street Journal reported that Google knew and kept secret information about the exploit that affected 500,000 user accounts and exposed even private user information.

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More images of the upcoming Google Pixel 3 leak hours before launch event

Google Pixel 3 image by Evan Blass

While Google has been planning a fall launch event in New York City to show off, among other products, the new and improved (now with trendy notch) Pixel 3 flagships, we're seeing more renders of the devices and even a hint of a new "Pink Sand" variant.

The latest leaks were courtesy of Evan Blass who also unloaded an image of the Pixel Slate, the 2-in-1 Chromebook tablet that can presumably run Windows 10, complete with its keyboard accessory.  Anyone interested in the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL now has a good idea of what the device is all about (hint: mostly camera upgrades). The larger Pixel 3 has been captured and unboxed in YouTube videos and already has a full review from unwire.uk out weeks before its intended launch.

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Apple issues fix for iPhone XS charging and WiFi issues

With every new product release, there is always the possibility of bugs and issues creeping in past the final release stage. In the case of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, some units have been hit with charging issues as well as a bug where iPhones would rejoin the slower 2.4 GHz version of a WiFi hotspot rather than the quicker, more modern 5 GHz channel.

The iOS 12.0.1 update released by Apple recently is now making its way to devices via Software Update and fixes these issues and should be installed by owners of these new phones.