Hasta La Gadget!

Google is taking aim at the likes of Grammarly with a feature it added to Search recently. The service now includes a grammar checker, which can analyze the construction of a phrase or sentence and offer suggestions if it something seems off.

Punching in a phrase like “grammar check,” “check grammar” or “grammar checker” will make sure the tool activates, as 9to5 Google points out. But Search might still offer grammar suggestions if you don’t include one of those phrases with your query.

If the tool notices an error, including a spelling mistake, Google will rewrite the sentence and indicate what’s different. You’ll easily be able to copy the corrected phrase or sentence by hovering over it. If your grammar is spot on, the tool will give you a dopamine-inducing green checkmark, but not, sadly, a gold star.

Unsurprisingly, the tool is powered by artificial intelligence. It might not always be accurate, especially if you ask it to review a phrase or fragment instead of an entire sentence. If you spot something wrong with a suggestion (or want to help the system understand that its correction was helpful), you can provide feedback.

The tool will only be available in English for the time being, but it’s worth noting that it won’t run if the phrase or sentence violates Search policies. It won’t check the grammar for dangerous, harassing, medical, sexually explicit or terrorist content, or anything to do with violence and gore. You might have to look elsewhere to make sure that a phrase or sentence containing profanity or vulgar language is grammatically correct too.

Google has, of course, offered grammar tools in Gmail and Google Drive for a long time now. Bringing one to Search makes a lot of sense, given that it has a dictionary tool in its extensive bag of tricks. It’ll save you having to open Google Docs or another app. You won’t necessarily have to bust out a dusty copy of The Elements of Style either.

However, many people just focus on the keywords when they search for something on Google and don’t write complete sentences or grammatically correct phrases (e.g. “hard boiled egg how long”). The AI will have to make an educated guess as to whether someone wants their grammar to be checked or not. Otherwise, Search could push the information they’re looking for even further down the page.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-search-now-has-an-ai-powered-grammar-checker-144539934.html?src=rss

Sure, we’re all busy playing Baldur’s Gate, but if you have a minute to look up from the screen, we’re here to tell you about what’s coming up on…well, your other screen, probably. Check out the trailer for Marvel’s I Am Groot and keep your eyes out for the Korean film Devils, hopefully coming to a big screen near…

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Last year, WhatsApp released a series of new updates to make sending voice messages an overall better experience, and now it’s bringing the whole group in on it. The messaging app has released a beta version of voice chats — a feature that creates an ongoing group audio conversation, reports WABetaInfo. The first sign of voice chats came earlier this year under the name audio chats but didn’t provide much other info than its mere existence.

WABetaInfo

Though it sounds similar, this update isn’t exactly the same as starting a group call, giving a much more Discord-like feel than when you typically give your friends a ring. Anyone with the update should see a waveform symbol in the upper right corner of their group chat. Pressing the icon starts a group voice chat and will say voice chat opened with a microphone to its left and a red X to its right. Everyone else in the group will receive a push notification, the same as any message, instead of their phone ringing. They will see a banner at the top of the chat box letting them know how many people are chatting now and giving them the option to connect.

Voice chats are protected by end-to-end encryption just like any other messages sent and also shut off if no one has been active in it for an hour. WhatsApp voice chat only appears to be available in beta for Android users right now but will allegedly appear for more people in the coming days.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whatsapps-latest-feature-lets-you-jump-in-and-out-of-group-voice-chats-121045597.html?src=rss

It’s wild to me that a phone costing north of a grand is somehow midrange, but that’s the mad, mad world of foldables. The Morning After’s own Mat Smith reviewed Motorola’s new 2023 Razr, a lower-end device below the flagship Razr+, and found it wanting in so many ways. Performance isn’t great, the cameras are poor and the cover display is so small it’s unusable.

In the UK, this handset is retailing for around $1,025, and while currency conversions aren’t an exact science (well…) that figure is officially Too Much for Smith’s wallet. He says that, when the handset arrives in the US, if it isn’t priced under $800, then don’t even think about it. And, even if it is, is the joy of a folding display really worth the underwhelming package that surrounds it?

– Dan Cooper

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Call of Duty is publicly shaming cheaters in the kill feed

If you’re caught using exploits, you will be named and shamed.

I’m no fan of a culture too quick to name and shame – we’re all running the same race but carrying baggage of varying weights upon our backs. But Activision feels there’s an exception for those folks playing Call of Duty online with cheat software running in the background. The latest update to its Ricochet anti-cheat system will detect users playing less than fair, boot them from the game and let everyone know they’ve been dealing with a cheater.

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A $2,490 wireless podcasting kit is absurd, but at least Nomono’s sounds great

It’s a beautifully packaged all-in-one studio but… you know.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar / Engadget

Nomono’s all-in-one podcast studio has a list of features long enough to get Devindra Hardawar to spend time playing with it. For $2,490, you get an egg-shaped charging case with four wireless lavalier microphones and a space recorder for capturing room tone. Once you’re done bantering, the audio is instantly uploaded to a cloud server for easy editing, but that’s not ready to go right now. If you’re a budding podcaster with the better part of three grand to spare and are curious if you should pick one up, read all of Devindra’s review to find out more.

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Google’s latest bid to push hybrid work is a $99 rate at its on-campus hotel

Fancy paying to skip the commute?

Google has always gone the extra mile to keep its employees on its campus for as long as possible. Now, as it tries to claw people back to the office, it’s offering cheap nights in its campus hotel to encourage people to ditch working from home. Because, you know, the thing great companies value is the quality of your presenteeism, not the quality of your work.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-motorolas-new-razr-is-not-a-good-phone-111521672.html?src=rss

Now’s the time to snag a new Google phone without paying full price. The tech company’s Pixel 7a smartphone is 11 percent off right now — down to $444 from $499 in all available colors. This deal is the best we’ve seen for the Google Pixel 7a 128GB since it first launched in May. 

Google’s Pixel 7a is one of our favorite mid-range smartphones and scored a 90 in our review due to how much it works like a Pixel 7 but for a lower price. For starters, it lasted 17 hours and 41 minutes during our video rundown test, just 13 minutes short of its older sibling. It also has a 6.1-inch OLED screen, a 2400 x 1080 display and a 90Hz refresh rate. The Pixel 7a features a high-res 65-MP rear camera and a 13-MP selfie camera.

A few other devices in the Google Pixel family, such as the tablet, are also on sale. A 12 percent discount drops the Google Pixel Tablet (equipped with a charging speaker dock) down to $439 from $499. Plus, the Google Pixel Buds Pro and A-Series have sales running, with the Pro model dropping 30 percent to $139 from $200. If you want something even cheaper, the Google Pixel Buds A-Series are down to $60 from $100 — a 40 percent discount. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-pixel-7a-falls-to-a-new-all-time-low-at-amazon-104528189.html?src=rss