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• Google Assistant turns to external answers when its own services are offline
  

  Google’s software Assistant and corresponding Home hardware are there to answer your questions (within certain limits), but it may not always be Google that answers. In some circumstances, including things like service outages, it looks like Google is…

• Huawei’s new virtual assistant will ‘provide emotional interactions’
  

  

  Despite Google Assistant now being available on most Android devices, many OEMs have been looking to build their own virtual helpers. Samsung has Bixby, LG has ThinQ, and now Huawei has… something. The company already has an assistant on its Chinese devices, but now it’s working on a new one that will ‘provide emotional interactions.’

  Vice President of Software Engineering at Huawei, Felix Zhang, spoke about the upcoming product in an interview with CNBC. “We want to provide emotional interactions.

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  Huawei’s new virtual assistant will ‘provide emotional interactions’ was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

• Chrome 66 adds experimental support for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows Mixed Reality VR headsets
  

  Google Chrome 66 came out a few days ago, with your usual list of new APIs and user improvements. However, one major new feature flew under the radar. This is the first stable Chrome release with experimental support for Valve’s OpenVR API, allowing V…

• Moto G6 Plus hands-on: Motorola trying to do the impossible
  

  The Moto G6 Plus is the crown jewel of the latest iteration of Motorola’s iconic Moto G series. The new device is being launched with a challenging mission: to offer a competitively-priced mid-range for more demanding users. In our hands-on we’ll share…

• Here’s what we’re reading, watching, playing, and listening to this week
  

  How we’re spending our leisure time.

  Everyone has a bit of quiet downtime once in a while. Whether you’re sitting quietly at home or trying to relax on a plane or just giving your busy mind and hands a break, it’s important to relax.

  A good way to do that is to read a book, listen to some music or watch a movie or show. See what’s caught our attention for the week of April 20th.

  Ara Wagoner

  Awwwww, look at the little pink deathbringer!

  Sword Art Online is back, and we’ve got new characters and a new dynamic inside a world that felt criminally underexplored the last time we saw it! Sword Art Online Alternate: Gun Gale Online (boy, that’s a mouthful) is the latest entry into the popular franchise about VRMMO gaming and the multi-world hijinks its players come across. This year’s model doesn’t seem to have any “you die in the video game, you die for real” drama this year, bringing the stakes down and giving the show a bit more of a slice of life feel, which is a refreshing twist…

• Don’t expect lengthy software support from Motorola’s new Moto G6 and E5
  

  

  If you’re planning to buy one of Motorola’s newest handsets, you should be aware that you won’t get lengthy software support. Motorola is promising just one major Android upgrade for the new Moto G6 series, while the Moto E5 series may not get a major update at all.

  Motorola unveiled its new smartphone lineup at an event in New York City on Thursday. There are six new handsets altogether, including the midrange Moto G6, Moto G6 Plus, and Moto G6 Play, and the budget Moto E5, Moto E5 Plus, and Moto E5 Play.

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  Don’t expect lengthy software support from Motorola’s new Moto G6 and E5 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

• Step up your sound with the $159 Elac B5 bookshelf speakers
  

  The Elac series is a classic, and this price is killer.

  The Elac B5 Debut Series 5.25-inch Bookshelf Speakers are down to $159 on Amazon. The big brother Elac B6 speakers dropped to $200 on Amazon yesterday, so it makes sense the B5 have now become even cheaper. They normally sell for around $230 and have never dropped this low before.

  The Elac B5 speakers have 4 stars from What Hi-Fi?. They have custom drivers designed by Andrew Jones, woven aramid-fiber woofers, and a custom deep-spheroid waveguide designed to improve control and shield the tweeter from cabinet diffraction. These speakers have 4.6 stars based on 115 user reviews.

  See on Amazon
  …

• Today’s best deals you won’t want to miss
  

  Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

  Today you can get big discounts on Dyson air purifiers, portable chargers, smart plugs, electric shavers, and more! Don’t pass these up.

  View the rest of the deals

  If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!
  …

• AT&T is working on a $15/month live TV streaming service
  

  There’s one caveat — you won’t find any sports channels here.

  In the quest to give cable and satellite companies the boot, we’ve seen the market for Internet-based live TV services pop up like crazy over the past few years. Following the release of DirecTV Now in 2016, AT&T’s now gearing up to launch another service called “AT&T Watch.”

  AT&T’s other streaming service, DirecTV Now.

  According to The Wall Street Journal, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson announced the new service while speaking during the company’s antitrust court hearing regarding its want to purchase Time Warner Inc.

  Although we don’t know which channels will be available with AT&T Watch or which platforms it’ll support, there are a few key details to take note of. Perhaps most damning for some customers, AT&T Watch won’t have any sports channels. We saw Philo introduce a similar package last November, and also similar to Philo, AT&T Watch will be incredibly cheap — just $15/month….

• AT&T fires up fake 5G in more than 100 new markets
  

  

  The first 5G networks should begin appearing later this year, but AT&T is already rushing to call its network “5G.” The so-called 5G Evolution is faster than the current version of LTE, but it’s not really 5G. Today, the carrier has rolled out its pseudo-5G in 117 new markets, bringing the total count to 141.

  According to AT&T, 5G Evolution serves as a “runway” to real 5G. Deploying 5G Evolution involves infrastructure upgrades that increase network capacity, and these improvements will eventually help to roll out 5G service.

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  AT&T fires up fake 5G in more than 100 new markets was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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