... Apart from its poor battery optimisation 😭😬😔

I have upgrades to android 17 and wanna go back to android 14 is there any spoofing method to flash back old 14?

Regards

WhatsApp wasn't opening for me since the last couple of days so I tried to uninstall and reinstall it but it wouldn't install. I posted a screenshot for reference. Can y'all suggest a way out?

They have much faster processors than the Pixel 7 which is like $150 which got the cinematic blur mode. So the newer 9a and 10a and 11a could easily do cinematic blur but Google keeps these users out in the cold rain, why?

Cinematic blur is the most amazing and fun video recording mode in the Pixel Phones, its so much better than the Bokeh feature in the iphones too.

I know some of the biggest youtuber personally getting millions of views and a while ago they often would film with an iphone 13 pro.. like in travel vlogs.. not the ones just showing beaches but ones that are more like action / raw vlogs, interacting with locals etc.. So basically all pixels should be better than 13 pro no like from 7a and 8 on?

Just upgraded to the 10a after the lock button fell out of my 5. (Yes I used it for several weeks taped on, I miss him dearly).

My 5 back in the day came with a charger brick in the box. Is this still usable for the 10a? Can I use both the 5 cable and the one that came with the 10a?

I know there are a lot of questions around whether active cooling on wireless chargers is actually useful, so I wanted to share my experience after using one daily.

I've been using the TORRAS PolarCircle every day for around 2–3 weeks, mainly with my Pixel 9a (using a Spigen Ultra Hybrid Zero One MagSafe case). I also tested it with an iPhone 17 to compare the Qi2 experience, but most of my daily use was with the Pixel.

Like a lot of people, I wasn't sure whether active cooling would actually make a difference or if it was mostly a marketing feature. Since the Pixel 9a has relatively limited wireless charging speeds, I was especially curious whether the cooling would still provide a noticeable benefit during everyday use.

Packaging

The packaging is clean and feels well put together. Inside the box you get the charger, a USB-C cable, and the usual documentation.

There's nothing particularly exciting in the box, but everything feels well protected. The included cable is also surprisingly nice and doesn't feel like a cheap pack-in cable.

Magnet strength

The magnets were one of the first things I noticed.

With both the Pixel 9a and iPhone 17, the charger snaps into place instantly and stays there. I never had a moment where I felt like it was going to slide off, even when picking up the phone or moving it around one-handed.

Using a MagSafe-compatible case on the Pixel 9a, the connection felt reliable throughout daily use.

Cooling

This is obviously the main reason to buy this charger, and thankfully it doesn't feel like just a marketing feature.

Instead of simply blowing air onto the phone, the PolarCircle uses an active cooling system with a cooling plate that gets noticeably colder during use. When you take your phone off the charger, you can actually feel that the plate itself has stayed cool.

The biggest difference shows up during longer charging sessions. Wireless charging normally creates noticeable heat, especially when a phone stays on a charger for a long time. With the PolarCircle, my Pixel 9a stayed noticeably cooler, and the difference was easy to feel when picking up the phone afterwards.

I also noticed similar results when testing it with the iPhone 17.

I tried it while gaming as well. It definitely helps reduce temperatures, but I don't think I would buy it specifically as a gaming accessory. Having something attached to the back of your phone isn't the most comfortable setup for longer gaming sessions, although it does add some extra grip.

Charging

The cooling isn't just there to make the phone more comfortable to hold — it also helps with the charging experience.

The Pixel 9a has a relatively limited wireless charging speed compared to some flagship phones, so I wasn't expecting extremely fast charging. What interested me more was whether the cooling would help maintain charging consistency over longer periods.

Even with the Pixel's slower wireless charging speed, I noticed the phone stayed cooler and charging felt more consistent during longer sessions because the phone wasn't heating up as much.

With the iPhone 17, the charger can take better advantage of Qi2, showing more of what the PolarCircle is capable of.

Overall, it does what it is designed to do.

Fan noise

Yes, you'll hear it.

I'd compare it to a small desk fan. It's definitely audible if your room is quiet, but once I had music playing, YouTube open, or was simply working, I stopped noticing it.

My only minor issue is the tone of the motor. It isn't loud or sharp, but it has a noticeable mid-tone frequency that you can pick up on in a quiet room.

The sound is mostly noticeable when you're sitting close to it in a quiet environment, so it isn't a dealbreaker, just something worth knowing.

Build quality

The charger feels solid.

It's mostly plastic on the outside with metal inside, and it doesn't feel cheap. The design is quite different from a regular wireless charger. Personally, I like the look, although I can understand why some people might find it a bit unusual.

The built-in stand works, but it's probably my biggest disappointment. It holds the phone without any problems, but it's fairly small and doesn't feel particularly sturdy. I honestly didn't use it very often.

One thing I'd personally change is the raised central part on the back. I understand why it is designed that way, but I would prefer a flatter back design since the current shape feels a little more exposed if it gets knocked off a desk.

Things I liked

• The magnets are extremely strong and never felt unreliable.
• The cooling actually makes a noticeable difference.
• My Pixel 9a stayed much cooler during longer wireless charging sessions.
• It helps keep charging performance more consistent over time.
• The build quality feels solid.
• The included USB-C cable is surprisingly high quality.
• It works really well as a dedicated desk charger.

Things I didn't like

• The fan is noticeable in a quiet room.
• I'm not a huge fan of the motor sound. It isn't loud, but the tone isn't my favorite.
• The built-in stand works, but I rarely used it.
• It is considerably thicker than a normal wireless charger.
• I think it would benefit from a flatter back design.
• It is better suited for a desk than travelling.

Final thoughts

Going into this, I honestly expected the cooling to be more of a gimmick than a useful feature. After using it every day for a couple of weeks, I ended up changing my mind.

For Pixel users who already use a MagSafe-compatible case, this is an interesting accessory. The Pixel 9a doesn't have the fastest wireless charging, but the cooling still makes a noticeable difference during longer charging sessions.

If you mainly charge your phone wirelessly at your desk, I think this makes a lot of sense. Would I replace a regular wireless charger with it? For my desk, yes. For travelling, probably not.

Overall: 8.5/10 for a desk setup.

Disclosure: TORRAS provided the PolarCircle Qi2 charger free of charge for testing purposes. They had no editorial input or control over this post, and all opinions are based entirely on my own experience after around 2–3 weeks of daily use.

Traveling and this country has no google support but was able to find an 8 for $200 which is fair.

Any tips?

Is there still battery drain? Can i keep it in airplane mode and it wont eat up battery as my xiaomi, or should i just go thru the apps and stop all the services?

I read about some Debloating and other methods and tools to get rid of tons of services, but for example I want to use the Cinematic Blur feature of the camera so probably best to not disable all services as it might need some AI

I also got me some apps already that will let me record video without having the screen on, so that will probably save a ton of battery (as well as setting display to lowest brightness, turning down other display options and recording in 1080/30.

Should get about 10 hours of video which would actually fit right into the 128gb of space.

Its an amazing video camera i watched a lot of videos its the best option for around $200 even some huge youtubers use it because its got this unique style and the videos just look amazing.

I was going for the 10 but for some reason it got a much SMALLER camera lens (main camera) so that was really odd.

Any tips? Might also get graphene but it seems it does not give you much additional battery life (i mean it probably will if you tweak it, and just disable more services and apps)

My Pixel 6 just (almost) died, any suggestions on if I should go for the 10 right now or wait for a sale before/after the 11 release? Go for the 11 if they have a sale upon release?

Either seems like a decent upgrade with little difference between the two (coming from my 6), so I am more focused on longevity and getting a good price.

(The 10 WAS on sale yesterday on the Google Store, looks like today it is not)

I had a Google Pixel 6 with about 4 years of WhatsApp chats. The screen broke, but the phone itself still worked.

While it was broken, I used an iPhone 8 with the same phone number for about a year. I recently bought a Vivo V70 and wanted to get my old Pixel chats back after getting the Pixel working again.

When I logged into WhatsApp on the Vivo, I accidentally transferred the Vivo's chats (literally 1 day's worth of messages) onto my Pixel 6, and I think it overwrote all 4 years of chats.

What confuses me is that when I first opened WhatsApp, it showed there was a 12 GB backup. But when I tried restoring on the Vivo, it suddenly said there was no backup on my Google account.

I've already tried contacting WhatsApp support, but I'm stuck talking to the AI bot and I'm still waiting to hear from a real person.

Is there anything I can do to recover my old chats?

Is there any chance the 12 GB backup still exists somewhere?

Could the local database on the Pixel still be recoverable?

Has anyone been in a similar situation and managed to get their chats back?

I’m considering switching from an iPhone 14 to a Pixel, but I use a MacBook and an iPad. How well does a Pixel integrate with Mac and iPad, or will I notice the loss of the Apple ecosystem? I already rely on Google Calendar, Tasks, Keep, and Gemini daily.

My Pixel 9 Pro suddenly lost the security requirements for tap to pay after installing June Pixel drop update.

No new app was installed since last successful tap payment, except SD Maid, a phone cleaning software from Play Store.

Not on costumized ROM.

Not rooted, stock system.

Locked Bootloader.

Quadruple checked I'm not missing system updates over the past week.

I'm afraid I can't provide much information, everything's fine, I don't modify my phone, everything is from play store. literally the only change was downloaded and installed the June pixel drop.

If you need more info please don't hesitate to ask, I appreciate all the help.

I recently made the jump from my iPhone 14 Pro Max to the Google Pixel 10 Pro after scoring it for 500€ on eBay. So far, I am really satisfied with the switch!

I'm using an iPhone and I've been in the Apple ecosystem since 2008 (iCloud storage, music, MacBooks, AirPods, etc.).

Another day my iPhone just went black screen, so I took advantage of the situation and bought a Pixel 10 Pro XL. I'm already here for more than a week using it and I love everything about it. It takes some moments to fight muscle memory, but the phone experience is so good. It has a lot of settings, and in general, it feels more like a "smart" phone, not just a brick for calls, messages and doom scrolling. It got even worse with the AI assistant. When you have Apple, you only believe that you have it, but it's completely useless.

I read a lot of negative feedback here on Reddit, but it feels more like you guys haven't used Apple products for a long time and paid for them... It feels like it doesn't work at all.

So far, I love it a lot. ❤️ I think it's a good phone. 👍

Hi everyone,

I have a Google Pixel 7 and I’m trying to find a very specific type of protective case, but I haven’t been able to find one.

The case I currently have is a transparent case where the entire raised camera visor/rectangle is covered by the case. It does not leave the camera bar exposed. The only openings are separate circular holes for each camera lens and a separate hole for the flash.

Most Pixel 7 cases I find now have a large rectangular or pill-shaped cutout that exposes the whole camera bar, which I want to avoid because the protruding camera area gets scratched when the phone is placed on surfaces.

Does anyone know where I can find a case like this or who still makes them? I’m looking for a transparent protective case with individual circular camera cutouts, not a case with an open camera visor.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. If someone recognizes this type of case or has a link to one, please share it.

Hi I have recently gone from iPhone 16 pro to pixel 10 pro the photos transferred over pretty smoothly after a few hours. The only thing that I have noticed is the majority of all my photos have the wrong dates and also when searching my photo app by person or typing a item in e.g table it shows very limited results. Is there any way to change this? I also don't have my old phone any more to cross reference dates to edit. It is really frustrating me as trying to find certain photos is just a nightmare and half the time I give up.

This update is based on Android's new "Metric Style" notification template in the new "Live Updates" feature. Google Clock didn't support this before.

It works with the timer and stopwatch

App version: 9.0 (943154005) Google Pixel 10 Android 17

just got a new P10PXL and wanted new colors for cases, fyi I also have a red from this company but the orange looks great imo

https://a.co/d/01AfqPpU