Google is trialling an emergency sound detection mode for its Pixel Buds ear phones that alerts users to what's going on around them. The new feature, called Attention Alerts, detects signs of an emergency such as a barking dog, a crying baby or ambulance sirens with the help of AI. The new mode – which is being trialled for now – then lowers the audio volume of the Pixel Buds momentarily to let the user clearly hear what's going on around them. Pixel Buds users can enable this'experimental mode' on a Pixel phone with Android 10, but Google warned that it may shorten the battery life of the earbuds. Google has also introduced other permanent updates to Pixel Buds, including bass boost, sharing detection and transcribe mode.

The Pixel 4a is a return to form for Google's smartphone efforts: a lower-cost, mid-range phone that is high quality, long-lasting and fairly small, with a great camera. The £349 Pixel 4a is very much an attempt to boil down a smartphone to only the essentials and then make them all work really well. It slots under the higher-priced £669-and-up Pixel 4 series, replacing last year's Pixel 3a and 3a XL with only one size of phone, taking the design of the 3a and expanding the screen to fill the front of the device. A 5G version is coming later in the year but for now the Pixel 4a is 4G only. The body is high-quality, soft-touch polycarbonate and feels surprisingly nice.

HMD Global has announced that its new Nokia 2.3 smartphone is now available for pre-order in the United States. The Android 10 device offers a 6.2″ HD screen and a 13MP/2MP dual camera with a "Recommended Shot" feature that will automatically take a few additional photos before and after the camera shudder is pressed. The feature is supposed to help users select the optimal version of their photo, which is to say that it will recommend the shot in which everyone is smiling and generally looks their best. Other Nokia 2.3 highlights include a dedicated Google Assistant button and a battery that can last for up to two days thanks to its Adaptive Battery technology. The tech uses AI to gain a better understanding of a user's app behavior and optimize the performance of the phone.

Tue 17 Dec 2019 02.00 EST Last modified on Tue 17 Dec 2019 02.02 EST Need a new smartphone but don't know which one is the very best? Here's a guide comparing the current top-end smartphones from Apple, Samsung, Huawei, OnePlus and others to help you pick the best handset for you. There has never been a better time to buy a new flagship smartphone with many quality handsets available at a wider range of prices than ever before. Whether your priority is two-day battery life, fantastic camera performance or a spectacular screen, there's plenty to choose from. This Guardian buyer's guide to top-end smartphones was last updated on 17 December 2019, and represents the best available models at the time. As new models are released and tested, this guide will be updated to help you choose the right flagship phone for you. Welcome to one of the Guardian's new buyer's guides.

Annually since 2016, Google has released a pair of flagship Pixel smartphones designed to showcase the very best of Android. This year was like any other with the debut of the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, which ship running Android 10. But what's unusual this time around is that the newest duo's hardware is perhaps just as compelling as their software. Gone is the two-tone rear cover that featured prominently on the original Pixel, Pixel 2, and Pixel 3 series, replaced with polished and grippy Corning Gorilla Glass 5. It's easier to grasp ahold of than that of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, and it's more resistant to oily fingers and pocket lint. The Pixel 4 series is IP68 certified to withstand up to five feet of water for half an hour, which puts it on par with the outgoing Pixel 3 series. But both the Pixel 4 and the Pixel 4 XL are a good deal heavier than the Pixel 3 (5.71 The Pixel 4 series' frame is coated with a soft-touch material that's jet black on all three of the colorways -- Clearly White, Just Black, and the limited edition Oh So Orange. The haptics, which Google characterizes as "sharp and textured," feel great.

Without the software that powers them, iPhones and Android phones would be high-priced pieces of glass, metal and plastic. So let's see how the new mobile OSes from Apple and Google compare. On one side of the table, iOS 13 includes a systemwide dark mode, more control over privacy settings and a bushel of improvements designed to make the iPhone more secure and easier to use. On the other side, Google's Android 10 also brings on dark mode, a focus on privacy and useful AI enhancements. With the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Max Pro just announced, we'll soon see this the new iOS software absorbed into hardware.

Ten years ago, Google started a tradition of naming its Android after the names of deserts. However, the tradition has come to an end this year, when the search engine giant named its latest version of the OS as simply'Android 10'. On September 3, Google officially released the final version of Android 10 after several months in betas. Tech geeks are theorising that one of the reasons why Google stopped its desert tradition is due to the fact that Android is a global brand and going with a desert name that starts from Q leaves some regions out. However, it's just the name that has been switched; the statue of the robot will still be there.

The successor to Android Pie will simply be called Android 10, Google has announced, bringing to an end one of tech's most unusual naming conventions. A complete overhaul to the world's most popular mobile operating system was introduced by the technology giant in a blog post. Android's open platform has expanded to tablets, cars, watches and TVs, having first launched for smartphones in 2008. Google claims it is now used with more than 2.5 billion active devices around the world. "As we continue to build Android for everyone in the community, our brand should be as inclusive and accessible as possible," said Sameer Samat, Android's head of product management.