Android's new hidden sanity-saver

Plus a pair of cool Keep tricks  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ # Brought to you by: [Aura logo]()​ Ugh. My eyes hurt. And frankly, so does my soul. Surely you know the feeling, right? It's the sensation I get most anytime I've been reading something online — and having my senses assaulted by all the over-the-top pop-ups, promos, and other distractions practically every website whips our way these days. It's kind of an inevitable reality of modern web publishing, I realize. But even so, it sucks. And we, the people who point our peepers at all of these virtual pages, are the ones who end up paying the metaphorical price. So what if there were a way to have our cake and eat it, too — to have a reasonably good online reading experience, avoid the web's worst clutter-creating distractions, and yet somehow not completely block the business model that makes all these web-based publications possible? It's a tall order, but this week, we might just have the answer. It's the first tip in our Things to Try section, below. Check it out and see if it seems as promising to you as it does to me. JR Today's read: ⌚ 3 Things to Know: 2 minutes ⌚ 3 Things to Try: 1 minute 30 seconds ⌚ Just for Funsies: 20 seconds [] ❱❱ 3 Things to Know This Week 1. Bendable (yes, bendable) phones could be coming ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Forget the foldable for a sec: The next futuristic Android phone form could be the bending device — although it's not entirely clear yet if or when this future might reach us. 🔎 KNOW MORE: Motorola showed off a new concept for a flexible phone that can wrap around your wrist this week. And my goodness, is it something to see. - The phone starts off normal but then bends into a cuff-like shape and connects to some sort of bracelet on your arm. - It's an evolution of an earlier and much more rudimentary bending phone prototype Moto demoed seven years ago and hasn't mentioned much since. - Impressive? Absolutely! Practical? Erm, maybe not. But hey, it's still pretty wild that companies are even attempting this sort of thing, even if we might not see it launch for mere-mortal use anytime soon. 📌 READ MORE: [See the bendy beast for yourself](=)— and if you want to dive even deeper, check out [the full official announcement](). --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. You might soon see Messages in multiple places ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Google appears to be gearing up to cut the cord around its Android Messages app and allow us to use the service on multiple devices at the same time. 🔎 KNOW MORE: This may seem like a subtle change from what's presently possible, but philosophically, it's a pretty significant shift. - You can already pull up Messages on any computer and have it connect to your phone, but it's a direct device-to-device connection that's only possible in one place at a time. - Under-development code suggests Google will soon switch to a system that lets you sign into Messages with your Google account instead. - This would make Messages more like other device-agnostic messaging platforms and make your phone just one of many devices where you're able to send and receive texts instead of being the nucleus around which everything else revolves. 📌 READ MORE: Get [an early peek at what's in the works](=) to see how this could soon shape up. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Your next earbuds could work away from your phone ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Speaking of untethering ourselves from technical limitations, the next generation of Android-friendly earbuds should be able to seamlessly move from Bluetooth to Wi-Fi and let you keep listening to music even when your phone isn't close. How 'bout them apples?! 🔎 KNOW MORE: The new capability comes courtesy of Qualcomm and a snazzy new chip it's expecting to see in all sorts of speakers next year. - The chip can supposedly shift its connection from Bluetooth to Wi-Fi seamlessly so you can walk away from your phone without having your audio interrupted, so long as you have a constant internet connection. - It'd work with phone calls, too, in addition to regular streaming audio. - The whole thing will require very specific hardware to function, though — on both the earbud and the phone front — so don't expect to see it show up on anything you already own today. 📌 READ MORE: Explore [all the ins and outs of how this'll happen](=), and then get ready for a lot of impatient waiting. #top SPONSORED MESSAGE We’re calling about your car’s extended warranty 🤦 [Person holding phone to dog's ear]()​ UGH–another scam! Anyone else fed up over all these spam calls, no matter how many times you “opt out” or block the caller? Introducing [Aura Call Protection](). This AI assistant screens your incoming calls and texts for spam, only allowing through those calls you actually want to receive (like family, friends, deliveries, etc). Unfortunately, phishing scams are on the rise, ruining victims’ lives and costing Americans $1.2 billion in 2022. That’s why thousands of human beings trust Aura to protect their families from spammers — across every device! Other ways Aura secures your identity: 🔐 Scans + even removes your SSN, address, and more from the dark web ⏰ Alerts you instantly if your credit is under attack 💪 Includes $1 million in identity theft insurance and 24/7 fraud support ➜ [Start your free trial of Aura today and see why it is rated #1 by Security.org](). [STOP SPAM CALLS FOR GOOD ➜]() #top [] ❱❱ 3 Things to Try This Week 1. Activate Chrome's new sanity-saving reading option All right, my enhancement-adoring amigo: Time to give your web reading experience an exceptional upgrade. ➜ You'd never know it, but Google's got a spectacularly effective new reading mode for its Chrome Android app. Once you activate it, it puts a handy little icon in your browser's address bar whenever you're viewing an article on any website... [Chrome's new reading mode button on Android] ​ And when you click that icon, the system brings you into an enhanced reading mode that's optimized for your eyeballs and free from ads, pop-ups, and other distractions. [Chrome's new Android reading mode in action] ​ You can even customize the color scheme, font style, and font size, if you really want to get wild. ⌚ The new system is disabled and hidden by default, but it'll take you about 20 seconds to uncover and activate — once you know where to look. 📌 I've got all the steps in [this quick 'n' easy guide](=). --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Bring some fancy formatting to all your Keep notes Google's Keep app is great for simple note-taking, but it's traditionally been very simple in what it's able to accomplish. Google at long last brought basic text formatting into Keep earlier this year — hallelujah, right?! — and this week, it's in the midst of rolling that feature out in its entirety to all of us on Android. ➜ Specifically, you can now add formatting like bold and italic text into any of your Keep notes, including older notes you created long before this feature existed. ⌚ It'll take you 10 seconds to figure out: - Just open up [the Keep app]( on whatever device you're using. - Tap the plus icon in the app's lower-right corner to start a new note, and you should see the recently added text formatting option in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen — with an A icon. - Once this latest update to the app reaches you, that same icon will be present on any older notes in your collection, too. If you aren't seeing the formatting command on older notes just yet, don't fret. Check the Play Store for any pending Keep updates — and if nothing's waiting, keep an eye out for an update over the next several days! --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Shift a note to Docs on demand While we're thinkin' about Keep, here's a handy out-of-the-way option I often forget is possible: ➜ When you start a note in Keep and then decide it's getting a little long or complex for that environment, you can send the note to Google Docs with a few fast taps. ⌚ It'll take you roughly seven seconds: - Tap the three-dot icon in the note's lower-right corner on your phone. - Select "Send" from the menu that pops up. - Then select "Copy to Google Docs" in the next list of options. And that's it: Your note will be in Docs and waiting for you. All that's left is to tap the link to open it, at the bottom of the screen, or head directly into [the Docs app]( to find it there. #top [] ❱❱ And Just for Funsies... With all our focus on creating a better web reading experience this week, I thought it'd be fun to end on a lighthearted game that's all about avoiding the web's worst design habits. It's plenty silly and loads of fun, but it's also a pretty effective reminder of just how ridiculous the web has gotten. The game is called [Terms and Conditions Apply](, and it challenges you to avoid accepting any terms, opting into any notifications, or okaying any cookies you don't actually want. And it's much more challenging than you might expect. 📌 [Try for yourself in any browser, on any device]( — and let me know how you do, won't ya? #top See Ya in November Hey, how 'bout that? We've made our way to the end of October already, somehow — and that means we're eerily close to the launch of some really exciting new stuff here in these newsletter-scented quarters of ours. Hope you have yourself a very happy Halloween, and stay tuned for some big news right around the corner. What'd you think of this issue? Pick a face to vote and let me know! [Loved it]([It was all right]([Coulda been better]( ​ ➜ Did you enjoy this issue? [Copy your custom referral link]( and share it with other people to spread the word and earn [all sorts of awesome rewards](=)! ➜ Hungry for even more? [Try a Platinum membership]( to gain access to three premium Android Intelligence publications along with oodles of other advanced resources. ➜ New here and not yet subscribed? Take two seconds to [sign up now](). ➜ Not feelin' it anymore? Sorry to see you go — but no worries: You can [unsubscribe or update your preferences here](=). [Get even more Android Intelligence. Upgrade to a Platinum membership today.](=)