Everything I wanted to say in a single comment.
It really just werks™

Not really no, all swapping the launcher does is free you from staring at the ad ridden “Google TV” launcher but they could still track you.

ONN and Xiaomi are different in that they run a version of Android TV that’s closer to stock, and thus is less locked down. As I said, last time I checked the Fire Sticks don’t even let you swap their Ad ridden default launcher without workarounds (that they are hard at work in breaking), meanwhile on the Xiaomi/ONN box you just download one from wherever you want and it’s done, they also are not doing any “piracy app crackdown” (well, until Google’s stupid future Sideloading restrictions come into play)
And yes, ONN is a Walmart Brand.

Yeah same with me getting a Xiaomi Box. Not being able to swap the default launcher on the Fire Stick was motive enough.

And the least believable excuse for layoffs goes to…

Fuck it, make it 24 hours.

So they rewrote the Android Proton Mail app, changed the UI toolkit I think. Cool, whatever.
Recently I got some marketing trash on my inbox, so I clicked the sender and clicked “Block this address” and got a popup saying “Feature coming soon”

Hey motherfuckers maybe don’t launch your new version of the app if the fucking basic functionality doesn’t work yet??? Oh but the obnoxious green Black Friday promo icon and the FULL SCREEN ADVERTISEMENT work just fine…

I’m starting to get sick of them too.

I’d aim for it to be a laptop replacement.
My current laptop is heavy as hell, assuming the keyboard case they have is decent, this could be light enough to leave in my backpack without adding too much weight, while also being usable in more situations that a standard laptop.

Only reason I haven’t bought one is because good god the currency conversion and my country’s stupid import tax 😵‍💫

Damn right.
I like the tablet form factor but there’s no way I’m gonna stand Android’s limitations on a bigger screen.
If it’s a Samsung, maybe, but on Stock Android? Helllll no. Google only started giving a fuck about proper multitasking now and it hasn’t even started rolling out yet 🤦

Based on this feedback and our ongoing conversations with the community, we are building a new advanced flow that allows experienced users to accept the risks of installing software that isn’t verified. We are designing this flow specifically to resist coercion, ensuring that users aren’t tricked into bypassing these safety checks while under pressure from a scammer. It will also include clear warnings to ensure users fully understand the risks involved, but ultimately, it puts the choice in their hands. We are gathering early feedback on the design of this feature now and will share more details in the coming months.

Amazing, so basically what everyone said: Put all the big red scary warnings you want but don’t make it impossible.
Look how much pushback was needed to reach this obvious common sense solution. Truly incredible.
Thanks for nothing Google 👍

That was just an assumption, I should probably make that clearer on my comment.

like steam-input but VR

That’s already a thing, I saw a video of someone streaming a VR game to a Quest 3 via Steam Link and using it to map hand gestures to regular VR controller actions, allowing him to play games with no hand tracking support controller-free

To be fair, I think they’re slightly different markets.
The AVP is a “Productivity” device and seems more focused on “Mixed Reality” use with it’s super high quality passthrough and what not, vs the Frame which is more focused on gaming, has black and white passthrough and (I’m assuming) no Real World mapping so you can’t have floating windows that stay where you put them in your physical space for example.

That being said I think more sales than the AVP is a guarantee, on the price alone.
If anything, the real question is if that “VR Productivity” market that Apple is targeting really exists. (didn’t the HoloLens fail?)

Since when? Because last I used it Video and Audio calls required their native app (their excuse was their encryption couldn’t run on the website)

The one fucking app of theirs that was done really well and they kill it.
Microsoft might as well deprecate their UI Toolkit now. The best 3rd party app to showcase it is dead and even their own apps are just web wrappers nowadays 🙄

This is also my recommendation.
Even if you don’t care about any of the extra features, the fact that you get TMR Sticks, a charging dock and 2.4g dongle included makes it a better purchase than any Xbox controller

I can confirm it has no hearts/timer or the usual Freemium Mobile monetization tactics. At most you can watch an ad to revive after death or to get extra coins but it’s optional.
It’s also on Steam for cheap and that version has zero monetization.

Well I think shutting it down before it had any time to accumulate users is silly but yeah, fair enough, I need to put down the tinfoil hat.

Yeah exactly. I think they’re hiding the real reason for this shutdown, this reads like a sorry excuse.

The search industry continues to undergo big changes. Leta will not be able to follow and will likely become less useful over time.

None of the “Big changes” of late have improved the user experience, absolutely nobody who’d use Leta would complain that it doesn’t have AI summaries or whatever other bullshit.

Does this feel like a big cop out to anyone else? How weird…