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Surprise Sky sale sees cheapest ever price for Google Pixel 9 phones

Surprise Sky sale sees cheapest ever price for Google Pixel 9 phones

Daily Mirror13 hours ago

Sky Mobile has slashed the prices on Google Pixel 9 devices, meaning it's now possible to get the Android smartphone for as little as £14 a month
Sky Mobile has slashed prices on Google's Pixel phones, with monthly costs as low as £14, causing a flurry of shoppers to snap up the Android device. Discounts are available across all Pixel 9 devices, and tech expert Chris Hall, who reviews numerous phones each year, takes a gander at the specs and sales.
Let's kick off with the latest addition, the Pixel 9a. This is Google's most budget-friendly model in the Pixel 9 series, launched in April 2025, so it's fresh off the production line.
It has the same core hardware as the Pixel 9 Pro, offering plenty of power for taking photos, gaming or sifting through emails. Sky Mobile has reduced the price to £14 a month, with no upfront cost, making this an affordable way to get your hands on the newest Pixel, reports the Daily Record.
Sky also provides a variety of data plans, starting from £0 a month, but the discounted 50GB plan at £10 a month is particularly eye-catching. Combined, users will have ample data and a top-notch phone to utilise it, all for £24 a month.
Buyers should be aware that if they opt for the 50GB data plan, the discount only applies for six months - therefore, it's always wise to double-check before committing to a lengthy plan. While Sky Mobile's Pixel 9a deal seems tempting, they're not the only provider offering these competitive prices.
Chris checked out the offers at GiffGaff - one of the networks with the highest customer satisfaction ratings, according to The Mirror. It is offering the Pixel 9a with 50GB data for £25.87 a month, and in this case, the data plan price won't hike up after 6 months.
Sky Mobile is offering the Pixel 9 Pro XL for £28 per month, down from its original price of £34 per month. This means customers can save £144 on the cost of this phone over the contract term.
Users can pair it with as much data as they desire. The Pixel 9 Pro XL requires an upfront payment of £12. The Pixel 9a is packed with features to get excited about, including a clean Android experience and seven years of software updates.
It has a 6.3-inch display, although the wide bezel around it might not be to everyone's liking due to it being a more affordable model.
However, its flat finish makes it ideal for gaming, and Chris found it to be a reliable phone for everyday use. He said: "The icing on the cake is undoubtedly the camera. Despite only having a dual camera and lacking the zoom feature of the Pro model, the consistency and quality of the photos it produces are unrivalled in this price range.
"Additionally, it provides users with access to Google's AI, the most exciting feature of which is housed in Magic Editor, making photo editing a breeze. However, as much as I appreciate the Pixel 9a, I find the screen size too small."
The Pixel 9 Pro XL is Chris's top pick. "Firstly, it has a larger 6.8-inch display, providing me with ample space for all my apps and games, and it has a wonderfully bright display, so photos look stunning," he said.
Chris concludes: "Whilst the Pixel 9 Pro XL may not boast the best battery life – for that, you'd be better off with the OnePlus 13 – it does offer an exceptional camera and a clean Android experience. Being the first to receive new Android features truly sets the Pixel apart from its competitors."

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Find hidden discounts with brainy new phone trick that instantly slashes cost of shopping – I've already tried it out
Find hidden discounts with brainy new phone trick that instantly slashes cost of shopping – I've already tried it out

Scottish Sun

time4 hours ago

  • Scottish Sun

Find hidden discounts with brainy new phone trick that instantly slashes cost of shopping – I've already tried it out

WHO doesn't love a discount? Sadly they're hard to find – but a new iPhone trick has you covered. Apple has just announced a clever upgrade for millions of iPhones that may be able to help you bag a top deal, and I've already seen it in action. 7 Your iPhone has a new feature coming that lets you 'highlight to search' Credit: Apple 7 You'll be able to quickly track down items that you want to buy Credit: Apple 7 Then you can snap up the one with the best price Credit: Apple I took a trip to Apple Park HQ in California this week, where I was able to check out some of the new iPhone upgrades coming in iOS 26 later this year. One of the big changes was an improvement to Visual Intelligence, which is an iPhone feature that 'scans' what you're looking at through the camera. With the new update, you can now 'scan' what you're looking at on screen. That means you can take a screenshot of an object you like the look of, and have it 'scanned' by Apple Intelligence AI tech. HOW NEW VISUAL INTELLIGENCE WORKS Imagine you've seen a lovely lamp in the background of a picture. You can screenshot it, and then use Visual Intelligence by scrubbing your finger over the lamp (or circling it works too, I found). Your iPhone will then surface that exact lamp and/or ones that look exactly like it. It'll list them alongside their prices on Google, Etsy, and other supported shopping apps on your phone. So you can then find the exact type of lamp you're looking for, and nab it from wherever is offering the best price. It won't just work with lamps: you could do this with a pair of trousers, or a drinks coaster, or even a sofa. Apple interview with Greg Joz Joswiak on new artificial intelligence, screening, hold assist, carplay, liquid glass and ios updates And even if you don't want the exact item, you can find similar ones – making it the ultimate "dupe" hunter. I tried it out at Apple HQ and it managed to track down a specific bird feeder almost instantly. And it offered very similar alternatives – all of which were varying in price. It was quick and easy, and took me from seeing the item to finding it on sale in a matter of seconds. 7 7 7 You can imagine this being a godsend for trying to find a nice jacket that you saw a celeb wear, or snapping up a nice bowl that you saw at a hotel on holiday. HOW TO ACCESS VISUAL INTELLIGENCE TODAY So when can you use it? Well Visual Intelligence is already available now, but it's only for telling you about items you've snapped a pic of – like identifying a dog breed, for example. The new screenshot-scanning feature is coming in iOS 26. IOS 26 SUPPORTED DEVICES – THE FULL LIST Here are the iOS 26 supported devices... iPhone 16e iPhone 16 ‌iPhone 16‌ Plus iPhone 16 Pro ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max iPhone 15 ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max ‌iPhone‌ 14 ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max ‌iPhone‌ 13 ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max ‌iPhone‌ 12 iPhone 12 mini ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro iPhone 12 Pro Max ‌iPhone‌ 11 ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro iPhone 11 Pro Max iPhone SE (3rd gen) iPhone‌ SE (2nd gen) Picture Credit: Apple If you want to use Visual Intelligence with your camera today, you'll need to press the Camera Control button. That's the button on the side of the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. If your iPhone doesn't have that, you can instead customise the Action Button or Lock Screen to do Visual Intelligence instead – or you could add it to your Control Centre. That's what you'll need to do if you've got an iPhone 16e, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max. 7 The new Visual Intelligence features are arriving with the upcoming iOS 26 update for iPhones Credit: Apple If you have an older iPhone, this feature won't work – as it relies on Apple Intelligence. Then just snap a pic and you'll be able to get info about what you're seeing. When iOS 26 lands later this year (likely in September), you'll just need to take a screenshot of an image, rub your finger on the item, and then search it using the built-in tool.

Why Waymo cars became sitting ducks during the LA protests
Why Waymo cars became sitting ducks during the LA protests

NBC News

time8 hours ago

  • NBC News

Why Waymo cars became sitting ducks during the LA protests

Engineers working on self-driving technology have given a lot of thought to difficult questions over the years, including how to keep pedestrians safe and how to avoid collisions with other vehicles. But last weekend's protests in Los Angeles threw a spotlight on one of the thorny problems that remain for autonomous vehicles: what to do about arson, vandalism or other physical attacks. Five vehicles owned by Google's self-driving spinoff Waymo were set ablaze last Sunday during protests against the Trump administration's immigration policies. Images and video of the flaming cars quickly went viral, illustrating for a global audience how vulnerable robotaxis can be in volatile situations. For all their advanced technology, including expensive cameras and sensors, the cars seemed to be defenseless. Waymo says the five cars were in downtown Los Angeles to serve passengers when they were attacked. There were no drivers to plead for mercy, and with crowds surrounding the vehicles, there was no escape path that didn't include threatening pedestrians — something Waymo vehicles are programmed not to do. 'They're very much sitting ducks,' said Jeff Fong, who has worked at tech companies including Lyft and Postmates and now writes a newsletter about cities and technology. And it wasn't the first time Waymo was a victim of arson. Last year, a Waymo in San Francisco's Chinatown was set on fire during Lunar New Year celebrations. Police later charged a juvenile with starting the blaze, saying they had thrown a lit firework into the vehicle. Waymos have been vandalized in other ways, too, including having their tires slashed, their windshields smashed, their doors torn off and their exteriors defaced with spray-paint. Local prosecutors have charged individuals in at least some cases. Part of what makes robotaxis vulnerable is their caution. While it's impossible to know if a human driver behind the steering wheel could have deterred or escaped vandalism in any specific case involving a robotaxi, driverless vehicles are generally designed to stay put if there's any risk that they'd hit a person while moving. 'There's been so much effort into making sure they can't hurt human beings,' Fong said. 'That's the problem Waymo has been solving for, rightfully so, but when you have the problem where a human wants to do harm, these cars have no countermeasures.' Autonomous technology companies, including Waymo, appear to be largely at a loss for ideas on how to deter vandalism over the long term. Their cameras may be a partial deterrent — Waymo says each of its cars has 29 cameras — and the company has cooperated with police to help find vandalism suspects after the fact. But Waymo's collection of street data through its cameras and sensors is also one of the sources of anger against the company and other startups like it. Some Uber and Lyft drivers have said that vandalism incidents bolster the importance of human drivers as a deterrent. A spokesperson for Waymo said that in response to the protests in Los Angeles and elsewhere, it was temporarily adjusting its service area. Waymo declined to make anyone available for an interview about the problems of arson and vandalism and how the company plans to deal with such incidents in the long term. The vandalism problem is mostly limited for now to Waymo, which is the biggest self-driving car company. It has about 1,500 vehicles operating in four regions, with additional cities scheduled to come online this year. But the market is set to become more competitive soon, with Tesla saying it plans to launch a robotaxi service this month in Austin, Texas, and Amazon-backed Zoox planning a service in Las Vegas and San Francisco. Representatives for Tesla and Zoox did not respond to requests for comment about how they plan to avoid incidents like last Sunday's attack on Waymo vehicles. The problem has been gnawing at robotaxi fans on message boards on Reddit. In one thread in January, users tossed around ideas like having dedicated security on motorcycles nearby or equipping Waymo vehicles with pepper spray. Adam Millard-Ball, director of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, said that robotaxis are a symbolic target for some street demonstrators. 'They're attacked not because they're autonomous cars but because they're a symbol of inequality in cities and a symbol of the power of large technology companies,' he said. He noted that electric scooters are also sometimes targets. He also said it's hard to imagine what the companies, police or city officials could do to eliminate the threat entirely. 'I don't think any country in the world has eliminated vandalism in public spaces,' he said. The incidents are problematic for Waymo on multiple levels: not only the cost of repairing or replacing the vehicles, but also the reputational risk when images and videos spread widely online. There's also the possible danger to passengers. And although no passengers were harmed in either arson incident, some passengers have been delayed or reported feeling threatened when the cars they were riding in were vandalized from the outside. Last year, a San Francisco woman posted a video online after she said two men targeted her while riding in a Waymo. Then there's the lost business from what Waymo calls 'temporary service adjustments.' In Los Angeles and San Francisco this past week, Waymo stopped serving certain areas that are part of its normal service area. People using the company's app in recent days were greeted with a message, alluding to the street protests: 'Pickup times and routing may be affected by local events. Thank you for your patience.' In San Francisco, that meant Waymo refused to take customers through or to several neighborhoods, including parts of the Financial District, the Civic Center area near City Hall and the sprawling South of Market neighborhood. Waymo also limited service to the Mission District, a historically working-class and Latino neighborhood that's also home now to many tech workers and a vibrant nightlife scene. Thousands of people attended an anti-Trump protest in the Mission on Monday night, and the effects on Waymo reverberated for days: A post on X with an example of rerouting around the Mission went viral Wednesday, getting 1.2 million views. Searches of the Waymo app by NBC News showed the service continuing to refuse service to parts of the Mission throughout the week, including during relatively quiet morning hours and on Friday. The app labeled certain destinations as 'unreachable.' A Waymo spokesperson said: 'We're taking these heightened measures now out of an abundance of caution.' They said the situation was temporary and subject to change quickly in response to conditions on the ground. Waymo hasn't published a map of which areas are restricted. Mass anti-Trump protests advocating for 'No Kings' are scheduled for Saturday nationwide, providing another potential disruption for robotaxis. Though the service restrictions may be temporary, they struck some people as discriminatory against poorer neighborhoods, with some social media users on X calling the practice ' redlining ' on the part of Waymo. The term refers to the decades-long practice of refusing home loans to predominantly Black neighborhoods. In contrast, ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft, which use human drivers, still offered rides to the Mission in recent days, according to NBC News searches of their apps. San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Agency rerouted some buses during the height of anti-Trump administration protests but then resumed regular service. There have been no arrests for the attacks on Waymo vehicles in Los Angeles last Sunday. On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said it was taking the lead in investigating the Waymo attacks, making them the subject of a federal investigation. 'The cause of these fires is quite obvious,' ATF Special Agent in Charge Kenneth Cooper of the Los Angeles Field Division said in a statement. 'The task at hand now is to determine who is responsible. ATF's National Response Team is going to be a tremendous asset, and we look forward to the results of their efforts to hold the responsible parties accountable,' he said.

Major bar & restaurant chain to shut beloved branch in heart of seaside resort TODAY leaving punters ‘gutted'
Major bar & restaurant chain to shut beloved branch in heart of seaside resort TODAY leaving punters ‘gutted'

Scottish Sun

time12 hours ago

  • Scottish Sun

Major bar & restaurant chain to shut beloved branch in heart of seaside resort TODAY leaving punters ‘gutted'

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MAJOR bar and restaurant chain will be shutting a beloved branch today in the heart of a popular seaside town. The eatery is known for its incredible brunch and huge range of cocktails, leaving fans 'gutted' when they heard about its closure. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 The chain is known for its amazing brunches Credit: Slug and Lettuce 3 The Slug and Lettuce in Cornwall will be closing its doors for good Credit: Google 3 The chain has closed several other stores in recent years Credit: Slug and Lettuce The Slug and Lettuce has been serving customers since 1985 and, over the years, has become one of Britain's leading pub chains. However, the company shocked fans when it announced that it would be closing its beloved Newquay, Cornwall, branch. Announcing the sad news on Facebook, a spokesperson for the pub wrote: 'Thank you, and farewell. 'After an amazing journey, Slug and Lettuce Newquay is closing its doors on Saturday, June 14. 'We've loved every laugh, every cocktail and every glittery moment shared with you all. 'Thank you for being part of the sun and making it so special. 'Happy Memories.' The bar will be serving its last punters on June 14, before putting its shutters down for good. Fans flooded the comment section with their favourite stories from their visits to the pub. One said: 'Oh no, this is really sad. We had a fab bottomless brunch for my hen do. Feel for all the staff.' Poundland to be sold for JUST £1 as frontrunner for shock takeover is revealed after wave of store closures Another punter said that they were 'gutted' after hearing the news. The brand has been rocked by closures over recent years, having been forced to shut some of its most popular stores. Branches in Huddersfield, Worthing and Brentwood have all closed as fellow pub chains also battle with soaring operating costs. The Slug and Lettuce has been approached for comment by The Sun. A wave of closures has rocked the high street, with even high end restaurants feeling the pinch. The glamorous French restaurant La Dame de Pic closed for good earlier this year, with Kora by Tom Kitchen also putting the shutters down. Some chains have blamed Rachel Reeves' decision to raise National Insurance contributions, though the Chancellor has insisted that her actions were necessary to stabilise the economy. Other restaurants, like La Goccia in Covent Garden, said that 'covid' and 'Brexit' has made it impossible to hire qualified staff - forcing them to close.

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