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Samsung developed a feature called location-based navigation that scans your messages for locations and lets you quickly start navigating to those destinations from your car screen. This feature is available in Samsung Auto, which is Samsung’s version of Android Auto available in the Chinese version of One UI. Android Auto currently doesn’t offer an equivalent feature, but we argue it should for safety reasons. Android Auto is one of Android’s best features, since it lets you safely access many of your phone’s features while you’re driving. It’s not the only phone projection implementation, though. In China, where Android Auto isn’t available, Samsung offers its own version called Samsung Auto. Samsung Auto offers many of the same capabilities as Android Auto, but it has one neat feature that we’d like Google to copy: location-based navigation. Most people input a destination before driving, but sometimes, drivers must change destinations mid-drive. This could happen for several reasons, but when it does, inputting the new destination can be difficult without pulling over. Although it’s possible to change destinations while driving, Android Auto only allows voice input while driving. The new destination may have an address that’s hard to say or require disambiguation in the case of businesses, forcing drivers to briefly take their eyes off the road to choose the right location on the car screen. Picking up your phone and manually typing the new address into a navigation app is incredibly dangerous to do while driving.

Samsung developed a feature called location-based navigation that scans your messages for locations and lets you quickly start navigating to those destinations from your car screen. This feature is available in Samsung Auto, which is Samsung’s version of Android Auto available in the Chinese version of One UI. Android Auto currently doesn’t offer an equivalent feature, but we argue it should for safety reasons. Android Auto is one of Android’s best features, since it lets you safely access many of your phone’s features while you’re driving. It’s not the only phone projection implementation, though. In China, where Android Auto isn’t available, Samsung offers its own version called Samsung Auto. Samsung Auto offers many of the same capabilities as Android Auto, but it has one neat feature that we’d like Google to copy: location-based navigation. Most people input a destination before driving, but sometimes, drivers must change destinations mid-drive. This could happen for several reasons, but when it does, inputting the new destination can be difficult without pulling over. Although it’s possible to change destinations while driving, Android Auto only allows voice input while driving. The new destination may have an address that’s hard to say or require disambiguation in the case of businesses, forcing drivers to briefly take their eyes off the road to choose the right location on the car screen. Picking up your phone and manually typing the new address into a navigation app is incredibly dangerous to do while driving.

Credit: Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority The latest Google Play services update includes a new security feature for Android phones. The feature auto-reboots devices if they remain locked for three consecutive days. This new inactivity reboot feature could reach users over the coming weeks. We recently learned that Google was working on a new security feature for Android devices that would trigger an automatic reboot if the devices remain locked for three consecutive days. We first spotted evidence of the auto-reboot feature in a teardown late last month, with strings related to the feature suggesting it could arrive as part of Android 16’s Advanced Protection Mode. However, Google is rolling it out earlier than expected. Google has included the new auto-reboot feature in the latest Google Play services update (version 25.14). As per the release notes on Google’s Play System updates page, the feature will automatically restart your device if it remains “locked for 3 consecutive days.” This new security feature works much like the auto-reboot feature in privacy-focused GrapheneOS and the Inactivity Reboot feature in iOS 18.1.

Credit: Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority The latest Google Play services update includes a new security feature for Android phones. The feature auto-reboots devices if they remain locked for three consecutive days. This new inactivity reboot feature could reach users over the coming weeks. We recently learned that Google was working on a new security feature for Android devices that would trigger an automatic reboot if the devices remain locked for three consecutive days. We first spotted evidence of the auto-reboot feature in a teardown late last month, with strings related to the feature suggesting it could arrive as part of Android 16’s Advanced Protection Mode. However, Google is rolling it out earlier than expected. Google has included the new auto-reboot feature in the latest Google Play services update (version 25.14). As per the release notes on Google’s Play System updates page, the feature will automatically restart your device if it remains “locked for 3 consecutive days.” This new security feature works much like the auto-reboot feature in privacy-focused GrapheneOS and the Inactivity Reboot feature in iOS 18.1.

Credit: Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority The latest Google Play services update includes a new security feature for Android phones. The feature auto-reboots devices if they remain locked for three consecutive days. This new inactivity reboot feature could reach users over the coming weeks. We recently learned that Google was working on a new security feature for Android devices that would trigger an automatic reboot if the devices remain locked for three consecutive days. We first spotted evidence of the auto-reboot feature in a teardown late last month, with strings related to the feature suggesting it could arrive as part of Android 16’s Advanced Protection Mode. However, Google is rolling it out earlier than expected. Google has included the new auto-reboot feature in the latest Google Play services update (version 25.14). As per the release notes on Google’s Play System updates page, the feature will automatically restart your device if it remains “locked for 3 consecutive days.” This new security feature works much like the auto-reboot feature in privacy-focused GrapheneOS and the Inactivity Reboot feature in iOS 18.1.

With the upcoming Android 16 update, more Android phones will be getting access to Android’s Identity Check feature. Currently, only Pixel and Samsung phones have this feature. When Identity Check is enabled, biometric authentication will be required to change many critical security settings when the device is outside of a trusted location. Smartphones are increasingly being targeted by thieves not for their monetary value but for the wealth of private financial data they contain. To combat the rise of phone theft, Google introduced several anti-theft features last year that make it harder for thieves to access data on stolen phones. One of these features, called Identity Check, prevents thieves from unlocking sensitive apps even if they know the phone’s passcode. Currently, Identity Check is only available on Pixel and Samsung phones, but it will be available on more devices with the upcoming Android 16 update. Google released the Identity Check feature for its Pixel phones with the December 2024 Pixel Drop update, and Samsung introduced it to its Galaxy phones with its One UI 7 update. While no other device maker has announced their plans to implement the feature, we spotted it on the OnePlus 13 after installing the Android 16 beta. As part of Android’s suite of theft protection features, it is located under Settings > Google > Theft Protection.

With the upcoming Android 16 update, more Android phones will be getting access to Android’s Identity Check feature. Currently, only Pixel and Samsung phones have this feature. When Identity Check is enabled, biometric authentication will be required to change many critical security settings when the device is outside of a trusted location. Smartphones are increasingly being targeted by thieves not for their monetary value but for the wealth of private financial data they contain. To combat the rise of phone theft, Google introduced several anti-theft features last year that make it harder for thieves to access data on stolen phones. One of these features, called Identity Check, prevents thieves from unlocking sensitive apps even if they know the phone’s passcode. Currently, Identity Check is only available on Pixel and Samsung phones, but it will be available on more devices with the upcoming Android 16 update. Google released the Identity Check feature for its Pixel phones with the December 2024 Pixel Drop update, and Samsung introduced it to its Galaxy phones with its One UI 7 update. While no other device maker has announced their plans to implement the feature, we spotted it on the OnePlus 13 after installing the Android 16 beta. As part of Android’s suite of theft protection features, it is located under Settings > Google > Theft Protection.

With the upcoming Android 16 update, more Android phones will be getting access to Android’s Identity Check feature. Currently, only Pixel and Samsung phones have this feature. When Identity Check is enabled, biometric authentication will be required to change many critical security settings when the device is outside of a trusted location. Smartphones are increasingly being targeted by thieves not for their monetary value but for the wealth of private financial data they contain. To combat the rise of phone theft, Google introduced several anti-theft features last year that make it harder for thieves to access data on stolen phones. One of these features, called Identity Check, prevents thieves from unlocking sensitive apps even if they know the phone’s passcode. Currently, Identity Check is only available on Pixel and Samsung phones, but it will be available on more devices with the upcoming Android 16 update. Google released the Identity Check feature for its Pixel phones with the December 2024 Pixel Drop update, and Samsung introduced it to its Galaxy phones with its One UI 7 update. While no other device maker has announced their plans to implement the feature, we spotted it on the OnePlus 13 after installing the Android 16 beta. As part of Android’s suite of theft protection features, it is located under Settings > Google > Theft Protection.

With the upcoming Android 16 update, more Android phones will be getting access to Android’s Identity Check feature. Currently, only Pixel and Samsung phones have this feature. When Identity Check is enabled, biometric authentication will be required to change many critical security settings when the device is outside of a trusted location. Smartphones are increasingly being targeted by thieves not for their monetary value but for the wealth of private financial data they contain. To combat the rise of phone theft, Google introduced several anti-theft features last year that make it harder for thieves to access data on stolen phones. One of these features, called Identity Check, prevents thieves from unlocking sensitive apps even if they know the phone’s passcode. Currently, Identity Check is only available on Pixel and Samsung phones, but it will be available on more devices with the upcoming Android 16 update. Google released the Identity Check feature for its Pixel phones with the December 2024 Pixel Drop update, and Samsung introduced it to its Galaxy phones with its One UI 7 update. While no other device maker has announced their plans to implement the feature, we spotted it on the OnePlus 13 after installing the Android 16 beta. As part of Android’s suite of theft protection features, it is located under Settings > Google > Theft Protection.

With the upcoming Android 16 update, more Android phones will be getting access to Android’s Identity Check feature. Currently, only Pixel and Samsung phones have this feature. When Identity Check is enabled, biometric authentication will be required to change many critical security settings when the device is outside of a trusted location. Smartphones are increasingly being targeted by thieves not for their monetary value but for the wealth of private financial data they contain. To combat the rise of phone theft, Google introduced several anti-theft features last year that make it harder for thieves to access data on stolen phones. One of these features, called Identity Check, prevents thieves from unlocking sensitive apps even if they know the phone’s passcode. Currently, Identity Check is only available on Pixel and Samsung phones, but it will be available on more devices with the upcoming Android 16 update. Google released the Identity Check feature for its Pixel phones with the December 2024 Pixel Drop update, and Samsung introduced it to its Galaxy phones with its One UI 7 update. While no other device maker has announced their plans to implement the feature, we spotted it on the OnePlus 13 after installing the Android 16 beta. As part of Android’s suite of theft protection features, it is located under Settings > Google > Theft Protection.