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    10 must-try Google Photos tips and tricks – including a new AI editor

    Google / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETGoogle Photos has just reached its 10th birthday, and the company is celebrating. To mark the occasion, Google is serving up a host of tips and tricks designed to enhance your photos via your mobile device. But first, here are a few stats to show the reach of Google Photos.Also: I tried the new Gemini button in Google Photos – and classic search is officially historyMore than 1.5 billion people use Google Photos on a monthly basis, according to Google. The service houses more than 9 trillion photos and videos. Each month, people run more than 370 million searches, edit 210 million photos, and share 440 million of them. And now, how about those tips? 1. New AI-powered photo editor First up is a new and improved photo editor that employs AI to help you fine-tune your images. The new editor will offer AI-inspired suggestions for enhancing your photos and include a batch of different editing tools. Using the suggestions, you’ll be able to quickly edit a photo with multiple effects or tap a specific part of the photo for advice on modifying that area. Also: The best AI image generators: Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, and moreThe editor will incorporate such tools as Reimagine and Auto frame (initially available on the Pixel 9), along with the usual controls for brightness, contrast, and other attributes. Sounds cool, but you’ll have to wait for it. The revamped editor will start rolling out globally to Android next month and to iOS later in the year. 2. Share albums via QR codes Instead of sharing albums through the usual Share command, you can now do so with a QR code. Upon generating the code, you can share an album with a person nearby. This feature is just now starting to roll out. I found it by updating the Google Photos app on my Android device to the latest version. Also: 6 hidden Android features that make my life easier – and that you’re overlookingTo try it, update the app on your end. Open it, tap the Collections icon, select Albums, and tap a specific album. Tap the Share icon at the bottom and then select the option for “Share QR Code.” Scan the code with another device to grab the photos. 3. Revisit past places You’ve probably snapped photos of the different places you’ve visited over the years. Now you can revisit the actual locations, at least virtually. For this, tap the Collections icon and select Places. Swipe through the thumbnails of all your photos, and a map will show you each place where you’ve taken a photo. More

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    Is all this data about our health good for our health?

    Nina Raemont/ZDNETWelcome back to another week of health wearable news. Here are some of the most notable stories of the week to catch up on. Some Oura Ring users report data anxiety Is your Oura Ring’s data capture making you anxious? Some users say yes. That’s the latest from a recent New York Times article on the topic. The piece interviews users who have become obsessed or stressed out over the data the smart ring aggregates. One user reported compulsively checking her scores and wondering if they were not up to par. Another user with obsessive-compulsive disorder was checking her heart rate data “24/7” and said the ring worsened her condition.  The Oura Ring is a health and sleep tracker that provides by-the-minute data capture of activities, rest, and stress. Speaking as someone who has used the product for over a year (and received my fair share of poor sleep and recovery scores), it is easy to worry about your health after receiving a low score or a notification that the smart ring has detected “major signs of strain” within its Symptom Radar. Also: Oura Ring 3 vs Oura Ring 4: Opt for the older, discounted smart ring or the newest?You need a healthy amount of patience and levity to continue using these devices after they tell you your resilience to stress is poor or your terrible night of sleep is impacting your recovery. While they can spotlight important changes in your health or even lead to the diagnosis of a disease, if someone is treating the smallest change in their data as an end-all be-all, they probably shouldn’t be wearing a health tracker. The Oura Ring, like an Apple Watch, weight scale, or pedometer, is a health-tracking tool that can be used for good or abused. I’m curious to know our readers’ thoughts on the subject. Is all this health data more harmful than it is beneficial? Leave a comment below.  More

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    Why I prefer this Lenovo tablet over the iPad for multimedia consumption – and it’s $130 off

    <!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Lenovo Tab Plus retails for $330, but is frequently on sale. Contrary to its small size, the model houses a booming eight-speaker system and a long-lasting battery. The MediaTek Helio chipset and dim display won’t be winning any awards. more buying choices The Lenovo Tab Plus–> received a $130 discount, bringing […] More

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    This Android tablet brings a $1,700 iPad Pro feature to the $400 price range – and it’s just as good

    Prakhar Khanna/ZDNETThe first time I used an anti-reflective display on a personal device was last year when I reviewed the Galaxy S24 Ultra. I was amazed by the quality-of-life improvements it brought to my daily use — and I wanted to see it on more devices. Therefore, I wasn’t too pleased when Apple priced its nano-textured iPad Pro out of budget by limiting it to the 1TB variant. I wanted a flagship iPad with an anti-reflective screen, but that price made the feature inaccessible. Finally, I’ve found a great tablet with a nanotexture display that doesn’t break the bank.Also: I replaced my iPad with a $100 Android tablet, and here’s my verdict after a weekThe Xiaomi Pad 7 More