Android

how to view your draft summary and file your 2026 return from your Android or iPhone

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Let’s tell you How to access your 2025 Income draft on your mobilewhich is the declaration we make in 2026. We have already reached the key date of the Income calendarand now you can access your draft online and present it. You can also do it on your mobile. However, you should know that The Income Tax app does not allow you to make changes to the draftyou will have to do this through the official website as we have explained to you here. On your mobile you will see the summary, if you have to pay or return, and present it. That is why it is important that you first review everything from the browser, because although it is the Treasury that collects your data and generates it, If there are errors, you will pay the fine.. In the end, the responsibility of reviewing your return is yours. To submit your declaration with your mobile phone you have to use the official app of the Tax Agencythe AEAT app that you can find for Android on Google Play and for iOS in the App Store. In it you will have to identify yourself, using your digital certificateincluding the FNMT certificate and that of DNIe. You can also do it just with your DNI number and expiration date, and a few more steps to identify yourself. Income tax return by mobile To consult your draft from your mobile phone you have to enter the Tax Agency app. Once inside, on the main screen click on the option Income 2025 of the section Rent. It is called 2025 although we present it in 2026 because it corresponds to the accounts of our last fiscal year. You will go to a screen where you will see several options related to your Income Tax return. In it, you have to click on the option Draft/declaration processing that will appear at the top. As it is advisable to have reviewed your draft on the web, you will also have the option to Continue with the presentation. This will take you to a screen where you can see If your declaration is worth paying or returningand if you have configured in your account that you have a spouse, you will be able to see their declaration and the joint one. Here, if you click on the declaration you will be able to see a somewhat broader summary, and you will be able to configure how to receive money or if you want to make donations to the Catholic Church or for social purposes. You can also see the preview in PDF, your tax data, or enter the website to modify the draft. If everything is fine, click Submit declaration and that’s it. In Xataka Basics | Income Guide 2025: calendar, previous steps and how to prepare for the 2026 declaration

I thought Chinese cars were going to be the new Android. They are actually the new iPhone

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For a few years, the nightmare of European manufacturers has had a specific name: the Android scenario. That Google, or Apple, or Amazon, would turn the car into interchangeable hardware. that the value will migrate to third-party software and they will be reduced to outdated manufacturerslike PC manufacturers in the nineties. That fear has kept them on guard, looking towards Silicon Valley, investing a lot of money in their own connectivity and infotainment systems, trying not to be left out. They’ve been guarding the wrong door. The movement that is happening is not the equivalent of Android. It’s exactly the opposite, at least where it hurts the most: BYD makes its own batteries, your own operating systemand operates its own charging network. Xiaomi does practically the same with HyperOS. The logic is not to create a platform where others monetize but to control every centimeter of the experiencewithout intermediaries. That has a name that we all recognize, and it is not Google. It’s Apple’s. The paradox is that the Android scenario that Europeans feared so much is happening, but it is not being carried out by the big American technology companies, they are building it themselves: European generalists have become what they feared most, without anyone from outside having to impose it on them. What makes the Chinese movement so different is what is noticeable inside the car. Denza, YangWang, Luxeed, Exeed either Xpeng They are brands that three years ago almost no one in Europe even knew about, but that Today they are manufacturing cars with interiors with an attention to detail that is very reminiscent of what happened with the iPhone in 2007.. It wasn’t that the iPhone did more things than the competition (at the time, in fact, it did considerably less than a Nokia). It was that every interaction was thought out, every transition animated, every small gesture had coherence. Rivals had cool features, but Apple had experience that no one matched. Today, sitting in a mid-range or high-end Chinese car and sitting in a German car of the same price is not so much about comparing specifications as it is about comparing philosophies. And the Germans, who are seeing it, are reacting: the new iX3he CLAeither the newly announced i3 They are serious efforts to recover that coherence of experience. But reacting is not the same as taking the initiative. The problem facing the European industry is not that it does not know how to make cars, there is more to it. The thing is that for many years the margin has been captured by those who mastered mechanical engineering, and they learned to optimize exactly that. What they did not learn is that in the 21st century the margin is captured by whoever controls the entire experience: the software, the data, the services, the ecosystem. When they wanted to learn it, they looked at Silicon Valley because there was the model they knew. Until four days ago, no one looked towards Shenzhen, where someone had spent years building something more like Apple than Google: vertical, closed, cohesive, with a speed of iteration that Westerners simply do not have and they already admit it. Nokia also had very good engineers. In Xataka | At 110 km/h and driving every other day: Europe already has its recommendations for the latest oil crisis Featured image | BYD

now it wants to sweep iOS and Android in quality

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Huawei’s effort to create a completely new operating system, with its own code and compatible with multiple devices, has been titanic. Since the US Administration will block access to Googlethe company was clear about the solution: to be completely independent from the rest of the world. 2026 aims to be a big year for HarmonyOS, a system that according to Richard Yu will have applications at the iOS and Android level starting next April. The point is that, although comparisons are inevitable, Huawei plays in its own league. The breakup. A few years ago, when Huawei had to create an emergency plan to continue operating, it developed HarmonyOS with Android as a base. In other words, the ROM was still EMUI (Huawei’s customization layer), but without Google services. But, from the beginning, Huawei was clear that it would end up creating an interoperable operating system, designed not only for mobile phones, but for cars, wearables and computers. The peak. Not too long ago, Huawei completed its plan. HarmonyOS became a solution based on 100% own codewithout a trace of a single line of Android. The plan has worked, and China is embracing a domestic product that promises to compete directly with iOS and Android. In recent statements, Richard Yu has stated that the quality of the native HarmonyOS apps will equal those of iOS and Android in quality, expecting to reach 100 million updated devices before the end of the year. What exactly is the promise? Achieve parity in terms of raw performance and security, with the aim of eventually surpassing the user experience of the two most used systems in the world. Competing in another league. Having shed the pressure to sell outside China, Huawei can compete in a different league. One in which the fragmentation problems that Android has been suffering for years do not exist (in fact 90% of Huawei devices of recent years are already updated), and with an ecosystem that makes much more sense in its native country. HarmonyOS is no longer an emergency exit in the face of a veto, it is a show of technological muscle in the Chinese software industry. Far beyond Android. HarmonyOS Next is owned by Huawei, but HarmonyOS is an open source system operated by OpenAtom. The company has played its cards so that its operating system is not just a commercial solution, but a huge ecosystem “independent” of Huawei and integrated within other companies. The key? Huawei, at least in China, It’s at the point I wanted– It’s not just a rival to Android and iOS, it’s much more. It is proof of its technological independence in terms of software, a blow to giants like Google (which have been trying to dominate other sectors for years, such as software in vehicles with solutions like Android Automotive). Image | Xataka In Xataka | Huawei Pura 80 Ultra, analysis: the dethroned king returns to recover his crown with a telephoto lens

I have used my Android mobile as a PC thanks to desktop mode. It is a fantastic option

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Ricardo Aguilar, a colleague at Xataka, knows a lot about mobile phones, so from time to time he throws some insult at me about my already somewhat mature Pixel 8 Pro. Today, however, the insult is mine. Because? Well, because as he himself warned the team, Android ‘desktop mode’ is finally available. This optionthat I’ve been waiting for years (he knows it well) it also arrives in a limited way, because only some devices can enjoy it. Specifically, the recent Pixels. And my Pixel 8 Pro is one of them. In the past I have tested this feature on other devices: I did it of course on Samsungs, which has been offering it through DeX for yearsand also on some other mobile such as Motorola and some Huawei models, which they also boasted of said characteristic. Google had been around for a while raising this possibilityand last year an Android beta appeared that offered this capability. Now that option is finally officially available, although as we say, for now only on Google Pixels starting with Pixel 8. Enviable start-up To activate this option you must first activate the developer options in the Android settings, and then enable option for desktop features which we can find almost at the end of those options for developers. Once this is done, the system asks for a restart, after which everything is ready to use desktop mode. To do this, I connected a 15-inch external monitor to my Pixel through a USB-C to Micro HDMI cable (I tried a USB-C to USB-C cable, but the cable I used had a small problem). By detecting that we connect the mobile phone to a screen, The Pixel gives us the option of using the mobile phone as a “Computer” (the desktop mode itself) or of projecting it as it has been possible to do for years. I chose the first option​​ and I finally found that desktop mode that basically makes Android becomes a hybrid operating system which works practically the same as Windows, Linux or macOS do on a PC or laptop. Thus, we have a desktop in which there is a lower bar with the application launcher and a series of “pinned” apps, and at the top a system bar that allows, for example, access to notifications and quick settings on our mobile. From there the experience is very similar to using a PC. We can open applications and, of course, resize and move windows to place them however we like on the desktop. I normally use two competing advantages of the browser to work on the topics I prepare for Engadget, and that is exactly the configuration I have used to write this text: with two Chrome windows I have worked practically the same as I usually do on my Mac mini M4. A small change of mentality Obviously in that desktop mode it is necessary connect a mouse and keyboard to the Pixelwhich I have connected via Bluetooth. The detection and operation of these devices was carried out without problems, and once on the desktop everything works, I insist, as one would expect. You can quickly launch apps from the taskbar launcher and pin certain apps to that taskbar. It is also possible to show all open applications with that old access at the bottom right with a square-shaped icon. There is a strange feeling here because logically what you are using are the applications on your mobile phone natively. Thus, it is not necessary to open WhatsApp in a browser tab because you already have the native app ready and running in the background, and the same goes for the rest of the options, such as the Twitter app (X) or YouTube: they are not tabs, but full-fledged apps. It is a slight but curious change of mentality, of course. And there is also the other reality: some apps that we usually use on the desktop are not as clear as those on Windows or macOS. There is a clear example in the file explorer: Android has its own (Files) and I, for example, usually use Amaze for these tasks, but Google has never conceived Android as an operating system in which the user messes with files and folders. We can do it, yes, but it is not the strong point of this platform, as neither is it, for example, working with the command console. Here again that possibility exists, but you have to “play around” a little more to be able to install a terminal and use it in a similar way as we would do in Linux, macOS or in Windows CMD/Powershell. I have not tried much more demanding applications at the moment, but this opens the door to using some more advanced and ambitious applications in desktop mode: here it occurs to me that an image or video editor could be a striking candidate to take advantage of this desktop mode. There is also striking scope here for entertainment with games that we can play with a mouse and keyboard as we would on a PC, even though they are games for Android. The possibilities are most striking. Your PC can certainly be your mobile These tests have made me realize that this definitely opens up those possibilities that we have been talking about for years. A laptop normally solves the mobility issue, but if you need to have “your PC” anywhereyou don’t even need that anymore: if you have a monitor, keyboard and mouse somewhere else, this Android desktop mode allows you to use your device almost like a PC. I just did it while writing this article, and the truth is, the experience has been surprisingly good. Not perfect, mind you– The on-screen keyboard appears from time to time as if the system does not detect that you have a physical one connected, for example, and window management is not as intuitive as one might wish. But still the overall result is fantastic in my … Read more

More and more car brands are fleeing from Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. And it makes all the sense in the world

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My Volkswagen Polo is 10 years old, has a screen where I can see car statistics and play the radio or Spotify and little else: if I want to enjoy a GPS navigator, I have to place my phone on a support on the grille and it will work. So yes, I get really excited when I drive my partner’s Kona, with a screen bigger than a tablet on which I can visit Xataka from the web browser, watch videos either play a game. Android Auto is wonderful, but if I connect my iPhone, using apps like Waze on CarPlay is also another story. For someone who has a stupid screen in their car and the intention of not renewing it in the next five years, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay sound like a heavenly melody in my ears. However, Google and Apple’s infotainment systems are taking a step back: there are manufacturers who decide to back off, so their new models are left out. And it doesn’t surprise me. Goodbye to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Last summer and despite the delays, Apple promised they would be happy with their Apple CarPlay Ultra budding until he got a brand slam: There are barely Aston Martin and Porsche left. Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Ford, Lincoln, Audi, Jaguar, Acura, Volvo, Honda, Renault, Infinity and Polestar got off the boat. In the fall, the leadership of General Motors explained in a The Verge podcast that it intended to remove both infotainment systems from its newer vehicles and replace them with its own Gemini-spiked system. Finally, German brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, or Volkswagen they have joined to create an open source alternative called Safety Open Vehicle Core. S-Core, its abbreviation, is basically a base infrastructure with the essentials from which each manufacturer will build its adapted customization layer. It’s a matter of control. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay provide a unified and mainstream experience within the reach of the majority who have a smartphone and implementing them is not expensive. Although well, it is not so much because of the money they spend installing Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and more because of what they stop earning. Data collection and what you can do with it. It should be noted that with their respective infotainment systems, Apple collects information such as your position and how it varies over time, which allows you to know your speed, schedules, frequent routes… to give some simple examples. They also know what apps you use and when. An open door to the vein of subscriptions. In recent years we have already seen how large manufacturers launched a subscription model to release certain premium hardware functions: Volkswagen to unlock all the powerthe controversial BMW heated seats (then backed out), Mercedes and its improvements subscription accelerationor Polestar for offering similar performance packages. Having access to detailed information on usage habits would allow the establishment of a user profile and thus offer a more personalized experience in the form of a subscription. Materializing it will not be easy or fast. The GM news detailed that the measure would be implemented in the coming years and does not even imply a complete disengagement as long as it does not completely eliminate Google from the equation, since it implements Gemini, the Menlo Park company’s big bet. And Google’s AI is not exactly sparing in capturing information. Using an Android fork could also be an interesting option. S-Core- Eclipse Release Schedule The route of German companies does seem more viable. In fact, their preview schedule is available on HitHub and for now they are fulfilling it to the letter. Of course, one thing is that they are able to create a platform and another is the experience it offers. How cold it is outside of Android Auto and CarPlay. One of the great assets of Android Auto is the quantity and quality of compatible apps: Thinking about a platform without Google Maps, Waze or Spotify would feel like a huge step backwards. So later, they will have to get the companies behind them to bring their apps to these systems. And even if they did achieve it, then there are other hot potatoes such as updates to their frequency. Life without Android Auto or Apple CarPlay is an option and if you don’t tell Rivian or Tesla, but in the end it’s all about user experience. Don’t let it feel like taking a step back. Buying a car (especially if it is high-end) and finding a setback is not a dish of good taste. They don’t charge you a premium for unlocking functions or removing advertising either. The scenario of having to pay a monthly fee to access maps and extras when you have a solid and free alternative on the market sounds absurd. In any case, the winds of change are blowing on car screens. In Xataka | Android Auto is quietly preparing for us to drive with smart glasses. In Spain it won’t be easy In Xataka | This car was a pioneer with Android Automotive, but its users were crying out for Android Auto. Your wish has been granted

This is one of the most complete controls with which you can turn your iPhone or Android mobile into a portable console

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If you usually play a lot on mobile and you are tired of doing it through the touch screen, having a good mobile controller is the best option. He Razer Kishi V3 It is one of the most popular and works for both iPhone and Android. Razer Kishi V3 – USB-C haptic gaming controller for iPhones and Android smartphones The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A very complete controller that offers a complete gaming experience on mobile This Razer Kishi V3 mobile controller is, without a doubt, perfect for playing with your mobile as if you were playing on a portable console. This is thanks to your full size controller designwhich allows you to comfortably play games on your mobile for hours. Offers mobile ergonomics iPhone and Android and features full-size TMR joysticks with interchangeable covers. In addition, you can perfect your aim with the anti-slip control levers high precision, superior to Hall effect designs. It also features dual mouse click rear buttons and pincer grip top buttons. Plus, thanks to Razer Neus Game Launcher, you can discover thousands of games for iOS and Android and save your games. The best thing about this controller is that it is Plug & Play typeso you just have to plug it in and start using it, without having to download any software. You may also be interested Utilify RGB Gaming Mobile Cooler with 2 Modes The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Logitech G G435 LIGHTSPEED The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Razer In Xataka | Best controllers to play on the computer. Which one to buy and 10 recommended PC gaming controllers for all budgets In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes

On the ByteDance mobile, Android is secondary. AI is the real operating system

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The Doubao AI smartphone, a Chinese mobile that we saw arrive a few weeks agois not another mobile phone with AI functions crammed in, but a serious attempt to turn AI into the device’s real operating system, one capable of relegating Android to mere infrastructure. ByteDance’s bet is clear: whoever controls the assistant that executes the tasks will be the one who controls the user. Although I don’t control the app store. That breaks with the model of the last seventeen years. Why is it important. The model has not changed since 2008: The operating system funnels the user into its ecosystem of applications. That app store is capital for 99% of users: without it, you wouldn’t see the value. And that store allows the platform to capture traffic, data and transactions. Doubao’s proposal wants to change the model towards one in which the user speaks and the AI ​​executes crossing applications without the user having to enter them. Chinese super applications become invisible infrastructure for the user. Doubao itself has been pointing in that direction for some time with other devices, like headphones. Between the lines. Those same super apps are not happy with this proposal, and in fact when Doubao simulates taps to complete tasks, WeChat or Alipay interpret it as an attack, so they block attempts and close sessions. WeChat has built its empire Regarding experience control and payments, Alipay has invested a lot of money in reaching total user retention. An AI that compares prices between rivals breaks its desired captivity. ByteDance has copied the Seres-Huawei model: ZTE provides the shell, ByteDance provides the brain. And that’s how you get operating system privileges. Doubao has permission for everything by default and Android becomes more like just another application, because the manufacturer and AI layer control everything. Yes, but. Accuracy is around 50% in complex tasks that involve several applications. It works in simple scenarios, it fails when the user requests something that requires coordinating three different applications. Traditional manufacturers such as Samsung, Xiaomi or Oppo cannot adopt a model like this because it would mean handing over control to a third party. The alternative path is to build a framework where AI can coordinate applications, but with those applications maintaining control through APIs. The money trail. ByteDance does not have the business model of selling mobile phones at mid-range prices. Its model is based on behavioral data, traffic to its services and commissions on transactions executed by AI. The smartphone is the gateway and AI is its big bet in which use TikTok as a springboard. And now what. This is not a battle between assistants but between models: The app-centric that has been operating for seventeen years. The AI-centric where applications tend to become invisible. ByteDance is betting on the second, which changes the entry point for the user. That entry point has been on the application icon for three decades. ByteDance believes it will be on the microphone tomorrow. Featured image | Doubao In Xataka | They have dismantled the latest Huawei phones and what they have found is bad news for the US: 57%

Meta has been bragging about LLaMa for years while missing the AI ​​party. And she’s already tired of being the Android of AI

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Close your eyes and think about AI. It’s easy for the names that come to mind to be ChatGPT either Geminiand it makes perfect sense: OpenAI and Google have focused on pushing solutions for real users. The one that may sound familiar to you, but you don’t even remember, is LLaMa. Meta has focused for years on AI for the sector, forgetting the consumer. And that’s about to change with Mango and Avocado. Because the “new” Meta no longer wants to be the Android of AI: it wants to embrace the Apple model. The ‘meh’ of LLaMa 4. Meta’s approach to artificial intelligence has been, and is being, curious. LLaMa 4 It was a frustrating release, one that hasn’t lived up to expectations. It competed with GPT-4 (let’s go for 5, whose launch also brought controversy), but while OpenAI and Google have struggled to position their AI models as options open to the user thanks to the chatbot, Meta has gone in other directions. They have their Meta AIbut LLaMa was the star product. They have ‘gone’ from the user and have focused on professional options. Meta opted for Open Source (in quotes) seeking to turn LLaMa into the foundation on which everything that has to do with AI is built. To make a simile, Meta wanted LLaMa to be the “Android of AI.” It hasn’t worked out, and now it wants to pivot to an Apple-style model: closed and consumer-oriented. 14.3 billion dollars. That’s the money that Zuckerberg, in full ‘founders mode’ like Florentino Pérez has been left in Scale AI. The startup has established itself in a very short time as the great promise of general AIone of the short-term objectives of the majors in the sector. And, now, it is owned by Meta. It is the Madrid of the galactics. Because even if Scale AI did not develop ChatGPT, Gemini or Claudehas built the infrastructure for proposals of this style. And with the purchase comes Alexandr Wang, who was CEO of Scale AI and now director of AI at Meta. It seems that the relationship is already bearing fruit. Mango and Avocado. As we read in WSJWang has mentioned two new AI models that will go live in early 2026. And the proposal is radical considering where the company came from: Avocado – This will be the brain and successor of Calls. It is scheduled for the first half of next year and is expected to be the one that begins the new era of privatization of the model: it would mark the transition to a closed system. Mango – If Avocado aims to be invisible to the user, Mango will be the complete opposite. It will be an image and video generation model to compete directly against sora, I see either Nano Banana from OpenAI and Google, respectively. Less papers, more chats. Thus, Zuckerberg and Wang will be able to have a model that people associate as synonymous with “artificial intelligence.” Google and OpenAI have come a long way, but if AI has taught us anything, it is that new tools can become popular in a heartbeat if they hit the right button. Midjourney was the grail of generative AIFor example… But of course, neither Google nor OpenAI are going to sit idly by. Both are burning money to continue developing their models and the problem is that, although what they get Meta works like magicthey will arrive years late consumer AI competition. They have dispersed their AI in WhatsApp, Instagram and professionals instead of having a single chatbot; have published studies on how capable your artificial intelligence is. In the middle of all that, they are late to the party. And, precisely, in that They look a lot like Apple. Images | Mark Zuckerberg, Dima Solomin In Xataka | “AI is unstoppable”: the CEO of Freepik talks to us about AI, entrepreneurship and the mistakes of an EU that only focuses on the dangers of AI

Fortnite returns to the Android store

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‘Fortnite’ has had to wait a few months, but it is now available for Android users (at the moment in the United States, and in other countries, irregularly, if the game is installed with the Epic Games app) as a download from the Store. A true triumph for Epic that comes in handy to inaugurate season 7 of the game. What has happened? ‘Fortnite’ has returned to the Android Store American after Google has complied with the court order that forced it to open its ecosystem to competition. The return of popular battle royale by Epic Games culminates a legal battle against Google’s monopoly that has spanned more than four years and ended with a historic defeat for the technology giant. As confirmed by Epic Gamesinitial availability is limited to the United States while negotiations continue to obtain judicial approval of the final agreement that would allow its expansion to the rest of the world. It is the direct result compliance with a court order, which found Google guilty of illegal monopolistic practices. The verdict. On December 11, 2023, a jury in California unanimously ruled in favor of Epic Games on all eleven charges brought against Google. The decision established that the company had operated an illegal monopoly both in the distribution of Android applications and in the payment system within the apps. The judge imposed an injunction requiring the Play Store to distribute alternative app stores. During the trial, Epic exposed what Google internally called “Project Hug,” an initiative in which Google spent hundreds of millions of dollars in secret settlements with more than twenty core developers. According to became documentedbeneficiaries included Activision Blizzard, Nintendo, Riot Games, Square Enix, Tencent and Ubisoft, among others. Google offered to Epic a deal valued at $208 million to keep Fortnite on the Play Store, an offer that Epic rejected, unleashing what Google saw as a “risk of contagion.” Opposite verdicts. The curious thing is that Epic Games lost decisively against Apple in a practically identical case. a judge dismissed nine of the ten lawsuits Epic antitrust case against the iOS App Store in 2021. The fundamental difference was who decided each case. While Apple opted for a trial before a judge, Epic demanded jury to confront Google. Apple managed at the time to defend its “walled garden” model by arguing that full control over iOS guaranteed security and privacy. Epic’s own CEO, Tim Sweeney, admitted during trial to use iPhone personally for these reasons. Android, on the other hand, presents itself as an open platform that allows multiple stores, which made its restrictive practices more difficult to justify. The case against Apple, however, is still ongoing, and includes perjury allegations against Apple. The agreement. Epic and Google have presented a proposed agreement that, if approved, would end five years of legal confrontation. The agreement drastically reduces commissions that Google can charge: between 9% and 20% depending on the type of transaction and the date of installation of the app, figures well below the historical 30% that motivated the original conflict. The agreement maintains the restrictions of the original court order, permanently prohibiting Google from paying manufacturers, operators or developers for exclusivity agreements that favor the Play Store. The agreement between both companies would go beyond the application of the judicial decision: it would be global and would remain in force until June 2032, making it one of the most important antitrust pacts ever assumed by a platform. Significantly, the judge questioned that two “mortal enemies” who fought “ruthlessly” for years suddenly reached an agreement, suggesting that Google may be trying to water down remedies after losing all its appeals, and has scheduled an additional hearing for December or January to clarify whether the agreement genuinely addresses the Google Play monopoly. In Xataka | How ‘Fortnite’ is creating its particular “Fortniteverse” thanks to LEGO, with which it is reformulating its foundations

We already know who to thank for Google making AirDrop also work with Android phones: the European Union

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A few days ago Google gave a surprise and announced that it had managed to make its system Quick Share was compatible with AirDrop. Suddenly it was possible to wirelessly transfer data and content from a Pixel 10 to an iPhone or iPad and vice versa. What Google did not do is tell how it did it, but in reality the credit was not its own, but rather the European Union’s. what has happened. Google has updated the feature Quick Share of Android to support AiDrop. That makes it possible to share files directly over an end-to-end Wi-Fi connection. Any Apple device with AirDrop enabled will appear in the list of nearby devices when you try to share content with Quick Share, and the same will happen in reverse in the AirDrop menu. It is the Android-iOS interoperability (and we will see if also with macOS) that we have all dreamed of for a long time, and that is now finally a reality. First the Pixel 10, then the others. At the moment only the Google Pixel 10 They support this option, but it is more than likely that it will reach the entire range of Android devices. Google confirmed in The Verge that Apple had not been involved in this development in any way, but in reality it was. The thing is that his role was not voluntary. How AirDrop works. This feature makes use of Bluetooth to allow devices to detect each other, and then an end-to-end Wi-Fi connection takes care of the data transmission. The crucial detail is that Apple developed a proprietary protocol called Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL) to facilitate that connection between devices. And since it was proprietary, no one else could use it and AirDrop was a fantastic option that was only available for devices in this ecosystem. Very Apple everything. This is where the EU comes in.. At the beginning of the year the European Union decided that Apple had to adopt interoperable wireless standards and was to do so starting with iOS 26. No one paid much attention to the impact the announcement would have on AirDrop, but cloud services company Ditto took care of glimpse the future and explained how “the EU has killed AWDL.” Which is effectively what happened: Apple was forced to abandon its proprietary protocol in favor of interoperable alternatives. Hello Wi-Fi Aware. The new regulations forced Apple to add support for the Wi-Fi Alliance’s Wi-Fi Aware standard and replace AWDL. The curious thing is that Wi-Fi Aware was developed with the support of Apple, but here the operable implementation was the one that was forced to be used on devices from the Cupertino firm. This reminds us of USB-C. This reminds us of what happened previously with the Lightning port, which was essentially a proprietary version of the USB-C standard. When the EU forced to use this connector on mobile phones and other devices Apple had to ditch the Lightning port. That has made charging adapters interoperable, and the same is now true for AirDrop. A promising future. Wi-Fi Aware has been added to both iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 (but it does not seem to be integrated into macOS 26), and therefore mobile phones from the iPhone 12 will be compatible with this option. For its part, Android has been supporting this standard since Android 8.0, which makes the vast majority of devices candidates to take advantage of this interoperability with Apple devices. What’s not clear is whether it will be possible to use QuickShare with AirDrop directly on Macs, but there are alternatives in that case: myself I have NearDrop installed on my Mac mini M4 and I can share files from my Pixel 8 Pro without problems with Apple equipment. In Xataka | Notifications with ads from some of the apps we use the most are hijacking our phones. And there’s not much to do

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