Google is building out passkey support into Android, though you won’t be able to use it yet without some tinkering. The search giant shared that it would be making the password-killing feature available for testing today for users on Google Play Services Beta or Chrome Canary, with general availability coming later in the year. Aside from Android and Chrome devices, passkeys also became available earlier with Safari on iOS 16 and macOS Ventura.
Passkeys are essentially intended to be a replacement for passwords. Rather than having to maintain an alphanumeric pattern for a particular site, however, they’ll be using the device you most likely have in your hand. By leveraging fingerprint or facial recognition support, or even pins, any operating system that supports passkeys will use your device to create a private key that interfaces with a service’s public key. Both keys combined will be your passkey. You can use passkeys alongside passwords, or in lieu of them. They’ll be stored on your device’s password manager, including Google’s own Password Manager and iCloud’s KeyChain.
“Passkeys are a significantly safer replacement for passwords and other phishable authentication factors. They cannot be reused, don’t leak in server breaches, and protect users from phishing attacks. Passkeys are built on industry standards and work across different operating systems and browser ecosystems, and can be used for both websites and apps,” Google explained in a blog post. The company also highlighted its significant ease of use as it co-opts the password flow that already exists on most smartphones.
Right now, passkeys will only really work with web apps on Android. That’s still pretty useful as you’re also able to sign into web apps on your PC if you have a passkey stored on your phone. Later, the company will let you create passkeys with native apps, and we’ll get one step closer to a more secure, passwordless future.
Passkeys aren’t the only security feature Google highlighted this week. The company went into detail about the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro’s new security features, including the Titan M2 chip, Tensor G2, and its new Protected Computing initiative, which these two chips help facilitate.
Are you tired of paying for streaming services you never watch just to get a phone plan feature you actually want? T-Mobile has good news for you! The carrier is rolling out new plans, called T-Mix, in early November to replace its old Experience lineup with a build-your-own perks system called Picks.
The benefits you choose vary from streaming and gaming to food delivery, AI, satellite service, and phone discounts. But if you are satisfied with your existing plan, you can keep it.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.