Google

When Apple Music first launched in 2015, playing it on anything other than an Apple device was impossible. Thankfully though, over the years Apple has made its streaming service available to access through third-party devices and speakers, including Amazon Echo and Google-owned speakers. This article focuses on Google devices. If you have a Google Home mini or a newer Nest-branded smart...

Google includes a Live Captions transcription feature in version 89 of its Chrome browser for desktop. Live Captions uses machine learning to create a real-time transcription for videos or audio played through the browser, which can make online media more accessible for members of the Deaf community and other people with hearing loss. Once enabled, Live Captions appear in a box in the bottom ...

If you buy a new iPhone to replace your existing one and you use the Google Authenticator app to access online accounts protected by two-factor authentication (2FA), you should transfer those accounts to your new phone as soon as possible, because without the 2FA codes close at hand, you could find yourself locked out of your online accounts. 2FA adds an extra layer of security to your...

Google Lens can now recognize over a billion items in the world around us, the search engine giant announced this week. That's four times as many things that the AI-powered feature could identify when it was first launched last year, thanks partly to a huge number of Google Shopping products which have been added to its knowledge base. While its optical character recognition engine has...

In Chrome 66, rolling out now for Mac and iOS, Google has added a password export option to the web browser so that you can easily migrate your login details to another browser via a third-party password manager app. In this article, we'll show you how to export your passwords from Chrome on Mac and iOS. At the end of the process, you'll be left with a CSV file containing all your login...

Google's fitness tracking app Google Fit is getting a redesign this week that puts the user's step count front and center. The app launched on iOS in April 2019 with an interface oriented around Move Minutes and Heart Points, based on American Heart Association and World Health Organization recommendations for weekly physical activity. These activity data points were visualized with two...

Google today announced that its Google Podcasts app is expanding to iOS, and as of this morning, it is available for download on the iPhone and the iPad. In addition to bringing the Podcasts app to iOS devices, Google has also overhauled it, making it easier to find podcast content, create lists of favorite podcasts, and customize the listening experience. Google's redesigned Podcasts app ...

Google is rolling out a new "Explore" tab in its official YouTube mobile app after several months of experiments and testing. The new tab replaces the "Trending" tab, and includes the same trending content but also links to destination pages of YouTube's existing video categories, including Gaming, Music, News, and more. As Google explains: With Explore, you not only have access to Trending ...

Google today canceled its upcoming I/O developer conference that was set to take place on May 12 to May 14 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak sweeping the United States. In emails sent out to Google I/O attendees, Google says that it is canceling the physical I/O event but will explore other ways to connect with the developer...

Google today updated its Gmail app for iOS to add support for Siri Shortcuts. With ‌Siri‌ Shortcuts, Gmail users can create a shortcut that will allow them to send an email using a ‌Siri‌ voice command. Sending an email is the only capability that Google has included at this time. ‌Siri‌ Shortcuts is a feature that Apple first introduced in iOS 12, so it has taken Google several months to ...

Google is rolling out an update to its Gmail app for iOS devices so that users can upload attachments from Apple's native Files app. When the new feature becomes available, tap the paperclip icon when you're composing or replying to a message in the Gmail app. This will bring up a sheet with carousels for "Camera roll" and "Attachments" (formerly named "Recent attachments"). This new...

Amazon's Echo speakers continue to be the most popular smart speakers in the United States, and will remain in the dominant spot through at least 2021, according to new smart speaker user estimates shared today by eMarketer (via TechCrunch). An estimated 69.7 percent of U.S. smart speaker users will use an Amazon Echo product in 2020, a number that's down slightly from the estimated 72.9...

This week marks 15 years since Google Maps first launched, and Google is celebrating with some notable new features and updates for the mapping service app on iOS and Android. The five tabs on the new Google Maps navigation screen Starting today, the Google Maps will feature a new navigation system across the bottom of the interface including five icons, two of which are completely new:...

Nearly five months after the release of iOS 13, Google has finally updated its Translate app with Dark Mode support on the iPhone and iPad, although the color scheme is dark gray rather than true black. Dark Mode in the Google Translate app is tied to the system-level appearance selected in Settings > Display & Brightness > Appearance. Google has been slowly adding Dark Mode support to...

Google has emailed some users of Google Photos to inform them that some of their private videos were accidentally sent to strangers, reports 9to5Google. The "technical issue" is said to have affected people who used the Google Takeout service to download their data between November 21 and November 25 last year. The problem resulted in a small number of users receiving videos in their archive...

Nest thermostat owners are getting a new feature that can detect irregular heating and cooling patters and notify the user about which part of the system likely needs attention. Starting today, Google is rolling out heating and cooling system (HVAC) alerts, and says it's also testing out the ability to help customers connect with a professional who can help, starting in select cities. Based ...

Google researchers discovered multiple security flaws in Apple's Safari web browser that let users' browsing habits be tracked despite Apple's Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature. Google plans to publish details on the security flaws in the near future, and a preview of Google's discovery was seen by Financial Times, with the publication sharing information on the vulnerabilities this...

A new update to Google's Smart Lock iOS app lets users set up their iPhone or iPad as a security key for two-factor authentication when signing into native Google services via Chrome browser. Once the feature is set up in the app, attempting to log in to a Google service via Chrome on another device such as a laptop results in a push notification being sent to their iOS device. The user...

MacRumors readers with children who believe in Santa Claus may be interested to know that Google today launched its annual Santa tracking feature, allowing Santa to be tracked in real time on his journey to the North Pole as he prepares to deliver presents to kids around the world. Google has provided its Santa tracking feature for a total of sixteen years now, giving children around the globe ...

Google has shared its annual Year in Search lists, revealing that "iPhone 11" was the fifth-most trending search term on a worldwide basis in 2019, behind India vs South Africa, Cameron Boyce, Copa America, and Bangladesh vs India. In the United States, "Disney Plus" was the most trending search term, while "iPhone 11" ranked ninth. The lists are based on search terms that had the highest...

Google today announced that it is extending Incognito mode to Google Maps on iOS devices, allowing users to look for directions privately without that information being saved to a Google Account. Google introduced Incognito mode for Android devices earlier this year as part of a 2019 focus on making it easier to control, manage, and delete Location History information. When you make a...

Google this week began rolling out its new cloud gaming service, known as Stadia, which is designed to let you play games wherever WiFi is available on smartphones, laptops, tablets, TVs, and more. Google Stadia doesn't work on the iPhone at this time (though you can use the app to manage your account), but you can play games on the Mac so we thought we'd give it a try in our latest YouTube...

A security flaw in Android smartphones from companies like Google and Samsung allowed malicious apps to record video, take photos, and capture audio, uploading the content to a remote server sans user permission. The vulnerability was discovered by security firm Checkmarx, and was highlighted today by Ars Technica. The flaw had the potential to leave high-value targets open to having their...

Google today announced it plans to release its own "Made by Google" wearables following its $2.1 billion acquisition of fitness tracker maker Fitbit. The deal is expected to close in 2020 pending regulatory approvals.Over the years, Google has made progress with partners in this space with Wear OS and Google Fit, but we see an opportunity to invest even more in Wear OS as well as introduce Made...

Update: Fitbit today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Google for approximately $2.1 billion. James Park, co-founder and CEO of Fitbit:More than 12 years ago, we set an audacious company vision – to make everyone in the world healthier. Today, I'm incredibly proud of what we've achieved towards reaching that goal. We have built a trusted brand that...