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 today launched a new mobile payment app in India that allows users to connect their bank accounts directly to the service and employs ultrasound technology in lieu of an NFC chip to transfer money between devices. Called Tez (Hindi for "fast"), Google's new payment platform links customers' bank accounts to Android and iOS via the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), a state-backed...

Google has launched a new advertising campaign and teaser website for its upcoming "Pixel 2" smartphone. The site teases visitors with an October 4 event date, aimed at anyone who might be "thinking about changing phones" (via TechCrunch). The page presents no other information, and asks for the user's email address to stay up-to-date with alerts regarding breaking news ahead of the October 4...

Hugely popular third-party YouTube app "ProTube" was quietly removed from the App Store by Apple last week. Apple's decision to pull the app followed several takedown requests from Google that were received by the app's developer. ProTube was hailed by users during its three-year reign for several features either not available in the official YouTube app or not offered by other third-party...

Google added a couple of new features to its flagship iOS app on Friday, one of which shows searches that are trending in a user's geographical location before they begin typing into the search field. Following yesterday's update, whenever a user taps on a search box to start a search, a dropdown menu shows "Trending Searches" indicated by a blue jagged arrow icon next to them, contrasting...

Google today announced a new developer platform for augmented reality apps that won't require dedicated hardware, which it's calling "ARCore." The company originally began making inroads in the AR space a few years ago with Project Tango, which required manufacturers to implement specialized equipment so that smartphones would be compatible with Tango's AR features. Now, Google is "effectively ...

Google will launch an all-new Pixel-branded Chromebook and a miniaturized version of its Google Home smart speaker alongside new Pixel smartphones at an event this fall, according to a source familiar with the company's plans. Details are scant on the new Pixel notebook, which will revive the Chromebook line after two years of inactivity, but AndroidPolice suggests it could be the fruition of...

Google is set to pay Apple nearly $3 billion this year to remain as the default search engine on iPhones and iPads, according to U.S. research and brokerage firm Bernstein (via CNBC). According to the investor note, Google is paying out three times as much to Apple as it did in 2014 for the same privilege, with Google's licensing fees making up a large bulk of Apple's services business. "Cou...

Chris Lattner, once responsible for leading the teams behind Xcode and Swift, made headlines earlier this year when he left Apple to work at Tesla. At the time, Lattner told MacRumors the opportunity to work on Tesla's self-driving project with the Tesla Autopilot team was "irresistible." Lattner lasted just six months at Tesla, however, and left the company in June. "Chris just wasn't the...

Google introduced an anti-phishing feature for Gmail on Android earlier this year after millions of users were affected by a widespread attack. On Thursday, the company announced it is now extending the functionality to the iOS version of its mail app to protect users on Apple devices. Going forward, whenever a user clicks on a suspicious link in a Gmail message on iPhone or iPad, Gmail will...

Google Earth for iOS today received a major update that brings a collection of new features to the interactive mapping app, as well as introducing 64-bit app support so it can run on iOS 11 devices. Apple reminded developers over the summer that once iOS 11 launches to the public, it will cease support of 32-bit apps altogether and only allow 64-bit apps and app updates to be submitted to the App ...

Gboard is Google's own keyboard app for iOS devices, and today the company announced that it's integrating Google Maps and YouTube directly within the keyboard. The two new features will be housed behind the "G" button on Gboard, now sitting alongside Google Search. With Google Maps in Gboard, users can share their location, or another location that they wish to serve as a rendezvous point,...

Following an Android launch last December, Google recently announced that its location sharing app, "Trusted Contacts," is out now on the iOS App Store [Direct Link]. The company described the app as a way for users to get together in everyday situations, as well as in emergency scenarios where they can let friends and family know that they're safe. Now that the app is on both Android and iOS, ...

Google today released Chrome 60, introducing support for the Touch Bar built into 2016 and 2017 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro models. After installing Chrome 60, MacBook Pro owners are able to add, remove, and rearrange Chrome shortcuts. The Touch Bar settings can be accessed by through the Menu bar by going to View -> Customize Touch Bar. The new settings can be combined with existing Touch Bar...

Google launched a new feature for its Search and Maps apps today that aims to help users stay on top of events when a natural disaster or other crisis occurs near their location (via TechCrunch). Called "SOS Alerts", the notifications will appear at the top of Google search results and Maps when a user looks for information about an incident or the affected area. In the Search app,...

Google today announced a new personalized news feed for its namesake iOS app, offering a stream of content based on user search history and topics they choose to follow. The feed appears directly below the search bar in the Google app, where users will see a stream of personally relevant articles and media content powered by Google's machine learning algorithms. The feed sits in place of...

Google today announced the launch of Backup and Sync, a new app for Macs and PCs that's designed to back up files and photos safely in Google Drive and Google Photos. The new app is meant to replace the existing Google Photos desktop uploader and Drive for Mac/PC. To use Backup and Sync, Google Drive/Photos users just need to download the app and then choose the folders they want to back up....

Google has updated its News & Weather app to bring it in line with the company's recent changes to its News website, splicing up categories to make them more focused and integrating additional navigation controls into the user interface. First up, Google has injected more blank space into the News & Weather UI to enhance readability, and has made the headline news categories along the top of...

In March, Google announced and launched a new iOS app called "Uptime," which let users watch YouTube videos in real time with their friends. At the time, the app required invite codes to gain access, but now the developers have quietly expanded Uptime's availability to everyone on the iOS App Store [Direct Link] (via TechCrunch). Uptime's hook is that it not only lets you watch videos...

Google today announced that it will stop scanning the emails of its free Gmail users for the purpose of delivering personalized ads later this year. If you've recently received a lot of emails about photography or cameras, for example, currently Google may show you a deal from a local camera store that it thinks might be interesting to you. On the other hand, if you've reported those emails...

Google is today updating its search engine across mobile devices and the web with a collection of results that will make it easier for people to find useful information related to job searches. The update is part of the new "Google for Jobs" initiative that was discussed at its I/O conference this year, with the goal of connecting employer and employee through streamlined and bolstered search...