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...

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...

Google is readying a new Google Drive replacement backup tool that's intended to help users back up files located anywhere on their computer. Called Backup and Sync, the new app will replace both the Google Drive client and the Google Photos Backup app, combining their sync features in a more unified client interface. Backup and Sync will be able to monitor and backup files and photos...

Google has hired veteran chip architect Manu Gulati, who worked at Apple for the past eight years, according to Variety. Gulati is now a Lead SOC Architect at Google, where he began in May, according to his recently updated LinkedIn profile. Gulati was "instrumental" to the company's efforts to build custom chips for the iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV, according to the report. Apple's custom ...

Google will introduce an ad-blocking feature in both its mobile and desktop Chrome web browsers early next year, according to the company. Thursday's announcement confirms rumors back in April that the tech giant was seriously considering the feature for Chrome, and provided more details on Google's motives behind the move. In a blog post, Sridhar Ramaswamy, Senior VP of Ads and Commerce, said ...

In the ongoing legal battle between Uber and Alphabet-owned Waymo, Uber announced this week that it has fired Anthony Levandowski, the engineer accused of stealing Waymo's self-driving intellectual property when he left his job at Google to start his own company, Otto (via The New York Times). In the original lawsuit, Waymo claimed that when Uber acquired Otto, Levandowski's stolen trade secrets...

Google today kicked off its annual I/O developer conference in Mountain View, California, beginning with a keynote where the company announced Google Assistant for iPhone, new Google Home features including the ability to stream Apple Music via Bluetooth, and new photo sharing features in Google Photos. Google Assistant on iOS As it was rumored earlier this week, Google today announced that...

Google is planning to launch its smart AI helper Google Assistant on iOS sometime "soon" as its own standalone app, according to sources speaking to Android Police. The rumor is swirling ahead of Google's annual I/O Conference, which will run this week from May 17 to May 19 in California. According to the sources, the specifics of Google's plans for Assistant on iOS remain unclear as of now,...

Google this week announced an update coming soon to its iOS Google Allo app, which will introduce neural network-generated stickers that are personalized to match your own distinct look. The company said that the new feature will combine neural networks and the work of artists to turn your selfies into unique sticker packs, which can then be used in Allo, the company's messaging app. The...

Google made its puck-like, mesh-network based wireless home router available in Canada this week, following availability in the U.S. since December and its U.K. launch earlier this month. Google Wifi is made to boost internet coverage throughout any home regardless of the layout, similar to products like the Linksys Velop. It achieves this by using a multi-unit set-up in which the routers...

Google is rolling out an update to its search engine for iOS users that aims to make it easier to discover media content like songs and movies online (via TechCrunch). Whenever a Google search is performed for a piece of media, the new feature shows users icons for services that offer the content, such as iTunes, Hulu, Amazon Video, Google Play, YouTube, and Spotify. Clicking the new...

Apple has recently hired John Fenwick and Michael Trela, two Google satellite executives, reports Bloomberg. Fenwick led Google's spacecraft operations, while Trela was head of satellite engineering. Both Trela and Fenwick are reporting to Greg Duffy, the former co-founder of camera company Dropcam. What the two are doing at Apple is unclear, but Bloomberg speculates they're either working on...

Google today announced that its popular Timeline feature for Google Maps on Android has expanded to Google Maps for iOS, making it available to iPhone and iPad users for the first time. With Timeline, Google Maps keeps track of all of the places that have been visited, so users can have a past account of where they’ve been and what they were doing. What was the name of that antique store I...