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...

Samsung today joined Google in attempting to convince Apple to adopt the Rich Communication Services or RCS messaging standard that Google has been pushing. In a short ad that's a riff on Romeo and Juliet, Samsung features two smartphone interfaces texting each other. "Juliet" is the iPhone in the metaphor and her parents (aka Apple) won't allow for the adoption of ‌RCS‌. "What did green...

Back in 2018, Apple held talks with DuckDuckGo to replace Google as the default search engine in private browsing mode, but ultimately rejected the idea, according to transcripts unsealed by the judge overseeing the US government's antitrust trial against Google in Washington. Testifying in closed sessions, DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg said that his company had about 20 meetings and phone ...

Google today refreshed its product lineup with new Pixel smartphones, a new Pixel watch, and updated Pixel earbuds, all of which will compete with Apple devices. The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are Google's latest smartphones, and the Pixel 8 Pro is the high-end model that has all of Google's most recent technological advancements. It features a 6.7-inch 1 to 120Hz display, similar to the iPhone ...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella today said that he believes the search engine deal between Apple and Google has made it impossible for other search engines like Bing to compete (via The Wall Street Journal). With Google as the default search engine on Safari on all Apple devices, people become accustomed to using it, Nadella explained in testimony he gave during the ongoing Google vs. U.S. Department ...

Back in 2020, Microsoft considered selling its Bing search engine to Apple, reports Bloomberg. Had the acquisition happened, Bing would have replaced Google as the default search engine on Apple devices. Microsoft executives met up with Apple services chief Eddy Cue to discuss a potential deal, but the talks were just exploratory and did not progress. According to Bloomberg, Apple did not...

Apple's services chief Eddy Cue today testified in the antitrust trial between the U.S. Department of Justice and Google, answering questions about a deal that sees Google set as the default search engine on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. According to a report from The Verge today, Google pays Apple billions of dollars per year in order for Google to be set as the default search engine on Apple...

Google is continuing on with its relentless #GetTheMessage marketing campaign in an attempt to get Apple to adopt the RCS messaging protocol. In its latest ad, Google shows off the "iPager," which Google describes as a device that "uses outdated messaging tech" like Apple uses "when texting with Android." ‌RCS‌, or Rich Communication Services, is a communication protocol designed by and...

Google currently offers no official repair procedure for the Pixel Watch, meaning that broken devices simply become e-waste (via The Verge). This information was recently confirmed by Google spokesperson Bridget Starkey to The Verge. Starkey stated, "At this moment, we don't have any repair option for the Google Pixel Watch. If your watch is damaged, you can contact the Google Pixel Watch...

The latest version of the Google Maps app for the iPhone includes hidden code-level references to Live Activities, according to MacRumors contributor Steve Moser. The feature remains in development and it is not yet functional in the app. Live Activities will allow Google Maps users to view turn-by-turn directions and the ETA in a single live-updating Lock Screen notification, and in the...

Google today announced a new Chrome downloads experience for its desktop browser, with the update aimed at making it easier to interact with recently downloaded files. Chrome's updated download tray is located to the right of the address bar, and it replaces the interface at the bottom of the display. The new look is closer to the Safari download window, which is also at the top of the...

Back in May, Google announced plans to introduce a new safety feature that would alert Android users about nearby unknown Bluetooth trackers, including AirTags, preventing people from being stalked with tracking accessories. The tracking alert functionality is rolling out starting today. Android smartphones will provide automatic alerts if an unknown Bluetooth tracker is separated from its...

Google in May unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the Pixel Fold. We picked up a Pixel Fold and thought we'd check it out to see how it compares to Apple's latest iPhones. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The Pixel Fold has a display size of 7.6 inches when it is unfolded, but when collapsed, the cover display measures in at 5.8 inches. Both displays feature a...

Google today launched a humorous "BestPhonesForever" ad campaign that pits the latest Pixel smartphones against the iPhone, painting the ‌iPhone‌ as an old, outdated phone that was once great, but can no longer keep up with the younger smartphones (via 9to5Google). There are a series of five ads. In "Plateau," the ‌iPhone‌ laments being 14 years old and unable to keep up with Pixel features...

Google today outlined several new features available for or coming to the Chrome app for the iPhone and iPad, including deeper integration with Google Maps, Google Calendar, and Google Lens. Chrome for iOS now uses AI to detect addresses on webpages and show a location directly on a mini version of the Google Maps app in Chrome, so there's no need to swap apps to see map-related information...

Google today announced that it is opening up access to Search Labs, allowing testers to try out its new Search Generative Experience. The AI-powered Search option is limited to those who have signed up to be a part of Google Labs, with Google letting in a small number of people who have joined the Google Labs Waitlist. AI for search is a feature that Google announced during its I/O developer ...

Google today announced that it is updating its inactive account policy, with Google Accounts that have not been used in at least two years to be deleted. Google says that accounts that have not been used for long periods of time are more likely to be compromised because of the use of older, less secure passwords and a lack of two-factor authentication. Going forward, if a Google Account has...

Google today hosted its 15th annual I/O developer conference in Mountain View, California, highlighting advances in artificial intelligence, changes to Google Photos, updates to search, and more. Pixel Fold The Pixel Fold is Google's first foldable smartphone, and it's set to launch in late June. In terms of design, it is similar to the Galaxy Z Fold, as it opens from a smartphone form...

Google today announced that it is introducing support for passkeys, providing an easier and more secure login method for Google accounts. Apple integrated passkeys into iOS with the launch of iOS 16, and it is also available in iPadOS 16.1 and later as well as macOS Ventura. Passkeys are an industry standard developed by the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium, so Google's...

Apple and Google today jointly submitted a proposed industry specification to help combat the misuse of Bluetooth item trackers for unwanted tracking of individuals. As part of this initiative, the companies plan to expand AirTag-like unwanted tracking alerts to third-party item trackers in future versions of iOS and Android. Tile, Chipolo, Samsung, Eufy, and Pebblebee have expressed support ...

Earlier this week, Google updated its Authenticator app to enable the backup and syncing of 2FA codes across devices using a Google Account. Now an examination by Mysk security researchers has found that the sensitive one-time passcodes being synced to the cloud aren't end-to-end encrypted, leaving them potentially exposed to bad actors. Prior to the integration of Google Account support,...