The name Google is synonymous with online searches, but over the years the company has grown beyond search and now builds multiple consumer products, including software like Gmail, Chrome, Maps, Android, and hardware like the Pixel smartphones, Google Home, and Chromebooks. Its name can also be found on internet services such as Google Fi, Flights, Checkout, and Google Fiber. Here is all of the latest news about one of the most influential tech companies in the world.
Google Workspace users can ask Gemini to visualize data for them in the latest AI update to Sheets.
Google gave us room for infinite email. What did we get? Infinite email.
Google’s cheaper Pixel A-series phones usually launch in the summer, but the 9A might come early. Android Headlines reports that Google will open preorders on March 19th, with shipping a week later. Previous leaks reported that the phone will once again start at $499, but may break from recent Pixel design philosophy by ditching the camera bar.
[androidheadlines.com]
A teaser hints that we can expect the 3A series to have Nothing’s first triple-camera along with updated Glyph lighting when it launches on March 4th. Last year’s affordable 2A and 2A Plus never officially released in the US, and we don’t yet know if the 3A will change that. It’s separate from the regular Phone 3, which CEO Carl Pei promised would be “flagship” when it arrives.
The new version of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp -- free of in-app purchases -- debuted last December at $9.99 for a limited time.
For those who have been dragging their feet on buying the new Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete for either iOS or Android, that limited time offer runs out before the end of this week. At 1AM ET on January 31st, the game will increase in price to $19.99.
Today marks the start of the Lunar New Year, and Google Search has a new serpentine Doodle to mark the occasion. It looks cute, but click through for a bonus playable game of... well, you can probably guess.
Turns out Google’s photo manager wasn’t able to flip photos from left-to-right — until now. The editing feature has just been added, found within the Crop tools, which cover photo rotation too. For now at least, it’s Android only.
[support.google.com]
Google announced yesterday that Maps in the US will show Gulf of America and Mount McKinley, and CNBC today reports that the company’s maps division has added the US to its list of “sensitive” countries. CNBC says that that classification is reserved for “states with strict governments and border disputes” and includes countries like “China, Russia, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, among others.”
Google has begun its final attempt to overturn a €4.3 billion (about $4.4 billion) fine it received from the EU over its Android market dominance back in 2018. The antitrust decision was upheld in 2022 but reduced to €4.1 billion (about $4.2 billion). A final ruling from Europe’s top court is expected in the coming months and can’t be appealed — making this Google’s last chance to scrap the penalty.
Yes, it does look a lot like Apple’s Vision Pro, but that is actually Project Moohan, the Samsung / Google project we tried out last month and saw again recently at Samsung Unpacked.
In this YouTube video, Marques Brownlee shows some views you may not have seen yet of the hardware and what the Android UI looks like for the wearer.
Before Google hired away Character.ai’s leadership, both Google and Apple issued warnings to the startup that prompted it to introduce stronger content filters and increase its age rating to 17+ on the App Store, according to a report from The Information.
Character.ai employees also reportedly raised concerns internally about the app’s impact on teen mental health, something it’s currently facing two lawsuits over.
Carl Pei’s upstart tech brand teases a new launch on March 4th, right in the middle of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) event. The post hints at what might be the company’s first triple camera on a phone. Earlier this month Pei promised “a landmark smartphone launch” in Q1, but will this be the “flagship” Phone 3, or something else entirely?
A Reddit user spotted that the only available Android image for Pixel 4A phones is this month’s mandatory update Google issued to address unspecified battery problems, reports 9to5Google.
That’s unlike Pixel and Nexus phones before and since, for which Google still offers years of downloadable Android OS images. We’ve asked Google for more information.
After upgrading its Gemini assistant to work with Samsung’s apps yesterday, along with adding the ability to interact with multiple apps in a single prompt, Google says it’s not done yet.
In its announcement of Android 16’s first public beta, the company promised an expansion: “More apps with more OEMs on more devices across more form factors.” Android 16 is scheduled for general release in Q2 2025.
Is there a website you can’t stop visiting that’s killing your productivity? A new Chrome extension called TabBoo’s solution is to randomly trigger full screen jump scares and use aversive conditioning to deter you from returning.
There’s a sound effects option to enhance the trauma, and a probability slider increasing the chances a jump scare will appear.
The $250 million deal — announced after Samsung’s extended reality headset made its public debut yesterday — includes parts of HTC’s XR headsets and glasses unit, with some of the VIVE engineering team relocating to Google.
Google had previously purchased most of HTC’s smartphone business for $1.1 billion in 2017. HTC Vice President Lu Chia-te says the XR deal isn’t “a buyout nor an exclusive license.”
After Google started letting advertisers use other organization’s trademarks in 2023, search engines like Ask.com ran ads that may have misled users into clicking thinking they’re charities, The New York Times reports. These search engines have also been outbidding charities on search terms related to their own trademarks, forcing non-profits to pay more for ads.
[The New York Times]
Google’s AI assistant can now complete multi-app tasks in a single prompt, like finding a restaurant and sending it to a friend. The upgrade isn’t exclusive to the S25 phones, but it will work across Samsung and Google apps. It’s part of a wave of AI updates announced by Google today.
