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.
The 1.5 spec fills a huge gap in the standards’ promise of universal smart home compatibility.
Now that the latest AI model from Google has launched, the CEO of Google DeepMind and VP of Google Gemini appeared on the Hard Fork podcast to delve into what their “most intelligent” AI is capable of.
With just a Gmail account, you’ll be able to “use AI-generated voiceovers, instantly clean up recordings with transcript trimming to remove silences and filler words, or give your visuals some pop with built-in AI image editing,” according to a blog post.
Normally, you’re kind of stuck with the button mapping video game developers choose, based on your controller of choice. But Android Authority has found evidence in the latest Android Canary release that Google is adding native remapping. That’s huge for improving accessibility and support for cloud gaming, where titles aren’t usually built with Android in mind.
After being fined $3.5 billion by the EU for ad tech abuse, the search giant is, begrudgingly, proposing changes:
For example, we are giving publishers the option to set different minimum prices for different bidders when using Google Ad Manager [... and] increasing the interoperability of our tools to give publishers and advertisers more choice and flexibility.
Tapping the new “Images” tab at the bottom of the app will pull up a grid of pictures that Google says are “tailored to your interests.” You save images to your collection while you browse, as well as start another search based on what you find.
This feature is rolling out on Android and iOS “over the next few weeks.”
In the trove of documents released this week, Epstein at times seems preoccupied with Google results related to him. In an email dated December 10th, 2010, Epstein complains that “the google page is not good,” and references what appears to be payments made to clean up search results. In other emails, associates give Epstein step by step instructions on searching in Incognito on Chrome.
During an earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the company isn’t “trying to break any new ground” on a deal that would end the ESPN blackout:
The deal that we have proposed is equal to or better than what other large distributors have already agreed to... While we’ve been working tirelessly to close this deal and restore our channels to the platform, it’s also imperative that we make sure that we agree to a deal that reflects the value that we deliver.
The latest investigation into the tech giant is over its reputation abuse policy in Search, designed to combat third-party content hosted on sites purely to take advantage of their search ranking.
The European Commission worries that policy impacts a “common and legitimate way” for publishers to monetize their content.
Google is cracking down on apps that prevent a device from going to sleep for a long period of time by performing activities in the background. Starting March 1st, 2026, Google will begin hiding some of these battery-draining apps from recommendations and may even display a warning label on their Play Store listings.
Android Authority spotted a new home screen toggle in an Android Canary build. Google shrunk the mandatory widget a little earlier this year, but users want the option to remove it entirely. Then again, Google tested this toggle in 2023 too, and never gave it a release.
[Android Authority]
The same AI tech that powers Google’s NotebookLM can now be used to generate two to 10-minute podcast-style summaries of PDFs in Drive. It’s English-language only for now, and limited to Workspace users and subscribers to Google’s One AI Pro and Ultra plans.
[Workspace Updates Blog]
