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.
Googlebooks are here. And they’re actually interesting (for Android phone users) — but there are still so many questions.
Google’s latest attempt to reinvent the laptop will require everything the company does well — and a few things it doesn’t.
A new “Copy code” button is rolling out to Gmail inboxes on Android and iOS that previews authentication codes below the subject line, letting you copy them with a single tap without opening the email. It isn’t available on web, but it should make mobile logins less tedious.
It’s AI CEO against AI CEO, and things are changing by the day.
“Lepton is intended to help game developers bring their VR Android games to the Steam Frame,” Valve writes. “Lepton is not designed for general Android use, instead opting to keep the bare minimum functionality required to launch into games.”
Developers have already used it to port Meta Quest games to the Steam Frame. But could it do more?
[GitLab]
On the Noto Emoji site, you can search for emoji, download 2D and 3D files of the (open source) emoji in different formats, and even see the original proposals that helped things get turned into emoji in the first place. (In 2019, I wrote about that proposal process for my submissions of the waffle and yawning face emoji.)
I also recommend Google’s post about designing its Noto 3D emoji, it’s good stuff.
It says the new version of CC can help families manage household tasks like sorting through emails, keeping track of everyone’s schedules, filling out permission slips, and creating shopping lists. Up to six users can manage and interact with the same CC agent and choose what to share with it.
US District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema said in her unsealed ruling on Google’s ad tech trial that measures to break it up were “neither realistic nor needed,” the New York Times reports. Brinkema also called for Google to appoint a monitor to make sure it complies with the order.
Following an already busy year of releases, Xteink’s new S4, which is launching in China first, is the company’s first pocketable E Ink device to run Android 11 giving it access to both the Kindle and Kobo mobile apps. The S4 also features a 4.3-inch frontlit touchscreen, 32GB of storage, a proper USB-C port, and a generous 1,400mAh battery, according to Good e-Reader.
The industry is in a panic, but it’s been claiming to want legal guardrails for years — with few meaningful results.
Bilal Chughtai and Josh Engels, who both worked on Deepmind’s AI safety team, left to join organizations dedicated to AI safety. “I now think that there’s a terrifying chance that AI systems cause immense harm in the next five years,” said Engels. “I earnestly believe that AI has the potential to kill us all,” wrote Chughtai.
[The Information]
The Pixel Watch 2 and later are getting Gemini Personalization, allowing the AI assistant to learn from past conversations and connected Google apps. The 3 and on also get new double-pinch gesture controls, while the 4 gets a performance bump to raise-to-talk. A similar September update is rolling out to Pixel phones too.
[Google Pixel Watch Community]
Two boat manufacturers, Crest Marine and Balise Pontoons (both owned by MasterCraft Boat Holdings), announced today their plans to enable smartphone projection in their upcoming models in 2027. The boats will feature a seven-inch “marine touchscreen” that will display CarPlay or Android Auto alongside marine-specific technology. The manufacturers are also working with marine navigation app Savvy Navvy to offer access to nautical charts, smart routing, GPS tracking, live weather, and tidal data — all displayed on the same screen as other apps. Avast!
Now the “Pause Point” option Google launched on the Pixel 11 is rolling out to more devices, across Android 17 QPR1, and for Pixel hardware going back to the Pixel 6. The new Android 17 update also increases the use of background blur and adds a new Quick Settings tile that points to your notes app, among other updates.
This month’s Pixel Drop puts Scam Detection in more places, and comes with a long list of fixes.
Motion Assist is similar to Apple’s Motion Cues, displaying moving dots that track a vehicle’s movement and help reduce motion sickness in the process. It rolled out for Pixel phones last month, but Google’s Mishaal Rahman says it’s now generally available in Android 17.
To use motion assist, you’ll need an Android device running Android 17 or higher with Google Play Services updated. To set it up, open Settings, tap your profile > All services, then tap “Motion assist” under “Personal & device safety.”
Major AI companies want to ‘pace the frontier’ — but their proposed solutions need real teeth.
9to5Google spotted this FCC entry for the Goertek-made SZGG8BL6, which lines up with other Google devices. Like the Fitbit Charge, it has Bluetooth and GNSS, but lacks Wi-Fi, while its e-label suggests it has a screen and could run wearOS similar to a mysterious wearable spotted in Google ads.
The app, which Google began testing in June, pulls information from across Search, Gmail, Photos, Calendar, and Gemini to provide AI shopping recommendations, travel suggestions, event reminders, and more. It pairs these suggestions with somewhat unsettling storybook-style drawings of yourself.
With the app, you can press Alt + Space to pull up Gemini when you need it, Google says. Grab the app from Google’s Gemini website. Google launched a macOS app in April.
Now you can move both passwords and passkeys between Google Password Manager, 1Password, Bitwarden, and Dashlane, with more password managers to come. It works at the OS level, so there’s no unencrypted text file for you to deal with on the import / export.
The 2023 Android tablet has seemingly been discontinued. Its online Google Store page is gone, and there’s no longer even a “Tablet” section in the menu. The Pixel Tablet was most notable for the included dock, which turned it into a smart home hub, but never received a follow-up.
First announced at I/O in May, Daily Brief is an AI feature that generates a summary of your day with the emails, meetings, and other information pulled from apps connected to Gemini. It was previously only available to Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers.
As previously announced, Google has halved the release cycle for its web browser with today’s stable release of Chrome 153 on desktop, Android, and iOS. Chrome 154 Beta is now ready for testing, ahead of its stable release on September 22nd.
Searches related to hotels and flights will now more prominently display results linking to price comparison sites, after the EU found Google was breaking antitrust rules by prioritizing its own Shopping, Flights, and Hotels tools, fining it €460 million. Google told Reuters it’s the largest reduction in search quality for 29 years.
The update is rolling out to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the US over the next few weeks. When it arrives, Spark users can ask the AI agent to automatically search, organize, and curate photos and videos, and extract information from them to use elsewhere.
A Play Store listing spotted by 9to5Google said “Look up” allows you to “highlight a concept you want to explore, a new word, a trip destination, and more.” Screenshots captured by the outlet show the app pulling up a definition for a highlighted word, as well as showing tracking information for a highlighted flight number.
The app description and images have since been pulled from the listing.
