Google today announced a total overhaul of its Google Pay apps designed for iOS and Android devices, with a new emphasis on keeping track of finances and managing financial relationships with people and businesses.
The updated Google Pay app will display the friends and businesses you interact with most often rather than a simple list of all transactions. Built-in tools allow for splitting expenses and calculating totals with another person, and the Google Pay app can be used to order food, buy gas, and more.
Integrated coupons and promo codes are included, and these can be activated with a tap. For those who have a bank account or cards connected to Google Pay, the app will now provide periodic spending summaries and show trends and insights over time, similar to how Apple Card works in the Wallet app on iOS devices.
Starting in 2021, Google plans to further enhance Google Pay with a new mobile-first banking experience. Google is partnering with 11 financial institutions for "Plex," a bank account integrated in Google Pay.
Plex accounts are offered by banks and credit unions and include checking and savings accounts with no monthly fees or overdraft charges. Plex accounts through Google Pay will be available to customers when the feature launches. Apple has an integrated credit card that works with Apple Pay, the Apple Card, but there is no similar feature for a full bank account.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has high expectations for Apple's first foldable iPhone.
In his Power On newsletter today, he said the foldable iPhone will be "the most significant overhaul in the iPhone's history."
"iPhone 4, iPhone 6 and iPhone X were clearly a big deal, but this is a whole new design," he said.
Like Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7, the foldable iPhone will reportedly open up like ...
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Suggested Places
In the Maps app, there's a new "Suggested Places" feature that recommends locations to visit based on trending places nearby and recent searches. When Apple launches ads in ...
Apple has been celebrating its upcoming 50th anniversary by hosting surprise performances and other events around the world over the past few weeks, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has revealed details about the company's grand finale.
In a social media post, Gurman said Apple's celebrations will conclude this week with a finale at its Apple Park headquarters for employees.
A special...
Apple has asked Google to investigate setting up servers in its data centers to run a future version of Siri powered by Gemini, The Information reports.
Currently, Apple sends its more complex AI queries to Private Cloud Compute, a system that runs on Apple servers using Apple silicon chips. Today, only 10% of Apple's Private Cloud Compute capacity is said to be in use on average. The usage...
Thursday March 5, 2026 3:53 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Google's NotebookLM AI-based tool can now turn your research and notes into fully animated "cinematic" videos – an advancement over its original video overview feature that was introduced last year.
Before now, video overviews were limited to generating slideshows of your research and writing, but the new Cinematic Video Overview feature uses Gemini 3, Nano Banana Pro, and Veo 3 models to...
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Google today added Gemini AI to Google Maps, enabling a new Ask Maps feature. Gemini in maps can answer complex, real-world questions that Google says "a map could never answer before."
There is a new Ask Maps button where Google Maps users can get answers to specific questions like "is there a public tennis court with lights on that I can play at tonight?" Google says that finding...
The folks behind Plex ('http://plex.tv') must love/hate this. Seems like they either have no chance and will basically lose their name in terms of consumer awareness, or else (in the more unlikely scenario) they have a decent basis for a lawsuit that'll pay out a hefty sum.
Or if it's like 90% of Google initiatives, they'll drop support for it early next year and it's a non-issue ;)
I bet thats where the emphasis is. A bank account so Google have full access to all my transactions, along with my e-mail and search history? Sign me up! Do I get a free Fitbit?
