Google today announced new automation and web features coming to Google Assistant for Android and iOS, with the most notable feature for Apple users being the ability to locate a lost iPhone using the digital assistant.
Android users have long been able to use the Google Assistant to trigger a sound for their smartphone if it got lost. That same ability, much like Apple's own Find My system, is coming to the iPhone. The feature will let users who have a Google Assistant-enabled smart speaker and the accompanying Google Home app for iOS find a misplaced device.
The alert is triggered when asking "Hey Google, find my phone" through a Google smart home devices. Following the trigger, the Google Home app will send an iOS critical alert on the iPhone. Apple offers apps the ability to utilize critical alerts, which are special notifications that can break through Do Not Disturb, or silent mode, to ensure they reach the user. Apps with critical alerts require special approval from Apple, and Google seems to have obtained that approval.
Additional features coming to the Google Assistant app include "Assistant Routines," which Google says will make it easy to perform multiple actions at once with a single command automatically, and a Duplex update that makes ordering takeout and delivery easier with partner restaurants.
Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026:
The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras
Under-screen Face ID...
Friday January 16, 2026 7:07 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to upgrade the iPad mini, MacBook Pro, iPad Air, iMac, and MacBook Air with OLED displays between 2026 and 2028, according to DigiTimes.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that the iPad mini and MacBook Pro will receive an OLED display as early as this year, but he does not expect the MacBook Air to adopt the technology until 2028 at the earliest.
A new iPad Air is...
Thursday January 15, 2026 11:19 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store.
The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the United States, according to the company's website. Most of the values declined slightly, but some of the Mac values increased.
iPhone
...
Friday January 16, 2026 12:12 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future.
To set up the...
Wednesday January 14, 2026 7:09 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around eight months away, a leaker has shared some alleged details about the devices.
In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo this week, the account Digital Chat Station said the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Consistent with previous...
The comments here are fuggin exhausting... What does sending an alert to your phone? have to do with tracking? Nothing in the least. This feature doesn’t require/nor make use of tracking. Idiots... Sure everything else does, just stay on point ppl...
