Google

When Apple Music first launched in 2015, playing it on anything other than an Apple device was impossible. Thankfully though, over the years Apple has made its streaming service available to access through third-party devices and speakers, including Amazon Echo and Google-owned speakers. This article focuses on Google devices. If you have a Google Home mini or a newer Nest-branded smart...

Google includes a Live Captions transcription feature in version 89 of its Chrome browser for desktop. Live Captions uses machine learning to create a real-time transcription for videos or audio played through the browser, which can make online media more accessible for members of the Deaf community and other people with hearing loss. Once enabled, Live Captions appear in a box in the bottom ...

If you buy a new iPhone to replace your existing one and you use the Google Authenticator app to access online accounts protected by two-factor authentication (2FA), you should transfer those accounts to your new phone as soon as possible, because without the 2FA codes close at hand, you could find yourself locked out of your online accounts. 2FA adds an extra layer of security to your...

Google Lens can now recognize over a billion items in the world around us, the search engine giant announced this week. That's four times as many things that the AI-powered feature could identify when it was first launched last year, thanks partly to a huge number of Google Shopping products which have been added to its knowledge base. While its optical character recognition engine has...

In Chrome 66, rolling out now for Mac and iOS, Google has added a password export option to the web browser so that you can easily migrate your login details to another browser via a third-party password manager app. In this article, we'll show you how to export your passwords from Chrome on Mac and iOS. At the end of the process, you'll be left with a CSV file containing all your login...

Google today announced the launch of two new experimental photography apps on iOS, which are designed to allow the company to test technologies like object recognition, person segmentation, stylization algorithms, efficient image encoding and decoding, and more. Called "appsperiments," the two apps include "Selfissimo" and "Scrubbies." Selfissimo is an automated selfie app that captures a...

Google's Home Mini smart speaker received an update on Friday that brings back some of the touch-based controls that the company had to disable shortly after its release back in October (via AndroidPolice). Google was forced to turn off the built-in touch panel, which is designed to let users activate Google Assistant with a long press instead of a voice command, after a reviewer discovered...

Google has shuttered the Chrome Apps section of its Chrome browser web store, following through on an announcement the company made more than a year ago. As of Wednesday, the Apps selection no longer appeared in the web store's search panel filters below Extensions and Themes. Prior to yesterday's removal, Chrome apps were available in two flavors: packaged apps and hosted apps. As Ars Technica...

Google today released a new version of its Gmail app for iOS devices, and while not listed as a new feature, the update introduces support for the iPhone X, Apple's newest flagship device. The new version of the Gmail app allows it to take full advantage of the larger bezel-free display of the iPhone X, doing away with the large black bars that were previously present at the top and bottom of...

Google updated a couple of its most popular iOS offerings late on Thursday, including bringing multilingual support to its namesake app. Users of the Google Search app can now search by voice in multiple languages. The option needs to be enabled first for it to work – to do this, go to Settings, tap "Voice Search", then tap "Language" to select additional languages. (There are over 50 to...

Google today updated its Google Maps app with official support for the iPhone X, introducing an improved layout on Apple's newest flagship phone. The Google Maps app displays full screen on the iPhone X's taller display, with a search bar located at the top of the app and directions and information provided at the bottom of the app. The layout of the app makes the menu button at the top left...

Google today updated its collection of productivity apps for iOS with support for the iPhone X, so now anyone who uses Google Docs [Direct Link], Google Sheets [Direct Link], and Google Slides [Direct Link] on Apple's newest smartphone will see full compatibility for the iPhone X's 5.8-inch screen. Additionally, the same update has introduced drag-and-drop support for all three apps on...

Google has seen fit to return YouTube to Amazon's display-based Echo Show smart speaker, two months after the video service was pulled from the device. The original removal angered Amazon and led to conflicting public statements on both sides over the move, but the two companies appear to have resolved the dispute. The return of YouTube is particularly timely for Amazon, which is expanding its ...

The Pixel Buds, Google's $159 headphones designed to compete with Apple's AirPods, finally launched this week so we thought we'd pit the two devices against one another to see how they measure up. While the AirPods are widely loved and have received mostly positive reviews from customers and media sites, things aren't looking quite as rosy for the Pixel Buds. In a lot of ways, the Pixel Buds...

Google this week revealed some upcoming enhancements to its Chrome browser that aim to protect users from encountering unwanted content on the web, such as when a site unexpectedly redirects them to another page when they click on a video play button. Google says that incidents of users being redirected by websites to unintended destinations are mentioned in 1 of every 5 Chrome feedback...

Google has teamed up with the English Heritage Trust to give users of its Arts & Culture app a rare opportunity to explore the annals of England's historical, architectural, and cultural heritage. Spanning 5,000 years of history and taking in archeological artifacts, castles, forts and monuments, the in-depth exhibits celebrate the famous sites and the stories behind them by using the latest...

Multiple reports have surfaced over the past few days about potential screen burn-in or image retention issues with Google's new Pixel 2 XL smartphone. Pixel 2 XL with apparent screen burn-in via Michael Kukielka‏ Android Central's Alex Dobie‏ shared a photo on Twitter on early Sunday that shows faint outlines of Android's navigation buttons at the bottom of the display. 9to5Google, The Verge,...

Google today announced the launch of its new mobile app payment platform "Pay with Google," following a sneak peek of the feature during its I/O conference this past May. Using Pay with Google, Android smartphone owners can access any of the credit or debit cards they've added to their Google Account -- sourcing products like Google Play, YouTube, Chrome, and Android Pay -- and quickly choose...

Google revealed on Thursday that it would follow Apple's lead in lowering the amount of money app developers must pay for mobile subscriptions processed through the company's Play Store (via The Verge). Adoption of the subscription model by iOS developers has increased over recent months, causing some controversy within the app-using community. Apple incentivized developers to sell their apps ...

Google yesterday updated its Chrome for iOS app, which serves as an alternate browser option for those who would prefer to use Chrome instead of the default Safari browser. The latest version of Chrome includes support for the iOS 11 Drag and Drop feature on the iPad, allowing iPad users to drag a URL from Chrome into another app or vice versa. Also included in the update are new Today...

Google today asked customers who use the Gmail for iOS app to test a new feature that will allow non-Google accounts to be added to and checked from the official Gmail for iOS app. Right now, the Gmail app for iOS devices only supports Gmail accounts, but the addition of support for third-party email accounts would put the app on par with other popular iOS apps like Spark, Airmail, Alto,...

Google's official search app for iOS has been updated this week with more navigation options in the United States and other countries. In addition to Google Maps, you can now use Apple Maps or Waze for navigation when searching for places and addresses in the Google app. When you search for an address and tap the navigation button, a menu opens with the three options for directions:...

Google recently disabled a feature included in its upcoming Google Home Mini smart speaker after a reviewer found that it was causing the device to record conversations and sounds even when no "OK Google" prompt word was spoken. As detailed by Android Police's Artem Russakovskii, who received a Google Home Mini test unit last week, the device was malfunctioning due to an issue with the...

Google this morning held an event in San Francisco, California, where the company unveiled several new hardware products, including the Pixel 2, the Google Pixelbook, and two new versions of the Google Home smart speaker. The Pixel 2 comes in 5 and 6-inch screen sizes, with the XL model featuring slimmer bezels. It features what Google says is a bolder look with an aluminum body with a soft...

Google is working on a tabletop smart screen for video calling and more that will go up against Amazon's Echo Show, according to sources who spoke to TechCrunch. The Google device is internally codenamed "Manhattan" and will have a screen size similar to the 7-inch Echo Show, said two sources, one of whom reportedly received information directly from a Google employee. The device is said to...