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...

After lowering its Play Store commission from 30 percent to 15 percent in March, Google today announced that it is making the same change to subscription fees, an update applicable to all app developers, reports The Verge. At the current time, Google's subscription policy works like Apple's. Google collects 30 percent from a subscription during the first year, and then drops that to 15...

Google today announced its latest flagship smartphones, the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro. The two new devices are already garnering positive reviews for their high-end feature set available at an affordable price tag. Priced at $599 and $899, respectively, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are Google's first smartphones that are equipped with the Google Tensor system-on-a-chip, which Google...

Google is winding down its Material Design custom UI for iOS apps to switch to pure UIKit, according to Google's design chief for Apple platforms Jeff Verkoeyen. Google's suite of apps for iOS and iPadOS, including Gmail, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Drive, and YouTube, have used custom user interfaces that mirror the experience on Android for almost a decade. The purpose of these...

A Google executive is extending an open hand to help Apple adopt RCS, a new communication protocol called Rich Communication Services to iPhone and iPad, that would replace standard SMS and offer improved cross-platform messaging capabilities. In a tweet, Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google's senior vice president of Android, said that "group chats don't need to break this way," referring to a...

A bug in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 is preventing Safari from loading AMP links for Google search results, but the issue is not intentional and Google is preparing a fix that's set to be released in the near future. Developer Jeff Johnson today published a blog post speculating on whether Google had intentionally disabled AMP links for Google search results in Safari on devices running iOS 15 (via ...

In a new blog post titled "Bring the best of Google to your iPhone," Google is on an endeavor to convince new iPhone 13 users to transform their ‌device’s home screen to look like Android. The blog post, written by Google's director for the iOS platform, features screenshots of an ‌iPhone 13‌ home screen filled with Google apps and widgets. The post implies that customers should possibly...

Google today lambasted European Union regulators for ignoring Apple and the rivalry between Apple and Android in the antitrust accusations that have been levied against Google, reports Reuters. Apple was brought up as part of Google's attempt to get a massive 4.34 billion euro ($5.1 billion) fine annulled. The European Commission first levied the fine against Google in 2018 because Google...

After unveiling its latest Pixel 6 smartphones with a custom Arm-based Google Tensor chip last month, Google is also developing its own Arm-based processors for future Chromebook laptops and tablets, according to Nikkei Asia. Google plans to roll out its own processors for Chromebooks in around 2023, according to the report. Chromebooks are laptops, tablets, and detachable devices that run...

Google today shared a new Pixel 5a ad that's meant to parody some of the product intro videos that former Apple design chief Jony Ive used to make to highlight new iPhone features. In the video, Google spends a full two minutes describing the design of the Pixel 5a's headphone jack in exaggeratory language, and as noted by CNET, there are even two moments where the video uses Ive's British...

It's no secret that Apple and Google have a considerable monetary agreement that ensures Google's position as the default search engine on Apple's devices. In a new investor note by financial advisor Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi, the analyst claims Google's payment to Apple to maintain the status quo could reach $15 billion in 2021, up from $10 billion last year. First reported by Ped30,...

Google today announced the launch of the low-cost 5G Pixel 5a, a follow up to the Pixel 4a that debuted last year. At its $449 price point, the Pixel 5a most closely competes with the $399 iPhone SE, which is $50 cheaper, though it has a similar feature set to Apple's $699 iPhone 12 mini thanks to the inclusion of 5G. Apple is rumored to be working on a new version of the ‌iPhone SE‌ that...

Google today previewed its next-generation Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, which are set to launch later this year. These are Google's new flagship smartphones, with a redesign that includes a rear camera bar and tons of other new technologies. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Google's Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will be the first smartphones using Google's custom-designed...

For the last several years, Google has been pushing a new communications protocol called Rich Communication Services, or RCS. ‌RCS‌ is designed to replace SMS, the current text message standard, and it offers support for higher resolution photos and videos, audio messages, bigger file sizes, better encryption, improved group chat, and more. Verizon today announced that it is planning to...

Attorneys general representing 36 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. today levied an antitrust lawsuit [PDF] against Google to challenge Google Play Store fees, reports Politico. The lawsuit was filed in California federal court and is led by Utah, North Carolina, Tennessee, New York, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, and Nebraska. The states are fighting against Google's plan to require all app...

Apple has dramatically increased the amount of iCloud user data it stores on Google Cloud, according to The Information. The report claims Apple now has over eight million terabytes of data stored on Google's servers. As of mid-May, Apple was reportedly on track to spend around $300 million on Google cloud storage services this year, which would represent an increase of roughly 50% from all...

Google today announced the launch of a new "4K Plus" plan for YouTube TV subscribers, which will allow for streaming in 4K on a compatible TV and set-top box. Along with 4K streaming, the 4K Plus option includes an option to download shows for watching offline and unlimited streaming when connected to home WiFi. 4K Plus is priced at an additional $19.99 per month on top of the standard...

Google has announced its is rolling out Google Fi's built-in VPN service to iPhone subscribers, giving iOS users another way to ensure that their connection is secure and private on a cellular or Wi-Fi network. Starting today, we're expanding our built-in VPN to iPhone®. 🔐With the Fi VPN, you get a private online connection and more protection from hackers included on all plans. Learn more → ht ...

Google has updated its 2FA Authenticator app for iOS with a new privacy feature that lets users require Face ID or Touch ID before displaying two-factor account authentication codes. Previously, fingerprint or facial authentication was only required when exporting accounts. Now though, upon activating Google's Privacy Screen feature in v3.2.0 of the app, ‌Face ID‌ or ‌Touch ID‌ is needed in...

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today announced an investigation into the "duopoly" of Apple and Google on mobile ecosystems, just one day after a similar investigation was initiated in Japan. The CMA will be taking a closer look at Apple and Google's "effective duopoly" on the supply of operating systems, including iOS and Android, the App Store and Google Play Store, ...

Google today introduced its latest wire-free earbuds, the Pixel Buds A-Series, which at $99, are $60 cheaper than the standard AirPods and $100 cheaper than the AirPods with Wireless Charging Case. The Pixel Buds A-Series are the most affordable Pixel Buds Google has released to date, and they offer the same sound quality as prior versions of the Pixel Buds. Reviews have corroborated...