By MacRumors Staff
Google How Tos

How to Listen to Apple Music on a Google Home Mini or Nest Audio Speaker
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...
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How to Enable Live Captions in Chrome Browser for Desktop
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 ...

How to Transfer Google Authenticator Accounts to Your New iPhone
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...

How to Use Google Lens on iPhone
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...

How to Export Your Passwords and Login Data From Google Chrome
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...
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Google Launches Gemini Import Tool for Switching From ChatGPT, Claude, and Other AI Apps
Google is adding a new memory import feature to Gemini, making it easier for customers to switch to Gemini AI from another AI service. Users can import memories, context, and chat history from other AI apps.
Importing memory will provide Gemini with an understanding of a user's preferences, relationships, and personal context. Google says that Gemini will understand the same key facts that...

Google Claims Android Is Now Faster Than iPhone for Web Browsing
Google today said that Android has set a new record for mobile web performance, making it the fastest mobile platform for web browsing.
The newest Android devices have set new records on web performance benchmarks like Speedometer and LoadLine, which Google attributes to "deep vertical integration across hardware, the Android OS, and the Chrome engine."
Speedometer simulates real-world...

Apple Can Create Smaller On-Device AI Models From Google's Gemini
Apple has full access to Gemini to customize the model for Siri and other AI features, reports The Information. Google gave Apple "complete access" to the Gemini model in its own data centers, and Apple can use the access for distillation, or creating smaller models for specific tasks. Apple is able to design models that are built to run on Apple devices without the need to connect to the...

Google Working on Native Gemini AI App for Mac to Rival ChatGPT and Claude
Google is developing a native Gemini app for the Mac, reports Bloomberg. Right now, Mac users who want to use Google's Gemini AI have to use a web browser, but that will change with a dedicated Mac app.
Google competitors like Anthropic and OpenAI have dedicated Mac apps for their chatbots, potentially making Claude and ChatGPT more convenient to use than Gemini.
Google shared an early...

Google's Personal Intelligence Now Rolling Out to Free Gemini Users in the U.S.
Google is bringing Personal Intelligence to all Google Gemini users starting today, after testing the feature with its paid plans. Personal Intelligence allows Gemini AI to provide personalized responses based on information pulled from connected Google apps like Gmail, Google Photos, YouTube, and more.
Personal Intelligence is expanding in the U.S. across AI Mode in Search, the Gemini app,...

Google Maps Adds Gemini AI-Powered 'Ask Maps' Feature and 3D Immersive Navigation
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...

NotebookLM Now Creates Cinematic Video Overviews Out of Your Notes
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...

Report: Apple Asks Google to Run Siri on Its Servers
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...

Google Chrome Gets Built-In Split View and PDF Annotations
Google has added three new features to the Chrome desktop browser, including split view for multitasking, PDF annotations, and a Save to Google Drive option.
Split view for Chrome is a built-in tool that supports using two tabs at the same time side-by-side. Google says that it provides a more streamlined, flexible way to work. There is a split view icon in Chrome that can be clicked to...

Android-to-iPhone AirDrop Transfers Now Supported on Pixel 9
Google is expanding its cross-platform file sharing feature to additional Android devices, allowing them to transfer files to an iPhone using the AirDrop protocol. AirDrop support for Quick Share is coming to the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold over the next few days.
Google announced Quick Share compatibility with AirDrop back in November, but the feature was...

AirDrop-Quick Share Interoperability Expanding to More Android Phones
Last November, Google announced a cross-platform feature that allows Google Pixel 10 and Apple device users to share files directly via Quick Share-AirDrop interoperability. Now, Google has confirmed that the feature is set to expand to Android phones more generally this year.
"Last year, we launched AirDrop interoperability," said Eric Kay, vice president of engineering for the Android...

Google Brings Fitbit AI Health Coach to iPhone as Apple Pulls Back on iOS 27 Health Plans
Amid rumors that Apple is scaling back its AI health plans, Google today expanded its subscription-based Fitbit AI personal health coach service to more users worldwide, including those who are on iOS. Prior to now, the Fitbit service was limited to Android users.
The Gemini-powered Fitbit personal health coach is described as a 24/7 digital advisor that’s meant to work as a virtual...

Apple, Google Commit to Fairer App Store Practices in UK
Apple and Google have agreed to a series of changes aimed at making their app stores fairer for developers, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced today.
The concrete commitments come after the CMA found the two companies had a duopoly and designated them as having "strategic market status" in mobile platforms last October. The designation is not a finding of wrongdoing,...

YouTube TV Gets Cheaper Sports, News, and Entertainment Bundles
YouTube is splitting YouTube TV into a selection of tailored YouTube TV Plans, allowing subscribers to pay less for a smaller selection of channels. "TV should be easy," reads the blog post announcing the change.
There are 10+ new plans across Sports, News, Entertainment, and Family, at prices that are $11 to $28 below the $82.99 per month cost for a full YouTube TV subscription. New...

New Siri: Apple Almost Chose a Different Partner Before Google Gemini
In a recent interview with the tech podcast TBPN, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman revealed that Apple was initially "going to rebuild Siri around Claude," the large language model and chatbot developed by the company Anthropic. In the end, though, Apple announced that it had decided to use Google's Gemini platform instead.
According to Gurman, Apple went with Google due at least in part to money.
...

Google Maps Now Lets You Chat With Gemini AI While Walking or Biking
Google Maps now lets you talk to Gemini while following walking or cycling directions. The latest update is an extension to the AI chatbot's existing conversational navigation feature in driving mode that rolled out in November.
You can now ask Gemini hands-free questions without leaving the navigation screen. While walking, for example, you can ask things like "Tell me more about this...

Google Chrome Gets Gemini Side Panel and Agentic Browsing Features
AI-powered browsing features have become a battleground among browser makers in recent months. OpenAI launched its Atlas browser in October, while Microsoft Edge and Opera have also introduced AI assistants and automated browsing capabilities. And now Google is upping the ante. The company has announced a slew of new AI features for Chrome, including a persistent sidebar for the Gemini chatbot...

Google Brings Cheaper $7.99 'AI Plus' Plan to 35 Countries, Including U.S.
Google today announced that it is expanding its more affordable Google AI Plus subscription plan to 35 countries and territories, including the United States.
In the U.S., Google AI Plus is priced at $7.99, giving Google Gemini users a more affordable option for accessing upgraded AI services. Prior to now, Google AI Pro was the most affordable AI subscription plan at $19.99 per month....

Here's When Apple Plans to Unveil a New Siri Powered by Google Gemini
Apple plans to unveil a more personalized version of Siri powered by Google Gemini next month, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"The company has been planning an announcement of the new Siri in the second half of February, when it will give demonstrations of the functionality," he wrote, in the latest edition of his weekly Power On newsletter today.
Gurman does not yet know if Apple...

Apple's Siri Chatbot May Run on Google Servers
Apple is considering a significant shift in how it operates Siri by potentially running its next-generation chatbot on Google's cloud infrastructure rather than entirely on its own Private Cloud Compute servers, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In yesterday's report detailing Apple's plans to turn Siri into a chatbot in iOS 27, Gurman said that the company is in discussions with...
















