Latest Articles
Here's how Google will comply with the DMA when it goes into effect in March
The EU is forcing Google to unlink its services if you want it to
Like the other big tech companies, Google is preparing to comply with the EU’s widest-reaching regulation aimed at a fairer digital market yet, the Digital Markets Act (DMA). It will come into full effect in March 2024, and ahead of this deadline, Google has shared in a support document how it plans to comply with the new rules. The company will allow EU residents to unlink individual services from each other, preventing Google from using all your data across all of its domains.
Google layoffs hit Assistant, AR teams, and Fitbit co-founders
The company is slowing down AR just as Apple gets ready to launch the Vision Pro
Read update
Google is restructuring parts of its organization once again, reports say. The company is laying off a number of employees in the AR and Assistant departments. Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman are also leaving the company along with other Fitbit team members.
How to install any add-on extension in Firefox on Android
Firefox for Android still doesn't officially support all extensions, but there is a neat workaround
Previously exclusive to Firefox Nightly, add-ons have been available on the main Firefox browser app since 2022. These add-ons let you install any web browser extension on the Firefox Android app, but it isn't a simple process.
What's new in Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3 and earlier
Google’s latest QPR2 release packs many surprises and some long-awaited features
Google doesn't only release new Android versions each year. In between, the company makes smaller jumps in the form of quarterly Feature Drops, improving its Pixel phones like the new Google Pixel 8 Pro ever further. These releases also have to get tested, and that's what the Quarterly Platform Release betas are for, QPR for short. Testing for the March Feature Drop is currently underway as the QPR2, and here is everything new spotted in all the beta releases so far.
Google is butchering Assistant in the name of quality
Assistant is shedding tons of features to get better again, all while becoming harder to access
Over the past months and maybe even years, people have anecdotally reported that the Google Assistant experience has been getting worse for them. Google finally seems to listen, as it has announced today that it wants to focus on quality and reliability for its voice assistant. Unfortunately, the way the company does that by removing almost 20 features from Assistant at once, starting January 26.
I tested NotebookLM and saw the promise of something great
NotebookLM has a lot of issues, but the idea behind it has potential
AI has the potential to fully upend the way we work. More than any emerging technology before it, like AR/VR and the blockchain, generative language models like Google Bard have already become vital parts of many people’s work lives throughout dozens of industries. Google wants a piece of that cake, and it's aiming at classrooms and researchers with its NotebookLM experiment.
Google Pixel 7 vs. Pixel 6: Should you upgrade?
The Pixel 7 is a more refined version of the Pixel 6, but is either worth buying in 2024? Largely, no.
The Google Pixel 6 launched in 2021 and instantly became one of the best Android phones you could get, despite a few stumbling blocks from Google's first-gen Tensor chipset. The Pixel 7 launched a year later, fixing many of those issues and providing a more polished experience. Both phones look, feel, and act very similarly, and at this point, both have been made obsolete by the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 7a.
Android 14’s post-system update notifications are rolling out
Samsung, Asus, and OnePlus have been spotted informing users about new features
Let’s face it: by the time a stable Android release arrives, many of us already know nearly everything there is to know about, say, Android 14. But not everyone lives and breathes Android news, and they may wonder what that big software upgrade actually brought to their phones. That’s where Google’s post-update summaries come in, which device manufacturers can customize and push to their customers as they see fit. A wave of these notifications is now coming in for people who have upgrades to Android 14 on various devices.
This Chinese brand just lapped Samsung in adding AI to its phones
Honor is using an on-device AI to create an ‘intent-based’ interface
Honor may fly under the radar as a smartphone brand in the US, but the former Huawei subsidiary managed to grab the biggest smartphone market share in China by a small margin at the end of last year. It doesn’t look like the company is losing any of its ambitions in the process. Exactly one week before Samsung’s big and likely AI-focused Galaxy launch event, Honor announced MagicOS 8.0, the latest version of its Android skin, featuring an on-board AI and a rethought “intent-based” interface.
This extension gets rid of Gmail's pesky emoji reactions
De-Gmojify hides the emoji reaction button Google added to its email service
Gmail has largely looked and felt the same over the past years. Instead of returning to its old forms by releasing something like Inbox, Google is focusing on smaller refinements to the Gmail experience. The latest in line are emoji reactions, which allow you to send Slack-style emojis in reply to other Gmail users. If you’re annoyed by this addition or afraid you might accidentally send one of those in a professional environment, a new Chrome extension from noted developer Dylan Russouel has your back.
Heads-up: Google Photos doesn’t play nicely with Ultra HDR downloads
Metadata is missing when you download Ultra HDR images from Photos
With the launch of the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, Google introduced Ultra HDR photography to parts of its phone lineup. The new image format uses HDR displays’ capabilities to their fullest extent, making it possible to show even brighter and hence more contrast-rich images. The standard is built on top of JPEG and backwards-compatible with older displays, ideally making the switch to Ultra HDR photography as smooth as it can be. It looks like there are some hiccups, though. People are noticing that when downloading Ultra HDR images from Google Photos on the web, no metadata is saved.
What do you love about Android, Mishaal Rahman?
Our new monthly interview series is kicking off with arguably the most prominent Android expert out there
Android has been with us for more than 15 years now, or even longer depending on how you count. What was once merely meant to be an OS for cameras has turned into the operating system powering some of the best smartphones around the world, and we're coming up to Android 15 later in 2024. Android has made its way to more devices, like tablets, but also more unlikely use cases like IoT devices, point of sales terminals, and more.
Android 14: The complete guide to Google's new release
All the details we have on Android 14 in one central place
Android 14 has been released in stable, but Google isn't done improving and enhancing the current Android release. Along with the regular monthly security patches, the company is providing extra support for its Google Pixel phones, bringing new features with its quarterly Feature Drops. These Feature Drops and Android 14 are filled with new features, like Android 13.
RCS on Google Messages finally supports dual SIM
Switching between two phone numbers on RCS is becoming seamless
RCS has been around for more than a decade at this point, first adopted by the GSMA in 2008. It took a long time for the new messaging standard to become widespread, though, with Google Messages playing a big role. Initially, there were a lot of exceptions, with RCS working on some carriers in some countries only. Those issues were quickly ironed out, but there was still one thing missing: Seamless support for switching between different SIM cards. Google has now added the feature to the Messages beta, and it’s already working for some testers.
Google is preparing a paid version of Bard
The upcoming Bard Advanced tier looks set to be part of Google One
Google Bard may be in for a paid upgrade soon. The large language model Google quickly threw on the market as a reaction to OpenAI’s state-of-the-art ChatGPT has become increasingly better. Given that Google can’t run advertisements in it like in Search, the question has always been how it would monetize the service. It seems that it could do so with its Bard Advanced version announced in December, as evidence hidden within the Bard website shows.
Google just released the first Android update of 2024 for Pixel phones
The January security bulletin is up
The new year has arrived, and with it, a new month. That means that we’re also looking forward to a new Android security patch, and like clockwork, Google is delivering at the beginning of January, just a month after it launched the December Feature Drop for Pixel phones. The company has released its January security bulletin, going over all the bugs and security loopholes it fixed for all the best Android phones out there.
This ancient Samsung smartwatch just got new watch faces
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, released in 2019, is in for a treat this year
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is ancient by tech standards, having been released in 2019 with Tizen, an operating system that Samsung has long left behind in favor of Google's Wear OS. In contrast to Google, Samsung isn’t one to quickly abandon old products just because they aren’t the hot new thing in town anymore. While the Watch Active 2 hasn’t received an update to Wear OS, it still keeps getting new features. This time around, the Watch Active 2 is getting two watch faces straight from One UI 5.
Web apps will feel even more native with Chrome 122
Chrome web apps will show their icons in notifications and title bars
Web apps have long become viable alternatives to native apps on Windows and macOS — in fact, they are one reason why many of the best Chromebooks are more than good enough for a lot of people. In Google’s quest to make web apps feel ever more native, the company is working on adding some additional tweaks to web apps on desktop operating systems, giving those apps a more standalone appearance than ever before.
At this point, Google is infamous for quickly and prematurely killing beloved projects and products. The highest profile loss right at the beginning of the year was certainly Stadia, the company’s game streaming service that launched just in 2019. After not gaining as much momentum as the company likely hoped it would, it quickly decided to reduce spending and ultimately shut it down. But Stadia is not the only product killed in 2023, and with Google Podcasts officially on the way out, we already know what’s coming in 2024. There are more than a dozen products big and small, and we’ve got a collection of all of them right here for you.
Google settles lawsuit alleging it was tracking users in Incognito
Plaintiffs alleged in 2020 that Google was still tracking them even with Incognito mode enabled
Contrary to popular belief, Chrome’s Incognito mode isn’t as incognito as you may think. Websites you visit may still be able to tell it’s you based on parameters like your IP address and other invisible but identifiable fingerprints. Google itself may also collect data on you via Google Analytics or other ad-related networks. That’s why a lawsuit was filed against the company in 2020, which is now ending in a settlement.