Google Images’ latest feature makes it easy to find that perfect shareable GIF
Google Images has supported GIFs for some time, but now its getting a feature that will allow users to more easily find one that they might want to share. The new "Share GIFs" section in Images will showcase some of the most shareable GIFs around, then quickly share them into the app they want.
Google’s bizarre folding smart book has multiple screens instead of pages
Do foldable smartphones only need to have one screen when open? Google doesn’t think so, based on a recently discovered patent that shows a “smart book” with multiple screens inside it, just like a regular book. It's a really unusual design, and evidence of what companies envision as they explore the new style.
Donald Trump says the U.S. government should sue Facebook and Google
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the U.S. government "should be suing Google and Facebook and all that." The president also announced that he will be hosting a social media summit in July with leaders of the big tech companies he called out.
Google fixes Nest camera bug that allowed old owners to still see through them
The previous owner of a Nest Cam Indoor discovered that he was still able to access images from the device, even after a factory reset before passing it on to the new owner. Google said that it has fixed the problem, but customers are still advised to be very cautious when buying smart security devices.
Google cancels upcoming Pixel Slate, abandons plans for future Chrome OS tablets
It's bad news if you were looking forward to new Google-built Chrome OS tablets, as Google has officially ceased production on two new devices. The news has been confirmed by a Google spokesperson, and means we won't be seeing any new tablets from Google. Support for the Pixel Slate will continue.
Google Maps insists it’s doing what it can to weed out business scammers
Google Maps has a problem with bogus businesses populating its listings, with some unsuspecting users falling victim to scams. The company says it's doing everything it can to sort it out, while insisting that the fake entries comprise only a tiny percentage of the total number of businesses held on its database.
Google’s Stadia is about to unleash a wave of terrible cloud gaming consoles
Google's Stadia will bring 4K HDR gaming to any device that can run Google Chrome and output video at that quality. That could be awesome for gamers, but others will take notice. The ease of building a Stadia compatible device will open the floodgates for terrible cloud gaming consoles.
You can now share Google Search results straight from the app
Google wants to make it a little easier to share search results with others and added a "Share" button to the Android Google app. Currently, the feature is only in the beta version of the app, but will likely roll out to the wider public in the near future on both Android and iOS.
You can buy a Google Stadia controller now, but it won’t grant you access to play
The Google Stadia controller is now available for purchase separate from the founder's bundle, but that's not all you'll need to get playing in 2019. Grab this controller if you want to play your founder's pack with a friend or if a friend handed over one of the three-month buddy passes to you.
Google Calendar is back online. Here’s the latest on the outage
Google Calendar came back online after being down for several hours Tuesday morning, leaving millions of users without their daily agenda. The service came back online around 10:30 a.m. PT, according to Google.
Genius uses 19th-century tech to prove Google copied its song lyrics
Song lyrics website Genius says that it was able to prove that Google was copying its lyrics and publishing them on its own search results pages. The weird part? Genius also says that it was able to catch the search giant red-handed by using Morse code, a decidedly old-school form of communication tech.
Tim Cook said Silicon Valley built a chaos factory. Are Apple’s hands clean?
Giving a commencement speech at Stanford University, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Silicon Valley has built a "chaos factory" that neglects privacy. It's part of Apple's bigger strategy as regulators come down hard on big tech.
5 features I’d like to see in Google’s Pixel 4 smartphone
Google’s Pixel phones are among the best Android devices available, but sales have failed to take off and there’s always room for improvement. We’ve had a sneak peek of the Pixel 4, but have little idea what it will bring.These are a few of the features I’d like to see in the Pixel 4.
Digital Trends Live: Pixel 4 images, Samsung’s Wall TV, Uber’s skyports
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, we discuss the biggest tech stories of the day, including Google releasing an image of the Pixel 4, Radiohead fights a ransom, Samsung’s 292” luxury TV, Uber’s “Skyport” concepts, a new bipedal robot is strolling around, and more.
Huawei’s Android-alternative operating system: Everything you need to know
Huawei is developing its own mobile operating system to potentially replace Google's Android on some of its devices. Rumors have spread for some time about the software project, which Huawei Business Group chairman Richard Yu called, "Plan B," and talk of its existence began in 2018. Development has now sped up.
You can now use an Android phone to log in to Google on an iOS device
Google announced that its Android security feature is expanding. Now, you'll be able to use your Android phone to log in to your Google account on an iOS device. That's great news for those that have an Android phone but also use an iPad. The feature is still limited to only Google sign-ins.
Google Drive will stop syncing with Google Photos in July
Google Photos and Google Drive have long synced files together, however that has apparently lead to some confusion as Google has announced that Google Photos and Google Drive will stop syncing starting in July. Thankfully, you will still be able to manually upload photos from Drive into Photos.
Google showcases natural underwater beauty in new Street View images
Google's Street View can do more than just show you the street -- it's also great for exploring parts of the ocean. Google has added new imagery to Street View, including naturally beautiful areas like the Great Barrier Reef's Lizard Island and New Caledonia's coral lagoons.
Google Maps may soon alert you if your taxi driver goes off-route
Google want to make taking a taxi a little safer. The company is adding a feature to Google Maps that will alert you if your taxi driver goes off-route by more than 500 meters. The feature is currently only available in India, but will hopefully roll out to other locations in the near future.
Paid browsers are the future, and Firefox might offer a better deal than Chrome
An interview with Mozilla CEO Chris Beard by German magazine t3n has revealed that Mozilla, like Google, may be offering premium browsing features. But unlike Google, its method for doing so may be easier for its users to swallow, as it plans on letting free users keep their current services.
Google Maps will now warn you about disasters and tell you how fast you’re going
Google Maps expanded its SOS alerts to include notifications and visualized information regarding disasters, including hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods. For some users, the app has also added a speedometer, which complements the recently added speed cameras and speed limits feature.
Google Stadia’s platform for everyone promise is already broken
Google Stadia, the upcoming cloud gaming service, pitches itself on accessibility. It's a platform for everyone, playable on any screen. Except that's not quite true. Stadia has many restrictions, terms, and conditions.
Can your internet connection handle game streaming on Google Stadia?
Google is making it easy to play games at high resolutions with its Stadia game streaming service. The company announced that you'll need just an internet connection with at least 10 Mbps to play games in 720p, though you'll need a faster connection for 1080p or 4K streaming.
YouTube purges extremist videos, from flat-earthers to Holocaust denial
YouTube announced its plans to remove and reduce the amount of hateful, supremacist, borderline content on its platform. As part of its new policies, YouTube will soon remove content that features hate speech, supremacist content, and denials of well-documented violent events.
Google will announce Stadia pricing, games, and launch details this week
Google revealed in a tweet that details about Stadia's pricing, games, and launch will be shared on Thursday, June 6 at 9 a.m. PT. This is an interesting turn of events, seeing as the company reportedly decided to announce this information during a new livesteam, Stadia Connect, ahead of E3 2019.
House antitrust investigation targets Facebook, Google, and other tech giants
House Democrats have set their sights on big tech firms, announcing a major antitrust investigation into Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon, and other companies. The lawmakers want to determine if Silicon Valley’s biggest companies prevent competition and hurt consumers.
Google Cloud outage hits YouTube, G Suite, Nest, and more
A Google Cloud outage on Sunday hit millions of users around the world, impacting online services such as YouTube, Gmail, and Nest. Users on the East Coast and in California appear to be the most affected. The problems come a couple of months after Facebook suffered the worst disruption in its history.
New Google Search feature will let you see life-size animals up close with AR
A new Google Search feature allows owners of augmented reality-enabled smartphones to go on a safari from the comfort of their living room. Searching for an animal on Google may bring up an option to view it in 3D, which will call a tiger, panda, or shark to a person's side through their device's camera.
Google’s DeepMind A.I. defeats human opponents in Quake III Capture the Flag
Google's DeepMind lab created For the Win, an artificial intelligence program that was able to learn Quake III Arena's Capture the Flag mode well enough to beat human opponents. Interestingly, a team with a human player and an A.I. agent had a better chance of winning than a team with just A.I. agents.
Don’t get your hopes up. Here are 5 ways that Google Stadia could fail
Google's Stadia wants to revolutionize gaming, but achieving that goal won't be easy. There's numerous obstacles, any of which could cancel Stadia's plans for cloud gaming dominance. Here's 5 problems Stadia must avoid.
FCC filing reveals mysterious new Google device, but no one knows what it’s for
There's a new Google media device that has appeared in information on the FCC's website, but so far no one is quite sure what the device is or what it will do. The device is listed as A4RH2B and is presumed to be a Google Home device because of its similarity to previous model numbers.
Google finally updates the Play Store app with its new white-background design
Google has finally brought its new design style to the Google Play Store, after previously rolling out the change to Android Messages, Google Calendar, and many of its other apps. The new Google Play Store app offers more rounded corners, a different font, and an overall friendlier design.
Love eating out? Google Maps offers a new way to find a menu’s popular dishes
Finding the most popular dishes at a restaurant has never been easier thanks to a new Google Maps feature that uses A.I. to find the best nosh. It needs customer participation though, so carry on snapping — and uploading — all those food photos you take whenever you hit a new place.
Everyone’s mad about Google blocking ad blockers in Chrome. Here’s why
Google has proposed changes to its Chrome extensions platform that involve, among other things, blocking adblockers on Google Chrome. In addition, the blocking of adblockers only seems to apply to Chrome users who don’t subscribe to G Suite Enterprise. Here’s why everybody is upset about it.