Places and Things

Google scrambles to manually remove weird AI answers in search Social media is abuzz with examples of Google’s new AI Overview product saying weird stuff, from telling users to put glue on their pizza to suggesting they eat rocks. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/24/24164119/google-ai-overview-mistakes-search-race-openai

Google is officially a $2 trillion company Google has spent the past year dealing with two of the biggest threats in its 25-year history: the rise of generative AI and the growing drumbeat of regulation. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/24140489/google-alphabet-q1-2024-earnings-revenue

Google Wallet adds 32 new US banks to its support list Summary Google Wallet continues to expand its reach by adding 32 new banks to its support list, ensuring comprehensive coverage for users. Google developers have been actively improving the Wallet app, with new features like managing cards via a web browser. Continue Reading . . . https://www.androidpolice.com/google-wallet-adds-32-new-banks-us-april-2024/

Inside Sonos’ decision to sue Google — and how it won Sonos has long accused other tech giants of stealing its patents and technology, but in 2020, it actually sued Google for patent infringement. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/22955336/sonos-google-lawsuit-ceo-patrick-spence-interview

Google loses key appeal against €2.4 billion EU shopping antitrust case The EU’s second-most senior court, the General Court, has upheld a 2017 ruling by the European Commission which found that Google broke antitrust law in how it promoted its shopping comparison service and demoted rivals. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/10/22769823/google-eu-antitrust-shopping-comparison-loses-appeal

Multi-Room Wireless Speakers Market 2021 Global Business Opportunities – Google, Apple, Sonos, Bose From 2021 to 2027, MRInsights.biz recent report on the Global Multi-Room Wireless Speakers Market predicts a significant increase. Other elements taken into account in the study include the increase price, product pricing, product classification, and product upgrades and innovations. Continue Reading . . . https://www.stillwatercurrent.com/multi-room-wireless-speakers-market-2021-global-business-opportunities-google-apple-sonos-bose/

Android 12 preview: first look at Google’s radical new design Google is announcing the latest beta for Android 12 today at Google I/O. It has an entirely new design based on a system called “Material You,” featuring big, bubbly buttons, shifting colors, and smoother animations. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/22439777/android-12-design-features-widgets-first-look-google

Google and Samsung are merging Wear OS and Tizen In yet another sign of the growing alliance between Google and Samsung, today both companies announced that they are essentially combining Wear OS — Google’s operating system — and the Tizen-based software platform that has been foundational to Samsung’s wearables for many years. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/18/22440483/samsung-smartwatch-google-wearos-tizen-watch

Everything Google announced at I/O 2021 Google’s Sundar Pichai promised I/O 2021 would be full of new announcements and the company delivered. Across two hours, Google talked about upcoming features for most of its consumer-facing products, including Photos, Maps and Search. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/google-io-2021-supercut-210712143.html

New Google Photos feature makes it easier than ever to search for images Google Photos is one of the most popular photo backup tools out there and its success can be attributed to more than free unlimited backups (only for some time more, though). The service has a powerful search engine that makes finding media as easy as describing it. Continue Reading . . . https://www.androidpolice.com/2021/05/17/new-google-photos-feature-makes-it-easier-than-ever-to-search-for-images/

Google remembers Wear OS long enough to add a new keyboard In what feels like an increasingly rare occurrence, Google announced that it’s updating Wear OS with a new feature today — but don’t get too excited, it’s just a keyboard. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/6/22423707/google-wear-os-gboard-swipe-type

Google Assistant can now help order takeout from restaurants online The pandemic has made ordering restaurant takeout a little less of a guilty pleasure, both because it’s safer and it helps support local businesses. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/14/22382754/google-duplex-web-assistant-online-food-orders-android

Google's Phone app can automatically record calls from unknown numbers Google quietly added call recording to its Phone app last year with a bunch of restrictions based on your device and region. Now, it's expanding the feature to let you record calls automatically from unknown numbers. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/google-phone-app-automatically-record-calls-133949592.html

Supreme Court rules in Google's favor in copyright dispute with Oracle over Android software The Supreme Court on Monday sided with Google against Oracle in a long-running copyright dispute over the software used in Android. The court's decision was 6-2. Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not participate in the case. Continue Reading . . . https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/05/supreme-court-rules-in-googles-favor-in-copyright-dispute-with-oracle-over-android-software.html

Google will reportedly use its own chip in the Pixel 6 Rumors about Google working on its own system on chip (SoC) have been swirling since 2020, and today a new report asserts that the company is going to debut its first SoC in its next flagship. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/google-silicon-whitechapel-pixel-6-170200955.html

Google is testing Memory, an upgrade for Assistant to ‘save and find everything’ Google is reportedly working on a new feature for Assistant called Memory, a combination of a to-do list, a notes app, a Pocket-like reading list, and Pinterest-style collection board into a single overarching digital locker integrated into the broader Google Assistant app. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/25/22350173/google-assistant-memory-save-to-do-pocket-pinterest-notes-reminders

Google Fit’s camera-based heart and breathing rate trackers arrive March 8th Google will start rolling out the Fit app's camera-based heart and respiratory rate trackers on Monday, March 8th. The tech giant first revealed the new features, which rely on the power of a phone's camera, at a Health event in early February. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/google-fit-camera-heart-respiratory-rate-trackers-rollout-150852255.html

Google updates Gmail and other iOS apps for the first time in months Google has updated the Gmail iOS app for the first time in months, along with Meet, Sheets, Docs, Calendar and Tasks. Aside from Tasks now supporting widgets on iOS 14, these are minor updates centered around bug fixes and performance improvements. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/google-ios-apps-update-gmail-meet-sheets-docs-calendar-tasks-200335624.html

Google Maps finally rolls out dark mode on Android The Google Maps app is getting a true dark mode, at least on Android. The company announced today that it is finally widely releasing the dark theme option that it’s been testing in the app since September 2020. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/23/22297204/google-maps-dark-mode-android-auto-split-screen-games

Why Google caved to Australia, and Facebook didn’t On February 16th, I wrote that Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code threatened to splinter the internet. On February 17th, the splintering arrived: Google cut a deal with News Corp. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/18/22288510/google-facebook-australia-news-media-bargaining-code