Most Chrome features these days are rolled out via server-side updates instead of browser updates. One such example of that is a small tweak to the autofill popup in desktop Chrome that greatly improves usability when filling out forms.
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Google is updating the toolbar menus that appear in the Docs web client with a focus on making it “easier to locate the most commonly used features.”
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Google announced that the Play Store was getting a “Data safety” section last May, and it’s now beginning to roll out after a brief delay. The new section will be fully available over the coming weeks, and full developer adoption is set for July.
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In April of 2020, YouTube Music replaced “Hotlist” with the “Explore” tab. A small addition that’s presented as a new way to access Explore more or less obviates its position in the bottom bar.
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In addition to offering user-facing apps, Google Workspace gives companies the ability to manage their employees’ devices. Google Workspace admins now have more control over Android app updates on work devices that use managed Google Play.
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After widget tweaks last year, Google Fi has now redesigned its Android app with Material You. It’s a straightforward modernization as the company is nearly finished visually revamping its biggest apps.
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Google’s annual Webspam Report is here to highlight progress in keeping “spam and malicious content away from Search” over the course of 2021.
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Following regulatory fines this year, Google has announced new consent choice banners for cookies in Europe that most notably feature a “Reject all” button.
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Just over four weeks ago, Google announced that Photos for Android and iOS would get pretty significant updates to two core parts of the app. That Google Photos redesign of the Library tab has now been delayed.
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Last year, Google started prominently showing air quality (AQI) data to Nest Hub and other Smart Display users. You can now also search for air quality on Google to get detailed information.
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For the past several years, Google has been making a big push to get developers to optimize their apps for large screens, including Chrome OS. The latest example sees Evernote update its Android app for Chromebooks.
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YouTube Music has long been able to automatically download songs “based on your previous listening history” so that you always have a fresh collection of things to listen to when offline. A small YouTube Music tweak sees smart downloads get a new sparkle icon.
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Over the past few years, Google has worked to clean up, boost privacy, and increase security on the Chrome Web Store. The latest effort introduces badges in the Chrome Web Store to better highlight high-quality extensions.
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While Google Chat does a great deal to modernize Hangouts, some similarities do remain. One of the more fun overlaps is easter eggs — appropriately — with all of the classic slash commands continuing to work in Google Chat.
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The latest Google One perk is a free Titan Security Key that lets you enable two-factor authentication (a.k.a. 2-Step Verification) on your online accounts.
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Google started rolling out Nearby Share in August of 2020 to Android devices as part of Play services. The native OS integration somewhat eclipsed a key aspect of the Files by Google, but Share is now prominently being highlighted again on Pixel devices.
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While Chrome has been visually refreshed over the years, Google has kept the core user experience intact to avoid “disorienting” users. Over the past few weeks, however, Chrome for Android has been testing a redesigned New Tab Page that changes quite a few things for the worse, but fortunately you can get back the old version.
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Following Apple Music’s redesign of its widgets, Beats for Android is adding some to let you quickly manage headphones from the homescreen, while the companion app is also getting a “Locate My Beats” capability.
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Back in December, Google made official a YouTube app on the Cast-powered Chromecast that can be controlled by a remote on your phone, but a bug is causing desktop Chrome users to also see the new UI.
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YouTube Music recently added an Explore shelf to the bottom of the Home feed that makes the dedicated page largely redundant. That said, YouTube Music’s latest addition of an album carousel to Explore suggests that the tab will stick around.
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As previewed last month, Google Chat on iOS will let you set which contacts can reach you in Focus mode. This applies to the dedicated Chat app and the integrated experience available in Gmail.
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After first being spotted a month ago, the Google Contacts bottom bar redesign is now widely rolled out as the Android app now notes the date you added an individual.
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Last week, Google introduced Lens multisearch to let you ask questions about pictures on Android and iOS. The version of Google Lens included with desktop Chrome has now been updated to do more than just search for images.
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An update to the Google Camera app is rolling out now to Pixel owners via the Google Play Store.
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