Back in September, Google introduced iPhone and iPad widgets for Photos, Search, and YouTube Music. In addition to Gmail yesterday, Google Drive and Fit widgets are now on the iOS home screen, with Calendar and Chrome also previewed today.
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In mid-2019, Google decided to take over and speed up the launch of RCS. A little over 17 months later, Google announced today that it has completed a global rollout of RCS, while Messages will start testing end-to-end encryption.
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With the launch of iOS 14 in September, Google’s key apps were updated to support the latest platform features. After adding default email app support, Gmail now has an iOS home screen widget. Google is also highlighting how Chrome on iPad supports opening multiple windows.
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The last Chrome update of 2020 is starting to roll out and Google is touting a handful of performance improvements. Chrome 87 features tab throttling and better resource management, as well as a number of user-facing additions.
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In addition to a broader fall update with speed improvements and “more intuitive controls,” Google this August announced a new Weather Tile for Wear OS. That’s rolling out now along with a Breathe Tile.
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Following a step-focused redesign in April, Google Fit is now getting a richer homepage that can display more information, as well as additional sleep data and a sharing feature.
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While the prevailing thought might be that people are using mapping and navigation services less amid COVID-19 restrictions, Google has been working to make its app more useful and relevant. Google Maps today announced three new features, including live transit “crowdedness” status.
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After a big update last week introduced new My Mixes and homepage “moods,” YouTube Music is rolling out a carousel of “Quick picks” to instantaneously generate a radio playlist.
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Earlier this year, Google announced that it would default to auto-deleting location and search data. Building on that, the company is introducing two settings to control “whether your data in Gmail, Meet and Chat can be used to offer ‘smart’ features in these and other Google products.”
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As 2020 comes to a close, Google has now confirmed the shortlist for the Users’ Choice Awards for movies, books, games, and apps.
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In the integrated Gmail experience available to Workspace customers, classic Hangouts has already been swapped out. Google Chat is in its place, with conversations now able to be pinned for consistent Gmail sidebar access.
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After announcing new unthreaded rooms last week, Google Chat is now adding Calendar integration for streamlined event creation.
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For most, YouTube — especially on mobile — is primarily for content consumption. The app can also be used to upload video or go live, and Google is now better emphasizing that with a giant “create” button in YouTube for Android and later iOS.
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Last July, Google started testing a redesign of Assistant that partially launched with the Pixel 4. This compact Google Assistant is now appearing for several Google app beta users in its widest — but still not complete — rollout yet.
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YouTube Music looks to be joining its competitors in offering a “Year in Review” playlist to “relive the top songs you listened to.”
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As Play Music nears deprecation, Google continues to update its successor with more and more features. YouTube Music is now working on Snapchat and Instagram story sharing, but the functionality is not yet live.
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Android users today can enter a “work profile” that partitions personal apps and those required by their job. Google, starting with Calendar, is making the experience less disjointed on Android 11 by surfacing both personal and work data.
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In addition to Photos ending unlimited free backup, Google is making a change to how Docs, Sheets, Slides, and other similar files are stored. The company also announced new auto-delete polices for inactive and full accounts.
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Google Photos launched in 2015 with unlimited backup at a reduced but good enough quality for most users. The company announced today that it’s ending this practice next year, though existing uploads will not be affected.
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Area 120 is Google’s internal incubator for experiments, and its latest project is called Demand. This data analytics platform hopes to provide artists, venue managers, promoters, and others in the live music industry actionable insights.
The latest preview of Google’s Android keyboard briefly tested a new Assistant-powered voice typing experience last week. That has since disappeared, but Gboard is now asking beta users to screenshot their current screen to “help improve Autofill.”
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For users that have Location History enabled, the Timeline view in Google Maps provides a nice visualization of where they’ve been. The Timeline is soon coming to Google Photos, and will be augmented by a “Trips” view in Maps.
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Compared to most other video players, Google is relatively unique for letting users set the specific playback resolution. YouTube is now testing “Video quality preferences” that simplify the selection.
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Object, person, and pet recognition is one of Google Photos’ best features. Google is now inviting Android users to help improve the service’s machine learning technology through a built-in crowdsourcing tool.
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