Classic Hangouts has long had a “Call Phones” feature, but it’s officially shutting down next month with refunds available now. Google last year announced it was removing the capability ahead of new US and EU telecommunication regulations, as well as the service’s broader deprecation.
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A free version of Google Chat is officially set to arrive in the first half of 2021. As we spotted earlier this month, Google is starting the Hangouts migration with a “preview of the new Chat” for free, personal accounts.
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The YouTube Kids app is geared for young children, but there’s long been demand from parents for a supervised experience dedicated at tweens and teens. What’s essentially YouTube for older kids has just been announced and will be coming soon.
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Commenting in Docs can get especially unwieldy when there are several participants working on a multi-part file. Google Docs is making a pair of changes to the comments experience, starting with a filter.
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A year ago, Google’s Area 120 incubator launched an HTML5 gaming platform to “test whether lightweight, casual games would resonate with people who use the internet via low memory devices on 2G and 3G networks.” Proving popular, these HTML5 games are now being coming to Discover, Assistant, and Chrome for Next Billion Users (NBU).
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Back in 2019, Google introduced an extension that warned about compromised credentials, and it later became a native Chrome feature. Password Checkup is now being integrated into Android’s “Autofill with Google” system when signing into third-party apps.
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Google is optimizing the experience of using voice commands on phones by taking better advantage of the available screen. On Android, Google Assistant voice commands from the lockscreen will feature new glanceable cards.
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Google Weather in Search for Android was last redesigned in 2019, and the desktop experience is now seeing a handful of tweaks that help modernize the old UI.
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Back in 2019, Google made the “Working Hours” feature in Calendar much more prominent to aid Digital Wellbeing efforts. Google Calendar is now adding support for split working hours, as well as creating repeat out of office (OOO) entries.
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For the past two years, it seemed that Google was on track to replace “Voice Search” on Android with Assistant. That might not be the case anymore as a more modern UI for Google Voice Search is now being tested.
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February is Black History Month, and YouTube is marking the occasion in a prominent way. The YouTube logo that appears on the mobile apps and website will be reimagined for BHM by Black artists this month.
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Google wants to make Gmail your new “home for work” by consolidating email, Chat, and Meet into one browser window, as well as mobile app. That said, the company will maintain standalone applications for messaging and video calling, with Google Chat testing a web client redesign.
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Back in September of 2019, Google announced that its browser was adding a convenient way to organize open pages. Tab Groups fully rolled out on desktops a year later, and is now beginning to come to Chrome for Android with a new grid layout.
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The Mandalorian remains a big hit half-way through its sophomore season. Google has partnered with Lucasfilm on a free Android app to bring iconic and realistic moments to life using AR and 5G.
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Following yesterday’s news that HDR and offline downloads are coming as add-ons, YouTube TV announced a new Entertainment Plus bundle today that gives you access to three cable networks for $29.99 with some savings.
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As announced in December, Apple TV is now available globally on the Chromecast with Google TV. The new app allows you to watch original Apple TV+ content, as well as access existing iTunes movie and television show purchases.
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Google launched Crisis Map eight years ago as a way to visualize emergency and weather-related data. In an email to users, the company announced today that its shutting down the standalone website next month.
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As more and more students use Google Classroom, the portal is adding an offline mode on Android for those with limited internet connectivity. There are also a number of other improvements to the mobile apps and management experience.
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Google’s rebrand of G Suite to Workspace in October first rolled out to businesses, with the promise that personal and nonprofits users would follow later. Google Workspace for Education is rolling out next with more editions that better suit the needs of schools from pre-K to the PhD level.
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As distance learning continues, Google Meet is rolling out a handful of new features, including emoji reactions to help students better express themselves and more moderation controls for teachers.
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Ahead of upcoming Australian legislation that would require payment for linking, Google signed a three-year partnership with News Corp that will bring publications from three countries into News Showcase.
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Most people primarily experience Material Design in Android apps, while web adoption is mostly limited to Google’s first-party sites. A new Material Design for WordPress plugin, which Google currently calls an experiment, possibly opens up the look to many more pages and blogs.
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Back in October, Google officially dropped support for its virtual reality platform with Android 11. Daydream is no longer receiving updates, and now can no longer access the Google Play Store or other VR discovery features.
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The vast majority of Google’s iOS apps have not been updated since early December. A trio of smaller Google applications saw new versions towards the end of last month, while YouTube for iPhone and iPad was just updated this evening.
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