In recent years, Google has worked to directly surface answers to popular questions as the first result. Google Search now has a Knowledge Panel to explain the US mortgage process and provide useful tools.

With Android 9, Google introduced the concept of partitioning work and personal apps in the launcher. Android 11 now brings the “Work” tab to the share sheet, system settings, and file picker.

As we’ve been tracking for the past several weeks, YouTube Music will soon let you create collaborative playlists with others. Additionally, the Google streaming service is providing machine learning-powered song suggestions.

In addition to group calls on the Nest Hub Max today, Google is previewing a number of upcoming Meet features for education and enterprise customers. This includes blurred and custom backgrounds, hand raising, and new moderation controls.

Besides offering a slew of its own, you can of course make your own playlists in YouTube Music. The experience has always been quite straightforward, but YouTube Music for Android is now offering “Suggestions” on which songs to add to playlists.

Besides the radical “home for work” revamp, Google has one more email-related announcement as part of “Productivity & Collaboration” week at Cloud Next ’20: OnAir. Gmail is adding support for verified brand logos as part of a new standard.

Last week, Google announced that its messaging services will soon be fully integrated into Gmail. As part of “Productivity & Collaboration” week at Cloud Next ’20: OnAir, Google Meet, Chat, and Drive are also getting a slate of security enhancements to better moderate access.

On Android and iOS, you can point Google Lens at a street sign or document to have it translated and read aloud. Google is now bringing Lens to smart feature phones running KaiOS in India.

After rolling out last week to Mac, Windows, Linux, and Android, Chrome OS 84 will soon be available in the coming weeks. There are a number of usability improvements this release.

Amid COVID-19, Google says that requests for biking directions in Maps hit an all-time high last month. Google Maps is now working to add the latest routes, while adding end-to-end directions that incorporate docked bikeshare services.

Back in April, Fit saw a step-focused revamp on mobile and Wear OS, while the apps recently gained some YouTube integration. The latest Google Fit update for iOS adds a weekly recap card and more detailed workout breakdowns.

For the past several months, Google has been testing a more compact Assistant UI that takes some visual queues from the Pixel 4. The marquee change is how results don’t take up the entire screen. The company is now testing another Google Assistant design that brings the light bar to non-Pixel phones.

While more and more devices are getting “smart” equivalents today, one way to modernize existing products is with smart plugs. The Google Home app now lets you set what a plug is controlling through “device types.”

At I/O 2017, Kotlin became an officially-supported programming language for Android, and last year, Google encouraged developers to use it over Java. The Google Home app is migrating over, with end-users benefiting from a reduction in crashes.

Ahead of World Emoji Day tomorrow, Google is sharing the final Android 11 character designs. We previewed them last month, and the company is now providing an overview of the 117 new emoji.

Last night, a big Gmail redesign that puts Chat, Meet, and Docs side-by-side leaked out early. Google today officially announced its vision for having Gmail be the new “home for work” and G Suite.

Following version 83’s release on Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux, the next release of Google’s browser is rolling out. Chrome 84 features a handful of user-facing changes and new capabilities for web developers.

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Besides Lens, Google’s big bet on augmented reality is in Maps. AR walking directions rolled out to Android and iOS last year, with more features on the way. Google Maps is now using Live View to calibrate your location.

Back in September, Google launched a subscription service for Android apps and games. Play Pass, which has added over 150 titles since last year, is now coming to an additional nine countries and getting an annual payment option.

Back in 2017, Apple acquired music recognition app Shazam and removed advertising, as well as third-party SDKs, from the service. The company now looks to be taking that a step further by removing the ability to sign in with Facebook on Shazam for Android.

Following a minor layout tweak last week, Calendar on the web is getting a more substantial usability change to how you add events. Google Calendar’s pop-up dialog now lets you directly add more advanced event details.