Google Messages has been working on dual SIM RCS since the start of this year, and support is now more widely rolling out in beta.

After introducing in mid-December, Gemini Advanced subscribers can now access 2.0 Experimental Advanced in the Gemini app on Android and iOS. 

Late last year, Google widely rolled out “profile sharing” wherein you set what name and contact photo other people see in the Messages app. This resulted in people seeing different profile images, but Google Messages is now letting you override that with “Set as chat picture.”

In what should be the first rolled out change of 2025, artist pages on YouTube Music now feature a Top songs carousel.

The first big redesign of the Gemini overlay on Android is beginning to roll out for some users.

Google’s work on adding more basic features that make Gemini a good phone assistant continues today with the ability to place calls and send messages without unlocking your device.

Google is rolling out a redesign of the Pixel Phone app’s in-call UI that gives more prominence to Call Notes and Audio Emoji.

In addition to your phone, Nest smart devices, and Nest display/speakers, Google Home’s presence sensing feature, which aids Home & Away status and Routines, is now testing the ability to use “smart media devices.” 

Google is kicking off a new experiment in Search Labs today called “Daily Listen.” It’s a bit like NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews, while there are also podcast parallels.

As previewed at I/O 2024 in May, the Gemini overlay on Android is widely rolling out its “Ask about this PDF” integration. 

Following the announcement in December, Google is widely rolling out QR code-based sharing in Quick Share on Android.

After first being spotted in development in July of 2023, the Gboard for Android beta is beginning to roll out an “Undo” button.

Artist pages in YouTube Music have long included a subscriber count that’s very much carried over from the main app, and Google is now testing a new “Monthly Audience Metric.”

Google is rolling out the latest Android Auto update, v13.5, in beta which brings with it improvements to support for vehicles that are not cars, and more.

Google will soon introduce a new settings page for “Google Workspace smart features” that better explains how your emails and other data in Workspace apps can be surfaced in Google products to provide a more personalized experience.

For the past few days, Google Wallet for Android users haven’t been able to tap-to-pay with PayPal. Google is aware of the issue and working on a fix.

Google is testing a new Gemini-aligned loading animation for AI Overviews in Search that is flashier and bolder than the current approach.

After rolling out a round of design updates and new features to the mobile app, YouTube is testing a “Play something” FAB.

Season 2 of Squid Game was released on December 26 — in a choice, thematic decision — and Google Search is marking the occasion with an easter egg. 

The monthly “Google System Release Notes” primarily detail what’s new in Play services, Play Store, and Play system update across Android phones/tablets, Wear OS, Google/Android TV, Auto, and PC. Some features apply to end users, while others are aimed at developers.

In 2024, YouTube Music switched to quarterly “New Features Highlights,” but skipped the Q3 edition. Google is now back with a cumulative list to summarize the second half of the year in launches.

Google Photos is simplifying the bottom bar to three tabs, and another big design change tests a very prominent row of shortcuts.

Earlier this month, Google started testing Gemini in Google Assistant on the Nest Mini and Audio, and here are the new voices.