If you recently used Google Wallet on Android, you might have noticed a touch of holiday whimsy on the Pay screen.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Wallet adds whimsical Pay animations for the holidays
Latest
Google Duplex powering ‘where to watch the World Cup near me’ searches
While Duplex on the Web is going away, Google is still committed to the voice version of the conversational technology that can make human-sounding calls and maintain real conversations. Google’s latest use of Duplex is behind “where to watch the World Cup near me” searches.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Voice now automatically switches between Wi-Fi and cellular
Google Voice rarely sees big updates that aren’t primarily enterprise-facing these days, but it is now getting “intelligent network switching” to improve call quality.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Home app for Wear OS 3 update simplifies navigation, more
Citing user feedback since the Public Preview launched in October, Google is rolling out an update to the Home for Wear OS app.
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Google Lens shortcut comes to google․com on Android
Following desktop back in November, a Google Lens shortcut has now been added to google.com on Android for another way to launch the visual search tool.
Expand Expanding CloseYouTube Music gets hashtag pages, less repetition in radios, playlist cards, and more
The YouTube Music recap of what launched in the past two months is here with a handful of new additions that haven’t been widely noticed yet, like hashtag pages.
Expand Expanding CloseSpotify rolls out support for the Android 13 media player [U]
Third-party apps have been rather slow to support the Android 13 media player, with Spotify just starting to do so.
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Google Photos for iOS can now share Memories as more collage styles added
Google Photos introduced the ability to share its story-based Memories on Android in September, and the feature is now available for iOS, along with new collage styles for the New Year.
Expand Expanding CloseYouTube testing video queue on Android and iOS; here’s how to enable
“Add to queue” is already available on the YouTube website, and it’s now in testing for the Android and iOS apps.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Docs rolling out code blocks for easier formatting and display
Google’s latest Smart canvas feature for Docs is code blocks that let you more easily format and display code.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle rolls out Assistant parental controls and four kid-friendly voices [U]
Given that kids like to use Assistant, Google is rolling out new parental controls, as well as new kid-friendly voices and Kids Dictionary.
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Vague Google Assistant email warns of disabled routines, Hey Google bug
Some, but not all, Google Assistant users received an “action required” email starting yesterday that warned about a bug that impacted hotword and other service settings.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Search gets Status Dashboard to provide updates during outages
Like Cloud and Workspace, Google now offers a Search Status Dashboard to identify incidents and provide updates when its flagship product goes down.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle delays start of Manifest V2 Chrome extension deprecation
Google was originally set to phase out Chrome support for old Manifest v2 extensions in 2023, but that’s now being postponed.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Search Knowledge Panels get large desktop grid, theming
Back at Search On 2022 in September, Google said Search would make it “easier to explore a subject by highlighting the most relevant and helpful information,” and that Knowledge Panel redesign is beginning to roll out.
Expand Expanding CloseChrome address bar looks like Pixel Launcher search with upcoming redesign
Given the large user base, Google rarely makes major changes to the interface of its browser. However, one in-development redesign plans to “modernize” the Chrome Omnibox on Android, and the end result looks a lot like the Pixel Launcher.
Expand Expanding CloseYouTube for Android rolling out Material You homescreen widgets [U]
Following iOS last month, YouTube for Android now offers homescreen widgets that provide quick access to search and core parts of the app.
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Google Slides now lets you ‘Follow’ people through a deck
Google wants to improve the real-time editing experience in Slides with a “Follow” feature that lets you jump to whatever page a specific user is viewing.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Keep for Wear OS rolling out richer notes feed
Following two new tiles for sunset/sunrise and favorite contacts, Google Keep for Wear OS is beginning to roll out its updated notes feed.
Expand Expanding CloseChrome 108 for Android, Mac, Windows enables passkey support
Google started rolling out passkey support in October, and availability has now entered Chrome’s stable channel with version 108.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Chrome adding Memory and Energy Saver modes on Mac, Windows, and Chromebooks
With Chrome 108, Google is introducing Memory Saver and Energy Saver modes to improve the browser’s performance and extend battery life, respectively.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle’s Simple ML for Sheets add-on can predict missing and spot abnormal values
Google today announced an add-on for Google Sheets that applies “Simple ML” to your data that was built by the TensorFlow team to help make “machine learning accessible to all.”
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle’s new Sun and Favorite contacts Tiles roll out on Pixel Watch
Following last week’s announcement and mention during the Pixel’s December Feature Drop, Google has started rolling out two new Tiles for watches that quickly show when the sun will rise/set and your favorite contacts.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Photos has changed how it estimates location on images without geodata
Google Photos has long been able to estimate the location of pictures that don’t contain geodata. It previously did this using Google Account Location History but has since stopped and is giving users the ability to remove those estimates.
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