Another month, another Google-made application or service that will be pulled from users as the Area 120-developer Grasshopper will be shut down from June 2023.
Area 120 Stories March 13
Area 120 Stories January 26
As part of the layoffs, Google killed all but three Area 120 initiatives. It has now emerged that one of those projects is the acqui-hired “Liist” team working on a “Gen Z consumer product.”
Area 120 Stories January 21
Among the many divisions impacted by Google’s widespread layoffs, the Fuchsia operating system and Area 120 incubator teams have been cut back significantly.
Area 120 Stories October 19, 2022
Amid the work-from-home era, Google’s Area 120 incubator released Threadit to boost team collaboration with video messages that could be replied to at any time. This project is shutting down soon, but the Threadit team is joining Google Workspace.
Area 120 Stories September 14, 2022
Google is scaling back its experimental Area 120 division by half, refocusing the group on “AI-first” projects.
Area 120 Stories March 9, 2022
The latest project from Area 120, Google’s house incubator, is called “Aloud,” and it lets YouTube creators “quickly and easily dub their videos into multiple languages.”
Area 120 Stories February 22, 2022
“Checks” is the latest project from Google’s Area 120 incubator to help developers of mobile apps “create a safer digital ecosystem by simplifying the path to privacy compliance.”
Area 120 Stories December 15, 2021
Just yesterday, Google said it was shutting down its “Museletter” experiment for turning Google Docs into paid newsletters. Area 120 is now back with “Qaya” for easily creating web storefronts.
Area 120 Stories December 14, 2021
In the media landscape, newsletters are currently very popular among journalists and other writers that want a direct audience, as well as business. Most are using Substack, with Google’s Area 120 experimenting on a very interesting tool called Museletter that leverages Docs/Drive for distribution.
Area 120 Stories July 16, 2021
Earlier this year, Google announced that it would be bringing Assistant-based games to Android Auto. Now, it’s expanded further by adding a collection of touchscreen games from Area 120’s GameSnacks to play on Android Auto.
Area 120 Stories June 11, 2021
Tables from Area 120 becoming a ‘fully-supported’ Google Cloud product
Back in September, Google’s internal Area 120 incubator launched Tables as a “user-friendly, intuitive work tracking tool.” The Tables team announced today that the service has proven a “success” and that it will become a “fully-supported Google Cloud product” in the next year.
Area 120 Stories March 30, 2021
The latest launch from Google’s internal Area 120 incubator is smaller in scale than a messaging or virtual events tool but even more useful. Google this week released “Stacks” as a “PDF Scanner + Document Organizer” for Android.
Area 120 Stories March 18, 2021
The latest project from Google’s Area 120 incubator is called Threadit, and it aims to bolster team collaboration through flexible video messages that can be replied to at any time.
Area 120 Stories February 23, 2021
Google surfacing lightweight HTML5 games in Discover, Chrome around the world
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).
Area 120 Stories November 10, 2020
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.
Area 120 Stories September 24, 2020
Google is shutting down Area 120’s popular ‘Rivet’ kids reading app
Google’s Area 120 incubator launched an app called Rivet in beta in 2018 as a “fun and supportive reading app for kids.” It finally exited beta on Android and iOS in May of 2019, and in its time has grown to be one of the most beloved teach-your-kids-to-read apps on the Play Store. Now Google says that it’s shutting the app down.
Area 120 Stories September 9, 2020
After announcing Orion Wifi yesterday, Google’s Area 120 is back with Fundo — a “platform for virtual events and experiences.” This experimental project is “designed and built for creators” to replicate the experience of in-person encounters.
Area 120 Stories September 8, 2020
Area 120 is Google’s internal incubator for experimental projects that later get merged with existing teams if proven successful. Orion Wifi wants to make it easy for malls, grocery stores, and other “public venues” to “sell Wi-Fi capacity to cellular carriers,” like Google Fi.
Area 120 Stories August 17, 2020
Google’s Area 120 may launch ‘Orion’ app to help you pay for WiFi access
Google’s Area 120 experiment incubator may be launching an app called “Orion” to help make it easy to pay for WiFi access while on the go.
Area 120 Stories July 17, 2020
Have you ever thought when browsing online stores that you would love some looping video action? Well, with Google Area 120’s latest experimental app Shoploop, you can get that.
Area 120 Stories June 19, 2020
Google is back in the social network game thanks to the Area 120-developed Keen — a Pinterest-like app that utilizes AI to create interest boards.
Area 120 Stories June 18, 2020
Area 120 is Google’s internal incubator for experimental efforts that usually get phased out and rolled into existing products. Keen is the latest Google Area 120 project and is rather Pinterest-esque in nature.
Area 120 Stories April 28, 2020
In July 2019, Google’s experimental project incubator Area 120 launched a new local meetup app that would connect users in New York City. Shoelace began as an invite-only beta for iOS and Android, allowing users to plan and attend various activities around town, and potentially make new friends in the process. Unfortunately, as meetups became a thing of the past, Shoelace was forced to hit pause on its operations. Now, an email sent out this morning announces that the project will be shutting down completely.
Area 120 Stories March 11, 2020
One of Area 120’s many experimental apps is a hyperlocal social service for group meetups. Born out of Google’s internal incubator and only available in New York City, Shoelace announced today that it has “decided to pause operations” in response to the coronavirus.
Area 120 Stories February 13, 2020
Area 120 Stories January 29, 2020
Google’s Area 120 launches Tangi for minute-long DIY learning videos
Area 120 is Google’s internal incubator for experimental projects that may one day be integrated into an existing service. The latest from Google is Tangi — an app focused on curating do-it-yourself videos for hobbies and other interests that you want to learn.
Area 120 Stories November 5, 2019
Last year, Google’s Area 120 incubator introduced a Waze-like crowdsourcing app for public transit in New York City. Pigeon for iOS is now available in five more US cities, while an Android app is coming.
Area 120 Stories October 22, 2019
Announced last September, Touring Bird is a simple website that curates things travelers can do on a city-by-city basis. The Area 120 project will be shutting down next month as the Touring Bird team joins Google’s unified Travel initiative.
Area 120 Stories October 8, 2019
Google brings Grasshopper coding tool online, adds new web class
Grasshopper comes from Google’s Area 120 incubator and the coding tool is today gaining a desktop web client. Previously limited to Android and iOS, it’s now better suited for larger screens and adding new lessons.
Area 120 Stories July 17, 2019
Area 120 — Google’s workshop for experimental projects — has produced social networks, travel tools, and educational apps. Recently, the group has veered toward business services, with the latest being Byteboard, an interview tool that measures real-world technical skills.
Area 120 Stories July 11, 2019
Shoelace is a hyperlocal social network from Google’s Area 120
You would think that given the failure of Google+ to really leave much of an indelible mark on the internet, Google wouldn’t be too keen to attempt to build another social networking site. How wrong you’d be, as Google’s more “experimental” Area 120 incubator is creating a hyperlocal social network called Shoelace (via TNW).
Area 120 Stories June 13, 2019
Area 120 is “Google’s workshop for experimental projects,” and its latest prototype is Game Builder. The Mac and Windows app is a sandbox for people without programming or artistic experience to create games in a familiar Minecraft-esque environment.
Area 120 Stories May 14, 2019
Rivet launched in beta last year as a “fun and supportive reading app for kids.” Developed by Google’s internal Area 120 incubator, it’s exiting beta today on Android and iOS.
Area 120 Stories May 1, 2019
Area 120 is “Google’s workshop for experimental projects” and its latest service is “CallJoy.” Aimed at small businesses, it is essentially Call Screen for spam blocking and Google Duplex for automated help rolled into one product.
Area 120 Stories April 24, 2019
Area 120’s Touring Bird now curates travel activities for 200 cities
Back in September, Area 120 launched Touring Bird as a web app to help travelers find and customize tickets and tours. Originally featuring 20 cities, the Google service now provides curated activities for 200 destinations around the world.
Area 120 Stories March 11, 2019
Area 120’s Kormo app is aimed at young job seekers and the ‘Next Billion Users’
Area 120 is Google’s internal incubator and its latest project is called Kormo. Aimed at the Next Billion Users, it is specifically designed to new young job seekers without experience or resources.
Area 120 Stories January 23, 2019
Area 120’s Chatbase expands beyond analytics to help build customer service chatbots
Originally launching as a chatbot analytics platform in 2017, Area 120’s Chatbase can now design virtual agents that leverage machine learning to be more helpful, and over time improve. The new Chatbase Virtual Agent Modeling service is a part of Google’s internal incubator and is available in early access.
Area 120 Stories January 2, 2019
Area 120 is an incubator within Google that allows employees to develop experimental products. Grasshopper was announced last year as a mobile app for Android and iOS that teaches coding through short puzzles. Google today provided a usage update on this learning tool in time for the new year.
Area 120 Stories October 10, 2018
Earlier this year, Google’s internal Area 120 incubator unveiled Reply as a smart response toolbar appended to notifications on Android. In an email today, Google revealed that it is ending the experiment.
Area 120 Stories September 7, 2018
The latest project out of Google’s Area 120 incubator is called Touring Bird and it’s a simple website that helps travelers find things to do. Curated by city, it brings together various activities and provides a comparison to help users get the cheapest deals from multiple tour providers.
Area 120 Stories September 6, 2018
Last month, Google confirmed that it was developing an experimental podcasting app called “Shortwave.” Now, we have a clearer idea of what this Area 120-developed project could be and it points to a grand vision of an app that delivers only personalized and relevant snippets of podcasts.
Area 120 Stories August 21, 2018
Google Podcasts officially launched in June with the company already previewing AI-powered features that are coming in the future. This includes audio one-day being surfaced alongside text and video as Search results. Given the importance, Google’s in-house incubator is developing another experimental podcast player called “Shortwave.”
Area 120 Stories May 31, 2018
Google’s Area 120 incubator is home to a number of nifty apps and services like Reply and an upcoming social ‘Arcade’ game. Till that launches, the latest app is called Pigeon and it crowdsources the city of New York’s public transit to create a Waze-like map of real-time updates.
Area 120 Stories May 11, 2018
Last month, we spotted Reply working on a new smart toolbar to compliment its existing set of smart messaging response capabilities. That update is rolling out now to the beta along with a new general redesign for the app and service.
Area 120 Stories May 2, 2018
Google’s grand social ambitions have mostly tapered down following the failure of the original Google+. The latter social network is now focused on communities, while social features exist in apps like Google Duo and Photos. However, a new report today reveals that Google is working on social games, with a launch as soon as this summer.
Area 120 Stories April 28, 2018
One of Android P’s highlight features is a revamp to notifications with inline images and smart reply. Meanwhile on a parallel track, Google’s Area 120 incubator recently released Reply, which adds similar smart suggestions to all apps, among other intelligent features. An upcoming update might make notifications even more powerful on Android P.
Area 120 Stories April 19, 2018
‘Grasshopper’ is an app out of Google’s Area 120 incubator that’ll teach you how to code
Area 120, Google in-house incubator, has released a handful of apps that make smart responses, find ways to run ads in VR, and more. Now, a team has built an app called Grasshopper that makes it easy to learn to code right from your phone.
Area 120 Stories February 20, 2018
Reply, Area 120’s smart quick response application, is available to download
Earlier this month, Area 120, Google’s in-house incubator, sent out an email asking for beta testers for a new app called ‘Reply.’ Now, just a week later, the smart quick response app’s APK has leaked online for all to enjoy…
