Google

Ever since the introduction of Material Design way back at 2014’s I/O, Google has put a lot more emphasis on design than ever before. “Google Design” itself became a thing, and among the initiatives promoted by the company to bolster its overhauled aesthetic sense, there are proper MD “Awards”, whose 2016 winners have just been announced…

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The cat’s out of the bag, and so are Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL. With the embargo having lifted earlier this morning, pundits from all over the tech world have shared their opinion on the handset, and, as it turns out, it’s a mostly positive one. You can read our own take here — and maybe understand a little better why this is good news for Google…

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Whenever I’m looking for a flight, my first stop for information is Google. The built-in Google Flights tool easily gives me a quick overview of what’s out there and helps me find a good deal. However, that tool has just gotten way more useful.

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Google’s Pixel event has come and gone. With it, Google introduced its first solely self-branded smartphone, claiming that the Pixel and Pixel XL bring the very best that Google has to offer — for the moment, at least — in both hardware and software. It’s a refreshing move from a company that has traditionally only sold hardware built in partnership with OEMs, and it’s finally a sign that Google wants to take a serious top-to-bottom design approach with its future products.

But what about its other product lines? Google replicated the Android strategy with Android Wear a couple of years ago, and in that case the company has yet to release any Android Wear hardware that has its name on it. The company never even did a “Nexus” Android Wear device to give OEMs an idea of what Android Wear would look like if Google did it themselves. That’s about to change according to recent reports, perhaps as soon as the first quarter of next year…

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Google is making a lot of, let’s say interesting changes in the Pixel smartphone lineup, and that’s caused many in the Android community to raise questions about the device. We already knew the Pixel had an unlocked bootloader, except on Verizon, but many have still questioned if they would be able to root it. Now a Google spokesperson has confirmed that information.

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While most of us are still eagerly awaiting the arrival of our Pixel smartphones in the next week or two, customers in Austrailia already appear to be receiving devices in the mail.

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Google has for some time prioritized mobile-friendly sites in search results, but it will soon be taking an even bigger step. Search Engine Land reports a keynote address by a Google exec advising that the company will be creating a completely separate mobile index, which will take priority over the original desktop one.

Google is going to create a separate mobile index within months, one that will be the main or “primary” index that the search engine uses to respond to queries. A separate desktop index will be maintained, one that will not be as up-to-date as the mobile index.

The plan reflects the fact that the majority of search traffic now comes from mobile devices, but the presentation raised as many questions as it answered, notes the site …

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Samsung’s problem with its Note 7‘s exploding batteries is a tricky one. Not only the recalling of the device itself is likely to leave a significant hole inside of the firm’s pockets, but also the long term effects caused by the brand image’s detriment will undoubtedly represent the gain of someone else. And, as it turns out, Google may be among the first ones in line…

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Just a hair over a week ago, Google announced a boatload of hardware at its dedicated event, but clearly the star of the show was its new Pixel smartphone. It’s actually two devices, the Pixel and Pixel XL, and Google just pushed out two new ads entirely dedicated to them…

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Despite its recent foray in the hardware business, Google is first and foremost a company that relies on advertising. And so, in turn, lots of people rely on the company’s own online monetization tool, AdSense, whose website just got a Material Design coat of paint…

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Last week we broke the story that Verizon would be managing system updates for Pixel devices that it sells, and the immediate assumption was that Verizon would delay those updates — not an unreasonable assumption at all based on the carrier’s track record. Now, less than a week later, Verizon has contacted ArsTechnica to state that it won’t be delaying updates. Good right?

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The popularity of YouTube as a platform is incredible and undeniable, and one of the reasons behind its success certainly lies in the strong connections between YouTube stars running their channels and brands whose material is often promoted, sponsored, reviewed, and whatnot in their videos.

Google is well aware of this, and today’s purchase is but another step towards strengthening those bonds even further…

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As you may well know, Android Pay, Google’s mobile payments service, hasn’t launched in Canada quite yet. But that might be changing soon, Canadians will be glad to hear, as we’ve found that the latest version of Android Pay, which started rolling out today, includes early references and assets for Canada’s largest debit card network, Interac…

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Google’s new Pixel devices are impressive, but at $649 and up, it feels like the company skimped on a couple of things. One of the most puzzling things to skip was in the camera. Despite having “the best camera ever on a smartphone,” it still lacks OIS ─ thankfully, a representative from Google has given us some answers on this…

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Google may have upended its hardware strategy with the announcement of the two Pixel smartphones (alongside a slew of other products), but the shift from Nexus to Pixel may signify more than just the hardware design takeover; in particular, it seems like advertising is a big part of the Mountain View firm’s strategy…

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Even though we already know Google Hangouts isn’t fully going away (at least not yet), things aren’t looking good. According to an email sent to Google Mobile Services (GMS) partners, Hangouts will no longer be required to be preloaded on new smartphones (via Android Police)…

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