Getty In early February, Google announced that Assistant would now work with its home security and alarm system Nest Secure. The problem – users didn’t know a microphone even existed on their Nest Secure devices to begin with. On Tuesday, a Google spokesperson told Business Insider it had made an “error.” “The on-device microphone was […]
Tag: Google
Google partially backtracks on Chrome changes that would break ad blockers
Google has said that it will revise the proposed changes to Chrome’s extension API that would have broken or reduced the functionality of a wide range of ad-blocking extensions, to ensure that the current variety of content-blocking extensions is preserved. The initial plans generated a wide backlash from both the developers and users of those […]
Google Chrome’s Progressive Web Apps will soon play nicer with Windows 10
The Google Chrome experience is always evolving, and the popular web browser will soon pick up a new feature which lets it run nicer in Windows 10. As noted by Windows Latest, Google is adding a capability to an upcoming release that will integrate Chrome Progressive Web Apps with notification badges in the system taskbar. According […]
Google Play Store app rejections went up 55% last year
Google says it’s stepping up its efforts to prevent malicious apps from reaching Android smartphones, tablets, and other devices. In a blog post today, Andrew Ahn, product manager at Google Play, said the Mountain View company would continue to improve the automated systems that help root out unscrupulous developers in the Google Play Store, and […]
Augmented Reality Google Maps is coming, starts testing in private
Google Maps AR, in action. The Wall Street Journal It’s a camera feed with 3D navigation arrows positioned in the real world. The Wall Street Journal The camera feed actually helps with your precise location and orientation. Google calls the system “VPS” or “Visual Positioning System.” The Wall Street Journal When you reach your destination, […]
Google wants a VP of Wearables, might finally take smartwatches seriously
Enlarge / The new Wear OS. Google Think you can save Android Wear? A new Google job listing (first spotted by Android Police) shows an opening for “Vice President, Hardware Engineering, Wearables” on the Google Hardware team. The person would “work collaboratively with the Senior Leadership team for Google Hardware and will be responsible for the design, development, […]
Job Listing Suggests Google Smartwatch Is on the Horizon
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Google this week posted a job listing on its Careers site seeking a ‘Vice President of Hardware Engineering for Wearables,’ again fueling speculation that it’s building a Pixel smartwatch. PCMag.com Latest Articles
Google Play recommends these movies, books, and apps for Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and to celebrate, Google announced a series of discounts for Google Play, spanning from books to movies to apps — all related to love. The sales are on now and will last until February 15 — so if you’re interested in taking advantage of them, you need to […]
Google Play Store junks malicious beauty camera Android apps that stole pictures
Google took down a total of 29 malicious apps for Android that were advertised on the Google Play Store as beauty camera applications, but carried out activities such as stealing the user’s pictures. The apps were discovered by cybersecurity firm Trend Micro, which said that some of them have already been downloaded millions of times. […]
Is Google Relaxing the Rules for Instant Tethering Chromebooks?
If you own a Chromebook and a Pixel smartphone then you have access to a very useful feature called Instant Tethering. It allows your Chromebook to easily gain an internet connection via your phone. Now it seems, Instant Tethering support is being expanded to non-Pixel devices. Chromebooks require an internet connection to be fully-functional, which […]
Google exec shares Pixel 3 vs. iPhone XS photo instantly sparks controversy
Marvin Chow/Twitter.com Google’s vice president of marketing, Marvin Chow, has sparked debate on Twitter after sharing an image comparing the cameras on the Google Pixel 3 and the Apple iPhone XS. Rather than a shot of a dramatic landscape, or a bokeh-filled portrait, the picture is of a low-light street scene, and demonstrates the difference […]
Google schedules I/O 2019 for May 7-9 in Mountain View
It’s official: For the fourth year in a row, Google will host its annual I/O developer conference at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. (The event previously took place in San Francisco.) The dates — May 7 to May 9 — were confirmed to VentureBeat by a company spokesperson hours after a savvy Twitter user […]
Google planning changes to Chrome that could break ad blockers
Google is planning to change the way extensions integrate with its Chrome browser. The company says that the changes are necessary for and motivated by a desire to crack down on malicious extensions, which undermine users’ privacy and security, as part of the company’s continued efforts to make extensions safer. The move also means that popular […]
Google and Facebook spend more than ever on U.S. lobbying efforts
(Reuters) – Alphabet’s Google disclosed in a quarterly filing on Tuesday that it spent a company-record $ 21.2 million on lobbying the U.S. government in 2018, topping its previous high of $ 18.22 million in 2012, as the search engine operator fights wide-ranging scrutiny into its practices. In its filing to Congress on Tuesday, Facebook […]