The name Google is synonymous with online searches, but over the years the company has grown beyond search and now builds multiple consumer products, including software like Gmail, Chrome, Maps, Android, and hardware like the Pixel smartphones, Google Home, and Chromebooks. Its name can also be found on internet services such as Google Fi, Flights, Checkout, and Google Fiber. Here is all of the latest news about one of the most influential tech companies in the world.
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The nine biggest announcements from Google I/O 2023
Google’s I/O keynote was jam-packed with announcements, including three new Pixel devices and a bunch of new AI advancements.
The AI takeover of Google Search starts now
Google is moving slowly and carefully to make AI happen. Maybe too slowly and too carefully for some people. But if you opt in, a whole new search experience awaits.
Some owners of Google’s first go at a smartwatch are reporting the rear casing falling off — mostly after removing it from the magnetic charging puck.
Android Police gathered several Reddit posts from the last couple of months showing how the backing falls off. We don’t really know how widespread the issue is, but it’s not the first smartwatch to pop off.
The Pixel Fold is Google’s $1,800 entry into folding phones
Google is finally giving Samsung some competition in the folding phone space with the Pixel Fold, a device that transforms between a standard smartphone and a small tablet by folding in half.
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Google Pixel 7A review: a better deal
It’s $50 more than the Pixel 6A, but some key upgrades keep Google’s A-series at the top of the midrange class.
Google I/O 2023: all the news from Google’s big developer event
Google plans to tease the future of Search, Pixel devices, and more at what’s expected to be an AI-heavy event.
Get a look at the new Motorola Razr Plus, its 3.6-inch cover screen, and the Magenta color option in this quick hands-on video with the foldable phone that’s launching later this month.
And check this page for updates on the Razr line, plus all of the new foldable phones we’re expecting to see for the rest of 2023.
“This is a facet of the larger AI story — which is to say it’s about automation,” writes John Herrman “But it’s also a story of a large platform deciding to compete more aggressively in the marketplace it controls.”
It’s unclear whether this is what users want. But there is a dark new future forming, one that might suggest fun new antitrust laws!
[Intelligencer]
9to5Google noticed the potential change as part of some APK sleuthing. Seems like it would be a nice change — like when the Apple Weather app finally came to iPad.
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Google Pixel Watch review: it’s a smarter Fitbit
The Pixel Watch is a fair attempt at a first-gen smartwatch, but Google has quite a few growing pains to address
As commenter Chefgon points out, there was a Nexus Q before the Project Q PlayStation handheld Sony revealed this week.
Last year Chris Welch revisited that whole experience for us and explains how the $299 Nexus Q player stumbled in 2012 just before Google scored a hit with the Chromecast in 2013.
Google announced at IO that Bard would include images where relevant in its responses, and that change is live. Below, a tweet shows what that looks like. The images come from sites like Pinterest. I wish they were AI-generated for extra fun, but alas.
Still, I tried asking it for the best food in Austin, TX, and it failed to highlight Casino El Camino.