Earlier today, I told you about Google’s Pixel 9a, a mid-range smartphone release that’s supposed to compete with Apple’s iPhone 16e while offering a cost-efficient entry in the Pixel lineup. But by the time I poured my coffee, it was reported that Google was delaying shipment of the Pixel 9a to April. Usually, when a […]
Google’s New AI Model Can Remove Watermarks From Images
Google’s new Gemini Flash 2.0 image generation tool is capable of removing watermarks from copyrighted images, users on social media have found. The model is currently in its “experimental” phase, and only available to developers. A slew of apps that are capable of removing objects from photos and filling in the gaps are already available. […]
San Francisco Hit Waymo With Hundreds of Traffic Citations in 2024
San Francisco has found a nice new revenue stream: Hitting self-driving Waymos with traffic citations. The city cited Waymo vehicles 589 times in 2024 for a grand total of $65,065 in penalties. The violations ranged from blocking street traffic to parking in prohibited areas. Google-owned Waymo operates 300 vehicles in San Francisco that are available […]
Say Goodbye to the Google Assistant—Gemini Is Moving In
Google announced Friday that the Google Assistant is no longer for this world. The company plans to transition most Android devices to Gemini instead. This includes phones, tablets, devices that connect to your phone, headphones, and even the Assistant in the car. The only devices spared will be those limited to 2GB of RAM or […]
Here’s the One Feature I’m Excited About in the Latest Android 16 Beta Update
There’s good, albeit boring, news for the future of Android phones today. Google is officially rolling out Android 16 Beta 3 for those running it on a compatible device. This version is what Google calls a “platform stability” release, meaning developers can go ahead and code their apps to this. With Google I/O approaching in […]
Gemini Will Mine Your Google Search History to Know Your True Self
Google would like for you to use Gemini more often. Today, the company announced that you can opt to have Gemini read your search history when prompting it for help. Google says the upside of this is that it’ll give you more personalized results when you interact with Gemini. “This will enable Gemini to provide […]
Google Apologizes for ‘Untrusted Device’ Outage Plaguing Certain Chromecast Models
Over the weekend, 9to5Google reported that second-gen Chromecast and Chromecast Audio devices displayed an “Untrusted device” error message, preventing users from casting audio and video content onto their screens of choice. On Wednesday, Google sent an apology email to people affected by the outage, saying it was “working to roll out a fix as soon […]
Google Is Bringing Gemini to Android Auto, and It Sounds So Annoying
Gemini is coming for every part of your Google-led life, whether you like it or not. It’s even en route to the car, which I definitely do not like. Once it officially rolls out, I hope we’ll understand how to use Gemini from behind the wheel. The current demonstration of what it’s capable of doesn’t […]
Google Is Hobbling Popular Ad Blocker uBlock Origin on Chrome
Users of the popular uBlock Origin extension on Google Chrome might need to make the switch to a new browser. Or maybe cave and subscribe to YouTube Premium—features like offline downloads, background listening, and unlimited music streaming make it a decent value. Regardless, uBlock Origin is getting deprecated on Chrome as Google completes the process […]
Google Is Developing Technology to Deliver Internet Via Light Bridges
Google just had a lightbulb moment, and it might move internet access out of the (literal) dark ages. Over at the company’s moonshot factory X, researchers have developed a chip that they believe should enable us to deliver high-speed internet access via beams of light, opening up the possibility of making all those underground cables […]