Google Pixel 3 Lite and Pixel 3 Lite XL with Snapdragon 670, 3.5mm audio jack renders surface

Pixel 3 Lite and XL

Over the past few weeks, the rumor mill is full of Google Pixel 3 Lite with more details flowing in each day. However, there seems to be a surprise waiting in store. Google is said to be working on a larger version of the Pixel 3 Lite dubbed Pixel 3 Lite XL. The Google Pixel 3 Lite and Lite XL will share similar design aesthetics with the Pixel 3 and 3 XL.  Continue reading “Google Pixel 3 Lite and Pixel 3 Lite XL with Snapdragon 670, 3.5mm audio jack renders surface”

Google Chrome for macOS might soon get native dark mode [Update: Coming in early 2019]

Update – December, 10, 2018: A Google developer recently submitted a code change that implements system-level Dark Mode in Chromium. This hints that it might arrive to Chome sometime in Q1 2019 with Chrome 73.

Continue reading “Google Chrome for macOS might soon get native dark mode [Update: Coming in early 2019]”

Google Messages V3.9 update hints at Spam protection, Sharing support for calendar events and more

Android Messages

Google is pushing out a new update to the Message app with nothing noteworthy on the surface. But it brings changes to the message attachments. The update also hints details about the upcoming spam protection and support for new file types in the share dialog.  Continue reading “Google Messages V3.9 update hints at Spam protection, Sharing support for calendar events and more”

Google removes two apps from PlayStore over app install attribution abuse

Google PlayStore

Back in 2017, Google introduced Google Play Install Referrer API
which allows ad attribution providers, publishers, and advertisers to determine which referrer was responsible for sending the user to Google Play for a given app install. Owing to the reports of questionable activity, Google began its own independent investigation on apps on Google Play that are accused of conducting app install attribution abuse by falsely claiming credit for newly installed apps to collect the download bounty from that app’s developer. Continue reading “Google removes two apps from PlayStore over app install attribution abuse”

Google Translate now offers gender specific translations

Google Translate

In its latest attempt to improve Translate, Google aims to curb gender bias by providing feminine and masculine translations for some gender-neutral words on the Google Translate website. Google Translate learns from hundreds of millions of already-translated examples from the web. Continue reading “Google Translate now offers gender specific translations”

Google confirms it will shutdown Allo messaging app in March 2019, will upgrade Hangout users to Hangouts Chat and Meet

Google_Allo

Google has finally announced that it is giving up on Allo after it stopped investing in the app earlier this year. The app will become non-functional in March 2019. The company officially announced that it will upgrade users to Hangouts Chat and Meet at some point and they will remain a primary focus for the team. Continue reading “Google confirms it will shutdown Allo messaging app in March 2019, will upgrade Hangout users to Hangouts Chat and Meet”

Google Chrome 71 brings Duet UI improvements, auto-play changes, new API’s and more

Google Chrome 71 is rolling out to desktop and Android, it is a minor release which particularly brings changes to the ‘Duet’ interface and autoplay. Part of the Google Chrome button address bar redesign which the company shut down in the last minute turned into ‘Chrome Duplex,’ which is now called ‘Chrome Duet.’ Continue reading “Google Chrome 71 brings Duet UI improvements, auto-play changes, new API’s and more”

Google Hummingbird project to bring Flutter applications to the web

Hummingbird

At the Flutter Live Google announced it is experimenting Flutter on the web which it is calling Hummingbird project. It also debuted the Flutter Live which is Google’s first ever major standalone event for their Flutter app development SDK. Flutter is Google’s cross-platform application SDK which is no longer restricted to mobile. Continue reading “Google Hummingbird project to bring Flutter applications to the web”

Google expands eSIM support on Pixel 3 to more carriers including Airtel and Jio in India

Google has announced that it will bring eSIM support to more carriers and more countries. Pixel 2 was the first major smartphone with eSIM, and now, on Pixel 3. In Germany, Google is supporting eSIM from networks including Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone soon. Continue reading “Google expands eSIM support on Pixel 3 to more carriers including Airtel and Jio in India”

Google denies Hangouts shutdown, will upgrade users to Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet

Google Hangouts

After reports of Google shutting down Hangouts to consumers in 2020, Google’s Scott Johnston who runs Hangouts and other related products has denied the reports, however, said that users of consumer Hangouts users will be “upgraded” to Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet which are enterprise-focused products.  Continue reading “Google denies Hangouts shutdown, will upgrade users to Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet”

Google said to be planning on shutting down Hangouts in 2020

Google Hangouts

According to a new report, Google said to be planning on shutting down Hangouts sometime in 2020. This doesn’t come as a surprise as Google stopped any further development of the app more than a year ago. Continue reading “Google said to be planning on shutting down Hangouts in 2020”

Google to roll out Call Screen transcription for all Pixel phones later this year [Update: Now rolling out]

https://support.google.com/pixelphone/forum/AAAAb4-OgUsoY4-S4r1fsw/

Update: Google is now rolling out Call Screen transcript feature for select users. You can view this under Recent calls -> Call Details -> See transcript.

Continue reading “Google to roll out Call Screen transcription for all Pixel phones later this year [Update: Now rolling out]”

Android Auto update brings improved media browser, search, message previews and more

Android Auto Discover Media

Google has announced new Android Auto features including easier access to your favorite content with improved media browse and search features, plus new ways to stay connected with visual message previews and group messaging. Continue reading “Android Auto update brings improved media browser, search, message previews and more”

Google explains how it achieved Portrait mode on Pixel 3

Similar to last year, Google again is describing how it achieved Portrait mode on the Pixel 3 smartphones. Google says that Portrait Mode uses a neural network to determine what pixels correspond to people versus the background, and augments this two layer person segmentation mask with depth information derived from the PDAF pixels. This is meant to enable a depth-dependent blur. Continue reading “Google explains how it achieved Portrait mode on Pixel 3”

Google Translate for web gets new responsive design, easy navigation and much more

Google_Translate

Google has redesigned Translator on the web to make it easier to use. The site’s new look is now consistent with other Google products, and updated labeling and typography make it easier to navigate. Continue reading “Google Translate for web gets new responsive design, easy navigation and much more”