News: Google Charts Course for Location-Based AR Apps via Maps API
Franchises left and right are releasing Pokémon Go-style augmented reality games, and Google is making it even easier to churn out the apps.
Franchises left and right are releasing Pokémon Go-style augmented reality games, and Google is making it even easier to churn out the apps.
If you're a fan of Gboard, Google's third-party keyboard for iOS, then you can already search Google, YouTube, and Google Maps from any screen you're on. But if you prefer Apple's stock keyboard or another third-party one on your iPhone, you don't have any Google search options ... at least, until now.
The research team at Google has found yet another way for machine learning to simplify time-intensive tasks, and this one could eventually facilitate Star Wars-like holographic video.
In one of the worst-kept secrets of the upcoming Mobile World Congress, Google has officially released ARCore on the Play Store for owners of the latest flagship Android smartphones.
A very low-key update to the ARCore developer's site has expanded the universe of officially-supported devices for Google's augmented reality toolkit to include the Samsung Galaxy S7, S8+, and Note 8 handsets.
While Google has a water-resistant phone in the Pixel 2, its CES booth was anything but. According to Tech Crunch, Google had to shut down its two-level outdoor booth once it began to rain at the Las Vegas trade show. Even though Las Vegas is the driest city in the country, Mother Nature always has her idea of fun.
With just a few more days to go before its release in theaters, the Star Wars: The Last Jedi push has gone into overdrive. On Monday, Google released "The Last Jedi AR Stickers," a set of augmented reality stickers that lets users put a number of different Star Wars characters and objects into the real world.
Google just rolled out a revolutionary feature to its Pixel devices — Google Lens. Previously, Lens had only been available in the Photos app, but now, whenever you want to learn about something in the real world, you can just bring up Google Assistant, turn on the camera, then let Google's famous AI analyze the scene.
There may be many third-party file managers for Android to choose from, but until now, Google offered no proprietary option. Enter 'Files Go,' which, while initially anticipated for December, is now available for you to try.
Trendy restaurants are fun, but waiting in line isn't. Too often, we arrive at a location to find a queue between us and our dinner. If only we could know when wait times were down so we could go out at the optimal time.
While unveiling various other gadgets, Google announced the Pixel Buds at their October 4th event in San Francisco. These wireless earbud-style headphones are particularly interesting thanks to their ability to offer real-time language translation via Google Translate when paired with a Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL.
It's not rare to see an advertisement in tech directly call out the competition. Whether it's the famous Mac vs. PC ads from back in the day or the Pixel burning the iPhone 7's lack of a headphone jack, rivalries in these commercials are certainly commonplace. Samsung's new ad campaign takes a more subtle approach to this "throwdown" advertising, but the message is still clear — Samsung wants you to know its AMOLED displays are better than Google's and LG's POLED.
With so many Chromecast-powered devices available, chances are, you're near something with casting abilities right now. Whether it's Android TV, Google Home, or any one of the various gadgets with Chromecast built-in, you can use a more powerful speaker to play media from your smartphone. The only caveat is that the app you're streaming from needs to support Google Cast, but thankfully, Tidal does.
Clearly, the next big battlefield for tech gamesmanship between Apple and Google will be augmented reality.
Update 10/12: Since the event has now ended, we figured we'd update this page with a link to a replay version of the Google event. So if you missed any of the goodies or just want to give yourself a refresher, jump down to the "Where to Watch" section below.
Google just bought a huge chunk of HTC for $1.1 billion. They're bringing in around 2,000 employees, mostly from the hardware division, and these folks will presumably work under hardware chief Rick Osterloh. There's a massive patent portfolio involved, too, so stop me if you've heard this before — Motorola, anyone?
The Google Assistant is great about understanding what you actually mean, so you don't have to issue exact commands like you do with Amazon Alexa, for instance. But even though it's a master of colloquial speech, it could still be better, and that's where shortcuts come into play.
When Gboard was released on iOS in May of 2016, it gave iPhone users more control over their mobile keyboard experience. Unlike the stock Apple keyboard, Gboard lets you customize the look of your keyboard and search Google directly from the keyboard itself. Now, Google has added even more functionality, by providing users with Google Maps, YouTube, and doodling support — all without leaving your chat.
Disasters can happen at any moment, and when they do, it's often hard to find the right information to help you get to safety as quickly as possible.
Google might be taking the lead on artificial intelligence in smartphones with their latest announcement, MobileNets. MobileNets is a series of TensorFlow vision models built for mobile devices, described by Google as "mobile-first."
Savor this moment: we've got a confirmed number of sales for the Google smartphone. We say this because unlike most hardware manufacturers, Google refuses to share official sales numbers for their phone. Instead, during earning reports they simply bundle the product under Alphabet's "Other Revenues", leaving us in the dark about how successful the product is.
Meet Android Excellence, Google's latest platform with the ability to showcase the highest quality apps and games on a quarterly basis. Sound familiar? It should.
Okay, I have a confession to make. I'm not a real New Yorker. I'm from the land of southern hospitality and steaks bigger than your newborn: Texas. I don't know how to hail a taxi yet, and I still smile at strangers on the street. I'm slowly learning how to fit in, but one thing I still haven't mastered is the New York City subway system. Every day, I struggle to determine where to find my train and how to stand on it without falling over. Fortunately, Google Maps appears to be making some of...
Google Assistant was just released for iOS today. You may know it as the AI-powered assistant that makes Google Home tick, or perhaps you've heard from one of many review sites about how much better it is than Siri. Well, before you run off to the App Store to install Google Assistant, let me save you some time: It sucks.
Google announced several new devices (as well as updates to existing devices) that will take advantage of the company's augmented and virtual reality platforms.
Google Assistant will be getting an AI makeover with the addition of Google Lens. This new feature is basically a set of vision-based computing capabilities within the Assistant.
As we've said before, Siri has some major competition moving into its own playground, and Google just announced at its I/O event that Google Assistant is available on the iPhone, starting today.
More details about Google's latest Taimen device have been revealed all thanks to Geekbench. We already know that Google has been working on a tablet-like third device next to its original Pixel 2 lineup. Though, Taimen is not confirmed to be part of the Pixel 2 lineup.
Google's working on a new mobile operating system called Fuchsia, and while we don't know much about how they intend to use it, we're now getting a glimpse at what the main interface will look like.
Google's Allo is still a work in progress, but the innovations to the chat and messaging app just keep on coming. The latest update rolling out now includes chat backups and a group incognito feature that we're very excited about.
Traveling is a rich and rewarding experience. When you don't speak the language, however, your trip can present some tricky obstacles. Google knows this, which is why they will now automatically translate user reviews in Google Maps and Google searches.
We all know Google's Image Search to be our trusty little companion when it comes to browsing through ideas on the web. Now, Google is adding on "style ideas" to its search feature to help you boost your "style IQ" every time Google catches you snooping through new handbags on the market.
The latest Google Photos update for Android has added a number of cool new features, like video stabilization and a rumored Google+ integration. The latest update started rolling out to devices on April 11, 2017, and includes the video stabilizing feature we've been waiting for.
The Pixel is now rumored to be the next phone up in line to be getting a curved display. ET News just reported that Google is in talks to invest $875 million (KRW 1 trillion) in LG Display to give their next-generation Pixel 2 smartphone some curves around the edges.
The "Discover" tab in the latest version of the Google Home app has a new tip that says multiple users are now supported. Google Home uses a built-in speaker and microphone combo to give users access to smart search, a personal assistant, and smart home controls. This addition has the potential to make the voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant much more efficient for households with more than one user. However, it seems that Google wasn't quite ready to announce this new fea...
Google, the company that rules the internet, is now testing a method to leverage its machine learning with its ubiquitous presence on mobile devices. The new model they're employing is called Federated Learning, and it hopes to apply artificial intelligence to Google's services on Android without compromising user privacy.
Google released its "Android Security: 2016 Year in Review" report last month, and to no one's surprise, included its own flagship phones. However, one surprise on the list was the BlackBerry PRIV, which Google named one of the best Android devices for privacy.
Google Assistant is a handy little feature at most of the time, but it's upping the ante in honor of April Fools' Day this year.
Google's Pixel smartphone is striking up some heated competition between phone makers HTC, LG, TCL, and Coolpad, as the Pixel 3 gets ready to release in 2018. Yep, you heard that right—not the Pixel, not the Pixel 2, but the Pixel 3—which shows that Google is really committed to the future of its new flagship line.
Google Home now helps users to discover new music with an added "Listen" tab in the app. The feature offers suggestions based on the Cast-enabled apps on a phone, while offering other apps to download if you'd like to broaden your musical horizons. The playlists are curated to your individual taste and will adjust for different artists and activities, which is a pretty nifty feature. This means that Google Home can cater to your momentary mood change with music, which is a welcome addition to...