Buying an unlocked phone is usually the correct move. By doing so, you bypass a lot of bloat that carriers put on your phone, and you can also use that phone with another carrier should you decide to switch to a new one. However, a lot of carriers won't give unlocked devices access to their visual voicemail apps. For that, there's Google Voice.
Google is constantly changing and updating its apps to make the lives of its users easier. Google Maps is no exception, as the company now includes options for wheelchair accessible transportation routes. From now on, you can set a trip with accessibility as a priority with Google's popular transit app.
If your virtual assistant can't assist you, what's the point? Anyone who has ever failed to activate Google Assistant knows the frustration that error screen can be. But there are solutions for this problem — "The Google Assistant isn't available for this account" is one message you can actually avoid.
Franchises left and right are releasing Pokémon Go-style augmented reality games, and Google is making it even easier to churn out the apps.
Business cards are a great way to keep tabs on the contacts we network with. So why shouldn't our smartphones make them even more useful? Enter Google Lens, which will help you save, search, and expand on the contact information found on all of the business cards you've collected.
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.
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.
No matter your reasons, you might need a second phone number that's a little more disposable than your primary number — a "burner" number, so to speak. If you create this burner number using Google Voice, you'll get new functionality like call forwarding and voicemail transcripts, and best of all, it's completely free.
With so much money on the line, it's no surprise that cryptocurrency exchanges are prime targets for cybercriminals. Because of this, the importance of keeping your personal account as secure as possible cannot be overstated. Binance is one step ahead in this regard, as it requires you to enable two-factor authentication to keep your bitcoins and alt-coins safe.
Threats to your privacy and security are everywhere, so protecting your data should be the highest priority for anyone with a smartphone. However, one threat many people overlook is the company who supplies the operating system your Android phone runs — Google.
Up until now, experiencing augmented reality through Vuzix's next-generation Blade 3000 smartglasses would have required a trip to a tech conference where the company has an exhibition booth.
When it comes to streaming services, Google Play Music is one of the best options for both Android and iOS. Perhaps its single greatest feature is the fact that you can upload as many as 50,000 of your own songs to Google's servers, then stream your library to any device without ever paying a dime.
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL were built by different manufacturers. This is pretty common knowledge among Android fans at this point — Google's smaller Pixel 2 was built by HTC, while the larger Pixel 2 XL was built by LG. What would the Pixel 2 XL look like if HTC had followed through and delivered on the larger phone for Google? Today we have some answers.
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.
For a company who hasn't released a product and has a reputation for being secretive, Magic Leap sure has a tendency to make waves. Over the past few weeks, they've refreshed their website design, released an abstract YouTube video, and announced a partnership with Madefire to offer mixed reality comics on its device whenever it launches. Next, they are gearing up for another round of funding.
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.
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.
Earnings calls can be a mixed bag. If things are business as usual, the meetings can be, well, boring.
If you haven't heard yet, Google is revamping the Play Store with version 8.0. While it so far doesn't seem to have any life changing features, there are ones that certainly will make your life easier, like their new updates feature.
Well, get ready to have your battery depleted if you use Google Photos. The backup app has just removed the "Backup While Charging" feature in their app.
The stock home screen app that comes with your phone is nothing compared to Nova Launcher. Not only is Nova faster, but it's got tons of customization tweaks like gestures, adjustable grid sizes, and icon packs, just to name a few.
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.
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.
Chinese search engine giant, Baidu, has just announced its own autonomous car platform which is intended to speed up the development of driverless vehicles.
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.
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.
