There have been hundreds of reports of Google Calendar users receiving notifications for events they didn't create. These "events" are actually spam ads and potential phishing threats. If this has happened to you, you're not alone — but luckily, there's a way to put an end to it.
Disabling clunky, revealing link previews on Google Keep can serve multiple purposes. You know, those expanded versions of the same URL you pasted into your note, except duplicated, tacked onto the bottom of your note, and showing a preview picture. Removing these can help optimize your productivity formula.
Everyone occasionally has tipsy fingers that lead to mistaken button taps. Even if you didn't accidentally delete your note, you may have found that it is in fact still relevant and not time for that note's demise. Thankfully, there's a simple way to undelete your Google Keep notes.
Being an Android user and having friends who are in the Apple ecosystem does not need to be a pain. You can easily send high-quality videos to iPhone users, so don't feel handicapped without access to iMessage. Sending high-resolution videos to iOS users is easy with this fast video-sharing method.
Samsung has the Bixby key, Pixels have the Google Assistant squeeze gesture. It's nice having a hardware button just for your assistant so you don't have to say "OK Google" or press an on-screen button. If your phone doesn't have such a shortcut, though, you can remap an existing hardware button to trigger the Google Assistant.
After debuting its virtual Pocket Gallery last year with the works of Johannes Vermeer, Google Arts & Culture has released a sequel that brings even more artists into your home via augmented reality.
Sometimes, you encounter words in a non-native tongue while using your Android device. The Google Translate app has an awesome feature where it will translate any text you highlight. An overlay will appear, and on this overlay, there will be the translation of the foreign word. This can help you if you need a translation quick fix or if you are learning a new language.
There are many reasons you might want to increase your text size in Google Chrome. The browser's accessibility options have a few tools to help the readability of text on websites. Changing the text scale, enabling zooming, and toggling the simplified view can customize Google Chrome to be perfect for you.
The future of smartglasses for consumers seems ever dependent on Apple's entry into the market. Coincidentally, the exit of Apple's long-time design chief Jony Ive has shed some light on that eventual entrance.
The Google Assistant is a core part of Android — Google even made it possible to launch the Assistant by long-pressing the home button. But with Android 10's new gesture controls, there isn't a home button to long-press, so Google created a new gesture to replace it.
Lions and tigers and bears are just a few of the animals that Google users can now bring into their physical environments.
Dark mode is one of the most requested features these days, but it's even more important with a navigation app. If you're using Google Maps for directions while driving at night, the default white background will shock your eyes and make it harder to see the road in front of you. Thankfully, you can now enable a dark theme to make this whole process a lot safer.
As the tech world patiently waits for the advent of mainstream consumer smartglasses, Google is content to stick to the business world (for now).
As the industry has shifted toward OLED (including Google's own Pixel lineup), the outcry for dark mode has been louder than ever. Google heard the cries and has been working toward a real system-wide dark mode. To lay the groundwork, they are adding the feature to all their apps, including their Calculator app.
Though primarily a Pixel exclusive, Google Camera has become the go-to camera app for many Android users. Not only does come with a standout features like Night Sight and capture better photos than most stock camera apps, but it's also packed with functionality that makes it a one-stop-shop for all your photo and video needs.
There are plenty of reasons the Pixel's Google Camera has become a must-have app for Android users. Google Playground AR stickers and Night Sight for low light photography are just the tip of the iceberg. Beyond those, the app comes with other, less-publicized options that add tremendously to its overall usefulness.
Many of our online accounts now come with an added two-factor authentication (2FA) functionality to help keep our data safe. This essentially means no one would be able to access the account until a specific set of requirements were met. It could be a combination of a password with a security key or even a passcode with some form of biometrics, like a fingerprint or face scan.
While Google would rather you use Google as the default search engine in Chrome, there's a way to switch to the more privacy-geared DuckDuckGo search engine for all your web browsing needs. With DuckDuckGo, the company does not track anything you search or allow anyone else to track it, so you can effectively search from your iPhone or Android phone anonymously.
The word on the street is Android users want a dark mode. With the increased usage of AMOLED panels on smartphones (including some midrange devices), there is a considerable demand for dark themes and their battery saving benefits. Recently, Nova just added the feature to Google Discover.
Last week at Mobile World Congress 2019, Google put an augmented reality twist on its annual Android Partner Walk via its ARCore toolkit.
There have been concerns with how much personal information Google tracks and all the things they know about us. Of course, that's what makes Google services so useful, they can use that information to cater to each of us individually. So yes, it serves a purpose, but it's not great for personal data security.
When you need to know how to get somewhere, Google Maps is the app to beat, but the king of navigation doesn't want to stop there. Google aims to make its navigation app for more than just directions, as made clear by its recent feature that lets you follow businesses in the app. Combining timely news and events posted by local businesses with real-time transit seems like the perfect match.
Although Apple's Animoji game is strong, as recently exampled by its Ariana Grande collaboration, Google isn't slacking either, unleashing a far more immersive music experience for smartphone users.
Recently, buzz for the Google Pixel 4 has been rising thanks to a patent discovered by 91mobiles. This patent appears to show an almost bezel-less phone with a screen-to-body ratio we have only dreamt of, and no notch in sight. The problem is this isn't the Google Pixel 4. It's actually the Pixel 2 XL.
Despite being at the helms of the RCS push, Google Fi has yet to support the new messaging protocol. It would've made too much sense if the Google-created MVNO was one of the first to support the feature Google's been pushing on other OEMs and carriers for years, but alas, they haven't. Well, better late than never — Google has finally announced support for RCS Universal Profile on Fi.
The Google Feed is a great source for relevant news articles from your search history, package delivery updates, and much more. Now known as the "Discover" page, many Android users turn to this useful menu on a daily basis. However, as Google recently pointed out, the all-white theme is not ideal for battery life, nor is it easy on the eyes at night.
Recently, Google's Messages app has become an important cog in the Android ecosystem. That's because, for the time being, it's one of the only texting apps which supports RCS Universal Profile for iMessage-style conversations. Even better, Google just gave it a highly sought-after feature: dark mode.
With the rise of OLED displays, Android users have been begging Google for a true system-wide dark mode for years. While a system-wide solution is still somewhat unlikely, Google has given in by providing a dark mode for certain apps, including Contacts.
These days, it's easy to cut the cord. Thanks to a new crop of streaming TV apps, you can get the same service offered by a traditional cable subscription at a fraction of the price. After some extensive testing, we believe we've found the absolute best apps for cord cutting.
The iTunes App Store makes it easy to buy an app or game on someone else's behalf, and it's a great way to send an iPhone user a thoughtful gift. The Google Play Store doesn't have such functionality, but there are still a few workarounds to accomplish the same goal: gifting an app to an Android user.
You just brought a brand new Pixel 3 from the Google Store, and you insert your SIM card only to find the phone won't recognize it at all. No matter what you do, the SIM card won't register and your Pixel won't connect to your carrier network. That's what happened to me and several other Pixel 3 owners. The good news is a fix is coming, the bad news is Google doesn't have a date for that fix.
With the release of Android 9.0 Pie, Google's focusing on digital health. Digital Wellbeing is a new set of features designed to help you curb your own smartphone addiction. Starting now, the beta version is available, and Google's looking for testers.
Thanks to recent reports, we now know third-party apps have a lot more access to our Gmail than we may have initially thought. In fact, these third-party apps have the ability to read our emails, not because these companies are necessarily shady, but because we agreed to it. Luckily, there's a way to view which apps have this access, as well as a way to boot those apps from your Gmail entirely.
When it works, Android's Smart Lock feature is incredible. There's no need to enter your PIN when your phone "knows" it's in your hands — just unlock and go. But Smart Lock, particularly its Trusted Places feature, can be finicky sometimes.
Developers can now publish augmented reality experiences that are viewable through the experimental version of Chrome and ARCore.
When Snapchat first hit it big, people just assumed it'd be used for seedy activities. And while that's not completely true, it's definitely true sometimes. For those moments when you need to take a sneaky screenshot that doesn't notify the sender, Android has plenty of ways to keep your cover from being blown — no root needed.
On the one year anniversary of the introduction of ARKit, Apple is planning to reveal major updates its augmented reality toolkit for mobile apps at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California next week.
Before Google I/O 2018, the Google Assistant for Android and iOS had only two available voice options to choose from — a robotic female and male voice. But there are now six additional voices, and these ones sound way more natural than any other mobile voice assistant (plus, John Legend's voice is coming later this year).
Even if your default mobile browser is Google Chrome, you may not want Google to also be your search engine. Maybe you're not impressed with Google's search results all the time, maybe you want a more private search experience, or maybe you just don't want Google's hands over everything in your life. Whatever the case, it's easy to switch from Google to another default search engine.
Your email inbox is a treasure trove of personal data. The people you contact, your writing style, which messages you flag as spam — all of this information and more can be used to paint a clear picture of you. Google knows this as well as anybody, so they use this data to constantly improve your experience in Gmail.
