Google

I’ve been using Google’s new flagship Pixel 6 phone for a little over a week now. It’s been quite a wild ride, if I do say so myself. Like I said in my first entry, I’ve owned a handful of Pixels and other Android devices over the years. But the Pixel 6 continues to surprise me in delightful ways that other devices running Google’s operating system haven’t. In this entry, I want to focus specifically on Material You, Google’s new design framework for allowing users to customize nearly every aspect of their Android experience.

Apple’s ad business has grown dramatically since the company’s App Tracking Transparency rules came into effect, says a new report.

The rules made it more difficult to target specific interest groups through third-party ad networks like those owned by Google and Facebook, making Apple’s own ad business far more valuable. But some suggest this is because the iPhone maker breaks its own privacy rules …

Although we tend to think of text messaging and SMS as synonyms, that’s not quite the case. SMS (short messaging service) is simply the original technical standard for text messages. In recent years, there’s been a drive to switch to RCS (rich communications services, or rich communications suite), a more sophisticated text messaging standard.

Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened, mostly due to the rivalry between Apple and Google, and that’s something Google wants to change …

An Apple Japanese antitrust investigation was closed last month, when the Cupertino company made a major concession. But just six weeks later, a new antitrust investigation has been opened in Japan, into the market dominance of iOS and Android.

The news comes on the same day that the Dutch antitrust authority found Apple’s in-app payment arrangements to be anti-competitive …

The zombie-like remains of bankrupt wearables company Jawbone is suing Apple for patent infringement. The claim relates to the noise-cancelling features used in AirPods Pro and AirPods Max models.

Jawbone was once a successful company in the wearables and audio business, with its fitness bands sold in Apple stores …

The Russian government introduced a new law specifically to outlaw this app. The law doesn’t come into force until November, but both Apple and Google have removed the app ahead of this.

Apple has been blackmailed into removing from the App Store a Russian tactical voting app, Navalny, which was designed to help voters support the opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.

Both Apple and Google have removed the app after specific company employees were threatened with “punishment” …

An Apple Watch has been on my wrist nearly every day since I took the first generation out of its box on launch day in April 2015. It quickly became an indispensable gadget, and I feel naked whenever it’s on its charger. watchOS went through a ton of changes during the first few releases, most notably with watchOS 3. Since then, it’s received a number of new apps and features but the user interface itself hasn’t quite been perfected. I’ve always attributed this to the lack of a real competitor. No one has been able to show off a better way to do things on a smartwatch. Now, nearly seven years after the Apple Watch was born, Google and Samsung have teamed up to build the first real competitive platform. Here’s what I think about it.

It appears that Google was inspired by Apple when it comes to the benefits of custom-designed chips. The company had already confirmed that the upcoming Pixel 6 smartphone will have a Google-designed System on a Chip (SoC), and a new report today says that the company is taking the same approach for future Chromebooks.

Google’s decision is said to have been prompted by Apple’s success with its M1 Macs …

COVID-19 contact tracing apps built on the joint Google/Apple exposure notification API have saved thousands of lives in some countries, but have largely proven ineffective in the US.

A report examining data from the apps finds that many states didn’t even get as far as creating one; take-up was low; and very few users bothered to log infection in the app, rendering it useless …

It’s long been known that Google pays Apple a hefty sum every year to ensure that it remains the default search engine on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Now, a new report from analysts at Bernstein suggests that the payment from Google to Apple may reach $15 billion in 2021, up from $10 billion in 2020.

Ahead of the high-end Pixel 6 and 6 Pro launching this fall, Google today launched its latest entry-level smartphone with the Pixel 5a with 5G. The new iPhone SE competitor brings an all-metal body, high-capacity battery, headphone jack, and more alongside the next-gen cellular connectivity.

Samsung today unveiled the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic, its partnership with Google to create an all-new Wear OS experience and finally introduce a competitor to the Apple Watch. Although it’s just a first step of hopeful years of collaboration, there are multiple ways in which Apple still appears to be at the top – but Samsung is gaining.

After taking a mid-range approach with the Pixel 5, Google has officially teased it’s ready to take on the high-end market and iPhone 13 and 13 Pro with its fall smartphone lineup. The Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro will come with a custom “Tensor” chip, all-new design, 120Hz display, in-screen fingerprint reader, 4x zoom lens, and more. Here’s what Google is up to with its re-entry into the high-end smartphone market.

Using the Google Pixel Buds A-Series with the iPhone has been a better experience than I expected, but it’s not as good as using AirPods. That should be expected given the fact that they are made by Apple’s biggest competitor. But Google’s Pixel Buds A are excellent wireless earbuds with great fit and decent sound. Long story short, they are an impeccable value over the standard AirPods even if you have to make some compromises. 

During Mobile World Congress 2021 today, Samsung gave a first look at its new Wear OS for smartwatches in partnership with Google. As it does with its smartphones, Samsung will add the One UI interface on its yet-to-be-announced watches.

Of all the features introduced today, the only one I think Apple should adopt is the customizable Watch Face feature, and here’s why.

Apple is facing yet another antitrust investigation, though this one seems odd: It’s an examination of the Apple/Google duopoly in the mobile operating system market.

Today’s report from Japan is very light on details …

On the day that the Apple/Epic case begins, a senior Google engineer has used a blog post to undermine a key part of the Cupertino company’s antitrust defense.

Apple denies that the iOS App Store amounts to a monopoly, for two reasons. First, it says that developers can create apps for other platforms, like Android and games consoles. Second, it argues that those who want to reach iPhone users can simply create web apps. It is this latter claim that has come under fire …