Google

1,010 'Google' stories August 2010 - November 2017

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iPhone owners could claim $672 each from Google for bypassing Safari privacy settings

Ben Lovejoy Nov 30 2017 - 4:13 am PT

Millions of Brits who used an iPhone between June 2011 and February 2012 could receive as much as £500 ($672) each from Google as compensation for the search giant bypassing Safari privacy settings between those dates.

A British campaign group has launched a ‘representative action’ (the UK equivalent of a class action lawsuit) on behalf of the 5.4M iPhone users in England and Wales affected by what is known as Google’s ‘Safari workaround.’ The lawsuit could be worth as much as £2.7B ($3.63B) in total …

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In latest twist to patent battle, Apple accuses Qualcomm of infringing its patents …

Ben Lovejoy Nov 29 2017 - 6:07 am PT

Qualcomm has long accused Apple of infringing its patents, but the latest twist to the saga reverses the position. In a new countersuit, Apple accuses Qualcomm of infringing its patents.

Qualcomm is accused of violating at least eight Apple patents in its Snapdragon 800 and 820 processors, which are used in both Samsung and Google Pixel phones …

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Google Docs apps updated for iPhone X, iOS 11 drag-and-drop for iPad

Zac Hall Nov 27 2017 - 8:14 am PT

Google has updated its suite of productivity apps on iPhone and iPad to support the latest screen sizes and platform features. Docs, Sheets, and Slides have each been updated for iPhone X and iOS 11.

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YouTube app update promises fix for iOS 11 battery drain bugs

Benjamin Mayo Nov 27 2017 - 1:44 am PT

Two weeks ago, we highlighted that many iPhone and iPad users were seeing severe battery issues when playing videos in the YouTube app; the device would become unnaturally warm and battery would quickly deplete when it really shouldn’t. A YouTube app update visible today in the App Store promises a fix for this problem.

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Google wants option of building Danish data center next to Apple ‘for same three reasons’

Ben Lovejoy Nov 20 2017 - 3:52 am PT

Google has purchased land in Denmark, adjacent to the site of Apple’s second data center in the country. The company said that it wanted to have the option of building its own data center right next door …

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Google coy about rumored $3B payment to Apple, deal likely to worth even more in future

Ben Lovejoy Oct 27 2017 - 4:04 am PT

It was suggested back in August that Google was paying Apple $3B this year to remain the default search engine on iOS devices. That’s up from the $1B it’s known to have paid in 2014, and – as it’s almost all profit – is estimated to account for a whopping 5% of Apple’s total operating profit for the year …

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Apple shifts Siri and Spotlight search from Microsoft’s Bing to Google on iOS and macOS

Zac Hall Sep 25 2017 - 9:28 am PT

It looks like Siri and Google are friends again and Bing is in the rear view mirror. In a major shift, Apple is changing its search results provider for Siri and Spotlight on iOS and macOS from Microsoft’s Bing to the vastly more popular Google.

The change has started to roll out today and should be in effect for all users by the end of the day. For users, this means Siri and Spotlight will now provide the same search results as Safari by default (and in a lot of cases show better search results).

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Google Drive/Backup and Sync app now compatible with macOS High Sierra and APFS

Michael Potuck Sep 7 2017 - 9:03 am PT

For the past several months, users running the beta version of macOS High Sierra have been out of luck when it comes to support for the Google Drive Mac app. Now, shortly before we’re likely to see the official release of macOS 10.13, Google has updated its software to work with the new Apple File System.

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Google pays $3 billion for default search on iOS, estimated to be bulk of Apple services business

Abner Li Aug 14 2017 - 10:43 am PT

Being the default search engine on iOS is highly lucrative for Google, with Apple’s devices predicted to account for approximately 50% of Google’s mobile search revenue. So much so that one financial firm estimates that Google will pay Apple $3 billion this year to remain the default.

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Google Calendar desktop redesign, new Gboard talk-to-text languages, & YouTube live view counter

Joe Maring Aug 14 2017 - 9:57 am PT

Google has had a rather busy day so far with releasing new features and testing others before they’re ready for prime time, including updates to Google Calendar, the company’s Voice Search API, and the YouTube app.

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SOS Alerts on Google Search and Maps apps on iOS aim to keep you safe during a crisis

Joe Maring Jul 25 2017 - 6:35 am PT

As past events throughout time have proven, the world can sometimes be a dark and dangerous place. Having access to the right information during a crisis can prove to be lifesaving depending on the situation at hand, and the release of SOS Alerts on the Google Search and Maps on iOS aims to make dealing with these future events easier and much more manageable.

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Google makes iOS search app more personal with a feed based on your interests

Ben Lovejoy Jul 19 2017 - 4:35 am PT

Google has updated its iOS and Android search apps with a more personalized feed of links that may interest you.

Since introducing the feed in December, we’ve advanced our machine learning algorithms to better anticipate what’s interesting and important to you. You’ll see cards with things like sports highlights, top news, engaging videos, new music, stories to read and more. And now, your feed will not only be based on your interactions with Google, but also factor in what’s trending in your area and around the world.

Google says that the system is designed to track not only your interests, but also the degree of interest it believes you have …

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Google Calendar for iOS adds Today Widget

Jordan Kahn Jul 7 2017 - 11:41 am PT

The Google Calendar app for iPhone and iPad adds a new ‘Today Widget’ for iOS in its latest update today, bringing a quick view of calendar events from the app into the iOS search screen when swiping to the right from the home screen.

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Google will soon stop scanning your emails to personalize ads in Gmail

Abner Li Jun 23 2017 - 10:20 am PT

Since Gmail’s launch in 2004, one point of frequent contention was how the free service scanned emails to show tailored ads. Google has today announced that it is ending this personalization practice in Gmail later this year.

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Amazon surpassed Sonos to become leader in Wi-Fi speaker sales ahead of Apple’s HomePod

Jordan Kahn Jun 19 2017 - 10:31 am PT

A new report from Strategy Analytics gives us a look at the current state of Wi-Fi speaker sales ahead of Apple’s release of its newly unveiled HomePod Siri speaker slated for this December. The report shows that Amazon with its push of Echo and other Alexa-enabled WiFi speakers was able to surpass shipments from Sonos that has mostly ruled the majority of the market since 2014.

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Gmail for iOS adds Inbox-style ‘Smart Reply’ feature with quick reply suggestions

Jordan Kahn May 17 2017 - 10:13 am PT

Google is today releasing an update for its Gmail mobile apps, iOS included, that introduces a new Smart Reply feature that offers suggested quick reply buttons within emails.

The feature is something Google is bringing over from its Inbox by Gmail and Allo apps where similar functionality was already available. Google says that the feature accounts for around 12% of replies sent in Inbox, for instance.

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Google Search adds ‘Events’ view to find and filter nearby activities on iOS

Abner Li May 10 2017 - 11:11 am PT

Google Search on mobile is adding a new view that better surfaces and summarizes events from sites like Eventbrite and Ticketmaster. Available on iOS, users will now be able to filter based on location and other factors.

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Apple creates new hardware team led by former Google satellite execs

Michael Potuck Apr 21 2017 - 11:16 am PT

It’s well known that Apple is working hard to bring innovation to augmented reality and self-driving cars (in some capacity). However, new hires recently made by the company are making a satellite project seem likely.

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Surprise! Non-profit chaired by Eric Schmidt ranks Google above Apple in privacy, governance & freedom of expression

Ben Lovejoy Mar 27 2017 - 6:06 am PT

The 2017 Corporate Accountability Index – a company ranking put together by a non-profit chaired by Alphabet’s Eric Schmidt – has ranked Google top dog in the technology sector, while Apple sits at #7 with a little over half Google’s score.

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Google Photos updated with faster backup and sharing, Duo adds audio-only mode

Abner Li Mar 22 2017 - 2:06 pm PT

With a focus on parts of the world that have slower connectivity, Google updated Photos today to have faster backup and sharing, while the Duo video chatting app received an audio-only mode.

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Gmail now supports native, business focused add-ons, more coming soon

Ben Schoon Mar 9 2017 - 12:33 pm PT

Gmail on its own is already a very powerful email client, offering useful features and direct integration with Google’s other services, like Google Drive. However, there’s always room for improvement. Today, Google has announced that Gmail will add support for native add-ons.

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Microsoft bringing Google Calendar and Contact syncing, enhanced Gmail features to Outlook for Mac

Zac Hall Mar 1 2017 - 9:43 am PT

Microsoft announced today that it plans to bring Google Calendar and Contacts support to Outlook 2016 for Mac later this year. Outlook for Mac already works with Gmail accounts for managing email, but this update will mark the first time Gmail users can manage contact databases and calendar entries using Microsoft’s software.

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Chrome 56 for iOS adds a QR code scanner via 3D Touch, redesigns iPad tab switcher

Ben Schoon Feb 2 2017 - 6:03 am PT

Just a few days following the debut of Chrome 56 on the desktop, Google has started pushing the same new version to iOS users. While not a major update, this new version does bring along a couple of useful features, including a handy QR code scanner.

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Google Motion Stills updated w/ motion tracking text, super-resolution videos, & cinemagraphs

Abner Li Dec 15 2016 - 11:30 am PT

Following new features for Google’s other photo apps this morning, Motion Stills is getting a major update that allows you to add text that tracks an object in a video, super-resolution videos, and automatic cinemagraphs.

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