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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Google Photos is getting a number of updates today that improve the editing experience through machine learning and more manual controls. Additionally, a standalone PhotoScan app for iOS allows you to digitize your old physical prints with just your phone’s camera.
Earlier today we noted that Gmail was getting a big update today for iPhone and iPad that introduces an overhauled UI and new features. Not to be left out, Google’s Calendar app for iPhone— still not available for iPad— also gets a few new features today.
The app’s user interface gets a big improvement in the form of a new Month view while your iPhone’s in Portrait mode, and Week view now available while the device is in landscape mode. Take a look:
Also new for Google Calendar for iPhone is support for Spotlight search, which Google notes will allow you to find events, Reminders and Goals stored within the app using iOS’s built-in Spotlight Search function.
For G Suite users, the app will now let you add guests to events and automatically suggest meeting times and rooms. And finally, the updated Calendar app gets support for alternative calendars with today’s update:
Alternate calendars. If you often look up dates in a non-Gregorian calendar — like Lunar, Islamic, or Hindu — you can now add that calendar to easily see those dates alongside your current calendar.
The updated Google Calendar app for iPhone, version 1.6.3, is available on the App Store now.
Earlier today Google released a completely redesigned Gmail for iOS app w/ enhanced search, Undo Send and more.
Google’s new flagship Pixel XL phone landed in my hands early Monday morning, and I’ve been taking it for a test drive ever since. I’m obviously someone who prefers Apple devices over Google devices, but this phone is so fascinating that I just had to try it.
I should note that this isn’t a review — if you want a review you should definitely check out Stephen’s review over at 9to5Google — these are first impressions from an iPhone fan. Considering that the Pixel is the first real Google-branded smartphone, one that’s obviously meant to go toe-to-toe with Apple’s best offerings, I felt obligated to try it out. Here’s a brief look at a dozen of my initial thoughts.
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Google’s Gboard iOS keyboard has been one of the better received third-party keyboards yet. Today Google is releasing Gboard version 1.2 for iOS with a few highly requested features. New themes, additional emoji, and support for 3D Touch and the handy cursor placement trick are all included plus more.
Google’s keynote today was knocked by some observers for having a similar style to Apple keynotes: a funny video to start things off, an intro from the CEO to set the stage, and product leaders announcing new products that they work on. I don’t really buy into that as a critique. Apple usually does an impressive keynote; they use a format that other companies should copy.
Something else that stood out is Google’s habit of using subtle references to Apple critiques to pitch its products. That’s just not very Apple. There was a reference to ‘bumping phones’ a few years ago when Apple introduced AirDrop, but Apple tastefully avoided any combustion jokes when it introduced the iPhone 7 last month. Google, on the other hand, just couldn’t leave Apple out of its keynote.
Today at its press event to unveil its new Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, a rebranding of its Nexus-line of devices, Google also took the wraps off new features coming to its Assistant and Home platforms and more. The company highlighted claims that its new smartphones have the best camera of any mobile device yet, including comparing it to the new iPhone 7 camera.
Similar to Chrome, an update to the Google app for iOS today adds a new incognito mode that prevents search or browsing history from being saved. Other features include native playback of YouTube videos, improved iOS 10 compatibility, and performance improvements that reduce crash rates by 50%.
