Megan Ellis / Android Authority TL;DR Google is testing a redesigned Games tab in the Play Store that adds prominent, scrollable genre bubbles. The update also brings these genre bubbles to the Top Charts tab, replacing the easily overlooked and overwhelming Categories dropdown. The Google Play Store remains the beating heart of Android for Google … Read More “Google tests Play Store UI change that should help picky gamers save time” »
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority TL;DR Android 17 Beta 4 makes internal reference to an in-development notification tool called Pixel Glow. Pixel Glow uses “subtle light and color” when your phone is face-down to let you know when things happen. Requirements for hardware lights might mean that Google’s adding RGB LEDs to upcoming Pixel … Read More “Mysterious ‘Pixel Glow’ notification tool may involve new hardware” »
Recently, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed legal complaints against Google. The complaints accuse Google of deceptive trade practices for breaking its own policies after it handed a user’s data to US authorities without notifying them. The tech giant claims that there are certain exceptions where it will not notify the user first. Now the … Read More “EFF pushes back on Google data scandal response: ‘Google screwed up’” »
Guest Post / Android Authority TL;DR A legal complaint has been filed against Google after it gave a student’s data to the government without notifying the user. Google’s own policy notes that, with a few exceptions, it will notify users before handing over data. This news also comes as Google-free Android forks like GrapheneOS gain … Read More “This Google user data scandal shows why more people are using GrapheneOS” »
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google has announced a few improvements to the cropping tool in Google Photos. The company says it now offers smoother animations for rotating, dragging, and adjusting aspect ratios. It also fixed a couple of bugs related to the cropping tool. Google Photos has a bunch of AI editing tools, … Read More “Cropping images just got better in Google Photos” »
Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR Personal Intelligence launched earlier this year, giving Gemini a holistic look at your digital life across Google products. Google is now expanding access to Personal Intelligence globally, with the key exception of European markets. The company also teases that Personal Intelligence for free Gemini users globally will be here … Read More “Google’s giving Gemini Personal Intelligence a huge expansion” »
Andy Walker / Android Authority TL;DR Google appears to be testing its Canvas feature inside NotebookLM. The same leak points to Connectors support coming to the app. Source labels and auto-labeling may also be in the works. Google seems to be finding more and more places to stick its Canvas feature, and its NotebookLM app … Read More “NotebookLM may soon help you build interactive visuals” »
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority TL;DR There’s a new Google app for Windows. The app lets you search the web and your own files with a handy keyboard shortcut. The app is currently available everywhere, but only in English on Windows 10 and up. Last year, Google released an experimental app for Windows that … Read More “Google’s Windows app is now available everywhere” »
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Gemini sidebar in Chrome for desktop is getting “Skills” for repetitive prompts. If you use the same prompt repeatedly, you can now save it as a Skill, so you don’t have to retype it entirely again. In addition to custom Skills, you can also browse the set of available … Read More “Gemini in Chrome gets a productivity hack that you must absolutely try” »
Stephen Schenck / Android Authority TL;DR Gemini in Home is picking up a number of upgrades, with many focused on its ability to understand your voice commands. Users who work with notes and lists will appreciate support for more complex instructions, including multi-step tasks. Google’s also enhancing Parental Controls & Digital Wellbeing, letting Home users … Read More “New Gemini for Home tweaks are all about understanding you” »
