The name Google is synonymous with online searches, but over the years the company has grown beyond search and now builds multiple consumer products, including software like Gmail, Chrome, Maps, Android, and hardware like the Pixel smartphones, Google Home, and Chromebooks. Its name can also be found on internet services such as Google Fi, Flights, Checkout, and Google Fiber. Here is all of the latest news about one of the most influential tech companies in the world.
The Google Home Speaker is designed for Gemini for Home and its more conversational smart home assistant.
Google’s set to launch its new Gemini Intelligence AI features on Android and Wear OS later this year.
As we discussed, Epic and Google will be back in court July 16th to answer six specific questions from the court — as it decides whether to force Google to carry rival stores inside its own app store, or let it adopt “Registered App Stores” in the US instead. What do you think of the embedded arguments?
Pixel foldables get the new feature first, which is being added to Android 17 alongside native controller remapping, but only rolls out “in the coming months.” We’ve seen control options like this in other foldables before, but it’s welcome to see Google bake it into the OS.
Unlike Eric Schmidt or Gloria Caulfield, Pichai didn’t mention AI. Instead, it seems the students were protesting Google’s broader politics, and chanted “Free Palestine” over Pichai’s speech as they filed out.
AI wasn’t just slop at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
“Outsider Enterprise” allegedly distributes phishing templates that have scammed people out of millions of dollars. Google says over a million fraudulent URLs are linked to the group, and that over just two weeks, it sent 2.5 million messages to Android users with links to fraudulent websites.
A Thursday email to Google Home users says there are over 3.5 million Gemini for Home early access testers, and that people should “keep a very close eye on your inbox next week” for news about “a certain speaker.” That sounds like the Google Home speaker we previewed in October, which was projected to launch in spring 2026.
The feature previously required a pair of headphones, but Google’s Gemini 3.5 Live Translate update is expanding support across more than 70 languages:
For Android users, we’re also starting to roll out a new ‘listening mode’ with 3.5 Live Translate that lets you hear translations directly through your phone’s earpiece. Simply hold your phone to your ear just like a regular call, and the translated audio streams straight to you.
The company is going all in on AI agents, but how will its years-late promises compete in today’s AI market?
At a tech talk during WWDC 2026, Apple revealed that the company worked with Nvidia, Google, and Intel to make Private Cloud Compute work on the industry-leading AI hardware. Apple Foundational Model runs on Nvidia hardware within Google’s cloud. For more details, see our live blog.
Following capacity shortages at TSMC, Intel will “manufacture more than three million Tensor Processing Units in 2028,” half the estimated 6 million TPUs Google’s expected to make in the next two years, The Information reports. Nvidia and SK Hynix are also reportedly testing Intel’s tech for manufacturing their chips.
[The Information]
Per a regulatory filing, Google will pay SpaceX $920 million per month from October 2026 through June 2029, as reported by TechCrunch.
In a statement to TechCrunch, Google says that it’s a “short-term” agreement to help meet “surging customer demand for our agent platform, Gemini Enterprise, which has been even higher than we expected.”
Anthropic’s deal with SpaceX was announced in May.
After removing some features from the AI image-maker in February, Google has shut down the app completely and directs users to Gemini instead, as reported by 9to5Google. Pixel Studio launched in 2024 alongside the Pixel 9.
I wasn’t able to enable it in Google’s Chrome Canary developer sandbox, but Windows Report got it working using a Ctrl+Shift+Space keyboard shortcut on Windows. It opens as a standalone window centered on the screen, with AI Mode at the heart of the experience.
Starting this summer, users in Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, and Estonia will be able to scan their passports to create a digital pass within the Google Wallet app. Unlike in the US, people can’t use Google’s ID passes for travel in the EU, but they can be used for online age verification as requirements sweep across the globe.
The company is lagging behind Anthropic, OpenAI, and even Microsoft when it comes to AI coding tools, but 404 Media reports it’s found a novel way to expand its training base of code: offering to pay Android developers for access to the innards of their apps.
Gozde Oznur, the product manager behind the new app, told me the idea is to use Dreambeans as a place to experiment with using AI to combine all the data Google has about you into proactive, helpful “stories.” I’ve had the app for a couple of days, and outside of a lot of shopping recommendations, some of the stuff is cool! It told me to get my devices ready for WWDC, and had some helpful info for a train trip. But I cannot get used to these AI-generated pictures of me. Just can’t do it.
We tested seven Qi2 and Qi2.2 batteries to find the best ones to snap on the back of your MagSafe or Pixelsnap phones.
Companies regularly share product specs with official accessory makers, but Google is encouraging DIYers to make their own straps, cases, and mounts for the Fitbit Air by releasing its technical specifications, 2D CAD drawings, and guidelines for the best materials to use.
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It uses data from your pictures to mix and match outfits in a virtual try-on you can save and share. It’s rolling out in the US, India, and Brazil as part of the June Android drop, starting with AI Pro/Ultra subscribers and “other select users” on Android, but you’ll need at least 1,000 photos of yourself to be eligible to try it out without a subscription.
[Google Photos Community]
The new feature in Google Home lets you add your pets’ faces to your indoor cameras, so you get alerts that tell you which cat is walking on the counter rather than just that a cat is traversing the kitchen. To enable it, type your pet’s name and species into the Ask Home search box in the Home app; you need Google Home Premium Advanced ($20/month).
It’s a remarkable piece of technology. But the future sure is creepy.
Alongside a $35 outdoor camera, $23 plug-in indoor cam, and $45 wired video doorbell launched last week, the retailer has leaked a floodlight camera at the end of a promo video. Question is, will it or the rumored Onn speaker launch first?
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The Omotesando, Tokyo Google Store will be Google’s first physical store outside the US, as Engadget reports. It will also be Google’s 11th store worldwide since opening its first physical store in 2021. Google says the new shop will offer Pixel devices, AI experiences, on-site repairs, and online order pickups.
[Google]
Android president Sameer Samat says the update also includes a feature that detects whether the page you’re about to scan is a duplicate, while automatically switching blurry scans to “the highest-quality frame.” The new scanner operates on-device and is available to Android users with 8GB of RAM or more.
