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.
South Korea has long restricted the export of mapping data over national security concerns leaving Google Maps, launched there in 2008, to flounder against local rivals Naver and Kakao. The Transport Ministry said the revision is being made in the interest of promoting tourism.
Google is testing the second Android 17 beta on compatible Pixel devices in line with its accelerated release timeline. The release notes say it adds desktop window-like app bubbles so users “can organize, move between, and move bubbles to and from anchored points on the screen,” although testers report they haven’t seen them working yet.
There are also cross-device app handoffs, which can work with a web app even if it isn’t installed on the second device.
In December, Google Translate started using Gemini AI to improve translations for colloquial phrases and idioms that might not make sense in other languages, and now the Translate app also offers alternative phrasings on iOS or Android.
Users can also ask the AI for more context with new “Understand” and “Ask” buttons.
The Galaxy Unpacked keynote ended less than an hour ago, and with it the announcements of the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra. We watched the whole thing, but you don’t have to. Got twelve minutes?
Flow launched as a way to make AI-generated videos, but the company is bringing its experimental Whisk and ImageFX AI image generator tools into the app to let users “generate, edit and animate everything in one unified workspace.”
Blizzard apparently isn’t busy enough with Overwatch, announcing a mobile version of the game that “will begin select region testing soon.” Unlike mobile versions of games like Call of Duty, PUBG, or Fortnite, it’s not an attempt at an FPS and is being made by a separate team.
A gameplay preview trailer shows a similar feeling but slower-paced game capable of running on devices like an iPhone XS or Pixel 4a.
The notification was related to an incident at the BAFTAs on Sunday, as Variety reports. “We’ve removed the offensive notification,” Google spokesperson Brianna Duff said in a statement to The Verge, adding that the error didn’t involve AI, but rather that push notification systems intended to “accurately characterize” content from the web “accidentally” included the slur.
After launching on Amazon Fire TV in December, Instagram for TV is expanding to Google TV devices in the US starting Tuesday, as Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced in a post on Threads. The feature lets users view reels on their TV, arranged into “channels” for different topics and themes.
[Threads]
The likes of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Open Rights Group signed an open letter from the Keep Android Open project in opposition to developer registration, which opens next month and will be mandatory from September. The group’s Marc Prud’hommeaux explains why:
“We’ve been reaching out to Google for months to implore them to reverse course on this lockdown. The implications of their threatened action for competition and digital sovereignty are dire.”
The very good Ball x Pit is coming to iOS and Android on March 12th.
The ex-employees, along with one of their husbands, were arrested on Thursday after allegedly stealing trade secrets related to the Tensor chips in Google’s Pixel phones and sending them to Iran.
They’re now facing 14 felony counts of conspiracy, theft of trade secrets, and destruction of evidence, Bloomberg reports.
Sonic The Hedgehog Classic and Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Classic are the latest games from Sega’s Forever program that could soon disappear from the Google Play and Apple app stores. Both games now display a pop-up message warning that “support for this game will be discontinued, but you can continue playing offline!”
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With split view, you’ll be able to put two Chrome tabs right next to each other in one window. It’s already been available for some, but now it’s rolling out for everyone. Seems handy.
Gemini 3.1 Pro is rolling out starting today in the Gemini app and NotebookLM. According to Google:
3.1 Pro is designed for tasks where a simple answer isn’t enough, taking advanced reasoning and making it useful for your hardest challenges. This improved intelligence can help in practical applications — whether you’re looking for a clear, visual explanation of a complex topic, a way to synthesize data into a single view, or bringing a creative project to life.
It’s a minimal update. Google didn’t bring many Pixel 10 features down to the Pixel 10A this year. Buy the berry color.
A partial YouTube outage knocked out access to Google’s video service on Tuesday night.
The outage appears to have started just before 8PM ET, but at least on the homepage, it appears to be resolved now. A note on YouTube’s support page says it went down due to problems with the recommendations system. “The issue with our recommendations system has been resolved and all of our platforms (YouTube.com, the YouTube app, YouTube Music, Kids, and TV) are back to normal!
Update: The service is back online.
The former host of Morning Edition and current host of Left, Right & Center claims that Google illegally replicated his voice for its male podcast host in NotebookLM. Google denies this, but Greene (and many of his friends and colleagues) say the resemblance is “uncanny.” As the Washington Post reports:
To Greene, the resemblance of the AI voice to his own is uncanny — and the harm is deeper and more personal than just a missed chance to capitalize on his most recognizable asset.
“My voice is, like, the most important part of who I am,” Greene said.
What’s causing the issues or how widespread they are is unclear. We’ve been unable to reproduce the issue here, but DownDetector has seen a spike in reports over the past few hours. Users report that Gemini displays error messages or hangs after a prompt. We’ve reached out to Google for comment.
Google, Reddit, Discord, and Meta have received “hundreds” of subpoenas from the DHS in recent months, according to a report from The New York Times. The agency is reportedly asking the platforms for the names, email addresses, phone numbers, and other information associated with accounts that “track or criticize” ICE.
[The New York Times]
Gemini-powered Audio Summaries give you a condensed overview of lengthy documents instead of reading the entire thing. The feature is starting to roll out to select business and Google AI users now, and can be found in the Tools menu in Google Docs.
