Google – Page 19

Bad vibes? Google may have screwed up haptics in the new Pixel Drop update

Google, Google Pixel, haptics, Tech / Rejus Almole / March 8, 2025

The unexpected appearance of notification cooldown, along with smaller changes to haptics globally, could be responsible for the complaints. Maybe this is working as intended and Pixel owners are just caught off guard; or maybe Google broke something. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Pixel notification cooldown — The unexpected appearance of Notification Cooldown in the update might have something to do with the reports—it’s on by default. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

In 2022, Google released an update that weakened haptic feedback on the Pixel 6, making it so soft that people were missing calls. Google released a fix for the problem a few weeks later. If there’s something wrong with the new Pixel Drop, it’s a more subtle problem. People can’t even necessarily explain how it’s different, but most seem to agree that it is.

After testing several Pixel phones both before and after the update, there may be some truth to the complaints. The length and intensity of haptic notification feedback feel different on a Pixel 9 Pro XL post-update, but our Pixel 9 Pro feels the same after installing the Pixel Drop. The different models may simply have been tuned differently in the update, or there could be a bug involved. We’ve reached out to Google to ask about this possible issue and have been told the Pixel team is actively investigating the reports.

Updated on 3/7/2025 with comment from Google.

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No one asked for this: Google is testing round keys in Gboard

android, gboard, Google, Tech / Mike M. / March 7, 2025

Most Android phones ship with Google’s Gboard as the default input option. It’s a reliable, feature-rich on-screen keyboard, so most folks just keep using it instead of installing a third-party option. Depending on how you feel about circles, it might be time to check out some of those alternatives. Google has quietly released an update that changes the shape and position of the keys, and users are not pleased.

In the latest build of Gboard (v15.1.05.726012951-beta-arm64-v8a), Google has changed the key shape from the long-running squares to circle shapes. If you’re using the four-row layout, the keys are like little pills. In five-row mode with the exposed number row, the keys are collapsed further into circles. The reactions seem split between those annoyed by this change and those annoyed that everyone else is so annoyed.

Change can be hard sometimes, so certainly some of the discontent is just a function of having the phone interface changed without warning. If you find it particularly distasteful, you can head into the Gboard settings and open the Themes menu. From there, you can tap on a theme and then turn off the key borders. Thus, you won’t be distracted by the horror of rounded edges. That’s not the only problem with the silent update, though.

The wave of objections isn’t just about aesthetics—this update also moves the keys around a bit. After years of tapping away on keys with a particular layout, people develop muscle memory. Big texters can sometimes type messages on their phone without even looking at it, but moving the keys around even slightly, as Google has done here, can cause you to miss more keys than you did before the update.

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You knew it was coming: Google begins testing AI-only search results

ai mode, Google, google ai overviews, llm, Tech / Tim Belzer / March 6, 2025

Google has become so integral to online navigation that its name became a verb, meaning “to find things on the Internet.” Soon, Google might just tell you what’s on the Internet instead of showing you. The company has announced an expansion of its AI search features, powered by Gemini 2.0. Everyone will soon see more AI Overviews at the top of the results page, but Google is also testing a more substantial change in the form of AI Mode. This version of Google won’t show you the 10 blue links at all—Gemini completely takes over the results in AI Mode.

This marks the debut of Gemini 2.0 in Google search. Google announced the first Gemini 2.0 models in December 2024, beginning with the streamlined Gemini 2.0 Flash. The heavier versions of Gemini 2.0 are still in testing, but Google says it has tuned AI Overviews with this model to offer help with harder questions in the areas of math, coding, and multimodal queries.

With this update, you will begin seeing AI Overviews on more results pages, and minors with Google accounts will see AI results for the first time. In fact, even logged out users will see AI Overviews soon. This is a big change, but it’s only the start of Google’s plans for AI search.

Gemini 2.0 also powers the new AI Mode for search. It’s launching as an opt-in feature via Google’s Search Labs, offering a totally new alternative to search as we know it. This custom version of the Gemini large language model (LLM) skips the standard web links that have been part of every Google search thus far. The model uses “advanced reasoning, thinking, and multimodal capabilities” to build a response to your search, which can include web summaries, Knowledge Graph content, and shopping data. It’s essentially a bigger, more complex AI Overview.

As Google has previously pointed out, many searches are questions rather than a string of keywords. For those kinds of queries, an AI response could theoretically provide an answer more quickly than a list of 10 blue links. However, that relies on the AI response being useful and accurate, something that often still eludes generative AI systems like Gemini.

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Google tells Trump’s DOJ that forcing a Chrome sale would harm national security

antitrust, chrome, Google, national security, Policy / Paul Patrick / March 6, 2025

Close-up of Google Chrome Web Browser web page on the web browser. Chrome is widely used web browser developed by Google. — Credit: Getty Images

The government’s 2024 request also sought to have Google’s investment in AI firms curtailed even though this isn’t directly related to search. If, like Google, you believe leadership in AI is important to the future of the world, limiting its investments could also affect national security. But in November, Mehta suggested he was open to considering AI remedies because “the recent emergence of AI products that are intended to mimic the functionality of search engines” is rapidly shifting the search market.

This perspective could be more likely to find supporters in the newly AI-obsessed US government with a rapidly changing Department of Justice. However, the DOJ has thus far opposed allowing AI firm Anthropic to participate in the case after it recently tried to intervene. Anthropic has received $3 billion worth of investments from Google, including $1 billion in January.

New year, new Justice Department

Google naturally opposed the government’s early remedy proposal, but this happened in November, months before the incoming Trump administration began remaking the DOJ. Since taking office, the new administration has routinely criticized the harsh treatment of US tech giants, taking aim at European Union laws like the Digital Markets Act, which tries to ensure user privacy and competition among so-called “gatekeeper” tech companies like Google.

We may get a better idea of how the DOJ wants to proceed later this week when both sides file their final proposals with Mehta. Google already announced its preferred remedy at the tail end of 2024. It’s unlikely Google’s final version will be any different, but everything is up in the air for the government.

Even if current political realities don’t affect the DOJ’s approach, the department’s staffing changes could. Many of the people handling Google’s case today are different than they were just a few months ago, so arguments that fell on deaf ears in 2024 could move the needle. Perhaps emphasizing the national security angle will resonate with the newly restaffed DOJ.

After both sides have had their say, it will be up to the judge to eventually rule on how Google must adapt its business. This remedy phase should get fully underway in April.

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Google’s AI-powered Pixel Sense app could gobble up all your Pixel 10 data

gemini nano, Google, Google Gemini, pixel 10, Tech / Kris Guyer / March 5, 2025

Google’s AI ambitions know no bounds. A new report claims Google’s next phones will herald the arrival of a feature called Pixel Sense that will ingest data from virtually every Google app on your phone, fueling a new personalized experience. This app could be the premiere feature of the Pixel 10 series expected out late this year.

According to a report from Android Authority, Pixel Sense is the new name for Pixie, an AI that was supposed to integrate with Google Assistant before Gemini became the center of Google’s universe. In late 2023, it looked as though Pixie would be launched on the Pixel 9 series, but that never happened. Now, it’s reportedly coming back as Pixel Sense, and we have more details on how it might work.

Pixel Sense will apparently be able to leverage data you create in apps like Calendar, Gmail, Docs, Maps, Keep Notes, Recorder, Wallet, and almost every other Google app. It can also process media files like screenshots in the same way the Pixel Screenshots app currently does. The goal of collecting all this data is to help you complete tasks faster by suggesting content, products, and names by understanding the context of how you use the phone. Pixel Sense will essentially try to predict what you need without being prompted.

Samsung is pursuing a goal that is ostensibly similar to Now Brief, a new AI feature available on the Galaxy S25 series. Now Brief collects data from a handful of apps like Samsung Health, Samsung Calendar, and YouTube to distill your important data with AI. However, it rarely offers anything of use with its morning, noon, and night “Now Bar” updates.

Pixel Sense sounds like a more expansive version of this same approach to processing user data—and perhaps the fulfillment of Google Now’s decade-old promise. The supposed list of supported apps is much larger, and they’re apps people actually use. If pouring more and more data into a large language model leads to better insights into your activities, Pixel Sense should be better at guessing what you’ll need. Admittedly, that’s a big “if.”

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Gemini Live will learn to peer through your camera lens in a few weeks

gemini live, Google, Google Gemini, Tech / Mike M. / March 4, 2025

At Mobile World Congress, Google confirmed that a long-awaited Gemini AI feature it first teased nearly a year ago is ready for launch. The company’s conversational Gemini Live will soon be able to view live video and screen sharing, a feature Google previously demoed as Project Astra. When Gemini’s video capabilities arrive, you’ll be able to simply show the robot something instead of telling it.

Right now, Google’s multimodal AI can process text, images, and various kinds of documents. However, its ability to accept video as an input is spotty at best—sometimes it can summarize a YouTube video, and sometimes it can’t, for unknown reasons. Later in March, the Gemini app on Android will get a major update to its video functionality. You’ll be able to open your camera to provide Gemini Live a video stream or share your screen as a live video, thus allowing you to pepper Gemini with questions about what it sees.

Gemini Live with video.

It can be hard to keep track of which Google AI project is which—the 2024 Google I/O was largely a celebration of all things Gemini AI. The Astra demo made waves as it demonstrated a more natural way to interact with the AI. In the original video, which you can see below, Google showed how Gemini Live could answer questions in real time as the user swept a phone around a room. It had things to say about code on a computer screen, how speakers work, and a network diagram on a whiteboard. It even remembered where the user left their glasses from an earlier part of the video.

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Sergey Brin says AGI is within reach if Googlers work 60-hour weeks

AI, artifical intelligence, Google, sergey brin, Tech / Rejus Almole / March 1, 2025

Sergey Brin co-founded Google in the 1990s along with Larry Page, but both stepped away from the day to day at Google in 2019. However, the AI boom tempted Brin to return to the office, and he thinks everyone should follow his example. In a new internal memo, Brin has advised employees to be in the office every weekday so Google can win the AI race.

Just returning to the office isn’t enough for the Google co-founder. According to the memo seen by The New York Times, Brin says Googlers should try to work 60 hours per week to support the company’s AI efforts. That works out to 12 hours per day, Monday through Friday, which Brin calls the “sweet spot of productivity.” This is not a new opinion for Brin.

Brin, like many in Silicon Valley, is seemingly committed to the dogma that the current trajectory of generative AI will lead to the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI). Such a thinking machine would be head and shoulders above current AI models, which can only do a good impression of thinking. An AGI would understand concepts and think more like a human being, which some would argue makes it a conscious entity.

To hear Brin tell it, Google is in the best position to make this AI computing breakthrough. He cites the company’s strong workforce of programmers and data scientists as the key, but he also believes the team must strive for greater efficiency by using Google’s own Gemini AI tools as much as possible. Oh, and don’t work from home.

Brin and Page handed the reins to current CEO Sundar Pichai in 2015, so his pronouncement doesn’t necessarily signal a change to the company’s current in-office policy. Google still operates on a hybrid model, with workers expected to be in the office three days per week. But as a founder, Brin’s voice carries weight. We reached out to Google to ask if the company intends to reassess its policies, but a Google rep says there are no planned changes to the return-to-office mandate.

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Google will finally fix awesome (but broken) song detection feature for Pixels

android, Google, pixels, Tech / Kris Guyer / February 28, 2025

Google’s Pixel phones include numerous thoughtful features you don’t get on other phones, like Now Playing. This feature can identify background music from the lock screen, but unlike some similar song identifiers, it works even without an Internet connection. Sadly, it has been broken for months. There is some hope, though. Google has indicated that a fix is ready for deployment, and Pixel users can expect to see it in a future OS update.

First introduced in 2017, Now Playing uses a cache of thousands of audio fingerprints to identify songs you might encounter in your daily grind. Since it works offline, it’s highly efficient and preserves your privacy. Now Playing isn’t a life-changing addition to the mobile experience, but it’s damn cool.

That makes it all the stranger that Google appears to have broken Now Playing with the release of Android 15 (or possibly a Play Services update around the same time) and has left it that way for months. Before that update, Now Playing would regularly list songs on the lock screen and offer enhanced search for songs it couldn’t ID offline. It was obvious to Pixel fans when Now Playing stopped listening last year, and despite a large volume of online complaints, Google has seemingly dragged its feet.

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Pixel Watch 3 gets FDA approval to alert you if you’re dying

fda, Google, Tech, wearables / Mike M. / February 27, 2025

Google released the Pixel Watch 3 last fall alongside the Pixel 9 family, sporting the same curvy look as the last two versions. The Pixel Watch 3 came with a new feature called Loss of Pulse Detection, which can detect impending death due to a stopped heart. Google wasn’t allowed to unlock that feature in the US until it got regulatory approval, but the Food and Drug Administration has finally given Google the go-ahead to activate Loss of Pulse Detection.

Numerous smartwatches can use health sensors to monitor for sudden health events. For example, the Pixel Watch, Apple Watch, and others can detect atrial fibrillation (AFib), a type of irregular heartbeat that could indicate an impending stroke or heart attack. Google claims Loss of Pulse Detection goes further, offering new functionality on a consumer wearable.

Like the EKG features that became standard a few years back, Loss of Pulse Detection requires regulatory approval. Google was able to get clearance to ship the Pixel Watch 3 with Loss of Pulse Detection in a few European countries, eventually expanding to 14 nations: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It noted at the time more countries would get access as regulators approved the feature, and the FDA was apparently the first to come through outside of Europe, boosting support to 15 countries.

loss of pulse pixel watch — Credit: Google

The Pixel Watch 3 doesn’t include any new or unique sensors to power Loss of Pulse Detection—it’s just using the sensors common to smartwatches in slightly different ways. The watch uses a “multi-path” heart rate sensor that is capable of taking readings once per second. When the sensor no longer detects a pulse, that usually means you’ve taken the watch off. It’s quick to make that determination, locking the watch in about a second. That’s great for security but a little annoying if you were readjusting it on your wrist.

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It’s easier than ever to scrub your personal info from Google Search

Google, google search, personal data / Rejus Almole / February 27, 2025

As Google’s 2024 antitrust loss proved, the company has worked very, very hard to ensure its search engine is the primary roadmap for the Internet. Google scours the Internet for data about everything—even you. And if you don’t want your personal info to wind up in Google search results, you can use the just-redesigned “Results About You” tool. The tool, which began its rollout in 2022, is easier to use now, and some of the most useful features are now better integrated with search results.

The first step in using Results About You—which has not changed—is a bit alarming when you’ve set out to obscure your personal information. Just head to the new hub for Results About You and enter your personal information. Google probably already knows your phone number, email, and even physical address, but this tells the tool what specific information to pluck out of search results. If that data is out there, Google has it whether or not you remove it from search results.

Before this update, most of the Results About You features were limited to this console, but the most important features are now integrated with the search results. They’re not exactly prominently displayed, though. When scrolling through a Google search (after the AI overview, ads, knowledge graph, and more ads), you can use the three-dot menu next to a result to get data about it. This menu now includes options to remove the result right at the top.

If you request a removal due to the presence of personal information, Google will ask for more details, but that only takes a few seconds. The same interface includes non-personal removal requests—for example, if you’ve spotted illegal content. If you’re requesting a personal data removal, it has to be your data. These requests are logged in the Results About You tool for later review. Importantly, Google can’t remove content from webpages—you’re on your own there.

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Google’s free Gemini Code Assist arrives with sky-high usage limits

AI, artificial inteligence, Gemini, Google, Tech / Kris Guyer / February 26, 2025

Generative AI has wormed its way into myriad products and services, some of which benefit more from these tools than others. Coding with AI has proven to be a better application than most, with individual developers and big companies leaning heavily on generative tools to create and debug programs. Now, indie developers have access to a new AI coding tool free of charge—Google has announced that Gemini Code Assist is available to everyone.

Gemini Code Assist was first released late last year as an enterprise tool, and the new version has almost all the same features. While you can use the standard Gemini or another AI model like ChatGPT to work on coding questions, Gemini Code Assist was designed to fully integrate with the tools developers are already using. Thus, you can tap the power of a large language model (LLM) without jumping between windows. With Gemini Code Assist connected to your development environment, the model will remain aware of your code and ready to swoop in with suggestions. The model can also address specific challenges per your requests, and you can chat with the model about your code, provided it’s a public domain language.

At launch, Gemini Code Assist pricing started at $45 per month per user. Now, it costs nothing for individual developers, and the limits on the free tier are generous. Google says the product offers 180,000 code completions per month, which it claims is enough that even prolific professional developers won’t run out. This is in stark contrast to Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, which offers similar features with a limit of just 2,000 code completions and 50 Copilot chat messages per month. Google did the math to point out Gemini Code Assist offers 90 times the completions of Copilot.

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Qualcomm and Google team up to offer 8 years of Android updates

android, Google, qualcomm, Tech / Kris Guyer / February 26, 2025

How long should your phone last?

This is just the latest attempt from Google and its partners to address Android’s original sin. Google’s open approach to Android roped in numerous OEMs to create and sell hardware, all of which were managing their update schemes individually and relying on hardware vendors to provide updated drivers and other components—which they usually didn’t. As a result, even expensive flagship phones could quickly fall behind and miss out on features and security fixes.

Google undertook successive projects over the last decade to improve Android software support. For example, Project Mainline in Android 10 introduced system-level modules that Google can update via Play Services without a full OS update. This complemented Project Treble, which was originally released in Android 8.0 Oreo. Treble separated the Android OS from the vendor implementation, giving OEMs the ability to update Android without changing the low-level code.

The legacy of Treble is still improving outcomes, too. Qualcomm cites Project Treble as a key piece of its update-extending initiative. The combination of consistent vendor layer support and fresh kernels will, according to Qualcomm, make it faster and easier for OEMs to deploy updates. However, they don’t have to.

Update development is still the responsibility of device makers, with Google implementing only a loose framework of requirements. That means companies can build with Qualcomm’s most powerful chips and say “no thank you” to the extended support window. OnePlus has refused to match Samsung and Google’s current seven-year update guarantee, noting that pushing new versions of Android to older phones can cause performance and battery life issues—something we saw in action when Google’s Pixel 4a suffered a major battery life hit with the latest update.

Samsung has long pushed the update envelope, and it has a tight relationship with Qualcomm to produce Galaxy-optimized versions of its processors. So it won’t be surprising if Samsung tacks on another year to its update commitment in its next phone release. Google, too, emphasizes updates on its Pixel phones. Google doesn’t use Qualcomm chips, but it will probably match any move Samsung makes. The rest of the industry is anyone’s guess—eight years of updates is a big commitment, even with Qualcomm’s help.

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