Google

Google won’t approve any Google Glass apps that use facial recognition software. Well, for now. Google said, “we won’t add facial recognition features to our products without having strong privacy protections in place”. Strong privacy protections aren’t in place right now, I guess. [Google]

Jamstar, Real Racing 3, and More

Regretting that you never had time to pursue your rockstar ambitions? What about childhood fantasies of being a race car driver? Interior designer? Well, whatever your secret dreams may be (well, assuming they’re one of the above), this week’s slew of Android apps want to make them become a reality—a virtual one, but a reality…

Google Honors Inventor of Petri Dish with Gross/Awesome Doodle

Today, Google honors German bacteriologist Julius Richard Petri (born May 31st, 1852), the scientist credited with the invention of the Petri dish – a ubiquitous research tool particularly suited to raising cell cultures and revealing how gross-and/or-fascinating the world is, generally. The animation shows a series of Petri dishes sprouting Google-spelling bacteria after being swabbed.…

How Google Is Finally Fixing Android’s Deepest Flaw

You might not have noticed, but in the last two weeks Google has fixed the thing you hate most about Android. The biggest news out of this year’s I/O Googlepalooza didn’t have anything to do with Jelly Bean or Google Glass. It wasn’t a killer app or a self-driving car. It was, in fact, the…

Though already accessible via web on iOS, Google Play All Access should officially be hitting iOS in less than a month.

HTC One Google Edition Brings Stock Android to the Best Android Phone

On Stage at the D11 conference, Google’s Android chief Sundar Pichai confirmed rumors that an HTC One Google Edition running vanilla Android will be available on June 26th for $600. That means the best Android phone in the world will be available unlocked and without the often clunky HTCSense skin. Heck yeah. https://gizmodo.com/htc-one-review-the-beauty-is-a-beast-updated-5990716 Today’s announcement…

Google Search Will Tell You How Many Calories Are in That Burger Now

This is great if you’re watching your waistline and even if you’re not—Google has added very specific nutritional information to search. Whether you want to know how many carbs are in an apple to how much sodium is in a bowl of miso soup, it will give you an exact answer. Your queries can be…

Motorola Is Making a Flagship Android Phone Called the Moto X

Motorola, a company trying to figure out why it still exists, is apparently making a flagship Android phone called the Moto X. Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside confirmed it in his interview at the D11 conference. Could the Moto X be the mysterious Motorola Google lovechild phone we spotted before? https://gizmodo.com/does-this-mystery-motorola-reveal-googles-influence-5990275 Motorola has been very quiet…

Google’s Rad Skee-Ball Game Turns Your Phone Into a Wii Remote

God bless the whimsical programmers over at Google who are forever finding fun ways for us to waste our days. Click this link to check out the Chrome team’s latest experiment, which pairs your computer and your phone so that you can play an awesome game of Skee-Ball. It’s called Roll It, and it’s wonderful.…

Google Street View Now Lets You Explore Central Park, 9/11 Memorial

Without Google Maps and Street View, I’d be utterly lost in New York, or anywhere in the world for that matter. And for all its usefulness, we’ve always had a few good laughs, too. Today’s update to three distinct areas of New York might make you laugh, cry or sit back in astonishment. Street View…

Gmail’s Getting a Neat Freak Overhaul for Web and Mobile

Google just announced a new interface for you Gmail based around customizable tabs. The goal? To you help manage your goliath of an inbox. It looks pretty incredible. The new inbox design is coming to both web and mobile. It’s based around tabs that function much the way labels did before—except that they’ll actually work…

Samsung has published a listing for the as-yet unannounced Galaxy S4 Mini on the changelog of one of its apps. That as near as dammit confirms the impending arrival of the phone, which will probably possibly be announced at Sammy’s June 20th London event. [SammyHub via Phandroid]

This Is LG’s White Nexus 4–But It Won’t Make Another Google Phone

LG has finally confirmed that it’s making a white version of the Nexus 4—but it’s also admitted that it’s not interested in manufacturing another Google phone. The white Nexus 4 is in every way identical to the black version. Except it’s white. So, really quite a boring product announcement. It’s not clear yet whether or…

Sky’s Apps Have Been Hacked And Are Off Google Play

The British Sky Broadcasting Group has removed their Android apps (Sky News, Sky Go, Sky+ and Sky Wi-Fi) from Google Play because of concerns that the Syrian Electronic Army has hacked the apps. Sky is advising users to delete the apps while they respond to the problem. The Syrian Electronic Army often targets news organizations…

How to Control Your Android Without Looking at It

It’s getting dangerous just to walk and text at the same time much less do so behind the wheel of a car. But with Siri being just slightly less helpful than HAL, how are you supposed to surf the web and simultaneously travel safely? All you have to do is ask. https://gizmodo.com/sadly-people-who-walk-and-text-could-actually-use-this-486000701 Become a Dictator:…

Flickr, Snoopify, and More

These days, you can’t turn around without some new photo-sharing app being thrown at you. And if you can’t beat ’em, you might as well go along for the ride. We’ve got two of the newest right here for you, plus a speedier way to browse on your phone that’s finally out of beta. Flickr:…

Microsoft and YouTube just told us that they’re working on an official YouTube app for Windows Phone together. The app will be released in “the coming weeks” (and will have ads).

Google is apparently facing a fresh antitrust probe from the Federal Trade Commission to find out if it’s been abusing its dominance in display-advertising to illegally curb competition. Naughty.

Is HTC Coming Out with a HTC One that Runs Stock Android?

Please be true, please be true, please be true. After Google announced that it would be selling a pure Android version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 on Google Play, the entire world screamed joys of Hallelujah Halle Berry. An awesome phone running completely stock Android has always been the dream. Now, HTC might be making…

Apparently, Google wants to start a bidding war with Facebook over who gets to buy Waze. That sounds like a lot of fun, actually. Who’s got more billions? [Bloomberg]