Google

Guy in Charge of Chrome Says Google Isn’t Killing Chrome OS After All

Google’s top talent says its Chrome OS isn’t going anywhere. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Google would be folding its Chrome OS into Android, creating one mobile operating system. But the dude in charge of the Android and Chrome OS went on Twitter to dispel the rumor: Indeed, it’s hard to argue that…

Amazon and Walmart Are Joining the FAA’s Drone Registry Taskforce

The FAA seems to have suddenly realized every dad in America is getting a drone for Christmas. So, it’s setting up a ‘drone taskforce’ to try and register every drone before U.S. airspace is shut down by a million plastic quadrotors. Amazon, Google and Walmart seem to be on board. The panel working on the…

WSJ: Google Is Feeding Chrome OS to Android

Google’s Chrome operating system is not long for this world, according to the Wall Street Journal. Soon, Android will be Alphabet Inc.’s one true OS. This isn’t surprising news. Android already is Google’s one true OS. It’s the world’s most popular operating system, while Chrome took a tiny corner of the market, powering Google’s Chomebooks.…

Android 6 Vs. iOS 9: The Showdown

It wasn’t too long ago that we put the major mobile operating systems head to head, but with big updates from both Google and Apple in the meantime, we think it’s worth another look at where they both stand. Is there a clear winner? Or are they barely distinguishable any more? Visual Design and Interface…

OnePlus X Is a $250 Phone That’s Shockingly Good-Looking

I’m a big fan of cheap phones, an obsession that’s been well documented. I’ve tried the Moto G, Nexus 5, and OnePlus One, and have loved them all. I’m completely convinced that a great smartphone and an expensive smartphone are not mutually exclusive. The new $250 OnePlus X is proof. Yes. That phone pictured above…

Google Photos is getting a feature that enables you to hide a specific individual from under the People tab—which means you can suppress those images of your ex that you’d rather not have to look at.

Australian Court Holds Google Responsible for Linking to Defamatory Websites

The South Australian Supreme Court this week found that Google is legally responsible when its search results link to defamatory content on the web. In this long-running case, Dr Janice Duffy has been trying for more than six years to clear her name and remove links to defamatory material when people search for her using…

Google’s Internet Balloons Are Floating Over to Indonesia

Google’s Project Loon is a grandoise project to bring internet to the third world via large party balloons. Last time we’d checked in, it was flying 20 balloons over Australia; now, it wants to put 20,000 over remote parts of Indonesia. In an announcement today, Google confirmed that it’s teaming up with three of Indonesia’s…

Google Play Games Now Lets You Record and Share Epic Gaming Moments

Google Play Games is the hub of all things mobile gaming on Android, keeping track of achievements or helping you find that next mobile gaming addition. Now, the app has a new tool to help you share your most epic gaming moments—with friends of your budding YouTube Gaming fan base. When opening up a game…

If you ordered a Nexus 6P, and it hasn’t shown up, good news: per Phandroid, Google knows some shipments are delayed, and it’s giving $25 refunds to dry your gadget tears. [Phandroid]

Droid Maxx 2 Promises Superior Battery Life on the Cheap

Verizon just unleashed two new Droid smartphones, each styled after Motorola’s latest. Where the burly Droid Turbo 2 falls more inline with the top-tier Moto X Pure Edition, the Droid Maxx 2 is a Verizon version of the Moto X Play, a phone that never actually came to the U.S. Under a slightly different guise,…

Google Play Music Will Soon Have Podcasts, Too

Earlier this year, Spotify beat Google to the punch when it announced its own recommendation engines for podcasts and video—not just songs. Now, Google Play Music is playing catchup and adding podcasts into its own audio offering. The announcement was posted on the Android Official Blog today. Podcasters will soon be able to upload their…

Google’s Latest Hire Has a Creepy Plan to Track Your Mental Health

Google’s parent company Alphabet has just hired Thomas Insel, the former head of the National Institute of Mental Health, who has some pretty weird ideas about what his new job will entail. Insel told a crowd at Chicago Ideas Week that he still isn’t sure what Alphabet wants him to do. But then he explained…

Google Now Has a Second, Even More Expensive OnHub Router

Over the summer we got a first look at Google’s plans to fix you crappy home networking situation. The first OnHub router, manufactured by TP-Link, was pretty cool–and very expensive. Now Google’s got yet another OnHub router, this time made by Asus. It’s even more expensive. Google OnHub is a great idea on paper. For…

The Droid Turbo 2 Is a Verizon Superphone That Can Handle Some Punishment

Creating the Verizon Droid is a simple formula at this point: Take Motorola’s latest and greatest, in this case the new Moto X Pure Edition, and supercharge the specs in every direction. Bigger battery. Bigger processor. So on and so on. But for the Turbo 2, Verizon has a whole new trick—the display is shatterproof.…

HTC’s One A9 Will Only Cost $400 Until November 7th—Then It’ll Jump to $500

When HTC unveiled its iPhone-like One A9 last week, one of its most attractive features was its cost. But while the $400 price tag may seem tempting, in reality that deal is only available until November 7th—after that date, the price will jump up by $100. HTC had seemed to suggest that the sleek phone…

A Clever Hack Kinda-Sorta Brings 3D Touch to Android

Apple’s neat 3D Touch tricks rely on a touchscreen that has integrated pressure sensors to determine between a ‘peek’ and a ‘pop’. But give a cunning Android hacker a waterproof phone and a barometer, and you can get a similar sort of effect. https://gizmodo.com/iphone-6s-review-a-3d-touch-playground-but-not-much-e-1734182375 In a proof-of-concept video posted to YouTube, developer Marco Chiappetta shows…

Nexus 6P Review: The Android Phone For Everyone

Google-designed Nexus phones have been beating the handsets designed by third-parties for a few years now, owing to their use of an unfettered stock Android. With the 6P, Nexus finally gets gorgeous hardware to match the luster of its powerful software. It’s the Android phone almost everyone should buy. What Is It? A 5.7-inch Android…

BlackBerry’s $700 Android Frankenphone Goes Up For Preorder

You can now preorder The Priv, one of BlackBerry’s strangest creations (and it’s made some weird stuff), for $700 in United States currency. $700! That puts BlackBerry’s latest in direct competition with some of the best smartphones you can buy. That’s not to say you’re not getting some great stuff for the money. The Priv…

Good news for multi-taskers: Chrome for iOS now supports Apple’s split-screen feature.