Google

It’s Google Brillo, the New Operating System for Your Home

This week at Google I/O, we’re likely to learn more about Brillo, Google’s oddly-named new operating system for low-powered devices that are perfect for a smart home or internet of things setup. Google Brillo has nothing to do with Brillo soap pads, nor Andy Warhol, which we find very confusing. Image via the Andy Warhol…

Watch the Google I/O Keynote Here, Live

Google I/O is the annual event all you Droid lovers and Chromies and Moonshooters have been waiting for. Today we’re going to hear what Google has in store for the next year — from Android M to Cardboard and more. Tune in live right here, at 12:00 PM eastern time. We’ll be liveblogging from the…

What to Expect From Google I/O 2015

Google I/O is the annual tech holiday for all fandroids and lovers of Mountain View moonshots. It’s a software party mostly, so check your new hardware expectations at the door. It’s a full two days for Google to showcase the future—or at least the next 12 months—and it all starts today. Considering Google has wedged…

Google’s Immersive 360 Action Flick Is So Realistic It’s Not Believable

Google released a new 360-degree immersive video on its Spotlight Stories app yesterday—the first featuring real human actors instead of animation. It’s an action-packed short directed by Fast & Furious director Justin Lin. I downloaded the 1GB 360 video and took it for a literal spin (I was sitting in a swivel chair). It’s so…

Fast and Furious’ Justin Lin Directs Live Action 360 Video For Google

Following on last year’s beautiful animated short “Duet,” Google just pushed out a sweet little short from Justin Lin, best known as the director of several films from the Fast and Furious franchise. “Help” is a 360 video is available through the Google Spotlight Stories app, a project of the Advanced Technologies and Projects (ATAP)…

Android Auto Preview: It’s Not Perfect, But You Want It

I was really excited when Google announced Android Auto last year. I spend a lot of time driving, and it sounded way safer and more convenient than sticking my phone to the dash. Eleven months later, I finally got to take it for a spin. The TL;DR version? I want it in my car, like,…

Now You Can Test Drive Android Auto

Starting today, you’ll be able to test the first wave of truly connected cars. Android Auto is now available on its first integrated vehicle, the 2015 Hyundai Sonata. As you head to your local dealership to test drive it, you can practice talking to your car on the way: “Ok, Google…” Android Auto will be…

A Speculative Look at the Future of Google’s Nexus Devices

Google’s huge developer conference, Google I/O, is this week(!), and while it’s not normally a place for a hardware announcements, a lot of rumors surrounding Google’s 2015 Nexus devices are already frothing toward the surface. Bottom line: Smartphones are in, tablets are out. Technology is filled with all kinds of rumors and speculation — real…

Google Is Making a Robot Teddy Bear That Can Recognize Your Face

Google’s hoping there’s a market for sophisticated artificial intelligence voice assistants you can hug. The company’s most recent patent design for an anthropomorphic voice assistant/toy reads like someone dreamt it up after watching an AI and Ted double-feature (and had obviously never seen Child’s Play). It’s a robot shaped like a teddy bear or bunny…

If you’re trying to sign up for Google’s Project Fi, you may be in for a wait. Google warns that demand has been so high that it may take until mid-summer for all of their requests to be processed.

Skrillex Made Some Expensive, Pointless Phone Cases With Google

Skrillex and Google have “teamed up” to bring a new line of Live Cases that juice your phone with new features. The new Live Cases have gaudy sci-fi designs straight from the mind of the electronic musicstar. The cases have built-in NFC chips that talk to your phone and unlock new features: “live wallpaper” that…

Adblock Browser Righteously Fends Off Ads on Your Android Phone

Completely essential browser extension Adblock Plus is plowing forward on its quest to keep bothersome ads out of the web with a new browser for Android devices. The new Adblock Browser is in beta, and currently available for direct download from this Google+ page. (It hasn’t been approved by Google just yet, but you should…

Tweetsnow show up in Google search results on mobile devices. Twitter and Google reached a deal to work together earlier this year, and they’re making good on it now. One step at a time, though: Tweet search still doesn’t work on your desktop or any language but english.

Google Tone Sends URLs to Nearby Computers Using Sound

Google has published a Chrome extension that allows you to share URLs in an interesting new way. Click a button and a simple chirrup from your computer’s speakers sends the link to other devices in earshot. The little piece of software called Tone is inspired by the fact that “while digital communication methods like email…

Mapping Comes to Android Wear With Google Maps Update

An update to Google Maps has brought with it an interesting added bonus for Android smartphone users: access to maps, right there on your wrist. Android Central reports that, following an update to Google Maps version 9.9 on a corresponding phone, an LG Watch Urbane boasted an icon for the app, too, in its launcher.…

Apple and Google Beg Obama to Reject Encryption Backdoors

A collection of tech giants, including Apple and Google, along with noted cryptologists, have sent President Obama a letter urging him to reject government proposals to include backdoors in encrypted communication systems. The letter, sent Tuesday, was obtained by the Washington Post. The newspaper explains that the plea is signed by “more than 140 tech…

At Google I/O, Cardboard Won’t Necessarily Be Cardboard Anymore

Last year, the most exciting thing at Google I/O was a chunk of cardboard—cardboard which could transform any smartphone into an uber-cheap virtual reality headset. But Google isn’t stopping there. This year, the company will “announce some things around Cardboard that aren’t made of cardboard,” says Google’s Clay Bavor. Intriguing. Clay Bavor was the guy…

Google’s Prototype Driverless Car Hits Public Roads This Summer

Google’s first consumer-focused prototype driverless cars will takes their first drive on public roads this summer, taking to the streets of Mountain View. In a blog post, Google’s self-driving car project director Chris Urmson explained that a handful of the cars will rolled out in Google’s neighborhood. The cars—which will be fitted with a removable…

Microsoft’s Hyperlapse Turns Shaky Videos Into Smooth Short Time Lapses

You may enjoy watching the hours of footage you recorded the last time you went skiing, but your friends are too polite to tell you how boring it actually is. So instead of spending days editing your adventures down to a short highlight reel, Microsoft has just introduced a new app called Hyperlapse that can…

How Google Decides If You Have the “Right To Be Forgotten”

It’s a year since the EU ruled that people have the “right to be forgotten” online, in the process ordering Google to remove links when people ask it to. Here’s how they decide who deserves to have their requests granted. At a data-privacy conference in Berlin, Google’s global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer explained how the…