Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google says it will begin removing Google Assistant from Android and Wear OS devices on September 4, replaced by Gemini; Assistant remains on connected cars — As expected, Google Assistant is going away in 2026, and the company just provided a September 4 date for Android.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google starts rolling out access to Gemini Spark for Google AI Pro subscribers to over 160 countries and adds a Chrome auto browse integration on desktop — Gemini Spark is getting two big updates today, starting with Chrome auto browse integration on desktop. — Previously, Gemini Spark had access to a remote web browser.
Damien Wilde / 9to5Google: Google plans to open its first physical Google Store outside of the US, in Tokyo's Omotesando district “this summer”, marking Google's 11th physical store — After being exclusive to the United States, the first physical Google Store outside of the region is coming to Tokyo, Japan, in the coming months.
Andrew Romero / 9to5Google: YouTube adds a “custom feed” to its home page that lets users prompt it to create a constantly refreshing feed, available to signed-in US users with history on — YouTube isn't exactly replacing the traditional search bar, but it is supplementing it with a way to watch a …
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: Google says Chromebooks will get support through their “existing date commitment”, and “many” models are “eligible to transition” to the Googlebook experience — During The Android Show earlier today, Google revealed its “Googlebook” …
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: Report: Samsung co-CEO TM Roh told company leaders that the mobile division MX could report its first ever annual loss this year, amid RAM and storage shortages — As AI continues to eat up the market's RAM output, smartphones are in crisis as costs continue to skyrocket.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google says Meet's Gemini-powered Take Notes for Me feature can now be used for in-person meetings and adds support for Teams and Zoom — Besides Workspace Intelligence, Google announced a suite of new Workspace features across Drive, Sheets, Meet, and more at Cloud Next 2026.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google unveils Workspace Intelligence, which understands “complex semantic relationships” between data in Workspace apps to provide personalized context — At Cloud Next 2026, Google today announced “Workspace Intelligence” to provide “highly accurate, personalized context for every app.”
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google designates “back button hijacking” as malicious, saying sites interfering with a browser's back button function could be demoted in Search from June 15 — Websites that engage in “back button hijacking” might soon appear less prominently in Google Search results as part of a new spam policy.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Samsung plans to discontinue its Messages app in the US in July 2026 and offers instructions for users on older Android versions to switch to Google Messages — Samsung has shared an “End of Service Announcement” for its Messages app in the US. Set for July 2026, Google Messages …
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: Corning unveils Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 for smartphones, promising enhanced drop durability over multiple years, first launching on the new Motorola Razr Fold — Corning has announced Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3, a new upgrade to smartphone cover glass that promises protection against years of drops …
Will Sattelberg / 9to5Google: Qualcomm forms a “strategic coalition” to launch 6G in 2029 and unveils FastConnect 8800, an “AI-native” Wi-Fi 8-ready NIC that doubles peak speeds over Wi-Fi 7 — Qualcomm's taking Mobile World Congress by storm, with a collection of networking-centric announcements set …
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google's Android XR design docs and developer tools hint at the XR glasses' details, including mandatory physical buttons and “Glimmer” UI design language — Android XR glasses are coming in 2026. Here's what you can expect from the user interface and experience.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: YouTube launches a Premium paywall for song lyrics on YouTube Music, after testing it in recent months; users get five free lyrics before they have to subscribe — After testing in recent months, YouTube Music looks to be widely rolling out a Premium paywall for lyrics.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: A Google bug report apparently leaks the planned Android desktop interface, showing a taller status bar, a new mouse cursor, Chrome extensions, and more — A Google bug report on the Chromium Issue Tracker today has inadvertently leaked the Android desktop interface for the first time.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google makes Help Me Write, AI email summaries, and Suggested Replies free to all Gmail users; the features required a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription — Besides previewing the future of Gmail today, Google is making a number of AI features that previously required a subscription free for personal accounts.
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: A Google support page in Hindi says the company plans to roll out an option to let users change their Gmail addresses while retaining all data and services — For quite some time now, Google has allowed users to change their account email address if they are using a third-party email address …
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google adds Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, aka Nano Banana, to Search's AI Mode and Google Lens, on Android in the US for those with an account opted into Search Lab — Nano Banana has been a hit in the Gemini app, and Google is now bringing the model's (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) …
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google unveils Gemini for Home, replacing Assistant on smart speakers with new voice options and improved conversational skills, and a redesigned Home app — Gemini for Home does more than just replace Google Assistant on smart speakers and displays. Featuring a rebuilt Home architecture …
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google rolls out its new gradient “G” icon company-wide, saying it “now represents all of Google ... and visually reflects our evolution in the AI era” — After introducing for Google Search in May, the gradient ‘G’ icon will now be used across the company.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google announces Play Games Sidekick for Android, an in-game overlay that provides access to Gemini Live while playing games downloaded from the Play Store — Google is bringing Gemini Live to Android gaming with Play Games Sidekick. Billed as a coach, it's meant to be a …
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google expands AI Mode to 180 countries and territories in English, following the US, the UK, and India, and plans to add more languages and regions “soon” — After launching in three countries, Google is now bringing AI Mode to many more countries around the world …
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google Messages rolls out Sensitive Content Warnings on Android to blur nude images for signed-in users; Android System SafetyCore powers on-device processing — Google Messages for Android has now rolled out Sensitive Content Warnings that blur nude images.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google begins rolling out Gemini for Wear OS, replacing Assistant, “over the coming weeks” to Wear OS 4+ on the Pixel, Samsung, OnePlus, OPPO, Xiaomi, and more — After announcing in May at The Android Show: I/O Edition, Google is now beginning to roll out Gemini for Wear OS.
Andrew Romero / 9to5Google: Samsung unveils the $899+ Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, with a smaller cover screen than the Galaxy Z Flip 7, a smaller battery, no telephoto, Android 16, in two colors — The Galaxy Z series has long since been a little out of reach for consumers, placing the devices in the higher price range.
Andrew Romero / 9to5Google: Samsung unveils the $349 Galaxy Watch 8 in 40mm and 44mm sizes and the $499 Watch 8 Classic in 46mm, with Gemini and an Antioxidant Index for carotenoid levels — The Galaxy Watch 8 series is finally official. Amongst some serious design changes, Samsung has added a slew of features with Wear OS 6 …
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: Samsung unveils the $2,000+ Galaxy Z Fold7, with bigger 8-inch and 6.5-inch displays, 200MP, 12MP, and 10MP cameras, and a thinner 8.9mm design, in four colors — In its biggest hardware update since 2020's Galaxy Z Fold 2, Samsung is launching the Galaxy Z Fold 7 today with a drastically thinner design …
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: Google has been banned from selling the Pixel 7 in Japan due to a patent dispute related to 4G connectivity; further bans against the Pixel 8 and 9 are possible — A patent dispute in Japan has led to Google no longer being able to sell select older Pixel devices, and the company behind it is gunning for newer generations too.
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: Samsung updates Samsung Wallet to add a “Tap to Transfer” feature that lets US users quickly exchange money between themselves, rolling out “later this month” — Samsung Wallet is adding a clever new “Tap to Transfer” feature that lets you quickly exchange money between friends …
Abner Li / 9to5Google: On the 20th birthday of its first video, YouTube says it has had 20T+ uploads, including 20M+ daily now, and unveils app and TV updates, including new Multiview — YouTube is celebrating its 20th birthday with a number of stats, while previewing new features that are coming this year.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google rolls out opt-in Sensitive Content Warnings in Messages to blur nude images on Android; the System SafetyCore-powered content classification is on-device — Following last year's announcement, Google Messages is rolling out Sensitive Content Warnings that blur nude images on Android.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google rolls out a Play services update, including an Android security feature to auto-reboot phones and tablets that are “locked for three consecutive days” — With the latest Google Play services update, Android is rolling out a new security feature that automatically restarts …
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google launches Workspace Flows, an AI tool to automate multi-step processes, in alpha, and new Docs, Sheets, Meet, Chat, and Vids features, like audio in Docs — Besides new Gemini features in Google Docs, Sheets, Meet, Chat and Vids, Cloud Next 2025 saw the announcement of Google Workspace Flows.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google unveils Gemma 3, the “world's best single-accelerator model”, running on a single GPU, in 1B, 4B, 12B, and 27B sizes, and says it outperforms Llama-405B — Following version 1 in February 2024 and 2 in May, Google today announced Gemma 3 as its latest open model for developers.
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: Samsung releases One UI 7 beta for Galaxy S24, with a huge visual overhaul, a “Now Bar”, a vertically scrolling app drawer, new security and AI tools, and more — Months later than expected, Samsung has officially unveiled its Android 15 update, One UI 7, and the company …
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: Report: Samsung plans to release its smart glasses in Q3 2025; the glasses will be powered by Qualcomm's AR1 chipset and use Google's Gemini to handle AI tasks — According to a new report, Samsung's upcoming XR glasses that are being developed in collaboration with Google won't arrive until …
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google updates Chrome desktop to let users choose how aggressively it frees up inactive tab resources across three modes, and adds a Performance Detection tool — Last year, Chrome introduced Memory and Energy Saver modes, and Google is now updating its desktop browser with Performance issue alerts.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: YouTube rolls out new features: granular playback speed controls, an improved miniplayer on iOS and Android, updated playlists, a sleep timer, and more — YouTube is making official a number of updates that it's been testing in recent months, like the new miniplayer and several design updates.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google rolls out Gemini-powered contextual Smart Replies, which analyzes the context of an email and suggests a detailed reply, in Gmail for paid users — Following the announcement at I/O 2024, Google is now rolling out Contextual Smart Replies to Gmail for Android and iOS.
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: On its Chinese website, Huawei says its HarmonyOS now has 10,000 apps and meta-services; the latest HarmonyOS update blocked the ability to install Android apps — After a few years of building out “HarmonyOS,” Huawei's latest update has finally blocked the ability to install Android apps at all …
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Susan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO and a key figure in Google's creation, dies at age 56, after two years of living with cancer — Her husband, Dennis Troper, made the announcement earlier this evening: … Susan Wojcicki joined Google in 1999 as its 16th employee and first marketing manager.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google says the Chromecast with Google TV 4K and HD will remain on sale until stocks run out, as the company stops making Chromecast, first launched in 2013 — The first Chromecast was announced in July of 2013 with the goal of letting people stream content from phones to televisions.
Andrew Romero / 9to5Google: Telegram rolls out a Mini App Store to help users find new apps, updates the in-app browser to support multiple tabs, and says its mini apps have 500M MAUs — Telegram is refining the in-app expereince, adding a new way to interact with the browser and a Mini App Store for native applications.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Leaked images show the upcoming “Google TV Streamer”, a new set-top box with a pill-shaped design, to replace the dongle form factor, and an updated remote — Back in April, we revealed that Google is working on a sequel to the Chromecast with Google TV (4K) …
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: Samsung tells US users that Samsung Messages will no longer come pre-installed on the Galaxy Flip6, Fold6, and newer models in favor of Google Messages — After slowly phasing the app out in some regions, Samsung has announced that it will no longer pre-install Samsung Messages on Galaxy devices in favor of Google Messages.
Damien Wilde / 9to5Google: Xiaomi unveils the Mix Fold 4, starting at ~$1,237, and the Mix Flip, its first flip foldable, with a 4.01" cover display, starting at ~$825, available in China — Xiaomi has officially launched two brand new foldables, including the firm's first ever flip device.
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: Samsung debuts the Galaxy Z Fold6, with a wider 22.1:9 display, up to 2,600 nits brightness, thinner frame, IP48, and seven years of updates, for $1,899 — At an Unpacked event today in Paris, Samsung has officially unveiled its latest book-style foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: Samsung unveils the Galaxy Z Flip6 with 3.4" and 6.7" displays, a 50MP camera sensor, larger 4,000 mAh battery, and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, for $1,099+ on July 24 — With its new Galaxy Z Flip 6, Samsung is addressing one of the biggest problems with its foldable flip phone, but in what is otherwise a fairly minor upgrade.
Abner Li / 9to5Google: Google begins rolling out a “Listen to this page” feature on Chrome for Android, letting the browser read text-heavy web pages — Chrome for Android has been working on its own text-to-speech (TTS) capability for a few months now, and Google is now rolling out “Listen to this page.”
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: YouTube plans to roll out its Thumbnail Test & Compare tool to all creators “in the coming weeks”, letting them test video thumbnails “evenly” across audiences — YouTube is preparing to roll out a new thumbnail testing feature to creators, which means you'll …