Google | The Verge

The name Google is synonymous with online searches, but over the years the company has grown beyond search and now builds multiple consumer products, including software like Gmail, Chrome, Maps, Android, and hardware like the Pixel smartphones, Google Home, and Chromebooks. Its name can also be found on internet services such as Google Fi, Flights, Checkout, and Google Fiber. Here is all of the latest news about one of the most influential tech companies in the world.
Google’s Robby Stein says Gemini 4 Hydrogen is ‘the biggest model upgrade to Search yet.’
A study testing Gemini, Perplexity, and ChatGPT found that in as many as 15 percent of conversations, chatbots displayed ‘risky’ URLs.
The AI chatbot’s dedicated app was already available in cars with Google built-in, as well as Android Auto. Now CarPlay users who prefer Google’s chatbot to Siri can use Gemini to manage their calendar or ask questions about the trip ahead. Gemini was already available through Google Maps, and now Apple has made space for it in the main CarPlay display too.
The AI experience is better, the privacy protections are more proactive, and they’re still stylish.
The tech giant spent $10 million to buy a collection of internal data from defunct airline Spirit for AI training, which it said would be “deidentified.” A union representing attendants has made sure of that, persuading Google to agree to stricter terms excluding employee medical data, along with details on labor relations and safety investigations.
Google says it’s rolling out the AI feature to all Workspace users 18 years and older over the next two weeks to help people manage their overflowing inboxes. It’s also expanding access to AI Overview conversation summaries to “synthesize key points and replies in the conversation.”
[Workspace Updates Blog]
Hassabis said today that he used the newly-launched Gemini 4 Carbon to do it. He made the original 1994 Theme Park game with Peter Molyneux.
With Gemini Robotics 2.5, robots can “perform significantly more tasks with greater performance and dexterity,” according to Carolina Parada, DeepMind’s head of robotics. The model lets robots combine a “number” of skills, including “advanced tool use, complex manipulation of deformables, and handling delicate objects with finesse,” Parada says.
A new Gemini feature called Memory summary lets you “view, edit, and delete what Gemini Apps understands about you” to help ensure the AI’s responses are accurate and more relevant, according to a support page on Google’s website. The feature is currently only available to US users “with an active Google AI plan,” and it requires features like Keep Activity and Memory to be enabled.
The two companies are introducing an opt-in integration designed to increase cyclist safety by sharing real-time cycling alerts directly with drivers. Cyclists using Garmin LiveTrack on a compatible Garmin Edge bike computer or smartwatch can broadcast a dynamic, moving icon to nearby Waze drivers. The hope is that drivers using Waze will see the notice about a nearby cyclist and slow down. The feature is rolling out now to iOS and Android users.
While any apps or faces already installed will keep working, after November 28th, owners won’t be able to download them from the Fitbit App Gallery anymore, even to replace deleted ones or following a device reset.
Starting November 28, 2026, the Fitbit App Gallery for Versa, Versa 2, Versa 3, Versa 4, Sense, and Sense 2 devices will exclusively feature apps and clock faces created by Fitbit and Google. If you already have third-party apps or clock faces installed on your Fitbit device, you can continue using them without interruption.
It says the new TPU 8tx is for confidential computing for government agencies and regulated businesses, while the 8i Max is aimed at AI applications with large context windows. Google also announced its TPU 8t and 8i in April, for a total of four new TPUs in one year.
As spotted by Android Authority, Google’s support page has been updated to remove Android 9 as the previous minimum support requirement. You’ll now need a phone that’s running at least Android 10 to connect wirelessly to your car display, or Android 11 if you’re plugging in via a USB cable.
After Google previewed the feature when it announced the Pixel Tag tracker in August, Android’s Find Hub is finally getting ”Notify when left behind” alerts for trackers including third-party options like the Moto Tag, as spotted by 9to5Google. It’s a feature you can activate in the Find Hub app on a per tracker basis, and it includes an exception for your home address.
Apple’s first foldable matches its Android rivals in a few key areas, but it falls short in others.
The new version of Google’s video generation model allows you to generate clips at a specific length, from three to 15 seconds. Google says Omni 1.2 Flash can also make edits to a video without re-generating the entire clip, and is better at generating scenes with continuous camera movements and “natural-sounding” dialogue.
The companies filed separate lawsuits arguing that that the law violates the First Amendment and Section 230 by forcing them to present content to kids under 16 in a way that the government finds acceptable, Reuters reports. California DOJ spokesperson Elissa Perez said they’re “committed to defending California’s commonsense laws to protect kids online.”
Update: Added California DOJ statement.
Android Authority found icons and references to “Tamba” in the latest YouTube APK. The code mentions followers, follow requests, direct messages, group chats, posts, and voice replies, suggesting it’s a social feature. But the “sandbox” label in the code suggests it could be a testing ground for experimental social features rather than a finished product.
Reuters reports Google employees in Canada, France, Germany, Japan ​and Switzerland started getting buyout offers in June. A Google spokesperson told Reuters it “expanded” the voluntary exit prog