Google’s first attempt to revolutionize mobile payments didn’t work out so well. Nearly four years after introducing Google Wallet, the company announced at Google IO this morning that it’s replacing its first mobile wallet solution with a new app called Android Pay, and it basically works just like Apple Pay.
Google Now is about to get far more powerful, thanks to a promising new feature called Now on Tap that leverages contextual search to offer quick answers to quick questions from within various apps.
“We’re working on a new capability to assist you in the moment — right when you need it, wherever you are on the phone,” said Google Now product manager Aparna Chennapragada as she previewed the impressive new functionality during Thursday’s kickoff keynote at Google I/O 2015.
For instance, asking, “What’s his real name?” while listening to a Skrillex track could return the DJ’s name from within a music app, making Google’s hive mind more accessible than ever. (FYI it’s Sonny John Moore.)
Organizing the flood of photos and videos we all have is the central challenge of today’s photos apps.
Director of Photos for Google, Anil Sabharwal, took the stage Thursday morning at the annual I/O conference to detail the company’s new offering that aims to solve this problem: Google Photos.
While initial screenshots on stage looked quite a bit like Apple’s own Photos app, the functionality of Google Photos uses machine learning and algorithms to create what may be turn out to be the most useful way to store and share your photos.
Google is expected to announce Android Pay, its new Apple Pay competitor, during its I/O keynote today. But before the service is official, the company has inadvertently confirmed its arrival with a whole bunch of Android Pay signs that are dotted around Moscone West.
Google I/O is one of the biggest events on the calendar for Android fans, and this year’s event is going to be just as exciting as the last. In addition to the next-generation Android upgrade, we’ll see updates to other Google platforms, and maybe even new devices.
Here are nine things even Apple fans won’t want to miss during Google I/O 2015, which runs May 28 and 29. (This post was updated May 27.)
The battle between virtual assistants is about to hot up again as Microsoft Cortana prepares to go cross-platform to take on Siri and Google Now. The intelligent virtual assistant will be arriving on Android and iOS later this year, but you can get a sneak peek in the video below.
With Apple Watch still sold out and Google reportedly gearing up to deliver Android Wear support for iPhone at Google I/O next week, it’s time for two of the hottest wearable platforms to face off.
Apple Watch is selling 30,000 units every day in the U.S., according to the latest reports, which makes it significantly hotter than any of the Android Wear watches we’ve seen so far. But is it really worth the hype?
Find out what we think in this week’s Friday Night Fight with Cult of Android versus Cult of Mac!
After the disaster of the Samsung S5, Samsung was counting on the Galaxy S6 to lead its way back to the top — with some people even throwing around terms like “iPhone killer” as a description of the new flagship handset.
According to a new report, however, the next-gen Samsung Galaxy device is faring even worse than its predecessor — boasting sales of just 10 million units so far, which is about what the iPhone 6 managed in its first weekend.
It all adds up to a massive strategy fail on Samsung’s part.
The National Security Agency and several of its allies around the world have hijacked connections to multiple Android app stores to plant spyware on hundreds of millions of devices.
According to a top secret document leaked by whistle-blower Edward Snowden, the Google Play Store, Samsung’s app store, and UC Browser, a web browser that’s incredibly popular in China and India, were the main targets.
Those who choose to obtain music, movies, and other wares illegally will want to think twice about switching to Google Fiber. Some subscribers have reported receiving automatic fines via Google for allegedly downloading pirated material.
Google has rolled out a nifty new Maps update for mobile that brings better traffic alerts that will be issued while you drive, and the ability to find alternate routes. The update comes just in time for Memorial Day, which is one of the busiest driving days of the year.
Using your smartphone while scoffing fast food will leave your shiny display covered in grease and grime, but thanks to KFC, there’s a better way to live-tweet what you’re eating.
The finger-licking chicken giant has designed a paper-thin Bluetooth keyboard called the Tray Typer, which lets you text, tweet, and even get stuff done over dinner without having to touch your smartphone at all.
Google is getting ready to unveil a new online picture sharing and storage service at the company’s upcoming Google I/O software developers conference later this month.
Not linked with Google+, the tool will supposedly allow users to post pictures to Facebook and Twitter in a more straightforward way than is currently possible through Google. It will also represent another stab on Google’s part at the photo-sharing market currently dominated by Instagram, Snapchat and Flickr.
Google has apologized for its second major mapping embarrassment in one month, after a racist slur involving the N-word was demonstrated as finding the White House on Google Maps.
Searches including “n****r house” and “n****r king” returned the home of Barack Obama as one of the top suggestions.
Samsung works in a lot of areas besides smartphones and, according to a recently published patent, one of those could soon be… Edge of Tomorrow-style soldier exoskeletons?
As described, Samsung’s wearable robot would be affixed to the legs of a user and would greatly enhance the strength of its puny human users by generating an auxiliary torque for assisting muscle power.
Well, at least this is one idea they probably didn’t borrow from Apple!
Samsung Flow, the South Korean company’s answer to Handoff, is now available in beta following its official unveiling at the Samsung Developer Conference last November. If you have a modern Galaxy device, you should be able to try it out, but don’t expect it to be exactly like Apple’s offering.
Samsung’s latest flagship phablet could come early this year as the South Korean company looks to counter the threat of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus due in September. A new report claims the Galaxy Note 5 will go on sale in July, three months earlier than expected.
Apple has received some bittersweet news in its ongoing litigation with Samsung as an appeals court has ruled that, yes, the iPhone’s design was copied, but that the overall look of a phone can’t be protected by law.
And here we were thinking there’s such a thing as a design patent!
Dueling developer events Google I/O and Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference will happen in the next couple of months, which makes this an exciting time of year for Apple and Android fans.
Both events attract a lot of attention — they’re two of the biggest software-focused conferences in tech — and getting a ticket to either one is nearly impossible.
But which is better? Find out what we think in this week’s Friday Night Fight with Cult of Android versus Cult of Mac!
If you live in Mountain View, CA, get ready for a new sight this summer. That’s because, several years after starting its self-driving car program, a handful of Google’s autonomous vehicles will finally be leaving the test track and hitting public roads in the area.
With human safety drivers on board, of course.
We don’t normally approve of the destruction of perfectly good gadgets just for the sake of it, but we’re willing to make an exception for this awesome video from Unbox Therapy, which shows a brand new Galaxy S6 edge being completely obliterated by a Desert Eagle.
Foxconn has become one of the world’s biggest tech suppliers thanks to its close relationship with Apple assembling iPhones and iPads, but the Chinese company is looking to hedge its bets by investing in the competing Cyanogen operating system.
Insanely, Consumer Reports used to refuse to recommend the iPhone. Instead, they recommended Android smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy.
Oh, how the tables turn. Now, not only is Consumer Reports saying that Samsung’s Galaxy S6 looks just like an iPhone (as a diss), they’re also saying the S6 is an inferior smartphone to the last-gen S5.
Samsung today rolled out its new smartwatch SDK in preparation for “the next generation Gear device,” and it confirms one of the wearable’s biggest selling points (and Samsung’s answer to the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown) — a new rotating bezel.
Android Wear isn’t officially iPhone-friendly just yet (though it should be very soon) but you can already connect a Moto 360 to your iPhone. A new Android app called Wear Connect makes the unlikely pairing possible, and it requires no jailbreak or unauthorized hacks.
The video below shows you how to get set up.