Google

Google Maps gains 3D Touch place previews

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 27, 2017

Last week, I whined about Google dragging its feet when it comes to implementing support for important iOS features, like 3D Touch, in apps such as Gmail. Other iPhone and iPad apps from Google have been more aggressive in adopting 3D Touch features, including Maps. In the latest update, Google Maps was bumped to version 4.28 and now allows users who have an iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus to press places on the map to get quicker access to popular actions.

Google taps machine learning to help publishers identify trolls and toxic comments

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 23, 2017

Wouldn't it be great if machine learning could be applied toward improving comments and other conversations online? Big and small publishers alike, from NYT to the site you're now reading, are spending significant resources to stop trolls from bombarding readers with toxic comments.

A new Google tech based on machine learning strives to automate the process of sorting through millions of comments, helping identify and flag abusive comments that undermine a civil exchange of ideas.

Gboard gains voice typing, Google Doodles, new languages & iOS 10 emoji in latest update

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 23, 2017

Gboard, Google's iPhone keyboard that comes with Google Search, glide typing, GIFs, emojis and other advanced features built in, received a notable refresh on App Store. Bumped to version 1.3, Gboard includes support for fifteen new languages and brings a useful dictation feature that Google is calling Voice Typing. Additionally, you can now see a day’s Google Doodle right from the keyboard and enjoy Apple's latest iOS 10 emoji.

17 months later, Gmail gains a single 3D Touch shortcut

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 22, 2017

Google today refreshed its mobile Gmail app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch on App Store, adding very limited 3D Touch support nearly a year and a half after Apple first brought pressure sensing to iPhone's display with the September 2015 release of iPhone 6s.

Owners of the iPhone 6s/7 series can now press Gmail's icon to quickly compose a message, but that's about it. Thank you, Google, but seriously?

In my view, Google doesn't really have a clue how to properly build 3D Touch gestures into Gmail in a manner that would save users time and boost their productivity.

The app still lacks Peek and Pop gestures., but we'll get those next year, right?

iOS 10 now powers 79% of active devices, Android Nougat’s adoption barely 1%

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 22, 2017

iOS 10 now powers nearly eight out of ten active devices—less than six months since officially releasing to the public in September of last year, as measured by App Store on February 20, 2017.

To be precise—iOS 10 now powers 79 percent of active iPhone, iPad and iPod touch device out there, representing a three-point increase over iOS 10's adoption rate of 76 percent recorded 48 days ago on January 5, 2017.

Contrast the rapid pace of iOS adoption to Google, whose latest and greatest version of Android is currently found on less than one percent of active devices. Over and over again, Google's lack of control over hardware and other factors are hurting its ability to deploy the latest Android features to its customers.

How to use Google SafeSearch to filter out explicit web search results

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated January 13, 2023

Whether you’re a parent trying to filter explicit content from the limitless Google searches your child could be searching on the web, or you’re simply trying to figure out why it seems like certain images or web results are being filtered from your Google search queries, chances are Google SafeSearch is the answer.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how you can toggle Google SafeSearch on or off, depending on whether you need to start filtering explicit search results from your queries or stop doing so when the feature is already enabled.

YouTube will stop showing 30-second unskippable preroll ads beginning in 2018

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2017

Google will stop showing users those annoyingly unskippable 30-second preroll ads on YouTube clips. According to an official statement from the search giant given to Campaign, the change is coming in 2018 to give advertisers and agencies time to adjust their plans.

In aiming to provide a better advertising experience for online users, Google has clearly come to the inevitable realization that consumers loathe unskippable ads on YouTube.

Google’s dedicated search app gains filters for local results, Gboard & enhanced AMP support

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2017

Google's dedicated search app was updated this morning on App Store with a trio of nice-to-haves. For starters, you can now easily filter your local search results for museums, coffee shops, restaurants and other places of interest. With an expanded support for Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), more webpages will now load instantly within the app. AMP-optimized webpages are denoted on search results with a lightning bolt icon. Lastly, you can now use Google's gesture-driven Gboard keyboard in the mobile search app.

Google Maps for iOS updated with shareable lists of your favorite places

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 13, 2017

Following its most recent update which brought out the ability to track how busy places are in real-time, Google today announced a new Lists feature on Google Maps for iOS that lets you keep track of your favorite places and easily share them with friends.

Beginning today, users are permitted to create custom lists of places, share their lists with others and follow the lists their friends and family share with them, all without leaving the Google Maps app.

YouTube creators with 10,000+ subscribers can now stream live on mobile

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 7, 2017

Google-owned YouTube announced on Tuesday that creators who have more than 10,000 subscribers can now stream live video on mobile. This feature has been built directly into YouTube's mobile app for iOS and Android. If you're a YouTube creator with 10,000 subscribers, launch the app and hit the capture button to start streaming instantly. Streamed videos have all the same features as regular YouTube videos, meaning they can be searched for, found via recommendations or playlists and protected from unauthorized use.

Apple and other tech giants file legal brief opposing Trump’s immigration order

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 6, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial executive order that would bar Syrian refuges and travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the country is being formally challenged by Apple and 96 other companies, Bloomberg said Monday.

Apple, Google, Facebook, Intel, Airbnb Netflix, Snap, Uber, Zynga, Levi Strauss, Chobani along with many other companies have all signed an amicus brief, which is a legal filing that lets outside parties offer non-binding opinions to the court.

Snapseed now gives you precise control over brightness levels and colors

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 2, 2017

Earlier this week, Google's free image-editing app Snapseed was refreshed with a new tool for adjusting brightness and color levels precisely. A pair of under-the-hood tweaks is included, too. Snapseed is part of my iPhone photography toolkit and while I'm fond of its simplicity, I wish I could say the same for the app's imprecise slider-based controls.

With Snapseed 2.15 for iPhone and iPad, adding drama to your photos has become a lot easier than before.

That's because the new curve-based editing gives you precise control over things like contrast, brightness and color intensity in a given image.