iOS 18 rolling out RCS to the iPhone for better Android messaging
Apple today is rolling out iOS 18 with support for RCS in a huge boost to the iPhone-Android messaging experience.
Read MoreAbner Li has worked at 9to5Google since 2015 and in late 2020 took on the role of editor-in-chief. He is keenly focused on tracking what happens at Google and is often the first to spot new features in Google’s ever-growing family of applications that are updated on a daily basis, including Search, Assistant, Maps, Workspace, Android, and Chrome/OS.
To him, what Google does greatly impacts the technology space and modern life. Inside the company, he is particularly interested in the key products mentioned above, as well as up-and-coming services like Google Podcasts and Google Lens. Each are massive platforms that can be unwieldy to grasp, with Abner keenly bent on understanding their philosophy and future direction. He is most excited about Google’s plans for augmented reality glasses.
Abner spearheads the APK Insight program at 9to5Google to chronicle all changes in the company’s Android apps, often finding new features before they are officially announced. This includes redesigns and revamps, launches, and new products.
Another big area of interest is Google’s burgeoning hardware division. He detailed all of the Pixel 3’s camera features before launch and got wind of Stadia’s hardware controller. Most recently, Abner scooped the 2nd-generation Nest Hub’s Soli-powered Sleep Sensing capability and how it would integrate with Google Fit.
Send tips/talk to abner@9to5mac.com or @technacity (open DMs).
Apple today is rolling out iOS 18 with support for RCS in a huge boost to the iPhone-Android messaging experience.
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Chrome Tab Groups can already be saved across signed-in desktops, but Google will soon sync them with your mobile devices. Meanwhile, Tabs Groups are now available on iOS.
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After being previewed at I/O 2024 in May, Google Photos is now rolling out “early access” to Ask Photos to select US users on Android and iOS.
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With the launch of iOS 18 this fall, the iPhone will support RCS for meaningfully improved messaging experience with Android users, and Google today released an ad to highlight that.
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Back in 2019, Google Maps for Android gained a speedometer that simply “shows you how fast you’re driving on the road” and it’s now coming to the iPhone.
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In recent weeks, GIFs sent by iPhone users to Android devices running Google Messages have turned into distorted still images with missing dots/pixels throughout.
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Some YouTube Music for iOS users today are facing a bug where the app opens to a black screen on certain Google Accounts with no ability to play songs.
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Google is going ahead with a redesign that changes how you access the Bookmarks, Reading List, and History columns that appear to the right of your browser. The side panel button is now gone from desktop Chrome.
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The Android website has added a new landing page for Google Messages that talks about the first-party messaging experience, while also noting that RCS on the iPhone is coming in fall 2024.
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Besides using Gemini to power features in its apps and services, Google offers its LLM to third-party developers. Apple is reportedly in talks with Google to license Gemini for the iPhone.
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Last Week Tonight aired its Season 11 premiere last night, but the latest video from John Oliver is not yet available on YouTube.
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The Google Maps UI has largely been unchanged for the past several years, but that’s now changing with pretty significant redesigns across key surfaces, including when searching for directions.
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No* Google apps are available on the Apple Vision Pro at launch, but YouTube revealed today that a “Vision Pro app is on [its] roadmap.”
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