Google Maps to receive AI upgrade powered by Gemini
Google Maps is to receive an AI upgrade powered by the tech giant’s Gemini. This will add a conversational, hands-free experience to the app that is intended to make navigation smarter and less distracting.
It represents yet another step in Google’s ongoing integration of the generative model into its most widely used products. The firm added AI smarts to Google Earth not so long ago.
Google Chrome can now fill in passport and driving license details and more
Google has, over the years, added a lot of time-saving features to Chrome. Chief among these are the autofill features which can make light work of filling in forms by automatically entering frequently used snippets of data such as names and addresses.
When it comes to shopping, Chrome can also enter your credit card details for you, so you do not have to keep tracking down the physical card. Now Google has announced new time-saving functions.
Google Translate is giving users a speed vs accuracy option thanks to Gemini
For business travelers, holidaymakers and many other people, Google Translate is an essential tool. Making it possible to understand and be understood in other countries and other languages, Google Translate is now gaining a new AI-powered feature.
You would imagine that when it comes to translating text between languages, accuracy would be what most people – if not everyone – would be most interested in. But with the latest Gemini-focused update, Google is giving users the option to choose between a fast translation and a more accurate one.
Google Maps could soon have a helpful power-saving mode
Millions of us rely on Google Maps to get us from A to B; it would be fair to call it an indispensable tool for its users. If you have ever turned to the navigation app, you will almost certainly have noticed that it is something of a battery killer.
Now Google is looking to do something about this, according to a new report. A new power-saving mode is in the works that will maximize battery life when navigating. Why is the change so important, though?
Google updates Gboard with ability to hide comma and period keys
Android users have a message range of keyboards to choose from, Gboard among them. The beauty of the level of choice is the selection of options and degree of personalization that is made possible.
And it is with personalization in mind that Google has updated Gboard, introducing the option to hide the period and comma keys.
YouTube can now limit how long you spend watching Shorts
There are countless ways to waste time online, and scrolling your way through a never-ending selection of Shorts on YouTube is one of them. If you are someone who has found you have lost hours to the content served up by the platform, there is some good news.
A new digital well-being tool is starting to roll out that lets users set a time limit for the daily viewing of YouTube Shorts. While far from perfect, it may prove helpful for anyone who tends to lose track of time.
YouTube is fighting deepfakes with new Likeness Detection tool
In an age of fragmented news, deepfakes present a real problem. YouTube is taking action to stop AI-generated videos being used to impersonate people.
The company has revealed details of its new Likeness Detection tool. For now, YouTube is targeting creators, giving them access to the tool – not only because creators are among those likely to be deepfaked, but also because the company will be hoping to be able to use their influence to hype up Likeness Detection.
Google Wallet is getting a Live Updates feature for your tickets
Once you have embraced Google Wallet, it is hard to imagine living without it to help manage payment cards, tickets, loyalty cards and more. Thanks to a feature of Android 16, Google Wallet is gaining a handy Live Updates feature.
The addition comes as part of Google Wallet taking on the Material 3 Expressive redesign which also affects the likes of Google Maps. So just what can you expect from this change?
Google is retiring Privacy Sandbox
Privacy Sandbox was Google’s vision for replacing third-party cookies, but now the company is giving up and moving on from the idea. First launched six years ago, Privacy Sandbox suffered with low-adoption, and Google has gradually snuffed out various technologies relating to the system. Now it has taken things further.
Google says that “after evaluating ecosystem feedback about their expected value and in light of their low levels of adoption”, it has taken the decision to retire more Privacy Sandbox technologies. But this does not really paint a true picture of what is happening.
Forgotten your Google Account password? There are new recovery tools you can use
Getting locked out of an account because of a forgotten password can be a very troubling experience – and it is something that always seems to happen at the most stressful and inconvenient moments imaginable.
To help with this, Google has just announced a series of security related tools, including new account recovery options. Among these is the ability to create recovery contacts so you can “phone a friend” if you get locked out.
Microsoft remains the most imitated brand in phishing scams
Microsoft was the most impersonated brand in worldwide phishing attacks during the third quarter of 2025. 40 percent of such attempts used the company’s name, according to Check Point Research’s Brand Phishing Report for Q3.
Google took the second spot with 9 percent of global phishing activity, while Apple was third with 6 percent. Together, those three names accounted for more than half of all brand impersonation attempts in the period.
Google steps up the fight against scams with new tools and more education
Scams and fraud are an ever present threat on the internet and the rise of AI means that they’re getting harder to spot with the old giveaways of bad grammar and dodgy attachments largely eliminated.
Google is announcing a range of new tools and initiatives to help people remain safe online. These include improved app features, new account recovery tools and better education and awareness programs.
YouTube gets a UI refresh and a host of handy new features
Google has announced a series of updates and changes for YouTube, kicking off with a new-look user interface. The updated UI sees various buttons and control elements getting a visual refresh, but there are changes beyond the aesthetic.
An addition that will please many YouTube users is threaded replies. It is now not only possible to reply to comments on a video, but also to reply to those replies and have these comments visible in a tree structure. But there is still more.
Google Wallet gets a handy new nicknaming option
With Google Wallet, Google has helped to lighten our load by reducing the number of physical cards and tickets we need to take out with us. Debit and credit cards, loyalty cards, boarding passes, travel tickets and more can be stored electronically and accessed instantly.
But with the widespread switch from physical tickets, passes and cards, there comes a new problem – identifying individual things contained within Google Wallet. With a new update, Google is taking steps to try to address this by adding a new nickname option.
Google slips Nano Banana AI image generator into Search
Not content with giving users new control over sponsored results in its search engine, Google has also started the rollout of its AI visual model – known as Nano Banana – into Search.
Accessible from Google Lens and AI Mode, Nano Banana provides easy access to artificial intelligence powered image editing and transformation. We are not talking about boring “remove the background from this photo” type stuff (although this is possible), but rather more creative ideas.
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