Google

Google has announced changes to the search functionality of YouTube, adding new filters and renaming some options for the sake of clarity.

One of the biggest changes is the new option to choose the type of content which should be included in results. For anyone who is more interested in seeking out long-form videos, this is extremely significant as it provides a way to avoid YouTube Shorts by opting to exclude them.

It should surprise no one that Google is filling up just about all of its apps and services with a dose of AI. Now the company says that it is “bringing Gmail into the Gemini era” with new AI-powered features.

The aim is to transform Gmail into “your personal, proactive inbox assistant”, and Google has a smattering of new features that it believes will kickstart this process. Borrowing an idea from Google Search, Gmail’s new AI Overviews is very much what you would expect, but it is also just the start of the story.

Google has announced a significant change to the way in which it releases the source code for its Android operating system. The company has, until now, released source code several times a year as part of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).

Moving forward, Google says that it is going to be using a twice-a-year schedule for source code release – once in Q2 and then in Q4. With the latest code drop having come in November, we won’t see the next one until some time near summer. But what does all of this mean?

Last year Google started the rollout of the Material 3 Expressive redesign to Google Drive, bringing it in line, aesthetically, with other products and services. Then, for reasons best known to Google, the company then seemed to change its mind and pulled back some of the new look.

Now there has been another change of heart. Google Drive users are now seeing the reappearance of a visual tweak that had been yanked.

Depending on when you signed up for a Gmail account, and factoring in the uniqueness or otherwise of your name, your email address may be one you are happy with, or it could feel like a burden.

If you have become unhappy with the @gmail.com address you chose years ago, you have always been able to sign up for another account. But actually changing your email address is a different matter – and it is something that Google appears to be experimenting with.

As we approach the end of 2025, you may be one of the many Android users expecting Google Assistant to be completely replaced by Gemini. Indeed, this was very much the plan that Google announced earlier in the year.

But as year end creeps up on us, the company has had a change of heart and is slowing down the pace of things. The precise new timescale is not really very clear at the moment, but Google has shared an update about how things will proceed.

Google has announced the arrival of Gemini 3 Flash, its latest AI model built to respond faster than earlier systems, while still tackling complex prompts when needed. The model is being introduced across Google Search and the Gemini app, with the goal of making everyday AI interactions feel nippier, without stripping away the AI's more advanced capabilities.

Gemini 3 Flash is the newest member of the Gemini 3 model family. It follows Gemini 3 Pro and Gemini 3 Deep Think, but is designed for a different role. Instead of treating every prompt as a complex problem, Flash adjusts how much effort it applies based on the task in front of it.

If you’re in the market for a new smartphone to start the new year and don’t want to spend a fortune, Motorola has announced the moto g power 2026. The new device combines a large display, reinforced build, updated cameras, and latest Android software.

The phone is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor, paired with 8GB of RAM. Motorola also includes virtual memory expansion through RAM Boost, which allows the phone to allocate storage as temporary memory when required.

Google has suddenly – and quietly – announced that its dark web report is to be discontinued. Designed to scan the dark web for leaked personal data, Google has decided that the tool is no longer needed.

There is not long to go until the tool shut down. In just a month’s time, there will be no more scanning of the dark web for data; one month after this, the dark web report will disappear entirely. Here’s what you need to know.

Google is expanding the translation features in Search and its Translate app with new systems built on the Gemini AI model. The update introduces improved text translation and a beta version of live speech translation in headphones, giving users clearer and more natural results and bringing the experience closer to a real-world Babel Fish from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

The new text translation system uses Gemini 3 to handle idioms, slang, and local expressions with more context awareness. This lets the app produce translations that are closer to natural speech rather than direct word swaps.

Google has launched a new feature for iPhone users that could make owners of Android handsets a little envious. Anyone who has parked their car in an unfamiliar town or in a particularly gigantic parking lot will have experienced the panic of not being able to locate their vehicle – Google Maps is now on hand to help.

iPhone owners using Google Maps – yes, this breed of person does exist – can now have their parking location saved automatically. This is an upgrade of what is available to Android users at the moment.

Google has launched a new feature for Android users that makes it possible to share live video with emergency services. Android Emergency Live Video is meant to help 911 call handlers get a better idea of what is going on in an emergency situation.

The feature is available in the US, and it works with Motorola’s 911 command center software which is used in more than half of North America’s public safety answering points (PSAPs).

Google and Apple each have their own ecosystems, and they are understandably keen for people to remain within them. But the reality is that people who start off with an Android handset may one day decide that they want to jump into the world of iPhone; conversely it is far from unknown for iPhone users to take the decision to embrace Android.

Making the switch from one mobile platform to another is not impossible, but it can be something of an arduous task. The lack of compatibility or interoperability between iOS and Android has meant that moving data between different types of device is a time-consuming and frustrating process. But new collaboration between Apple and Google means that things should start to become a good deal simpler.

The holiday season is seen by many companies as being as good a reason as any to highlight the benefits of their products and services, and Google is no different in this regard. Using the perceived stress of preparing for everything that this time of year involves for many people, Google says that Chrome autofill is here to make life easier.

The company points to now fewer than four ways in which this feature of the web browser can help you out, trying to show how it is about more than just saving time filling in your address.

In addition to the roundups of individual media consumption by individuals, companies such as Google also use this time of year to look at things more globally. As in previous years, the company has now launched its Year in Search.

Google’s Year in Search 2025 covers not only its famous search engine, but also searches conducted in Google Maps.