Google

The AI-with-everything trend continues, with Google very much at the forefront. Latching on to the holiday season and the increase in travel the period sees, the company is pushing its new AI tools as a way of planning your next trip.

The tools that Google is highlighting can all be accessed from Search, and while the company is using the holiday season as a hook, these are not seasonal tools – they can be used at any time for any sort of travel plans. There are various options here, so let’s take a look at what Google has to offer.

That artificial intelligence is used in weather forecasting is to be expected, but Google has just announced WeatherNext 2. Self-described as its “most advanced and efficient forecasting model”, this last incarnation improves not only accuracy, but also speed.

Forecast generation can be up to eight times faster, and Google is already using the data produced by WeatherNext 2 – this is not something that is coming, it is here now. After heavy research work, Google is ready to give the tool to users.

Like Apple, Google has gradually made it more difficult to install apps from outside its own store. But the company is aware that neither users nor developers necessarily want to be tied to just the Play Store – this is why it has come up with the Android developer verification program.

The idea is that Google will check and verify developers so the users know they can be trusted. Now the company has an update based on early feedback it has received.

There are many things to consider when installing apps, particularly if there are several similar titles vying for attention. As well as things like range of features, looks and performance speed, power usage is also important to users – and Google agrees.

The company is looking to help improve the overall experience for Android users by warning about apps which can be a drain on a device’s battery. More than this, Google is working to help developers to create apps which are more power-efficient.

For anyone embedded in the Google ecosystem, Gmail is indispensable. The search giant’s email tool has an extraordinarily large userbase, and Google continues to find new ways to make it more useful. The focus of so much of the company’s efforts have been AI-related in recent times, so it is refreshing to see that other options have not been completely abandoned.

With email communication now the default for pretty much everything, it is little wonder that inboxes are chaotic explosions. And it is with a simple change that Google is looking to make it easier to manage your emails with as little effort as possible.

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 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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.