Today, 11 seconds agoJay PetersGoogle is officially dumping Assistant for GeminiImage: Cath Virginia / The VergeGoogle is finally moving on from Google Assistant.The company will be upgrading more users from Google Assistant to Gemini over the coming months, according to a blog post. The classic Google Assistant will no longer be accessible on most mobile devices or available for new downloads on mobile app stores at some point later this year.Read Article >Oct 21, 2024Emma RothGoogles taking the extra search box out of your search resultsIllustration: The VergeFor years, Google has included an extra search box within some search results, encouraging you to dig further and look only within a specific website. But now that sitelinks search box is going away because usage has dropped.Google:Read Article >Aug 8, 2024Wes DavisSaluting the Chromecast, one of the great HDMI donglesThe Chromecast, in The Verges first review. Image: The VergeWhen I was still a starry-eyed 20-something living with my then-fiance, the only way I could stream video on my TV was through its HDMI ports and my laptop. This had served me well for years and still does, when Im desperate but dealing with the setup was cumbersome.Then came the original Chromecast in 2013, and it was a revelation. Suddenly, I had this tiny black stick, shaped like an oversized key, that plugged right into my TVs HDMI port and let me cast video through the air and onto my 55-inch screen in glorious high definition. And all it cost was $35? Incredible, especially in 2013.Read Article >Aug 6, 2024Emma RothGoogle is discontinuing the Chromecast linePhoto by Chris Welch / The VergeGoogle is done making Chromecasts. In a post on Tuesday, Google says its ending production of Chromecast after over a decade of selling the streaming dongles.Even though Chromecast devices will now be available while supplies last, Google says it will continue to push software and security updates to its newer devices without specifying which ones. The most recent update to the lineup was the Chromecast with Google TV released in 2022.Read Article >Jul 16, 2024Jay PetersGoogle is ending an experiment that let you annotate search resultsImage: GoogleGoogle is ending a months-old experiment that let people attach colorful notes to search results, the company confirmed to 9to5Google.Google announced the Notes experiment for Search Labs in November. If you had opted in to Notes, you could see and add annotations featuring text and images to links in search results in the Google app. (They were kind of a Google-y take on Xs Community Notes.) But given Tuesdays announcement, it seems the test wasnt popular enough to warrant a wider release.Read Article >Jun 26, 2024Barbara KrasnoffPDF organizer Stack is the latest app to hit the Google graveyardScreenshot: GoogleStack, one of Googles experimental Android apps, is due to disappear on September 24th.A product of Googles Area 120 incubator, Stack was one of those overlooked gems that was just, well, useful: it allowed you to create or import PDFs and store them in different categories that it called Stacks: tax, insurance, medical, etc. The app would pick up data from the PDF to suggest a title, add searchable details like the date of the document, the amount (if it was a receipt), or the organization that issued it, and there was also a field to add notes.Read Article >Jun 25, 2024Andrew LiszewskiGoogle is killing infinite scroll on search resultsIllustration: The VergeThe latest feature headed to the Google graveyard is continuous scrolling on search results, according to a report from Search Engine Land. The user experience, which mirrored the endless scrolling behavior of social media feeds, was originally introduced for search results on mobile devices in October of 2021 and then brought over to desktop search results in late 2022.A Google spokesperson reportedly told Search Engine Land that continuous scroll is being removed today from desktop search results, while the feature will be removed from mobile results in the coming months.Read Article >May 30, 2024Emma RothToday I learned there is a messaging service in Google Maps, and now its going awayIllustration: The VergeIve been using Google Maps for years, and I never knew there was an option to message businesses in the app that is until I saw this post from Search Engine Land, which says its going away.The feature, called business profile chat, lets you message a business through the Google Maps and Search apps to ask questions, book an appointment, or request quotes. If a company has business profile chat enabled, youll see a Chat option next to the Call and Directions icons in Maps or Search. Tap on it, and you can start a conversation.Read Article >May 4, 2024Wes DavisGoogle is shutting down developer access to Google Fit APIs.The company says it stopped accepting new sign-ups for API access and that developers will have until June 30th, 2025 to migrate from Google Fit to Android Health.For now, the Google Fit app still works as it always has; just know that it seems bound for the Google graveyard next year.Evolving Health on Android: Migrating from Google Fit APIs to Android Health[Android Developers Blog]Apr 12, 2024Jess WeatherbedThe Google One VPN service is heading to the Google graveyardThe service will be shut down on an unspecified date later this year. Image: GoogleGoogle is shutting down its VPN by Google One service, according to a vague customer email seen by Android Authority, less than four years after it was rolled out in October 2020. The email doesnt specify when this will happen, only that the VPN service will be discontinued later this year. Subscription prices for Google Ones VPN start at $1.99, with availability on Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows. The company told 9to5Google that it is killing the service because people simply werent using it. Perhaps its customers were simply spoilt for choice, given this is actually one of three VPN services provided by Google alongside the VPN offerings still available via Google Fi, and Pixel devices from the Pixel 7 on up.Read Article >Apr 2, 2024Wes DavisNot everyone is losing Google Podcasts after today.Its only shutting down for those of us in the US. Globally, the app wont live in Googles graveyard until after June 24th, according to a March 18th Google community forum post from company employee Cory Peter.If youre looking for alternatives, you could start with our guide below. Here are Googles instructions for migrating your subscriptions.Google Podcasts is going away after March but there are alternativesBarbara KrasnoffJan 22Mar 30, 2024Wes DavisGoogle Podcasts time is almost up.After April 2nd, Google will flip the lights off for its podcasts app sending it to the graveyard. Here are Googles instructions for switching to YouTube Music or some other podcast app.Google Podcasts displays this warning when users open it. Screenshot: Wes Davis / The VergeFeb 23, 2024Richard LawlerGoogle realized Google Pay and Google Wallet are the same thing, so its getting rid of one of themIllustration: The VergeGoogle Wallet was the companys first attempt at enabling money transfers on Android with the Nexus S 4G, and no matter how many apps Google launches, it will seemingly always be around. Google Pay tried to replace both Google Wallet and Android Pay a few years ago, but in a few months, Google Pay will be gone, with Google Wallet back on top.Android Pay popped up in 2015 as a temporary tap-to-pay king, while Google Wallet was recast as a Cash App / Venmo rival, but even when Google changed its mind and combined them, it couldnt keep itself from messing with the formula again and again.Read Article >Feb 2, 2024Jon PorterGoogle Searchs cache links are officially being retiredThe discontinued cache button. Image: GoogleGoogle has removed links to page caches from its search results page, the companys search liaison Danny Sullivan has confirmed. It was meant for helping people access pages when way back, you often couldnt depend on a page loading, Sullivan wrote on X. These days, things have greatly improved. So, it was decided to retire it.The cache feature historically let you view a webpage as Google sees it, which is useful for a variety of different reasons beyond just being able to see a page thats struggling to load. SEO professionals could use it to debug their sites or even keep tabs on competitors, and it can also be an enormously helpful news gathering tool, giving reporters the ability to see exactly what information a company has added (or removed) from a website, and a way to see details that people or companies might be trying to scrub from the web. Or, if a site is blocked in your region, Googles cache can work as a great alternative to a VPN.Read Article >Feb 1, 2024Barbara KrasnoffHey Google, I was using that button!Illustration: The VergeEvery time another Google app or feature bites the dust even a small, relatively inconsequential one I get annoyed. Really annoyed.Heres the thing: there are Google Assistant-equipped devices in three rooms of my relatively small house: living room, bedroom, and office. Which means, unfortunately, that when I say Hey, Google out loud to my phone, I am just as likely to get a reaction from one or more of those three devices. (Yes, I know thats not supposed to happen and no, we havent been able to fix it yet.) And they sometimes offer different answers simultaneously, which makes things even more confusing.Read Article >Jan 31, 2024Sheena VasaniGoogle Assistant Driving Mode will shut down in FebruaryAndroid Police spotted a new banner on the Google Assistant Driving Mode home screen stating the view will be gone in February (like so many other Google projects). Its unclear if other parts, like music controls, will remain.The built-in Google Maps feature offers drivers quick access to Assistant and audio apps. Its shutdown comes after Google also killed both the standalone Assistant Driving Mode Dashboard and the Android Auto for Phone Screens app.Image: Richard LawlerJan 11, 2024Jess WeatherbedGoogle removes 17 features from Google AssistantUsers will be notified if an Assistant feature is being removed when they activate one of the utilities affected. Illustration: The VergeSeveral underutilized Google Assistant features will soon be joining the infamous Google graveyard such as the ability to use your voice to send an email, video, or audio messages as the search giant introduces changes it says will make the feature easier to use. The company is also changing how the microphone works in the Google app and Pixel Search bar.Starting January 26th, users who activate any of the 17 Assistant features being removed will be notified that its being discontinued, with most features departing for good on February 26th, according to 9to5Google. This news comes less than a day after Google announced it was laying off around a thousand employees, some of whom worked on Google Assistant.Read Article >Jan 11, 2024Sean HollisterGoogle is losing its Fitbit leaders and laying off hundreds of AR employeesPhoto by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeGoogles hardware division just took a body blow. The company has confirmed its laying off hundreds of hardware workers, especially in its augmented reality division and 9to5Google is reporting that Fitbit co-founders James Park, Eric Friedman, and other Fitbit leaders are leaving the company entirely.Update, 1:42AM ET: Its not just Fitbit and AR. Around a thousand Google layoffs were just confirmed, and there may be more. Read Article >Dec 11, 2023Jay PetersGoogle is finally saying goodbye to Google Play Movies & TVIllustration: The VergeGoogle is about to fully move on from the Google Play Movies & TV. It had already moved Android and iOS users to the Google TV app, removed the app from every Roku and most smart TVs, and pulled the app from Android TV in October. In a recently published support document, however, Google detailed the ways youll be able to watch the shows and movies youve bought through Google Play Movies & TV once the brand is gone for good in January.If you have a TV or streaming device powered by Android TV, you can watch things youve purchased or things you want to rent from the Shop tab starting January 17th, according to Google. If you have a cable box or a set-top box that runs Android TV, youll watch / rent from the YouTube app starting that same day. And on a browser, YouTube is the place to go, too.Read Article >Dec 7, 2023Jay PetersYou can listen to podcasts through Google Podcasts until March 2024.Google mentioned the date in a support document about transferring your subscriptions away from Google Podcasts. Youll have until July 2024 to migrate your subscriptions to YouTube Music or another service.Migrate your Google Podcast subscriptions - YouTube Music Help[support.google.com]Nov 16, 2023Jon PorterGoogle News hammers the final nail into its magazine subscriptions coffin.Almost four years after the search giant stopped letting people buy digital magazines through Google News, the company is removing its magazine-reading feature entirely. After December 18th, youll no longer be able to access magazines purchased via the Google News apps or news.google.com, meaning youll have to export them if you ever want to read them again. Consider this your PSA.An update to Google News magazine support - Google News Community[support.google.com]Sep 28, 2023Umar ShakirGoogles whiteboarding app is joining the graveyardGoogles Jamboard software and the hardware are both shutting down starting October 1st, 2024. Photo by James Bareham / The VergeIts never a dull day at the Google graveyard the company has blogged a Workspace update today announcing the end of its collaborative Jamboard whiteboarding software. Google plans to wind down the app in late 2024 and is introducing the next phase of whiteboarding solutions: pointing users toward third-party apps that work with Workspace services like Google Meet, Drive, and Calendar.Google says it will offer support to help transition customers to use other whiteboard tools, including FigJam, Lucidspark, and Miro. According to the blog post, Workspace customer feedback indicated the third-party solutions worked better for them thanks to feature offerings like an infinite canvas size, use case templates, voting, and more. So instead of further developing Jamboard, Googles digging its hole and will focus on core collaboration services on Docs, Sheets, and Slides.Read Article >Sep 26, 2023Emma RothGoogle Podcasts is going to the graveyard as YouTube Music takes overIllustration: Alex Castro / The VergeGoogle Podcasts is going away. Starting next year, Google will focus on offering podcast access within YouTube Music instead.This change doesnt come as a complete surprise. In April, Google launched the ability for users in the US to listen to podcasts in YouTube Music without a paid membership. It also lets users listen to podcasts offline and in the background while also switching between the audio and video versions on YouTube Music. As part of its podcasts push, YouTube also announced it will make podcasts available within YouTube Music globally before the end of 2023.Read Article >Sep 25, 2023Wes DavisGmails basic HTML view will go to the Google graveyard in 2024Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeGoogle will send Gmails basic HTML view sailing into the great beyond starting in January 2024, after which time everyone who uses it will be switched to the services far more modern Standard view. The change appears to have been announced around September 19th in a Google support article.Though the vast majority of people use the Standard view on their PCs without question, the HTML version of Gmail has its perks. The stripped-down Gmail experience loads quickly, and users can access it even on very outdated machines or with much slower connections. Its leaner nature makes it useful in situations where the best you can muster is a 3G connection (3G died last year in the US, but still).Read Article >Aug 31, 2023Richard LawlerGoogle kills Pixel Pass without ever upgrading subscribers phonesPhoto by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeIn October 2021, Google launched a new Pixel Pass subscription program alongside the Pixel 6 series of phones that promised three things for one monthly payment ($45 for a Pixel 6 or $55 for a 6 Pro): Googles best mobile services, device protection, and regular device upgrades.However, on Tuesday, Google emailed Pixel Pass customers to say: We are writing to you to inform you that starting today, we are no longer offering new Pixel Pass subscriptions or renewals.Read Article >