Google – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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The name Google is synonymous with online searches, but over the years the company has grown beyond search and now builds multiple consumer products, including software like Gmail, Chrome, Maps, Android, and hardware like the Pixel smartphones, Google Home, and Chromebooks. Its name can also be found on internet services such as Google Fi, Flights, Checkout, and Google Fiber. Here is all of the latest news about one of the most influential tech companies in the world.

Gemini 3.8 Live with Live Avatar gives Google’s AI a face

Google’s Live Avatar can lip-sync and show different facial expressions.

Emma Roth
Now Google Chrome shares tabs to new devices that save where you were

Google’s latest browser updates aim to help you research complex topics.

Jess Weatherbed

Latest In Google

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Another tech worker has resigned over concerns that “AI is already progressing too fast.”

Robert O’Callahan is quitting his work on AI chips for Google Deepmind, saying “…my team’s goal is ultimately to make AI much cheaper and lower-latency, and I don’t think that’s good for people right now.”

While he says it’s not related to recent AI warnings and resignations, he listed some concerns:

However, I am not convinced the chance of ASI doom is 100%. Rather, I think the risk is real but uncertain… I’m also very concerned about other AI-related issues: cognitive surrender, AI-induced psychosis and loneliness, power concentration, economic disruption, cybersecurity, lack of accountability, and so on

Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
I think Google has a bit of an SEO problem with ‘Googlebooks.’

Googling “Googlebooks” doesn’t pull up any info about Google’s upcoming laptops. It’s an entire page of links, and even an AI overview, about Google Books — a search index of actual books. Not ideal for potential customers looking for information on new products launching soon.

Google is great at names.

A search for Googlebooks resulting in Google Books.
A search for Googlebooks resulting in Google Books.
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Photoshop and Lightroom tools are now in Gemini.

After bringing its plugin to ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and Slack, Adobe’s app is now available in Google’s chatbot too. Just tag “@Adobe” in Gemini with your request after installing the plugin, and it’ll surface the best Creative Suite tools for editing photos, generating marketing designs, and more.

an image illustrating Adobe tools arriving in Gemini.
Adobe is aggressively expanding it’s creative tool suite to third-party platforms.
Image: Adobe
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
More people can view their digital wardrobe in Google Photos now.

Google is rolling out the feature to all Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the US, India, and Brazil. It scans your photos to build a digital wardrobe of your clothes, allowing you to view separate pieces and try on new outfits virtually.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Here come those promised Pixel Watch health features.

The blood pressure trends, insulin resistance trends, and sleep breathing quality metrics mentioned at the 2026 Made By Google event weren’t available when the Pixel Watch 5 launched last month, but now Google says they’ll start rolling out to Watch 3 models and later this week. You can set them up in the Google Health app, and trend reports will arrive in “early October.”

Here’s the preview of the blood pressure trend feature we got last month.
Here’s the preview of the blood pressure trend feature we got last month.
Photo: Victoria Song / The Verge
Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are reportedly planning their own AI safety organization.

According to The Information, the companies will call it the Standards Authority for Frontier AI, or SAFA, which could launch by early 2027. It would handle AI safety regulation tasks like “supporting third-party organizations that conduct testing of models before they’re deployed and laying out how AI developers should report safety and security incidents.”

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
The Motorola Signature 27 will run GrapheneOS.

When Motorola announced its funky-looking new flagship the other day, a bunch of you wanted to know if it falls under the partnership with Graphene. The devs previously said they were waiting for security features in Qualcomm’s new chips. GrapheneOS will also roll out to Motorola foldables, but the Signature 27 comes first.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Google Docs’ built-in AI assistant can now pull information from Gemini Notebook.

When you type the “@” symbol into the bottom Gemini bar in Docs, you’ll now see a list of Gemini Notebooks. Select one, and Gemini will draw from those sources to generate a document from your prompt.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Adobe’s Premiere video editor is now on Android.

After launching for iPhone last year, a free Android version of the Premiere mobile app is now available on the Google Play store. Devices need at least 5GB of RAM and to be running Android 13 or later, and the app provides a multi-track editing timeline with tools for visual effects, audio, transitions, and more.

A screenshot showing visual filters on the Adobe Premiere mobile app.
There are also basic tools like filters alongside the more professional editing features.
Image: Adobe
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Googlebooks, Googlebooks, Googlebooks.

As I mention in my Googlebook hands-on piece, Google’s new laptop OS has clever ideas about how an Android-based laptop and an Android phone interact. It’s worth checking out in motion, like in our short video that went up today.

We’ll of course be testing and reviewing Googlebooks to see if they actually have the juice. In the meantime, watch me hold a microphone like a goof.

Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
MediaTek’s new Dimensity CX C10 Max chip will go into Googlebooks.

MediaTek is announcing its new Dimensity CX C10 Max processor. It’s an Arm-based chip built on TSMC’s 3nm process, with an 8-core CPU, 11-core GPU, and an NPU capable of up to 55 TOPS. This will be MediaTek’s Googlebook chip, as it’s designed for thin-and-light laptops like the five initial Googlebooks that were just announced.

This is the first chip of a new line from MediaTek, yet it still manages to have “Max” in its name.
This is the first chip of a new line from MediaTek, yet it still manages to have “Max” in its name.
Image: MediaTek
Googlebooks feel like the first laptops built for Android owners

App casting, handoff, and seamless file sharing make Googlebooks feel (almost) obvious with an Android phone.

Dominic Preston
I got to see Google’s wild ideas about the future of laptops

Googlebooks are here. And they’re actually interesting (for Android phone users) — but there are still so many questions.

Antonio G. Di Benedetto
The long dream of the Googlebook

Google’s latest attempt to reinvent the laptop will require everything the company does well — and a few things it doesn’t.

David Pierce
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Gmail has a quicker way to copy 2FA codes.

A new “Copy code” button is rolling out to Gmail inboxes on Android and iOS that previews authentication codes below the subject line, letting you copy them with a single tap without opening the email. It isn’t available on web, but it should make mobile logins less tedious.

The new Copy code button in Gmail for iOS and Android.
Here’s a preview of the pill-shaped Copy code button.
Image: 9to5Google
The AI regulation smackdown isn’t over

It’s AI CEO against AI CEO, and things are changing by the day.

Hayden Field
Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Valve has open-sourced Lepton, its tool to bring Android games to Steam.

“Lepton is intended to help game developers bring their VR Android games to the Steam Frame,” Valve writes. “Lepton is not designed for general Android use, instead opting to keep the bare minimum functionality required to launch into games.”

Developers have already used it to port Meta Quest games to the Steam Frame. But could it do more?

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Google’s new emoji site is great.

On the Noto Emoji site, you can search for emoji, download 2D and 3D files of the (open source) emoji in different formats, and even see the original proposals that helped things get turned into emoji in the first place. (In 2019, I wrote about that proposal process for my submissions of the waffle and yawning face emoji.)

I also recommend Google’s post about designing its Noto 3D emoji, it’s good stuff.

A screenshot of Google’s Noto Emoji site.
Image: Google
Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Google’s revamping its ‘CC’ AI as an organizing agent for families.

It says the new version of CC can help families manage household tasks like sorting through emails, keeping track of everyone’s schedules, filling out permission slips, and creating shopping lists. Up to six users can manage and interact with the same CC agent and choose what to share with it.

A screenshot of a daily briefing from Google’s CC AI agent
Image: Google
Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Judge orders Google to make its ad tech work with rivals and share ad data with customers.

US District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema said in her unsealed ruling on Google’s ad tech trial that measures to break it up were “neither realistic nor needed,” the New York Times reports. Brinkema also called for Google to appoint a monitor to make sure it complies with the order.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Xteink’s next tiny e-reader runs Android.

Following an already busy year of releases, Xteink’s new S4, which is launching in China first, is the company’s first pocketable E Ink device to run Android 11 giving it access to both the Kindle and Kobo mobile apps. The S4 also features a 4.3-inch frontlit touchscreen, 32GB of storage, a proper USB-C port, and a generous 1,400mAh battery, according to Good e-Reader.

The Xteink S4 e-reader next to its packaging.
The Xteink S4 is launching in China but the company has made no announcements about eventual international availability.
Image: Xteink
A brief history of AI executives calling for regulation

The industry is in a panic, but it’s been claiming to want legal guardrails for years — with few meaningful results.

Sean Hollister
Thomas Ricker
Thomas Ricker
Two Google Deepmind researchers lend voices to the AI apocalypse.

Bilal Chughtai and Josh Engels, who both worked on Deepmind’s AI safety team, left to join organizations dedicated to AI safety. “I now think that there’s a terrifying chance that AI systems cause immense harm in the next five years,” said Engels. “I earnestly believe that AI has the potential to kill us all,” wrote Chughtai.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Older Pixel Watches are getting Google’s September update now.

The Pixel Watch 2 and later are getting Gemini Personalization, allowing the AI assistant to learn from past conversations and connected Google apps. The 3 and on also get new double-pinch gesture controls, while the 4 gets a performance bump to raise-to-talk. A similar September update is rolling out to Pixel phones too.

Google Pixel Watch Update - September 2026

[Google Pixel Watch Community]

Andrew J. Hawkins
Andrew J. Hawkins
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are going amphibious.

Two boat manufacturers, Crest Marine and Balise Pontoons (both owned by MasterCraft Boat Holdings), announced today their plans to enable smartphone projection in their upcoming models in 2027. The boats will feature a seven-inch “marine touchscreen” that will display CarPlay or Android Auto alongside marine-specific technology. The manufacturers are also working with marine navigation app Savvy Navvy to offer access to nautical charts, smart routing, GPS tracking, live weather, and tidal data — all displayed on the same screen as other apps. Avast!

Image: Crest Marine / Balise Pontoons
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Google’s September Pixel Drop and Android 17 QPR1 updates are rolling out now.

Now the “Pause Point” option Google launched on the Pixel 11 is rolling out to more devices, across Android 17 QPR1, and for Pixel hardware going back to the Pixel 6. The new Android 17 update also increases the use of background blur and adds a new Quick Settings tile that points to your notes app, among other updates.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Google’s motion sickness dots are no longer a Pixel exclusive.

Motion Assist is similar to Apple’s Motion Cues, displaying moving dots that track a vehicle’s movement and help reduce motion sickness in the process. It rolled out for Pixel phones last month, but Google’s Mishaal Rahman says it’s now generally available in Android 17.

To use motion assist, you’ll need an Android device running Android 17 or higher with Google Play Services updated. To set it up, open Settings, tap your profile > All services, then tap “Motion assist” under “Personal & device safety.”

Is Big Tech’s AI slowdown a safety pact or a cartel?

Major AI companies want to ‘pace the frontier’ — but their proposed solutions need real teeth.

Hayden Field
Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Google might be making a wearOS version of the Fitbit Charge.

9to5Google spotted this FCC entry for the Goertek-made SZGG8BL6, which lines up with other Google devices. Like the Fitbit Charge, it has Bluetooth and GNSS, but lacks Wi-Fi, while its e-label suggests it has a screen and could run wearOS similar to a mysterious wearable spotted in Google ads.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Google’s Dreambeans AI app is rolling out to everyone in the US.

The app, which Google began testing in June, pulls information from across Search, Gmail, Photos, Calendar, and Gemini to provide AI shopping recommendations, travel suggestions, event reminders, and more. It pairs these suggestions with somewhat unsettling storybook-style drawings of yourself.

You can download the app on Android and iOS.

Screenshot: David Pierce / The Verge
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Gemini now has a Windows app.

With the app, you can press Alt + Space to pull up Gemini when you need it, Google says. Grab the app from Google’s Gemini website. Google launched a macOS app in April.