Jay Peters
Ball x Pit x Mobile.
The very good Ball x Pit is coming to iOS and Android on March 12th.
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.
Allison Johnson
Stevie Bonifield
Two former Google employees have been indicted for stealing Tensor chip secrets.
The ex-employees, along with one of their husbands, were arrested on Thursday after allegedly stealing trade secrets related to the Tensor chips in Google’s Pixel phones and sending them to Iran.
They’re now facing 14 felony counts of conspiracy, theft of trade secrets, and destruction of evidence, Bloomberg reports.
Andrew Liszewski
Two more retro Sega mobile games could be delisted soon.
Sonic The Hedgehog Classic and Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Classic are the latest games from Sega’s Forever program that could soon disappear from the Google Play and Apple app stores. Both games now display a pop-up message warning that “support for this game will be discontinued, but you can continue playing offline!”
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Jay Peters
Chrome is officially getting split view.
With split view, you’ll be able to put two Chrome tabs right next to each other in one window. It’s already been available for some, but now it’s rolling out for everyone. Seems handy.
Image: Google
Jay Peters
The new Gemini 3.1 Pro AI model “represents a step forward in core reasoning.”
Gemini 3.1 Pro is rolling out starting today in the Gemini app and NotebookLM. According to Google:
3.1 Pro is designed for tasks where a simple answer isn’t enough, taking advanced reasoning and making it useful for your hardest challenges. This improved intelligence can help in practical applications — whether you’re looking for a clear, visual explanation of a complex topic, a way to synthesize data into a single view, or bringing a creative project to life.
Dominic Preston
Jess Weatherbed
Cameron Faulkner
It’s a minimal update. Google didn’t bring many Pixel 10 features down to the Pixel 10A this year. Buy the berry color.
Todd Haselton
Richard Lawler
YouTube was broken, but now it’s back.
A partial YouTube outage knocked out access to Google’s video service on Tuesday night.
The outage appears to have started just before 8PM ET, but at least on the homepage, it appears to be resolved now. A note on YouTube’s support page says it went down due to problems with the recommendations system. “The issue with our recommendations system has been resolved and all of our platforms (YouTube.com, the YouTube app, YouTube Music, Kids, and TV) are back to normal!
Update: The service is back online.
Emma Roth
Allison Johnson
Terrence O'Brien
NPR’s David Greene is suing Google over its AI podcast voice.
The former host of Morning Edition and current host of Left, Right & Center claims that Google illegally replicated his voice for its male podcast host in NotebookLM. Google denies this, but Greene (and many of his friends and colleagues) say the resemblance is “uncanny.” As the Washington Post reports:
To Greene, the resemblance of the AI voice to his own is uncanny — and the harm is deeper and more personal than just a missed chance to capitalize on his most recognizable asset.
“My voice is, like, the most important part of who I am,” Greene said.
Terrence O'Brien
Some users are reporting problems with Gemini.
What’s causing the issues or how widespread they are is unclear. We’ve been unable to reproduce the issue here, but DownDetector has seen a spike in reports over the past few hours. Users report that Gemini displays error messages or hangs after a prompt. We’ve reached out to Google for comment.
Image: DownDetector
Emma Roth
The DHS is reportedly pressing social media platforms for info about ICE critics.
Google, Reddit, Discord, and Meta have received “hundreds” of subpoenas from the DHS in recent months, according to a report from The New York Times. The agency is reportedly asking the platforms for the names, email addresses, phone numbers, and other information associated with accounts that “track or criticize” ICE.
Homeland Security Wants Social Media Sites to Expose Anti-ICE Accounts
[The New York Times]
Jess Weatherbed
Google adds AI audio summarization to Docs.
Gemini-powered Audio Summaries give you a condensed overview of lengthy documents instead of reading the entire thing. The feature is starting to roll out to select business and Google AI users now, and can be found in the Tools menu in Google Docs.
Dominic Preston
Gmail adds label creation on Android.
You’ve been able to add them via desktop for decades, and even iPhone users had the option, but finally Android is catching up. You still can’t customize the colors from your phone, but maybe we’ll get that in another ten years or so.
Across the industry, workers describe a ‘fear-based culture’ and pressure to ‘fall in line.‘
Hayden Field
Allison Johnson
Stevie Bonifield
Dominic Preston
Edge cases only.
As Waymo uses AI-generated 3D worlds to simulate driverless cars’ encounters with tornadoes, floods, and even elephants, one commenter wonders if they could try AI school buses next.
cowboyfromspace:
They got elephants down but forgot about school buses?
Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.
Terrence O'Brien
Stevie Bonifield
Gemini becomes an AI interior decorator in Google’s Super Bowl ad.
The “New Home” commercial features nostalgic piano music and a heartfelt voiceover of a mother and son envisioning their new house with some help from Gemini. Notably, it steers clear of fact-focused prompts like the Gouda cheese stat Gemini got wrong in one of last year’s Super Bowl ads.
Andrew J. Hawkins
Stevie Bonifield
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy