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GM can’t ‘bring back’ Apple CarPlay because it never left

2026-09-21T13:47:54-04:00

Last week, GM announced a new software experience for its upcoming Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks, including a new look for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the popular phone mirroring systems that the automaker made a big deal about removing from its electric vehicles in 2023.

Naturally, this led to some confusion about whether GM was "bringing back" CarPlay and Android Auto to its vehicles. Yahoo Finance reported it that way, calling it an "about-face" by the automaker, while Apple Insider's headline boasted that GM "cave[d]" on its decision to remove the interface from its gas-powered vehicles. Even The Verge's own commenters were …

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The long dream of the Googlebook

2026-09-21T07:34:52-04:00

Dell’s XPS Googlebook is just one of the devices Google needs to be great.

In late 2010, an up-and-coming Google executive named Sundar Pichai took the stage in front of a bunch of reporters and explained that Google had a big new idea about laptops. In the future, he said, the only thing you'd need on your computer was a web browser - that was where all your apps, data, and connections would live going forward. Your computer didn't need much storage, Pichai explained, or any fancy hardware, because the cloud would do the work. The software designed for these new laptops, Chrome OS, was an enormous bet that the web would eventually overtake everything.

Chrome OS (which eventually became ChromeOS) has been, in many …

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

2026-09-21T15:38:05-04:00

Googlebooks look like fancy Chromebooks at first, but there are interesting software ideas. | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

There are a few things about using a Googlebook that immediately feel just right. The hardware is polished (since it's based on current laptops). The OS is familiar (if you've ever used a Chromebook). But most impressive, it integrates your Android phone with your PC so they feel more like one device. It's the culmination of a series of new ideas that blur the two devices together. After my first look, I went from doubtful to excited by the prospect of Google pulling it all off.

After an initial bare-bones announcement in May, Google is finally launching Googlebooks - its new line of Android-based laptops. The initial five Googlebook models …

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Google Find Hub will soon help you locate things without a tracker

2026-09-01T15:51:25-04:00

Google announced new features coming to Android devices as part of this month's feature drop update. Among the highlights are the introduction of Motion Assist - Android's version of Apple's Motion Cues feature, which tries to reduce motion sickness by overlaying dots on your screen that move in response to a vehicle's movements - as well as an expansion of Find Hub. The Find Hub update will introduce a new way to find important items without having to attach a tracker.

According to a Google blog post shared today, you'll soon be able to ask Gemini to remember where you put an important item like a passport that you don't frequently use and …

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Google tells Android app developers to cool it on memory use, or else

2026-08-27T14:33:11-04:00

The memory crisis just won’t quit. | Image: Alex Castro / The Verge

Google will start policing memory-hungry Android apps as a direct response to the RAM crisis. Spotted by TechCrunch, the company yesterday published a memo addressing the Play Store's role in enforcing new memory-usage restrictions. The post emphasizes the importance of meeting new memory usage limits for apps, in order "to help developers navigate industry-wide hardware constraints and Android's broader memory limits," it says. And failing to meet the new memory restrictions will come with consequences.

The memory limitations were first introduced with Android 17, appearing first on Pixel phones. It's probably no coincidence that the base …

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Nothing OS 5.0 brings a new Glyph Interface app and a more customizable homescreen

2026-08-25T12:58:53-04:00

With the new design of Nothing OS 5.0, app icons and widgets can use adaptive color to get color tints pulled from your wallpaper, which update whenever your wallpaper changes. Alongside Android's built-in Dynamic Colors, the company says it allows you to have specific elements change to match your wallpaper "while Nothing's predominantly monochrome character stays underneath."

While I like Nothing's simplified, monochrome app icons, it's nice to get an option for adding some limited areas of color to the homescreen. Nothing's launching it as "an additional theme," so you can keep using the old design if you like.

The Android 17-based upd …

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Android is getting its own weird dots to cure car sickness

2026-08-25T09:47:26-04:00

Motion Assist as found in Android 17’s settings. | Image: Android Authority, The Verge

Google is rolling out a new Android feature that's been proven to reduce, or even eliminate, motion sickness when using a phone inside a moving vehicle. Dubbed Motion Assist by Google, it's very similar to Apple's Motion Cues, first introduced in 2024. The Android 17 feature appears to be rolling out in phases, with some Pixel phones getting it first, according to Android Authority.

The science behind these magic dots is sound, and addresses the motion sickness felt when staring at a static display while the inner ear feels the car turning, braking, and accelerating. Motion Assist taps into your device's accelerometer and gyroscope to plac …

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De-Googled GrapheneOS is coming to Motorola’s foldables next year

2026-08-24T07:37:53-04:00

The Razr Ultra line is among those due to receive GrapheneOS support next year. | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

GrapheneOS, an open source version of Android that prioritizes security and privacy, has detailed its plans for supporting Motorola smartphones. Official support is set to arrive next year, starting with traditional flagships, before rolling out to Motorola's foldable phones and perhaps cheaper models, eventually.

In a Mastodon thread, the GrapheneOS Foundation announced that it will initially support a Motorola slab flagship phone, but will later support both Razr Fold and Razr Ultra foldables - the latter of which would be the first flip phone to officially run GrapheneOS.

Graphene has always had stringent security standards when it com …

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Android now has a tap-to-share feature

2026-08-12T11:27:24-04:00

Android's AirDrop-like Quick Share feature will now let some devices exchange files and contact information when tapped together. The update is coming to Pixel 6 series phones and newer starting today, according to Google's announcement, and will roll out to Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Fold 8, and Flip 8 "soon."

The tap-to-share feature uses NFC and proximity to simplify sharing, enabling users to wirelessly send contact details, photos, videos, and more by opening the share sheet menu and bringing the two devices close together. Quick Share's tapping update will also be expanded to "more Android devices by the end of the year," accord …

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The first rival Android app store just arrived in the US Play Store

2026-08-10T07:44:32-04:00

Google appears to have prepared a dedicated section for third-party app stores within Google Play, and Aptoide is just the first. | Screenshot: Google Play Store

Following the latest twist in Google's legal battles with Epic, US Android users are now able to open Google's Play Store and download a third-party digital store with its own selection of apps. Aptoide, a store specializing in mobile games, is the first to become available.

Third-party app stores have always been available on Android, which is a more open platform than iOS in that respect. However, until now they've only been available if pre-installed on a device - as with the Amazon Appstore on Fire tablets or Samsung's Galaxy Store - or installed via sideloading. Listing rival storefronts within the Play Store makes them much easier for …

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