I spent my morning with Gemini in Chrome, the new integration that puts the AI-powered assistant right in your browser. Instead of going to the chatbot's web app, you can click the new Gemini button in Chrome's top-right corner to start a conversation - but the key difference is that the browser's built-in assistant can "see" what's on your screen while you navigate the web.
To me, Gemini's integration in Chrome seems like just the start of Google's mission to make its AI more "agentic," as I found myself wanting it to do more than it actually could. For now, you can only try out the early access version of Gemini in Chrome if you're an AI Pro or AI Ultra subscriber, and use either the Beta, Dev, or Canary version of Chrome.
I started out by using Gemini to summarize some of the articles on The Verge, as well as even find some gaming-related news on the homepage, where it pointed out the new Game Boy games Nintendo added to its Switch Online service, the upcoming Elden Ring film adaptation, and Valve's massive Steam Deck update.
But Gemini can only "see" what's on your screen, so I found that if you want it to summarize certain elements, like The Verge's comments section, you'l …
Android Auto is getting more than just Google’s Gemini assistant after the Google I/O developer conference. The company has also announced or otherwise shown off a slew of changes coming to the infotainment operating system, including an updated Spotify app, a light mode, and the introduction of web browsers and video apps.
Let’s start with Spotify. Google revealed in a video last week that the Spotify app for Android Auto is getting an overhaul through new media app templates the company is making available to developers. One feature the music service is adding to Android Auto is Spotify Jam, a feature that lets users share control of an audio source from their individual devices.
In cars with Android Auto, that means anyone with Spotify will jump in by tapping a new “Jam” icon on the car’s touchscreen, then scanning a QR code to start adding upcoming songs to the playlist. Being a Spotify feature, it’s much more inclusive than Apple Music’s similar SharePlay feature, which requires everyone to have an Apple device to participate. Spotify Jam will be available “in the coming months,” the company says.
Also in the video, Google says it’s adding support for Quick Share to cars with Google built-in soon, letting users do things like add stops to in-progress Google Maps routes. The company also says it’s going to add passkey support for its infotainment OS.
Through a Google Figma kit Google made for prototyping Android Auto app UI, we also have a new look at a light mode theme the company is working on for Android Auto. Google didn’t actually say it’s rolling out a light mode in its blog post about all the changes coming to Android Auto, but as 9to5Google notes, the UI option has been in the works for years.
One thing that Google did mention — and briefly at that — is that browser and video apps are coming to Android Auto. The company says that app category, along with video apps, will be available “soon” for Android Auto and that gaming apps are available already available in beta. Naturally, Google says these features will only work while a car is in park. The browsers feature is already available in beta for cars with Google built-in, while video apps are already available in that version of its infotainment system. The company also announced that support for weather apps is officially out of beta.
Google I/O’s big focus was, obviously, on AI, but Android 16 was also a big part of the event thanks to the release of the first QPR1 beta with the Material 3 Expressive redesign. What do you think of it so far?
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With the help of changes in Android Auto, Spotify is getting a brand new app for the platform that includes support for its “Jam” feature.
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I'm feeling a strange sense of pressure as I set up my first bus route in City Bus Manager. I want to get things right for the public transportation users of this city, probably because it's the city I actually live in. City Bus Manager uses OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to populate its maps, so I can see all the familiar streets and points of interest laid out in front of me. These are my neighbors, who, like me, want an efficient transit service. I want to be able to provide it to them - even if only in a simulation.
City Bus Manager is part of a small group of management sims that are using OSM's community-generated database to make the whole world their game setting. Other examples include Global Farmer, NIMBY Rails, and Logistical: Earth. In these games, players can build farms, railways, or delivery networks all over the globe, using data about real fields, settlements, and infrastructure to inform their decisions.
When the idea of using OSM was first raised at PeDePe, the studio behind City Bus Manager, "we had no idea if it would be technically feasible," says Niklas Polster, the studio's co-founder. But once established, the license gave them access to an entire world of str …
Following the last sale a month ago, the US Google Store is discounting Pixel phones for Memorial Day 2025.
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Apple has long been rumored to be developing a product for the smart home. It’ll have a square 7-inch display, support Apple Intelligence, and essentially serve as a command center for all things Siri and HomeKit.
While this product was on track to launch this spring, numerous issues have pushed that timeline. Now, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman – it may finally launch later this year.
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Apple is gearing up for a sweeping set announcements at WWDC, kicking off on June 9, as reported by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
We’ve been hearing about a significant redesign coming as part of iOS 19 for iPhone and iPad, as well as design updates for macOS 16 too. However, it turns out Apple’s ambitions are even greater. In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman says that both watchOS and tvOS will also see significant redesigns, and visionOS will get some touch-ups as well.
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There are too many planes in the sky. In 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) supervised nearly 16.8 million flights in American airspace - half a million more than the year prior. To manage all of those airplanes, however, the FAA uses an air traffic control system designed in the early 1990s - when features like trackballs and color monitors were new, and air traffic controllers handled less than half as many flights every year.
Like many government agencies, the FAA has faced chronic budget constraints and poor oversight in the ensuing two decades. Not only is its system functionally obsolete; it's also badly understaffed. Too often, the agency must scramble to find the least-bad solution for its mounting problems - and not all of these solutions are good or even safe.
One such scenario has been unfolding at Newark Liberty International Airport for the last year. And it hasn't just created delays and cancellations - it has put people's safety at risk.
Newark airport became national news starting on Monday, April 28th. Around 1:27PM, pilots abruptly lost contact with the controllers that oversee the airport's approach and departure airspace, known as Newa …
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 84, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
This week, I've been reading about Mubi and Around The Horn and millennial tech, moving all my journals to Diarly, trying out Matt D'Avella's workout routine, catching up on Clarkson's Farm, wishing desperately that Philly Justice was a real show, watching a lot of Helper Cars with my toddler, testing the Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones, dusting off my Fortnite skills, and enjoying this unbelievably deep dive into the first Star Wars movie.
I also have for you a new blockbuster movie, an old-new blockbuster mobile game, a new season of one of my all-time favorite shows, a cheap set-top box worth a look, and much more. Shockingly busy week! Let's dig in.
(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you playing / reading / listening to / watching / plugging into things / poking with a stick this week? Tell me everything: [email protected]. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, tell them to subscribe here. Subscri …
For five weeks, the Federal Trade Commission asked a federal judge to imagine a world where Instagram and WhatsApp flourished outside Meta's control instead of being acquired by the tech giant. In the sixth and final week of trial, Meta asked Judge James Boasberg to consider that actually, these apps might be as good as they can get.
Meta rested its case Wednesday after a brief four days in court (many of its witnesses were also called by the FTC, so it already had the chance to question them in prior weeks). In those final days, Meta called on WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton and an early Instagram infrastructure executive to explain how Meta helped those apps grow in ways they'd be unlikely to otherwise - countering testimony from Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom, who claimed Meta withheld resources to help the app grow and become safer, and believed Instagram would have still been a hit on its own.
Meta argues that far from becoming competitors that checked Meta's power, Instagram and WhatsApp might have withered, remaining far less useful or accessible to consumers than they are today.
Several Meta witnesses also called out the elephant in the room: TikTok. The FTC says tha …
