Following last week’s homescreen redesign, the Google Gemini app on iPhone has been updated with lockscreen widgets and direct access in Control Center.

At MWC 2025, Google announced that Project Astra-powered live video and screen share capabilities in Gemini Live are rolling out “later this month.”

At MWC 2025, Qualcomm announced the X85 5G Modem-RF for Android, with peak download speeds of up to 12.5 Gbps and 3.7 Gbps uploads. 

For new subscribers, Google Fi Wireless is offering 50% off its “Simply Unlimited” phone plan for two years.

After introducing in October, Fitbit Labs has pulled the Insights Explorer that lets you “ask questions about your health and fitness data.”

In September, Chrome started theming Android’s navigation bar for a slightly more immersive experience. Chrome for Android will soon start “going edge-to-edge” by displaying the gesture handle navigation bar over web pages. 

Samsung announced Project Moohan alongside Android XR in December, and provided another look alongside the Galaxy S25 launch in January. Samsung’s Android XR headset is now set for an unveiling at MWC 2025.

Increasing Gemini app usage is said to be Google’s “biggest focus” in 2025, with the company recently buying podcast ads to drive downloads.

In July of 2023, Google stopped offering new subscriptions of 1st gen Nest Aware, but allowed existing customers to continue using it. This May, Google will “no longer support the Nest Aware 1st generation service” in some regions. 

Welcome to episode 43 of Pixelated, a podcast by 9to5Google. This week, we talk about the Chromecast going out of stock and the future of Gemini smart displays/speakers.

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Google Chat is getting a pair of updates with real-time Markdown formatting and more Gemini summaries.

It’s wild that Apple hasn’t released official Severance merchandise at this point, but the fan community is filling that role with a case that turns your Nest Mini into Lumon’s Board speaker.

Pixel started the concept of “Feature Drops” at Google in December of 2019, with Android later starting something similar every season. Google Workspace is now the latest to get on the “feature drop” bandwagon.

Following document upload and generating images of people, the latest Gemini Advanced to come to free users is “Saved Info.”

At I/O 2024 last May, Demis Hassabis reiterated that DeepMind’s goal is “building AGI: Artificial general intelligence, a system that has human-level cognitive capabilities.” This week, Google co-founder Sergey Brin said that “the final race to A.G.I. is afoot.”

Following the last update two weeks ago, Android 16 Beta 2.1 is rolling out to Pixel devices. It addresses some of the bugs that testers have encountered.

The Google app’s Song Search capability is excellent and finally has a history shortcut to see past lookups. It’s available today in Google for iOS, but Song Search history can be accessed by anyone on the web. 

Following Gboard hitting 10 billion Play Store downloads yesterday, the Android keyboard has made a small change to the shortcuts button that lets you access various tools.

A pair of Chromebook updates today highlight their broad usage across personal and enterprise, starting with Roblox enhancements.

Some vehemently want the ability to remove At a Glance from the top of the Pixel homescreen. I personally find it useful as a space for high-priority notifications and think most users also get daily utility out of it. However, I do think At a Glance in 2025 is underutilized and Android should be doing much more with it.