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Google Archive

Archives for September 2026

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.