Gemini, the default Android Assistant, is experiencing issues with call functionality on Android and Android Auto. Some users have reported being unable to make calls via voice commands, with an error message appearing on their phone. The problem is not limited to Android Auto and may be related to a Gemini or Google app update. Switching back to Google Assistant seems to resolve the issue temporarily, but a long-term solution is yet to be found.

A future update for Google Chrome, reportedly version 150 or 151, is expected to remove Manifest V2 support entirely, affecting several popular ad-blocking extensions, including uBlock Origin. This change is a result of Google's transition to a new browser extension framework, Manifest V3, which limits advanced filtering techniques used by older ad blockers. While extensions built for Manifest V3 will continue to function, legacy ad blockers will stop working once Manifest V2 support is removed.

Google's June 2026 System Updates bring various improvements to Android devices, including updates to system management services, bug fixes, and new features. The updates affect multiple platforms, including phones, TVs, and Wear OS devices. A key feature allows users to manage WhatsApp backups through device settings. Other updates include improvements to Google Contacts sync, Google Play Store reviews, and security verifications for unverified apps. The updates also introduce new features, such as a "Trusted" badge for eligible [...]

Google has updated Android Auto to incorporate its Gemini AI model, enhancing the integration between smartphones and vehicles. This update aims to improve how Android Auto handles driver requests, such as providing restaurant reviews or hotel information from emails. Gemini's capabilities allow for more efficient communication with third-party apps, replacing rigid voice commands with a helpful assistant. The update is designed to make daily commutes easier by minimizing distractions and allowing drivers to focus on the road.

Google's next Pixel Drop update is imminent, with ads revealing new features such as Screen Reactions and Gemini Omni-powered features, including Music Generation. The update is overdue, with the last Pixel Drop occurring in March 2026. The ads, spotted on Amazon, showcase the new features, with Screen Reactions being the only technically new feature. Google previously showed off Screen Reactions at The Android Show in May, and it is now available in Android 17 QPR1's latest beta. [...]

Google DeepMind released DiffusionGemma, an experimental open-weights model that generates text using discrete diffusion, replacing the token-by-token method. It produces over 1,000 tokens per second on a single Nvidia H100, up to four times faster than comparable autoregressive models. DiffusionGemma trades some quality for speed and is available for free under an Apache 2.0 license. The model uses a 26-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts architecture, refining blocks of 256 tokens in parallel. This approach enables faster text generation, making it [...]

SpaceX has made a significant move in the AI infrastructure war, disclosing a major compute contract with Google worth approximately $920 million per month. This deal provides Google with access to around 110,000 GPUs at SpaceX's Memphis campus until 2029. The contract highlights SpaceX's growing presence in the AI sector, with the company now controlling a substantial portion of AI's physical layer. The news comes ahead of SpaceX's record IPO, which saw shares priced at $135 and [...]