Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Google is working on a fix to block crafty individuals from gaining access to the emails of accounts logged in to some Android TV units. The Android TV operating system, which is preloaded on many smart TVs on the market, could allow people with physical access to get into Gmail and other services associated with the owner’s account, as reported by 404 Media. Since Android TV is just Android under the hood, it treats the owner’s Google account login as a persistent one, allowing them to automatically log in to allowed apps from the Play Store. Chrome is no ..read more

Illustration: The Verge Google is making it a lot easier to move between devices during a meeting. The new “Switch here” feature allows you to move an active Meet call from your computer to your smartphone or vice versa. This means you can swap devices as you sit down at your desk or get up to go somewhere during a full group session without your tile bouncing in and out of the window. There’s also a new function that allows you to join a call in two places. So, you can have your call active on the kitchen tablet and office computer while you run back and forth, flipping an egg and pulling an ..read more

Mark Zuckerberg onstage at Meta Connect 2023. | Getty Images Meta has started licensing the operating system for its Quest headset to other hardware makers, starting with Lenovo and Asus. It’s also making a limited-run, gaming-focused Quest with Xbox. On the theme of opening up, Meta is also pushing for more ways to discover alternative app stores. It’s making its experimental App Lab store more prominent and even inviting Google to bring the Play Store to its operating system, which is now called Horizon OS. In a blog post, Meta additionally said that it’s working on a spatial framework for d ..read more

Google’s latest streaming dongle offers a cheap way to add smart features and apps to any TV. | Image: Google Almost any TV you can buy these days supports streaming in some form or fashion, but what if you don’t like its user interface or it doesn’t have all of the apps you need? That’s where a streaming device like the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) comes in. We usually recommend jumping for the 4K version if you have the budget for it, but the HD model is only $19.99 ($10 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store. It’s a great opportunity to see whether a Chromecast is a better fit for ..read more

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge Delta, an app for emulating and playing retro games on your iPhone, has been at the top of the App Store rankings for days. Apple spent years keeping apps like this off its platforms before reversing course earlier this month in the face of European regulation and the threat of a whole bunch of new third-party app stores. Obviously, there was huge pent-up demand for Delta. But is this a singular phenomenon or the start of a new more open future for the iPhone? What else might Apple allow in the App Store if it means keeping you in the App Store? On this episode ..read more

Anker is amongst the first accessory makers to rerelease MagSafe-compatible accessories that now support the Qi2 standard. | Image: Nathan Edwards / The Verge Qi2 brings MagSafe-like fast magnetic wireless charging for any device. The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) has (finally) released the new Qi2 standard that will help new devices and chargers line up perfectly, thanks to the magic of magnets. Version 2.0 of the Qi wireless charging standard supports up to 15W charging so that iPhone owners don’t have to get expensive MagSafe-certified accessories to enjoy optimal wireless charging. Apple ..read more

Quiet, please. | Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge Notifications are the soundtrack to modern digital life. When they’re out of control, they make it hard to hear anything else going on. But if you manage them well, you can turn them into a subtle background noise. App developers want you to opt in to every notification possible, but thankfully, Android provides a lot of tools to help you tune in to the helpful stuff and tune out the distractions. It takes a little work upfront, but the payoff is worth it. I used a Google Pixel 8 Pro running Android 14 and a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 run ..read more

Illustration: The Verge AI is taking over at Google, and the company is changing in big ways to try to make it happen even faster. Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced substantial internal reorganizations on Thursday, including the creation of a new team called “Platforms and Devices” that will oversee all of Google’s Pixel products, all of Android, Chrome, ChromeOS, Photos, and more. The team will be run by Rick Osterloh, who was previously the SVP of devices and services, overseeing all of Google’s hardware efforts. Hiroshi Lockheimer, the longtime head of Android, Chrome, and ChromeOS, will b ..read more

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge I’ve always hated the fact Gmail only gives us five predefined categories — “Inbox,” “Social,” “Promotions,” “Updates,” and “Forum” — that we can’t customize. When the feature first launched in 2013, it felt like such an obvious omission I assumed Google would address it with a future update. But it’s been over 10 years, and the tabs are still as limiting as they were back then. That’s why I felt like I hit the jackpot last week when I stumbled upon CloudHQ’s Gmail Tabs, a free extension that adds flexibility Gmail should have had from the beginning. B ..read more

Illustration: The Verge Google fired 28 employees in connection with sit-in protests at two of its offices this week, according to an internal memo obtained by The Verge. The firings come after 9 employees were suspended and then arrested in New York and California on Tuesday. The fired employees were involved in protesting Google’s involvement in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion Israeli government cloud contract that also includes Amazon. Some of them occupied the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian until they were forcibly removed by law enforcement. Last month, Google fired another emplo ..read more