Material

It's another week, and we have another Google leak, but this one is much more favorable. Also, great news: Google will not chuck your phone for using after-market parts.

The fourth wall is broken on Google's search algorithm. And why you might avoid Samsung phones for a while.

We've had a week with the Android 15 beta, but don't run it on your main phone yet. Also, why is Chrome OS running on an Android device?

Google I/O is all anyone is talking about this week, including Andy and Flo.

This week, it's all about the Pixel 8a, as that's all anyone's talking about the week before Google I/O. Plus, the fruits of the DoJ's probe into Google Search.

Google's business is doing okay, after all. But wait until you hear how Apple's been poaching former AI talent from the company.

This episode might bum you out, especially if you're mad at your boss. At least this one is about Google bosses.

The episode starts with an existential crisis and ends with ruminations on what's ahead in Android 15 and Google Search.

Mercury is in retrograde. Andy didn't make it to the new Google Store, and Google killed more stuff this week. We recap Google Cloud Next 2024 and what's coming.

It's Gmail's 20th birthday, and we're celebrating by ruminating about its presence in our lives.

The Pixel 9 rumors are confusing, but not as confusing as why YouTube is letting AI jump around the timeline. Also, have you smelled your Galaxy S24 Ultra's S Pen lately?

This week's biggest Google news was actually about Apple. Has Apple finally accepted that it needs Google's help in the AI department? Will the companies hold each other in solidarity as they face the DoJ?

Andy is solo this week and attempting to wrangle his Google Photos library. Plus, rumors of square smartwatches and other shakeups.

Google hopes to reduce spam with its new search algorithms. Meta shatters our dreams for AndroidXR on its hardware. And the Windows Subsystem for Android _est mort_.

We've got on the big OnePlus Watch 2, wondering why Google didn't check Gemini's answers before they went live.

It's time for Cowboy Andy and Sheriff Flo's AI roundup rodeo! COME ON DOWN. Also, the first developer preview of Android 15 is out, and it's not 100% boring.

What's it like living with three different ways to call on Google? Where has Android's photo picker been all this time? And why is Android 15 codenamed Vanilla Ice Cream?

The good news is that Google debuted easier-to-use generative AI tools. The bad news is that employee morale is low and Google will stop backing up the web.

Google held its earnings call, and it's mostly good news, even when it's not. It's not the best news for those who have recently been laid off.

We discuss the OnePlus 12 and the Galaxy S24 Ultra, plus whether Chrome's new AI-enhanced features are worth forcing the browser for an update—content warning for cheese haters.

Samsung took up the week's news with the launch of the Galaxy S24 series. And then, why is Google Search getting worse?

Google started the week off strong at CES 2024 with the launch of new features and its new mascot, then nosedived after reports that another wave of layoffs was forthcoming.

Samsung will launch a new phone in a few weeks, just as CES 2024 engulfs us all. Plus, what's on your Bard wishlist?

Happy New Year! For the last show of 2023, a recap of Google's year in search.

Happy holidays! It's hopefully the last time we're talking about Beeper. But it won't be the last time we discuss Google in court.

Epic wins--and that’s not a pun on the name. Beeper Mini, again. Then, is Google finally giving us control over our privacy? Maybe?

Beeper Mini's turned green bubbles into blue ones this week, and Gemini entranced us all.

It's time for Google to pay Canada's "link tax," even if it sets an unfortunate precedent for the rest of us. Android 14 can detect when you're taking a screenshot, and the bumps on the Pixel 8 Pro are nothing to worry about. Nothing to see here!

Carl Pei played Android users for fools, and Apple stepped in like a hero after it confirmed it would adopt RCS. Evidence shows that Google and Apple once wanted to become "deep deep" partners.

Flo goes on a covert operation to the Google Visitor Experience. Then, the company gets scorned in court not once but twice this week.

We're feeling goofy this week discussing reports of an Android-friendly Apple Watch that was almost made and Google's desperation over making iMessage open source. The Pixel 8 won't let you make a fake I.D., and why is Boston getting a Google store?

Google's back in court, which means there's so much that was revealed. Sundar Pichai testified on Monday for three hours, followed by Prab, Google's senior vice president.

We cover Alphabet's quarterly earnings and why they hurt the stock, why the _New York Times_ says that Google is worried about Apple, and some new features in Google Maps.

Andy shines in a solo episode this week, discussing the Android team's recent Reddit AMA and why Google was able to bring back Home Groups the way they used to be.

Andy has battery woes, and Flo reviewed the Pixel 8 Pro. Is Google's promise of seven years of software updates too good to be true?

Google had an event for the new Pixel 8, and Flo was there! She joins us for a segment. And then, Andy solo summarizes this week's episode of MTV's _The Real World: US DOJ vs. Google_. (They finally kicked off Puck.)

Apple spills the beans under oath about why Google is its default search engine the same week that Google dumps another body in the graveyard. Bard AI is caught leaking queries into the ether. And Android 14 will let you use your phone camera as a webcam.

Are you ready for Bard to read your emails? Is it Google's fault a man drove off a bridge? Should Google prioritize human-written words over AI-written ones? And why are Taylor Swift fans crashing Google's search engine? Everything has an answer in this week's episode.

Google is officially on trial the same week Apple reminds us why some people can't get enough of its walled garden. _Wired_ interviews Sundar Pichai and even gets him to crack a bit.

Google looks back on 25 years of search, just as it announces it's requiring disclaimers on AI-generation political ads. Also, did Android need a capital A?

Andy and Flo are tired, but the show must go on. Google announces the next phase of AI infusion in Workspace. The company also leaked the new Pixel 8 before announcing a launch event in October. The modular Fairphone 5 is excellent but missing what makes everyone buy Apple and Samsung.

We answer burning questions, like what Google wants with Johnny Cash's likeness and why it ceased development on an AR/VR device with Samsung. Sorry, parents, YouTube _has_ been targeting ads to kids.

Robo taxis are a menace to society, or at least it seems that way in San Francisco. Flo shares her final thoughts on Samsung and Google's foldables. And Google introduces a batch of new AI tools to help summarize web pages on the fly.

Prepare to get more of Johnny Cash singing Europop hits, as Google is working with Universal on deep fake AI-based music. You can listen to it while making Android apps in your browser and sleeping in Google's hotel. The future!

It's Taco Tuesday, even though we're recording on Wednesday and posting on Thursday: Flo has the Pixel Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 in hand, while Andy leads us in a game of "Is This Thing Google's Doing Evil, Or Not?"

Flo is back! Andy is elated! The two hosts catch up on life over the last nine weeks and discuss the results of Alphabet's latest quarterly earnings. Samsung also puts on a mediocre show for some foldables.

Flo is back next week! So Andy is exploiting this final solo episode to make it all about Him. His frustrations about saving web archives from Chrome. His extended thoughts on Indiana Jones. To his credit, he did throw in some news about Google’s new AR Space Invaders game, just so that this Google podcast doesn’t lose its liquor license. But he still heroically pivots to his own opinions about technology’s responsibilities to move the needle.

Andy’s joined by a special guest this week: Jason Howell, host of All About Android on the This Week In Tech network. We replay the last episode of the first season of “Frasier” before digging into a new rash of civil lawsuits that content creators have filed against Google and other makers of AI language models. And then we talk phones: the Fair, the Nothing, and reviving Andy’s Pixel 1 by installing one of the mobile OSes birthed by the Android Open Source Project.

Canada is the latest country to decide that somebody should be on the hook for the news industry’s financial issues, and it might as well be Google. And, just like the offside rule in professional hockey, this is a Canadian thing that Andy doesn’t really understand. Meanwhile, Google urges its AI models to both learn more and forget more. Isn’t this the sort of contradiction that made HAL-9000 go psychotic?

Andy mourns the loss of Google’s Iris smart glasses, because he knows so way much more than Google or Apple about VR and XR. Reviews of the Pixel Fold are in! It’s a jim-dandy phone except for what happens when you unfold it. And reading coverage of last week’s Vidcon helps Andy be less judgmental about The Avengers.