Multiple Waze users report that switching the app from split-screen to full-screen view on Android Auto causes the navigation information box—showing ETA, arrival time, next turn, and remaining distance—to vanish. Some say the data briefly reappears when an alert pops up, only to disappear again once the alert clears, while at least one user reports the map failing to center properly in either view. Android Authority has contacted Google, and it remains unclear whether the fault lies with a recent Android Auto or Waze update.
NextEra Energy has received a $1.9 billion federal loan to refurbish the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa, a nuclear plant shuttered since 2020 that Google pledged to help revive last October. The plant is slated to restart in 2029, with Google reportedly planning up to six data centers nearby, while only 50 megawatts of output will go to the local power cooperative.
Google has shifted Chrome from a four-week to a two-week release schedule, beginning with Chrome 153 rolling out on desktop, iOS, and Android. The company says the change helps it manage a growing volume of security patches driven by AI-assisted bug discovery and faster-moving threats.
Google DeepMind has released AlphaGenome Atlas, a 1-petabyte database that uses its AlphaGenome AI model to predict the regulatory impact of all roughly 9 billion possible single-letter mutations across the human genome. The Atlas also introduces a scoring system called AVI, which condenses complex coding and non-coding predictions into one number researchers can use to quickly identify which genetic variants deserve closer study.
Google confirmed it is rolling out major changes to how Search functions across the European Union, following a $1 billion fine tied to alleged Digital Markets Act violations. The update forces Google to display results from competing vertical search services, such as Expedia or Booking.com, ahead of its own Flights and Hotels products in categories like travel and dining. New carousels will rank listings using Google's algorithm, but with details like real-time pricing removed.
Android Authority found evidence in Google app version 17.56.14 that Song Search could soon run in the background, letting users switch apps while it keeps listening for a track. A notification would alert users when a song is identified, tapping which now leads to an AI Mode result instead of a standard search page.
A developer released DriveSync (dsync), an open-source Rust command-line tool that mirrors a local directory with a Google Drive folder, offering push, pull, and diff commands similar to Git workflows. Users authenticate via their own OAuth credentials created in Google Cloud Console, and the tool is available via Homebrew, prebuilt binaries, or source compilation.
NextEra Energy has received a $1.9 billion loan from the US Department of Energy to restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center, a 615-megawatt nuclear plant in Iowa that was shut down after storm damage in 2020. Google will buy power from the reopened plant to run its AI data centers, with NextEra targeting a restart by 2029 and citing job creation and grid reliability benefits.
CNET's latest People's Picks survey asked readers to rate phone brands on customer satisfaction, battery longevity, and price-to-value. Google came out on top with a 4.52 out of 5 average score, narrowly edging out Motorola at 4.45, while Samsung and Apple trailed with 4.19 and 3.87 respectively.
Google is bringing back Now Playing notifications in the shade on Pixel devices, months after removing them during a March update that split the feature into a standalone app. The restored alerts show the song title and artist, plus a shortcut to favorite tracks or view listening history, without needing to unlock the phone. The rollout appears limited so far, based on scattered Reddit reports rather than an official announcement.
Google Research, working with HHMI Janelia Research Campus, published the first complete map of an adult male fruit fly's brain and central nervous system, called MaleCNS v1.0. The AI-assisted project stitched together millions of 2D images into a 3D model reconstructing more than 166,000 neurons. Within days, software engineers used the connectome data to train a simulated version of the fly's neural circuitry to play Doom and Super Mario 64.
Ivo Stivoric, who holds the title 'Lt. Trouble + Maker' at Alphabet's X, the Moonshot Factory, has been named 2026 Innovative Leader of the Year. Over more than a dozen years at X, he has led varied projects including Taara's light-based wireless communication, Tapestry's electric grid mapping, Chorus's AI supply chain tracking, and Materra's AI-driven waste sorting, and holds over 90 patents.
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