GoKawiil
Tech News
Google has launched its experimental Dreambeans app in India, its first international market, adding support for 13 languages including Hindi, Tamil and Bengali. The app, which pulls data from Gmail, Photos, Calendar, Search and YouTube to auto-generate illustrated personal stories, debuted in the U.S. in June and opened to all eligible adult users there in September.
Google's Threat Intelligence Group worked with industry partners to take down a botnet, dubbed XCPE, built from more than 1.3 million Android TV set-top boxes. Investigators traced the malware to Videostrong Technology Co., a Chinese manufacturer accused of preloading devices with backdoors that resold users' internet connections through residential proxy services and enabled advertising fraud. Google took legal action to seize the domains and servers used to control the botnet.
Anthropic engineering leader Addy Osmani said the company added two lines to Claude Code's prompt on Opus 4.5 to stop it from recreating specific existing games, citing its usage policy against IP infringement. Osmani said original games, genre-style games, and projects built from a user's own designs and assets should still work, and he offered to review cases where developers feel requests were wrongly refused.
Google Translate's camera mode lets users point a phone at real-world text and translate it in real time between hundreds of languages, with offline downloads available for frequent languages. Google Lens offers similar functionality on many Android phones without a separate app, and recent iOS versions include a Live Text translation option built into the Camera app.
Google is developing a feature for Google Maps on Android that would greet users with a 'Welcome to [city]' notification upon landing at an airport. The message encourages travelers to use the app's Ask Maps tool for help getting into town, finding a meal, and discovering local events, and even includes a pre-written query to simplify the process. Code for the feature, found in a recent app update, references support for more than 90 airports worldwide.
Android Authority's teardown of Google app version 17.72.13.sa.arm64 uncovered an in-development 'You' tab intended to replace the existing Activity tab in the bottom navigation bar. The new tab would display the user's profile picture, email address, and an account-switcher drop-down, alongside existing history sections like Saved items, Collections, and search history. The teardown also points to a possible pinning feature for AI conversations.
Apple Maps is displaying building footprints across Gaza that match pre-war conditions, even though many of those structures have since been destroyed. A comparison image circulating online contrasts this with Google Maps, which reportedly shows the current, damaged state of the area.
T-Mobile has added a Fiber 5 Gig tier to its home internet lineup starting Nov. 3, priced at $90 a month with AutoPay before taxes and fees. The plan offers symmetrical upload and download speeds, unlimited data, an optional mesh Wi-Fi extender, and a 10-year price guarantee, making it the only T-Mobile Fiber plan with such a guarantee. The company is also offering a limited-time promotion of two free months and $300 in prepaid cards.
Google has launched a search Easter egg tied to Nintendo's upcoming remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, releasing Thursday. Searching "Zelda" or "Master Sword" on Google.com shows the Master Sword icon, which when clicked triggers an animation reverting the page to a 1998-style design, complete with the old "Google!" logo and classic blue-link layout. The retro view, free of ads or AI overviews, reverts to the current Google Search once a new query is entered.
Searching 'Zelda' or 'Ocarina of Time' on Google now reveals an animated Master Sword icon that, when clicked, transforms the results page into a retro 1998-style layout with old Google branding. The throwback page shows a curated list of seven links, including Nintendo's official Zelda site, Wikipedia, and Amazon listings, rather than live search results. The feature works on both desktop and mobile and coincides with the upcoming release of the Ocarina of Time remaster.
Android Authority found code in version 17.72.13.sa.arm64 of the Google app showing a new 'Answer type' settings entry, letting users set Chat or Task as their default Gemini mode instead of choosing each time. The feature appears unreleased and it's unclear if Google will ship it.
Google has officially begun rolling out redesigned icons for its Contacts, Messages, and Phone by Google apps, the company confirmed in a blog post. The new icons feature gradient coloring and more rounded curvature, moving away from the apps' previous flat designs.