Monthly Archives: April 2024

Google LLC today announced the release of the first beta test version of Android 15, opening up the upcoming operating system for both developers and early adopters to test out.

The new release of the Android platform includes updates that improve underlying performance, such as OS-level support for app archiving, improved communication and better support for apps targeting large screens. Communications on Android have also been updated for Braille displays and the beta prioritized security and privacy.

Apps in Android 15 are designed to fit large screens by default now, meaning that they no longer need to explicitly call the functionsWindow.setDecorFitsSystemWindows(false)orenableEdgeToEdge()to show content behind system bars. However, apps should use enableEdgeToEdge() to work properly on earlier versions of Android.

Many of theMaterial 3 composablesand components will handle inserts for developers, based on how they are placed in the app according to framework specifications. This will assist the app in going edge-to-edge and avoid prominent touch targets in the app from being overlapped by system targets or other elements.

App archiving capability was announcedlast yearby Android and Google Play, which allows users to free up space by partially removing infrequently used apps from the device.

Android 15 has added OS-level support for app archiving and app unarchiving, which will make it easier for app stores to take advantage of it and users will have more free space on their devices. When an app is archived, it removes the Android package kit, the package that contains the files an app needs to install and function on a device as well as any cached data, while retaining user data.

Apps can now manage and collect profiling information from within apps to help improve performance using a newPerformanceManagerclass. The Android team said plans are to wrap this with an Android Jetpack application programming interface that will make it possible to simplify collecting heap dumps, stack sampling and more. The API also includes a rate limiter so that it does not impact performance.

Androids built-in screen reader,TalkBack, has been updated with support for Braille displays using the Human Interface Devices standard over both USB and secure Bluetooth. The HID standard is a device class definition that opened up USB drivers to a variety of devices such as mice, keyboards and game controllers, so it should provide more accessibility for Braille displays for Android devices over time.

Android 15 has made additional changes to how background apps operate to prevent them from bringing other apps to the foreground, elevating privileges and abusing user interactions. This will give users more control over their devices and prevent malicious apps from controlling devices behind the scenes. Background activity launches have been restricted since Android 10 and this enhancement should further solidify that control.

Now that Android 15 has entered its beta phase, users canenroll any supported Pixel deviceto get this release and future Android Beta updates installed over the air. It is also possible to test out this beta release with a 64-bit system image onAndroid Emulatorin Android Studio.

THANK YOU

Read the original:

Google releases first Android 15 beta with improved performance and edge-to-edge display by default - SiliconANGLE News

Googles update to Gemini 1.5 Pro gives the model ears. The model can now listen to uploaded audio files and churn out information from things like earnings calls or audio from videos without the need to refer to a written transcript.

During its Google Next event, Google also announced itll make Gemini 1.5 Pro available to the public for the first time through its platform to build AI applications, Vertex AI. Gemini 1.5 Pro was first announced in February.

This new version of Gemini Pro, which is supposed to be the middle-weight model of the Gemini family, already surpasses the biggest and most powerful model, Gemini Ultra, in performance. Gemini 1.5 Pro can understand complicated instructions and eliminates the need to fine-tune models, Google claims.

Gemini 1.5 Pro is not available to people without access to Vertex AI and AI Studio. Right now, most people encounter Gemini language models through the Gemini chatbot. Gemini Ultra powers the Gemini Advanced chatbot, and while it is powerful and also able to understand long commands, its not as fast as Gemini 1.5 Pro.

Gemini 1.5 Pro is not the only large AI model from Google getting an update. Imagen 2, the text-to-image generation model that helps power Geminis image-generation capabilities, will also add inpainting and outpainting, which let users add or remove elements from images. Google also made its SynthID digital watermarking feature available on all pictures created through Imagen models. SynthID adds an invisible to the viewer watermark on images that marks its provenance when viewed through a detection tool.

Google says its also publicly previewing a way to ground its AI responses with Google Search so they answer with up-to-date information. Thats not always a given with the responses produced by large language models, sometimes intentionally; Google has intentionally kept Gemini from answering questions related to the 2024 US election.

Original post:

Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro can now hear - The Verge

9 Apr 2024

Gemini 1.5 Pro integration with WPP Open marketing operating system sets new standards in marketing creativity, personalisation and efficiency

Cloud Next '24, Las Vegas 9 April, 2024 Today on the keynote stage at Google Cloud Next, WPP and Google Cloud will announce a new collaboration that will redefine marketing through the integration of Googles Gemini models with WPP Open, WPPs AI-powered marketing operating system already used by more than 35,000 of its people and adopted by key clients including The Coca-Cola Company, LOral and Nestl.

By combining Google's deep expertise in data analytics, generative AI (gen AI) technology and cyber security with WPP's end-to-end marketing capabilities, global creative scale and understanding of its clients brands, this partnership seeks to drive a step-change in marketing efficiency and effectiveness.

As part of the collaboration, Google Cloud's advanced gen AI tools will be used with WPP's proprietary marketing and advertising data. This will enable WPPs clients to create brand- and product-specific content using gen AI, to gain deeper insights into their target audiences, to accurately predict and explain content effectiveness, and to optimise campaigns with ongoing adaptive processes.

Applying WPPs decades of experience serving enterprise clients, WPP Open integrates with any client, partner or technology vendor to create optimised and automated marketing capabilities.

The inaugural phase of the partnership is focusing on the development of the following four innovative use cases:

Stephan Pretorius, Chief Technology Officer at WPP, said: "This collaboration marks a pivotal moment in marketing innovation. Our integration of Gemini 1.5 Pro into WPP Open has significantly accelerated our gen AI innovation and enables us to do things we could only dream of a few months ago. With Gemini models, we're not only able to enhance traditional marketing tasks but also to integrate the end-to-end marketing process for continuous, adaptive optimisation. I believe this will be a game-changer for our clients and the marketing industry at large.

Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, said: AI has the potential to unlock new levels of effectiveness for marketers, whether it is optimising campaigns, automating repetitive tasks like brand descriptions, or sparking entirely new ideas. This partnership brings the power of Google Clouds gen AI capabilities together with WPPs marketing domain expertise to help our mutual customers create better campaigns that resonate with consumers in a deeper way.

The move forms part of WPPs ongoing annual investment of 250 million in AI, data and technology, and its strategy to capitalise on its lead in the space by partnering with AI experts like Google.

Further information

Susie Metnaoui, WPP +44 (0)7557 591 879 [emailprotected]

Louise Lacourarie, WPP +44 (0)7741 360 931 [emailprotected]

Laura Wheeler, Google Cloud [emailprotected]

About WPP

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities. For more information, visit http://www.wpp.com.

About Google Cloud

Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.

Read the original here:

WPP and Google Cloud forge groundbreaking new collaboration to lead generative AI-driven marketing into its next ... - WPP

Google has announced that some of its AI-powered editing tools will soon be free to all Google Photos users. Previously, to use some of these tools, you would either need to be a Google Pixel user or have a paid Google One subscription.

The new features available to all Google Photos includes:

These features will be available within Google Photos on the Android and iOS apps as well as Chromebooks. You'll need an Android phone with at least Android 8.0 an iOS device with iOS 15 and newer. For Chromebooks, you'll need at least 3GB of RAM and ChromeOS 118 and newer.

Magic Editor, which was exclusive to the Pixel 8 series, uses generative AI to easily drag and drop objects in a photo. There is one catch: Android and iOS Google Photos users will be limited to ten Magic Editor saves per month. If you want more Magic Editor saves, you'll need a Pixel device or a Google One subscription (the 2TB plan and above).

The AI tools will gradually start to roll out to Google Photos users starting May 15.

Original post:

These Google Photo Editing Tools Will Be Free Soon - Lifehacker

I had three flagship phones on three different tripods all aimed at a sun rapidly being crowded by a nuisance moon, and all I wanted was one or two excellent eclipse shots.

Turns out that photographing a solar eclipse with your smartphone is not that easy. In fact, figuring out a repeatable process without cauterizing your retinas is downright challenging. But I did it. I grabbed some of the best smartphones money can buy, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Google Pixel 8 Pro, and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and prepared for 180 minutes of celestial excitement.

That last selection might turn a few heads. It is, after all, a now aging flagship Android phone that does not have the latest image processing or even the fastest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip found in the Galaxy S24 Ultra (the S23 Ultra has the Gen 2). However, one thing it has that none of my other flagship smartphones offer is a 10X optical zoom (not even the S24 Ultra has that).

Throughout this endeavor I committed to not using any enhancements, leaving the phones' zoom lenses to do their best work without digital magic. I never pinched and zoomed. I just pointed each phone at the eclipse and hit the shutter.

Except as soon as I did this, I realized it wasn't going to work. The sun naturally blows out the exposure on all the phones. It's not that I haven't taken pictures of the sun before. I've snapped quite a few with the iPhone and to get over the blowout, I tap the sun on screen and that speeds up the exposure to lower the light and bring out the sun's definition.

An eclipse wreaks havoc with a smartphone's exposure controls, and the more the moon occludes the sun, the sharper that light becomes. My solution was simple and likely one you've seen elsewhere. I took my Celestron eclipse glasses and carefully placed the film of one sunglass lens over each phone's zoom lens. If you ever have trouble identifying which camera is the zoom, just open the camera app, select the max optical zoom, and put your finger over each camera lens until you see your finger on the screen.

The solar sunglasses helped with cutting down the massive glare. After that, I tapped on the screen and adjusted the exposure until I could see the sun getting the Pac-man treatment from the moon. In most cases, the result was a very orange-looking sun.

Get the hottest deals available in your inbox plus news, reviews, opinion, analysis and more from the TechRadar team.

For the next hour or so, I shifted from one phone to the other, repositioning my tripods, lining up the sun, and snapping away.

There were some non-smartphone-related glitches, like cloud cover right before our peak totality (90% where I live) but I was more successful than I expected and the smartphones, for the most part, were up to the challenge.

You'll see some of my comparisons above and below (I've used the best from all the phones in the above shots) which I did not resize or enhance, other than cropping them where possible to show them side-by-side.

While the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel 8 Pro shoot at 12MP (the latter is binned from a 48MP sensor, meaning four pixels combined into each one), the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra's 10X zoom camera is only 10MP. I think those numbers do factor into the overall quality.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro matched the iPhone 15 Pro Max's 5x zoom and sometimes seemed sharper than either the iPhone or Galaxy S23 Ultra, but I also struggled the most with the Pixel 8 to capture a properly exposed shot. It was also the only phone that forced a long exposure after the peak 90% coverage. The good news is that some of those long exposures offered up the most atmosphere, managing to collect some of the cloud cover blocking my full view of the eclipse.

Things got more interesting with the iPhone 15 Pro Max and its 5x Tertrapism lens. The eclipse appears a little closer than on the Pixel 8 Pro, but also more vibrant. There are a handful of iPhone 15 Pro Max pictures where I can see the clouds and it's quite beautiful. As with all the phones, this image capture process was a bit hit-and-miss. Colors shifted from orange to almost black and white, and sticking the focus was a challenge. When I did manage to capture a decent photo, I was thrilled.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra's 10x optical zoom pulled me thrillingly close to the eclipse. It was certainly easier to get the exposure and focus right. At a glance, the S23's images are better but closer examination reveals significant graininess, so much so that some appear almost like paintings and rough canvas.

As I dug deeper into all the photos, I noted how each phone camera used ISO settings to manage the image capture and quality. The iPhone 15 Pro Max ranged from ISO50 (for ultra-bright situations and action shots) to ISO 800 (very slow light capture, and usually introduces a lot of grain). Naturally, those at the upper end of the spectrum are just as grainy as those from the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which ranges from as low as ISO 250 to 800.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro has the widest range from as low as ISO 16 to an astonishing ISO 1,536. It used that for a capture of the 90% eclipsed sun behind clouds. Aesthetically, it is one of the better shots.

If I had to choose a winner here, it would be the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra by a nose. That extra optical zoom means you have more detail before the graininess kicks in.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is a very close second, but only because it was easier to capture a decent shot. I also think that if it had a bigger optical zoom, the iPhone's powerful image processing might've outdone the year-old Galaxy.

Google Pixel Pro 8 has some great shots but also a lot of bad ones because I couldn't get it to lock in on the converging sun and moon. It also suffered the most when it came to exposure. Even so, I am impressed with the ISO range and the sharpness of some shots.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max and Google Pixel 8 Pro also deserve special mention for producing my two favorite shots. They're not the closest or clearest ones, but by capturing some of the clouds, they add an ethereal, atmospheric element.

If I live long enough to see another eclipse (there's one in the American Midwest in 2044), I'll look for special smartphone eclipse filters and give it another try. By then we could well have 200x optical zoom cameras with 1,000MP sensors.

Correction: An earlier version of this article transposed the description of ISO performance.

Read the original here:

I shot the eclipse with an iPhone 15 Pro Max, Google Pixel 8 Pro and a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra here's which one ... - TechRadar

It's always fun to listen to people talk about the things they love and hate about living in Amarillo. The things they love about it always seem to be the same. Nice people for the most part, predictable weather, and lots of restaurants.

It's seeing all the comments and things people hate about the city that crack me up, and if you look at a history of things people have said over time, it'll amuse you. Some things change, some stay the same.

Out of fun, I decided to Google "things we hate about Amarillo". It started bringing up old Reddit threads going back to 2018, and it's hilarious to read some of these.

In one of the threads I found, the person had a job offer here in Amarillo and was looking at moving here from Augusta, GA. They had asked about pros and cons of the city. The post was from six years ago, so not sure if they accepted the job and maybe still live here.

The responses for the most part were positive about the city, but even six years ago, things such as "crime rate is ridiculous", "the amount of meth and crack addicts are unbelievable", "corrupt small town politics", "crumbling infrastructure...except for the plethora of churches and gas stations" were popping up. None of these things have seemingly changed.

However, my favorite response to this was simple, basic, and to the point. The user simply stated, "Stay in Augusta". I might have laughed a little, read it again, and just burst out in laughter.

I'm not saying Amarillo is a bad place to live, it's definitely grown on me over time. Just like any city, there is good and bad. You have to take the bad with the good in order to truly enjoy a city. I just thought the responses were funny.

So go ahead, Google "things we hate about Amarillo" and enjoy the plethora of comments. It's good for a laugh.

I love Google. It can literally answer ANYTHING you need it to answer. Whether it's right or wrong is a totally different question.

Recently, I found myself wondering about something and went to Google. And that's when I started noticing the "people also asked..." section and BOY...Some of them made perfect sense, some of them were interesting, and one of them was downright baffling...and it was a top 10 question which is even more absurd.

So let's see what we've got. Here's the top 10 questions as asked to Google about Amarillo.

Gallery Credit: Sarah Clark

Amarillo is a pretty quirky place. We've got the Big Texan, the weird signs, and (obviously) the famed Cadillac Ranch. But more than that, there's a distinct culture of close-knit community, eccentrics, a thriving arts scene, and much more.

The point is, living in Amarillo is a unique experience. Because of that, it's really pretty easy to tell who's a native or a long-time resident. And I can prove it.

Here's a couple of ways you can say you're from Amarillo.....withoutsaying you're from Amarillo.

Gallery Credit: Sarah Clark

See the rest here:

Responses To Google Search About Amarillo - 101.9 The Bull

At Cloud Next 2024, Google published a prompting guide for Gemini in Workspace, especially in Gmail and Docs.

This handbook (April 2024 edition) identifies four main areas to consider when writing an effective prompt:

Prompts, which should be written naturally with complete thoughts in full sentence, dont need all four especially in the initial message to Gemini/Help me write. Google says using a few will help, while what you write should be concise and avoid jargon.

You will likely need to try a few different approaches for your prompt if you dont get your desired outcome the first time.

Theres a particularly big emphasis on mak[ing] it a conversation with follow-up prompts that include more of the four areas.

Referring to prompting as an art, Google found during the Workspace Labs beta program that the most successful prompts average around 21 words.

Coming in at 45 pages, there are example personas and prompts that go through refinements for: Customer service, Executives and entrepreneurs, Human resources, Marketing , Project management, Sales. Ultimately, Google says to review outputs for clarity, relevance, and accuracy before using it.

Additional tips include:

You can download the guide here.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

See the original post here:

Google releases 'prompting guide' with tips for Gemini in Workspace - 9to5Google

Google is making its AI photo editing tools free and available to more users yes, even iPhone users.

On Wednesday, Google announced that Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, and Portrait Light are available to Google Photos users, even if you don't have a Google Pixel 8 or a Google One subscription.

2024 is shaping up to be the year of on-device AI. Samsung went all in on generative AI with this year's batch of Galaxy devices, dubbing the Galaxy S24 the "first AI smartphone" and packing it with AI features. Even Apple is preparing to make a major AI announcement likely at WWDC this coming June. And Google's generative AI features on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro were a selling point at its October event.

Previously, photo-editing tools like Magic Eraser (uses AI to erase unwanted objects in photos), Photo Unblur (automatically focuses blurry photos), and Portrait Light (adjusts the light source on photos) were only available on the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro or as paid features with a the company's cloud storage subscription, Google One.

Now, anyone with a Google Photos account can use these tools free of charge. Well, almost anyone since there are some limitations. For ChromeOS users, the device must be a Chromebook Plus with version 118+ or at 3 GB RAM. For mobile users, the device must be Android 8.0 or iOS 15 or higher. Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, and Portrait Light will also be available on Pixel tablets.

Google also shared that it's giving Magic Editor access to any users with the Google Photos app (yep, Android and iOS). Unveiled at the Google Pixel event last year, Magic Editor gives users many of the same capabilities as Photoshop, but without the need for technical know-how. Using generative AI, users can move objects or edit certain areas of a photo by highlighting them.

Android and iOS users get 10 free Magic Editor saves per month on Google Photos, but you'll need a Google Pixel or paid Google One account for use beyond that.

Expanded access to Google's AI photo editing tools are rolling out on May 15 and you can download Google Photos for free on the App Store.

Original post:

Google Photos is making its AI photo editing tools available for all users - Mashable

ISSY-LES-MOULINEAUX, France, April 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cloud Next '24, LAS VEGAS --Google Cloud and Orange today announced they have expanded their collaboration to deploy artificial intelligence, including gen AI, closer to Orange's and its customers' operations. Through the use of Google Distributed Cloud, Orange can meet local requirements for cloud environments, accelerate AI adoption and benefits for customers, and foster an open and value-driven approach.

Google Distributed Cloud(GDC) is a fully managed hardware and software solution that brings the power of Google's AI services to the Edge, air-gapped environments, and Cross-Cloud. Designed with AI and data-intensive workloads in mind, GDC will enable Orange to take a pivotal step towards accelerating AI adoption into its operations across the 26 countries it serves. The company is focusing on three areas with AI:

"We have a mission to accelerate value creation for Orange with every job, every network, and every customer experience super-powered by responsible AI. Orange sees enormous value in AI across every dimension of our business," said Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange Group. "This partnership with Google Cloud and the cutting-edge solutions announced today are foundational to Orange achieving AI at scale and is a major step towards unlocking significant value from all of our data."

To achieve its goals of bringing AI capabilities into each of the regions it serves, Orange required a secure solution to enhance cloud services at a local level, while still meeting local regulatory requirements around security and data residency. Google Cloud worked with Orange from the concept stage onwards to co-design its Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) deployment, which allows Orange to establish a local cloud that delivers heightened resilience, particularly in challenging environments, while optimizing performance and reducing latency for critical workloads.

This collaboration will bring the cloud to Orange's own data centers, protecting sensitive workloads that must stay on-premises and also enabling Orange to filter extremely high-volume data, such as over one petabyte a day of network telemetry. By bringing the cloud into the data center via GDC, Orange is enabling faster deployment of AI applications for local teams, and fostering agility and responsiveness. Moreover, this collaboration opens up avenues for new business opportunities, as it makes it possible for use cases to be delivered across many Orange countries.

"Businesses are increasingly bringing gen AI solutions to the edge of the network to ensure better agility, responsiveness, and resilience," said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. "Our partnership with Orange addresses that need, combining data, reliable infrastructure, and leading AI technologies to create new solutions to meet Orange's global needs"

Orange and Google Cloud have collaborated since 2020 to fuel Orange's digital transformation through data and AI. Over the last three years, Orange has migrated 13 petabytes of data to Google Cloud and has many strategic use cases in production across ten countries running on Google Cloud. The two companies' shared passion for innovation has resulted in a collaboration that has brought secure, customizable, best-in-class solutions to customers across geographies and industries.

About Google CloudGoogle Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models, and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.

About OrangeOrange is one of the world's leading telecommunications operators with revenues of 44.1 billion euros in 2023 and 137,000 employees worldwide at 31 December 2023, including 73,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of 298 million customers worldwide at 31 December 2023, including 254 million mobile customers and 25 million fixed broadband customers. The Group is present in 26 countries. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies under the brand Orange Business. In February 2023, the Group presented its strategic plan Lead the Future , built on a new business model and guided by responsibility and efficiency. Lead the Future capitalizes on network excellence to reinforce Orange's leadership in service quality.

Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).For more information on the internet and on your mobile: http://www.orange.com, http://www.orange-business.com/, and the Orange News app or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.

SOURCE Google Cloud

More here:

Orange Expands Partnership With Google Cloud to Use AI and GenAI Across Workstreams and Geographies With New ... - PR Newswire

Lance Whitney/ZDNET

Android users will soon be able to locate phones, smartwatches, earbuds, and trackers courtesy of Google's new Find My Device network. On Monday, Google finally launched its Find My Device network geared toward locating devices even if they're offline.

Also: Android 15 could bring back a buzzword that was once the talk of the tech industry

"Today, the all-new Find My Device is rolling out to Android devices around the world, starting in the US and Canada," Google said in a new blog post. "With a new, crowdsourced network of over a billion Android devices, Find My Device can help you find your misplaced Android devices and everyday items quickly and securely."

Although Google already offers a Find My Device setting on Android phones, the device you're looking for must be powered on and connected for the feature to work. The new Find My Device network is designed to use Bluetooth to track down missing phones and other devices that are disconnected from a Wi-Fi or cellular network.

A Powered Off Finding feature would let each device store beacons in its Bluetooth controller's memory, letting the network see any supported device even if it's not connected.

In its blog post, Google described five ways Android users can tap into the new Find My Device network. You can locate any compatible Android phone or tablet by ringing it or viewing its location on a map. The network will find any supported device even if it's offline. And it will track down any Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro phone even if it's powered off or the battery is depleted.

Also: The best Bluetooth trackers of 2024

Starting in May, you'll be able to use the Find My Device app to locate items like keys or luggage via Bluetooth tracker tags made by Chipolo and Pebblebee . Designed especially for the new network, the tags will send you unknown tracker alerts across Android and iOS devices to warn you about any unwanted tracking.

Also launching in May will be a Find nearby button that will help you pinpoint an object that may be hiding right next to you. By using the upcoming Bluetooth tags, you'll be able to hunt down nearby objects like a wallet or keys.

Next, the Find My Device app will show you a missing phone or other item in relation to your home Nest devices, providing you with a reference point.

And finally, you'll be able to share a device or accessory so that other people can track it as well.

Also: How to enable Find My Device on your Android phone (and why you should)

Google announced the Find My Device network in September 2023, but delayed its rollout over fears that the technology could be misused by people armed with Bluetooth trackers, such as Apple's AirTags, to track and stalk other people. Apple's upcoming iOS 17.5 (now in beta testing) reportedly contains the necessary security protections to prevent this type of abuse, paving the way for Google to finally launch the network.

So, which Android phones will be able to use the new Find My network? Though only the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro can be found even if they're powered off, the network will work with any phone running Android 9 or higher.

And how secure and private will your devices been on this new network? "Multi-layered protections built into the Find My Device network help keep you safe and your personal information private, while keeping you in control of the devices connected to the Find My Device network," Google said in its post. "This includes end-to-end encryption of location data as well as aggregated device location reporting, a first-of-its-kind safety feature that provides additional protection against unwanted tracking back to a home or private location."

Read the original:

Google finally launches its Find My Device network. Here are the Android models that support it - ZDNet