MobileNews

Google Meet rolling out video backgrounds on web, also coming to mobile

Back in October, Google introduced default and custom wallpapers for Meet. Google Meet is now rolling out video backgrounds that are first coming to the web.  This capability was first announced with the revamped Google Meet web UI that’s now widely rolled out. In addition to static backgrounds, you can now select videos: Custom backgrounds can help you show more of your personality, as well…
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MobileNews

Google hit with €220 million by France over ‘abusing’ its dominant position in advertising

As has happened quite a few times in recent memory, Google’s position in the advertising industry is coming back to bite the company a bit. Today, France has issued a fine against Google for “abusing” that position. The French Competition Authority’s investigation against Google’s advertising business found that the company had “unfairly” sent business to its own products and, in…
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MobileNews

Apple goes after Google Lens & Live View with iOS 15 as AR utilities become commonplace

Google’s biggest consumer-facing augmented reality offerings today are Lens and Live View in Maps. At WWDC 2021, Apple announced it was planning to go after those two features with iOS 15 this fall. Apple’s Google Lens competitor is primarily accessed in the Camera and Photos apps. When your phone is pointed at text or you’re viewing an existing image with words, an indicator appears in…
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MobileNews

Comment: Apple’s depiction of an Android phone is purposefully degrading, but fairly accurate

After years of ignoring the fact that it was originally supposed to be a cross-platform standard, Apple finally announced an expansion of FaceTime to Android and Windows devices through a web app allowing users on other platforms to join iOS 15 users in their calls. To go with it, though, Apple picked a pretty ugly-looking and cheap Android phone to depict the functionality. It’s a tactic…
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