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• A Google executive has reportedly confirmed that the company will combine Chrome OS and Android into a single platform.
• This news comes after we reported in November that Chrome OS will be merged into Android.
• This also follows Android 16’s release, which brings several desktop-themed features to the platform.

The main goal of the Android workgroup is to add and maintain Android as an officially supported platform for the Swift language.

The Android workgroup will:

• Improve and maintain Android support for the official Swift distribution, eliminating the need for out-of-tree or downstream patches
• Recommend enhancements to core Swift packages such as Foundation and Dispatch to work better with Android idioms
• Work with the Platform Steering Group to officially define platform support levels generally, and then work towards achieving official support of a particular level for Android
• Determine the range of supported Android API levels and architectures for Swift integration
• Develop continuous integration for the Swift project that includes Android testing in pull request checks.
• Identify and recommend best practices for bridging between Swift and Android’s Java SDK and packaging Swift libraries with Android apps
• Develop support for debugging Swift applications on Android
• Advise and assist with adding support for Android to various community Swift packages

The desktop mode experience requires a Pixel 8 or newer, the latest Android 16 QPR1 beta, and an external display.

The desktop mode experience requires a Pixel 8 or newer, the latest Android 16 QPR1 beta, and an external display.

Google demoed the new Project Astra capabilities on a Pixel 9 Pro. In this example, a person is having a live conversation while repairing their bicycle. It starts with the user requesting and Astra finding a PDF manual online. Upon opening, Astra exists as a floating bubble while you see its touch input and a screen glow as it scrolls the file to the desired page.
We next see it opening the YouTube app to search results, scrolling for a video, and then playing. The app then searches the user’s Gmail for information from a conversation. Shown a scene with multiple buckets filled with parts, Astra highlights the correct one on the screen (which something Google teased for Lens years ago at I/O.)

While discussing adaptive Android apps during its Developer Keynote, Google confirmed that it has been working with Samsung to upgrade Android’s desktop windowing capabilities. The company explains:

…we’ve been collaborating with Samsung, building on the foundation of Samsung DeX, to bring enhanced desktop windowing capabilities in Android 16 for more powerful productivity workflows.

Starting November 1st, 2025, Google Play will require that “all new apps and updates to existing” ones that target Android 15+ support 16 KB page sizes.

Without recompiling to support 16 KB pages, your app might not function correctly on these devices when they become more widely available in future Android releases.

Google says a “substantial number of apps are already compatible, so your app may already work seamlessly with this requirement.” The company expects minimal adjustments for other apps:

• Apps with no native code should be compatible without any changes at all.
• Apps using libraries or SDKs that contain native code may need to update these to a compatible version.
• Apps with native code may need to recompile with a more recent toolchain and check for any code with incompatible low level memory management.

• Identity Check was spotted on a OnePlus 13 running the Android 16 beta.
• The feature is expected to arrive on more Android phones with the Android 16 update coming later this year.
• It requires a change to Android's biometric prompt code, which can't be completed without a full update.

When enabled, Identity Check requires biometric authentication to view or modify certain sensitive parts on your Android smartphone. A fingerprint or face unlock is required for the following actions when your device is outside of a trusted location:

• Accessing saved passkeys and app passwords
• Changing PIN, pattern, or password, and turning off Find My

For these actions, biometric authentication is mandatory outside of trusted locations with Identity Check enabled — a password, PIN, or pattern won't work as an alternative. This is intended to prevent people from hijacking your Google account or other online accounts in the event your phone is lost or stolen, even if the bad actor knows your password.

Nick Turley, OpenAI's chief, was asked to testify as part of Google's trial against the DOJ.

• ChatGPT's chief said in open court that OpenAI would be interested in buying Google Chrome if the opportunity presents itself.
• Nick Turley added that he is deeply worried that OpenAI is facing a lot of difficulties integrating itself into Android smartphones.
• If OpenAI buys Chrome, it could “have the ability to introduce users to what an AI-first experience looks like.”

As Google sits in the hot seat for paying companies to utilize its products in place of any competition, court testimony reveals that Google did the same thing with Gemini. Samsung was reportedly paid a lot of money to push Gemini as a preinstalled app in One UI.

According to the report, the contract was set for at least two years. In it, Google set out to regularly pay Samsung for each device that has Gemini pre-installed. The ads within the app are also a part of the deal, with Google paying Samsung a percentage of revenue from interactions.

Alphabet Inc has initiated talks with its local contract manufacturers—Dixon Technologies and Foxconn—to shift a part of the global production of Google Pixel smartphones to India from Vietnam, especially devices headed for the US.

The company has also shared plans with the contract manufacturers on localising some components in India, such as enclosures, chargers, fingerprint sensors and batteries, the executives said. Currently, most components for made-in-India Pixel phones are imported.

Enter Android XR, the first new version of Android made for the Gemini era. Google says it's built with Gemini at the core, enabling a brand new type of user interface that's driven entirely by the way you interact with Google's multimodal AI.

As you might have guessed, the XR in Android XR isn't some weird Roman numeral moniker. Rather, it stands for eXtended Reality and is a new spinoff of Android built to unify XR products — mainly smart glasses and VR headsets — under a new set of standards and tools. It's exactly how Android Auto is built for car infotainment systems, and Wear OS is built for smartwatches.