That is Android Central’s Information Weekly, your go-to supply for a concise roundup of the week’s most vital tech tales. That is the place we delve into the highest headlines that present the most recent developments and improvements contributing to the digital panorama.
This week, we get into the huge earnings Alphabet introduced for its final quarter, Amazon giving up the Irobot deal, Google introducing Gen AI in maps, Google Bard ranges up with Imagen 2, and the brand new Android 14 beta replace out there solely to at least one particular cellphone.
Alphabet revamped $300 billion in 2023
Google’s mother or father firm, Alphabet, launched its earnings report for This autumn and monetary 12 months 2023 on January 30. Alphabet’s This autumn earnings report reveals that the corporate made $83.3 billion in This autumn alone.
Its full-year income was $307 billion, a 9% enhance from 2022. In line with the report, Search and YouTube subscriptions have been main contributors to This autumn progress.
Nonetheless, Google additionally spent $2.1 billion in worker severance after shedding over 12,000 workers in 2023. On the earnings name, Chief Funding Officer Ruth Porat hinted at extra layoffs and a slower hiring tempo within the close to future as they proceed to deal with “eradicating layers to simplify execution and drive velocity.” Google’s generative AI remained the main focus of the This autumn earnings name, with Pichai calling it the ‘Gemini Period.’
In the meantime, different firms like Meta, Amazon, and Qualcomm additionally launched earnings this week, talking in regards to the newest developments of their companies and the incorporation of AI of their methods.
Gemini Professional goes international as Bard picks up new expertise
Talking of the Gemini Period, Google introduced Gemini Professional final 12 months. Beginning February 1, Gemini Professional will energy Google Bard worldwide as it’s out there in additional than 40 languages and over 230 nations and territories.
With Gemini Professional, Bard will get a brand new instrument referred to as “double-check,” which cross-checks Bard’s reply towards comparable web outcomes to verify for accuracy and details, enhancing customers’ belief in Bard.
One other cool characteristic that was launched was Imagen 2, the text-to-image mannequin. With this instrument, customers can generate photographs which are greater in high quality and accuracy when in comparison with different such AI picture turbines. Google claims that they’ve particularly labored on areas the place some picture turbines battle with issues like textual content, faces, and palms.
The Imagen 2 mannequin is provided to generate photographs in Google Adverts, Duet AI in Google Workspace, and the Search Generative Expertise. Imagen 2 powers ImageFX, a picture era instrument at present out there in Labs.
Amazon gave up a $1.9 Billion cope with iRobot
Earlier this week, Amazon introduced that it has come to a “mutual” settlement with iRobot to terminate its earlier $1.4 billion deal to accumulate the Roomba maker. Leaving the deal will resolve “all excellent issues” alongside the termination price each firms agreed upon prior.
Amazon should pay iRobot $94 million as a result of termination of the acquisition. On Monday (January 29), EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager stated that “the acquisition of iRobot would have enabled Amazon to foreclose iRobot’s rivals by limiting or degrading entry to Amazon shops.”
Nonetheless, in accordance with Reuters, Amazon and iRobot agreeing to half methods appears to correlate to the resistance it confronted within the EU.
The deal’s termination has precipitated vital challenges, with iRobot’s now-former Chairman and CEO, Colin Angle, resigning and 35% of the corporate’s workers being laid off.
Just one Pixel cellphone will get the brand new Android 14 beta replace
Google issued a new Android 14 replace on Thursday (February 1). Nonetheless, this replace solely involves the Google Pixel 5a house owners.
In line with Google’s beta launch notes (through the Android Beta Reddit), QPR2 Beta 3.2 (construct AP11.231215.010) addresses 15 points that an earlier replace to the cellphone could have precipitated. The replace is rolling out now, and Pixel 5a house owners ought to obtain it throughout the subsequent 5 days.
If in case you have a Pixel 5a, you may replace your cellphone by navigating to Settings > System > System replace.
In the meantime, we’re nonetheless ready on the steady model of QPR2 to roll out to Pixel telephones, which we anticipate may occur in February or March (when the subsequent characteristic drop is predicted).
Google Maps can now provide help to plan your outside actions
With Gen AI, Google is attempting to improve the Maps expertise by taking it a step additional. Customers within the U.S. will quickly discover the choice to jot down a question or select from a number of pre-made ones on Google Maps.
For instance, whenever you kind in”locations with a classic vibe in SF,” Google says Maps’ AI will listing out companies and locations round you that match the outline of the immediate. It should additionally pull up critiques, photographs, and rankings of the areas shut by. These outcomes are additionally categorized by kind/exercise, i.e., outfitters, vinyl retailers, flea markets, and so on.
As of now, this characteristic is just rolling out to “native guides” within the U.S. People who exit and evaluate locations to see/ eating places within the space.
These are among the largest tales from this week. In the meantime, listed below are another tales from this week which are price catching up on: