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Personalize your car icon on Google Maps for Android

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Google Maps

Google Maps is making its navigation experience more fun by letting you customize your car icon, bringing it a step closer to the personalization features of Waze.

Since 2020, Google Maps users could select from just four car icons: a simple white arrow in a circle, a red sedan, a yellow SUV, or a green pickup truck. Now, Google Maps for Android is rolling out an option where users can see a prompt for “early access to customize your vehicle icon’s style & color.” This feature, labeled “Your ride, your way,” pops up when you look for driving directions.

If you’re one of the lucky ones with this feature, you can click on the customize icon, located near the corner where you close the menu. Under “Trip options,” there’s a new section called “Vehicle icon while navigating.”

Here, you get to choose from a refreshed set of five vehicles, which look more detailed than before: a sleek sedan, an adventurous off-road pickup, a practical SUV, a sporty car, or a compact hatchback. To make it even more personal, you can paint your chosen vehicle in one of eight colors, including Glacier white, Night black, Ash gray, Poppy red, Sky blue, Sunny yellow, Aqua green, or Sunset magenta.

The original four icons are still there for those who prefer simplicity. This update is currently visible in the Google Maps beta version 25.06.x on Android devices. While it hasn’t reached the stable version yet, iOS users have already been enjoying this feature.

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Android

Google’s May 2025 Android updates: better performance and messaging

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Google

Google’s May 2025 Android updates bring exciting changes to improve how your phone works and how you message. These updates focus on making devices faster, safer, and more user-friendly.
One big change is to Android’s memory system. By increasing the memory page size from 4KB to 16KB on newer devices, apps can load quicker and use less power. This helps phones, especially those with modern chips, run smoothly and save battery life. Older devices will stick with the smaller page size to avoid issues.

The Google System Updates for May also add new features. Google Wallet now supports more card types and makes transit passes easier to use in apps like Google Maps. The Play Store now shows video previews of apps, helping you decide what to download. There are also fixes to improve battery life, storage, and network performance, making your phone more reliable.

For Google Messages, a new “delete for everyone” feature lets you remove sent messages from group chats within 15 minutes. This works for both RCS and SMS, so you can fix mistakes easily. Other messaging upgrades include better scam detection and the ability to send high-quality photos and videos. These updates show Google’s effort to make Android devices faster, more secure, and better for communication. Keep your phone updated to enjoy these improvements!

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Android

New updates for YouTube, Gemini, and Google Home apps

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Google

Google is rolling out exciting changes to its YouTube, Gemini, and Google Home apps, making them more user-friendly and packed with cool features. These updates, announced in May 2025, aim to improve how you watch videos, edit images, and control your smart home.

The YouTube app for TVs is getting a fresh look. You’ll see better video previews, easier ways to subscribe to channels, and a smoother interface for browsing playlists and comments. Autoplay will also work smarter, keeping you hooked on your favorite content without extra clicks. These changes will hit your screens by summer 2025, perfect for binge-watching on Google TV or Android TV.

Meanwhile, the Gemini app now lets you edit images like a pro. Want to change a photo’s background or add fun elements? Just type what you want, and Gemini’s AI makes it happen while keeping the original picture intact. It even adds a small “ai” watermark to show it’s edited. This feature is available in the U.S. and works on both uploaded and AI-made images, with more countries getting access soon.

The Google Home app (version 3.32) is also stepping up. It now supports more smart devices, like cameras and doorbells, and offers quicker controls for lights and thermostats. A new “Activity” tab lets you see what’s happening with your devices in one place, making your smart home easier to manage.

These updates show Google’s focus on making its apps simpler and more powerful, whether you’re streaming, creating, or managing your home. Keep an eye out for these changes to enhance your daily tech experience

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Android

Google Pixel phone and watch update for May 2025 brings fixes and a fresh app look

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Android Feature Drop

Google is rolling out its May 2025 software update for Pixel devices, making things smoother for phones, tablets, and the Pixel Watch app. This update is all about fixing bugs and adding a small but nice change for Pixel Watch users. It’s available for devices running Android 15, like the Pixel 6, 7, 8, 9 series, and Pixel Tablet. The rollout started on May 7, 2025, and will reach devices over the next week, depending on your carrier.

For Pixel phones and tablets, the update tackles three key issues: better microphone recording, improved Bluetooth pairing, and general performance tweaks. It also includes 28 security fixes, with one possibly being targeted by hackers, so updating soon is a good idea. If you have a Pixel 6 or 8, note that this update locks the bootloader, meaning you can’t go back to older software versions.

On the Pixel Watch side, there’s no major device update this month, but the Pixel Watch app on Android now has a light theme option. This gives the app a brighter, cleaner look, making it easier to use in different lighting.

Google might share more about Wear OS at I/O 2025, but for now, the app’s new style is a welcome touch. To get the update, check your device settings. Pixel users can expect a notification soon, but you can also manually check for it. Stay updated for a better, safer experience.

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