When it comes to Android smartphones running manufacturer skins on top, the wait for the latest software updates can be excruciating, especially if you have a carrier-locked version. This year, LG’s seeking to change that it seems. The Android OEM announced via press release this morning that customers with the LG G4 will start seeing Android Marshmallow updates land from next week…

The rollout will begin in Poland next week, with other markets in Europe, Asia and North/South America following after. Specific upgrade schedules per region/model will be announced in each individual market at a later date.

With LG being heavily involved in the release of the latest Nexus phones, it’s clear the company has been working closely with Google on this latest operating system. The Nexus 5X is the company’s third Nexus smartphone, and follows on from the design language of the last model released in 2013. The difference this time is that the phone is equipped with some flagship specs, including one of the best cameras on the mobile market, the Snapdragon 808 processor and a quick fingerprint sensor.

Several other companies including HTC and Sony have announced their plans to upgrade specific handsets to Android 6.0, but none have come close to offering a deadline, especially not one as soon as next week.

PRESS RELEASE:

SEOUL, Oct. 15, 2015 ― Owners of LG Electronics' (LG) G4 smartphone will be the first in the world to receive the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. LG G4 owners in Poland will begin receiving their M upgrade beginning next week with other markets in Europe, Asia and the Americas to follow.

The latest update to the Android operating system offers a number of features designed to enhance the user experience, such as:
Permissions have been simplified with greater control of the information applications can access, not only at the installation stage but any time
Silent feature for sound and vibrate mode as well as a Do Not Disturb mode to block all sounds or only alarms and notifications
Doze Mode which shuts down background processing of certain apps when the phone is not in use, to significantly prolong battery life
"By working closely with Google, LG has been able to bring Android 6.0 to the G4 ahead of any of our competitors," said Chris Yie, vice president and head of marketing communications for LG Mobile Communications Company. "While speed alone isn't an indicator of great service, it does go a long way toward giving consumers the confidence that LG is committed to its existing customers first."

Details of the Android M upgrade schedule and affected models will be announced in individual markets.

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Google today has updated Chrome for Android to version 46 with a handful of under-the-hood bug fixes. These changes were originally introduced in the beta build of Chrome 46 but have now made their way to the stable version a little over a month later.

Google says that performance throughout the app has been greatly improved thanks to new optimized image loading and service worker instrumentation:

Tools like srcset allow developers to serve an optimized image variant in a responsive way, but it can be cumbersome and inefficient to use in practice. Developers can now negotiate with the server to download the best image variant for a device using straightforward HTTP request headers. These headers communicate DPR, Viewport-Width, and the intended display width of the resource being fetched to the server.

For developers, they can now animate any graphical object along an arbitrary path declaratively as a CSS property:

Previously, animating objects along an author-specified path required complex javascript code that could block important events like rendering and input. Developers can now animate any graphical object along an arbitrary path declaratively as a CSS property, allowing simpler code that doesn't block rendering or input.

For the end user, this means that performance should be greatly improved with Chrome 46 on Android, as should stability. It’s available now on the Play Store.

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BlackBerry this evening has launched a pre-registration page for its oft-rumored Android slider the Priv. The registration page is merely an effort on the company’s part to gauge interest in the device before officially revealing it, but the webpage does offer up some confirmation when it comes to the specs we can expect the device to feature.

The pre-registration page confirms that the device will feature a 5.4-inch curved display, similar to that of the Galaxy S6 Edge. As far as battery power goes, the device will apparently feature a sizable 3410mAh power source. The camera will use a Schneider-Kreuznach lens that has previously been used in a handful of high-end cameras. BlackBerry also brags that the Priv features “extraordinary audio quality.”

• Stunning 5.4" dual-curved screen
• Long lasting 3410 mAh battery
• Both touch and physical keyboards
• Schneider-Kreuznach certified camera
• Extraordinary audio quality

The pre-registration page talks in detail about how the Priv features the “authentic BlackBerry keyboard” and the company’s oft-praised security and communication features:

Priv has the authentic BlackBerry keyboard, legendary security, streamlined communications and productivity, combined with the wide world of Google Play store apps. It has been engineered with the world's finest technology, and packaged in an ultra-thin, ergonomically perfect device with a keyboard hidden by SmartSlide technology.

Specific pricing and availability information is still up in the air at this point for the Priv, although BlackBerry promises that if you sign up via the pre-registration form on this webpage, you’ll be the fist to know when the device is available for purchase.

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Google today has made several of the features it originally previewed back at I/O for developers available today. Google says that these new features will help developers further grow their business and improve decision making on developer insights on Google Play.

First up is AdWords Campaigns:

With just a few simple steps, universal app campaigns lets you easily set up ad campaigns from within the Google Play Developer Console and promote your app across Google Play, Google Search, YouTube and the Google Display Network. You will now be able to more effectively find and grow your install base with the help of Google's unparalleled reach.

Google also today has made a new performance report feature available to developers:

When you're growing an audience for your app, you'll want to understand where your most valuable users are coming from. The new performance report on the User Acquisition tab in the Developer Console lets you see how people are finding your Play Store listing, how many install your app, and how many go on to make purchases.

These new features are accessible for developers via the developer console. More can be found in the video seen below:

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HTC’s upcoming One A9 mid-ranger has potentially won the award as the worst kept secret of 2015. The iPhone-esque device has already been leaked numerous times and now Orange France has given us yet another look at the phone.

The French carrier today has accidentally launched a webpage that shows the HTC One A9 in all of its glory. Unfortunately the listing doesn’t include any hardware specifications, but we do get a clear look at the design of the device. The listing also suggests that the One A9 will carry a full retail price of 599.90€ in Europe, which is roughly $689. While that price is obviously not official yet, it seems a bit steep for what everyone expects to be a mid-range, somewhat affordable phone.

As far as specifications go, the device is rumored to feature a 5-inch full HD AMOLED display with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, as well as a microSD card slot for future expandability. It’s also rumored to carry a fingerprint sensor, a 13MP camera with optical image stabilization, and a 2150mAh battery and be powered by the mid-tier Snapdragon 617 processor, as well. The device is expected to ship with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, as well.

HTC is holding a “virtual” press event on October 20th where we should expect to hear more about the One A9.

For more news on Android, HTC, and leak continue reading at 9to5Google.

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Today we’re getting into the ultimate camera battle between Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5 and Apple’s iPhone 6s Plus. These are without a doubt packing the best camera sensors in mobile right now, but which one will take the throne as 2015’s best smartphone camera? We’ll be taking a look at pictures and video from both devices to find out…

On the iPhone 6s Plus we have a 12-megapixel sensor, dual-tone flash, and optical image stabilization, with the ability to shoot up to 4K video at 30 frames per second. With the Galaxy Note 5, we have a setup that was first launched with the Galaxy S6. There’s a 16-megapixel sensor, LED flash, optical image stabilization, and 4K video recording up to 30 frames per second.

As far as camera software goes, I tend to prefer the simplicity of the Camera app in iOS and the streamlined layout, but it definitely lacks some features when compared to Samsung’s Camera app on Android. On the Note 5, there’s a much more intimidating experience for some people, but Samsung has toned things down a lot over the years and there’s even a full on manual mode for photos that can come in pretty handy if you know what you’re doing with things like ISO, shutter speed, and white balance.

Check out our camera comparison video below:

We’re going to break this comparison down into a few simple categories: Daylight photos, low light photos, and 4K video quality. We’ll also go through an optical image stabilization test as well near the end if that interests you. Anyway, enough talking about the cameras, let’s put them to the test. Also, if you’re curious about the skins I’m using, you can find them here. Check out the above video and gallery below for photo and video samples from each device.

Galaxy Note 5 Gallery:

iPhone 6s Plus Gallery:

It’s pretty clear that Samsung sharpens and saturates the Note 5’s photos, but because of this you get something that’s ready to go out of the box. On the iPhone 6s Plus, the pictures are still good, but not nearly as polished. And in my testing, the colors (while saturated more) seemed more accurate on the Note 5 than the iPhone 6s Plus. Daylight photos from the Note 5 just look better overall, but the iPhone 6s Plus kills it low light performance.

Under less than average lighting conditions, the Note 5 pictures tend to fall apart. Apple’s new sensor in the 6s Plus works very well with low light photography. I still think that the Note 5 reproduces colors better, but in terms of quality, the iPhone 6s Plus wins all around in low light.

When it comes to 4K video recording, I have to give the win to Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5. They’ve been working on UHD video recording much longer than Apple and it definitely shows. That’s not to say that the footage on the iPhone 6s Plus is bad, it’s just not as crispy. Apple’s iPhone 6s Plus also destroys the Note 5 when it comes to video stabilization. Take a look at the comparison video above to see for yourself though.

Either way, both of these cameras are great to have, but I personally prefer majority of the results from the Note 5. Though if I’m in a low light setting, the iPhone 6s Plus would be good camera to have around. Which camera do you prefer? Let us know with a comment below.

Continue reading more about Tech Industry, Video, and camera at 9to5Google.

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Verizon and Motorola have begun sending out press invites this afternoon for an event to be held on October 27th in New York City. “Everything you expect from a phone will change,” the invite boldly claims. And clearly, the companies are planning to introduce more than one smartphone, as the invite asks members of the press to join as they unveil the newest “DROIDs”…

There are at least a couple of smartphones we’ve been hearing about over the last couple of months. First, there’s the DROID Maxx 2, which Google itself accidentally leaked just last week. That phone is expected to be essentially a re-branded Moto X Play, which is the lesser-capable version of the Moto X Pure. A second plausible phone the DROID Turbo 2, which leaked earlier this year. The Turbo 2 (pictured above) is expected to be the higher-end phone, with a huge battery and specs close to the Moto X Pure.

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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can't miss deals:

Storage: Samsung 500GB 2.5-inch Internal SSD $150 (Reg. $170), WD My Passport 2TB USB 3.0 Portable HDD $70 (Reg. $85)

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 32 GB LTE GSM (unlocked): $570 shipped (Reg. $740) | eBay

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge 32 GB on Verizon (w/ two year contract): $50 shipped | Best Buy

HTC One M9 32 GB flash on Sprint (w/ two year contract): $1 shipped | Best Buy

More new gear from today:

Games/Apps: NHL 16 (all platforms) $40, Until Dawn $40, Drop the Chicken free, more iOS freebies

• Two D-Link DCS-934L Wireless IR Surveillance Cameras: $70 shipped (Reg. $100)
• Sony SRSX3 Portable Bluetooth/NFC Speaker: $60 shipped (Orig. $140)
• Daily Deals: Octa Spider Monkey Stand for iPad $48, Brother Wireless Inkjet Printer $45, more
• Audio-Technica Headphones + Blue Microphones USB Mic $200 shipped ($292+ value)
• Amazon Gold Box – 50% off Rockport Men's Dress Shoes: Classic Lite Penny Loafer $55, more
• Cost-Effective Apple Watch Bands: Aukey 42mm Leather $10 Prime shipped (Reg. $20), more
• Apple is dishing out free downloads of the award-winning puzzle game Shadowmatic
• Apple Watch 42mm Stainless Steel Case w/ Black Sport Band: $520 shipped (Orig. $599)

More deals still alive:

Motorola Nexus 6 Unlocked 32GB in Midnight Blue (new): $300 shipped (Orig. $350+)

• USB-C roundup: Aukey 3-Port USB Hub w/ Ethernet $17, Aukey USB Adapter $7, more
• Smart HDTVs: 55-inch Sony 120Hz 4K $850, 43-inch LG 60Hz 1080p $350, more
• Lenmar MAVEN iPhone 6 MFi 3,000mAh Battery Case $29 shipped (Orig. $100), more
• Brother Color Duplex Laser Wireless Printer w/ AirPrint: $150 shipped (Reg. $200)
• Camabond 10ft Nylon Braided MFi Apple Certified Lightning Cables $11 Prime shipped, more
• Bluetooth Speakers: Inateck Honeycomb $30, SOL REPUBLIC DECK $40
• Klipsch HDTV home theater sound system w/ Bluetooth $155 shipped (Reg. $199)
• Aukey Bluetooth In-Ear Headphones $17 (Reg. $25), more
• Outdoor Solar lights: Nitewatch LED Floodlight $50, Two-pack oLED spotlights $33, more
• Headphones: Sony Bluetooth $130 (Reg. $199), Beyerdynamic from $170 (Reg. up to $270), more
• Crosley Ranchero Classic AM/FM Radio and Aux Speaker: $65 Shipped (Orig. $100, CA Tax Only)
• Freebies: Treasure Island eBook/Audiobook + slice of cheese pizza + More!
• Sony announces official PlayStation 4 price drop, bundles now start at just $349
• Mac Bundle: 14 Mac Apps incl. RapidWeaver, Voila Screencapture, Kinemac 3D, more: $18
• Prime Members: Free 4-month subscription for 3 print magazines – GQ, Wired, more
• Pre-order Microsoft's latest gadgets right now: Surface Pro 4, Surface Book, Band 2
• TP-LINK Wireless N Nano Router w/ 3-pack of networking cables (Refurb) $8 shipped
• Aukey USB Power Roundup: 6-Port 50W: $15, 5-port 40W: $10
• iPhone 6/s Accessories: 2-Pack Tempered Glass Screen Protector $3, more
• Freebies: Best Of albums + Halo 5 content + Krispy Kreme doughnut + More!
• Lytro Illum Camera, captures the entire light field: $700 shipped (Orig. $1,300)

New products & more:

The BLOCKS modular smartwatch has flown past its Kickstarter goal in a just a few hours

• Turn heads at any Halloween party with one of these high-tech DIY costumes
• This is the Apple TV remote that Cupertino should've made…
• Koto's smart sensors track your home's health and can even forecast storms
• New Halo 5: Guardians trailer drops as retailers ramp-up pre-order deals
• This clothes-folding washing machine brings first-world laziness to defcon zero
• The new Light digital camera uses 16 lenses (!!!) to craft the perfect picture
• DJI's new Osmo 4K camera is one expensive selfie stick
• The latest littleBits DIY electronics kit turns any kid into an inventor
• Handmade at Amazon launches with an eye on knocking off Etsy
• Marvel's updated plans for phase three of its cinematic universe + comicbook goodies

Visit 9to5Google to find more special coverage of Tech Industry, 9to5toys, and Android deals.

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You probably know about this little notification center, but it’s very unlikely that you ever use it. That fact is according to data that Google itself has compiled, and — as is definitely not unusual — low usage means cutting features in the name of simplicity…

In some cases, these desktop notifications would appear while users were gone, so in 2013 Chrome launched the notification center, a place for users to find notifications from Chrome apps and extensions that they'd missed.

However, in practice, few users visit the notification center. To keep Chrome simple, it will be removed from Windows, Mac, and Linux in the upcoming release. The notification center on Chrome OS will remain unchanged.

Personally, I’ve never touched the notification center. I’ve used many Chromebooks for months at a time, and I use Chrome every day on my MacBook Pro. But never — not even a single time — have I intentionally opened up the Chrome notification center.

So “to keep Chrome simple,” Google is removing it from Windows, Mac, and Linux in the upcoming release. If you happen to use a Chromebook, though, Google thinks you still need it. On the company’s Chrome OS, the feature “will remain unchanged.”

Au revoir.

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Google is rolling out a couple notable updates to its Google Translate apps that adds additional languages for translations of printed text and support for the new Split View app mode on iPads.

Using Google Translate's instant visual translation feature, users can tap into their mobile device's camera to translate printed text. With this month's update, Google adds support for translating printed text in English or German into Arabic, something that was already available for the apps other translations features including conversation mode and text input model.

For iPad users, Google Translate is adding support for Apple's new Split View feature that allows side-by-side use of apps on newer iPads with iOS 9.

So if you're sending an email or text and need to translate, you can see both apps at the same time. And it even works with text from online books or websites.

And this is how it looks in action on the iPad:

The new features will be rolling out to mobile app users in the coming weeks.

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Both the Nexus 5X and 6P are getting some special camera features thanks to improved hardware, and now we’ve learned about one more. Thanks to the device’s launch in India (and one hands-on video in particular), we’re getting another look at the device’s Settings app, and within there’s something interesting: Nexus 6P (and the Nexus 5X) will support “Double twist for camera”…

We already knew that you can double tap the power button to immediately launch the Camera app, but it looks like Google wants to give users yet another way to quickly access the vastly-improved cameras of its latest Nexus handsets. With “Double twist for camera,” you’ll be able to open the Camera app by simply twisting your wrist twice while the device is locked.

Here’s the relevant segment from the below video, showing the Display options page:

No one noticed this until now, but it appears that Qualcomm noted the feature in its blog post about the Nexus 5X and 6P from last month. “With Context Core, both the Nexus 5X and 6P cameras can launch with two twists of the user's wrist and display notifications with a nudge,” the post says.

And as you can see, both of these quick Camera access features are toggles in the Settings app, so you can disable one or both at your own preference.

Check out 9to5Google for more breaking coverage of Android, Google, and Android.

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AT&T is announcing a new network-level advancement called NumberSync capable of sharing one phone number with all connected devices. With NumberSync, AT&T customers will soon be able to use what's called mobile twinning to share a single phone number with multiple SIM cards in smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, and other connected devices. The goal is to let you send and receive phone calls or messages from all your connected devices without relying on a specific app or operating system feature.

AT&T's NumberSync feature will soon be able to benefit  smartwatches that ship with SIM cards but have their own phone numbers for making phone calls and handling messages. Because NumberSync is a network-level feature, SIM cards on tablets, wearables, and even connected cars will benefit.

NumberSync won't require smartphones to be on a Wi-Fi network, connected via Bluetooth, or even powered on for other connected devices to work with your real phone number. This also unifies your voicemail inbox to one phone number if you miss or can't take calls.

As for availability, AT&T says its focused on supporting NumberSync through an ecosystem of devices with the first supported device expected soon and more to follow before the end of the year.

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A support page showed up yesterday hinting at a new “music gifts” feature coming to Google Play, and now it looks like the feature is launching in some locales. Specifically, Play Music users in Australia seem to be seeing a new option (via Ausdroid) in “Music settings” labeled “Send gift”. Tapping this icon seems to take users to a new page for gifting a Google Play Music subscription…

Here are a couple screenshots showing off the feature:

It appears you can gift 1-, 3-, or 6-month subscriptions, priced at $11.99, $35.97, and $71.94, respectively (in Australian dollars). After tapping one of these options, you reportedly have to provide Google with the contact information of the recipient, and you can add a personalized message. If the receiver denies the gift, the subscription price is returned to the sender.

I’m not seeing the feature in the latest version of the Google Play Music app here in the US, but let us know in the comments if you’re seeing it elsewhere in the world. That said, it’s probably only a matter of time before Google makes this official.

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Image: Forbes

As unsurprising as it may be, an early Twitter investor came out several months to say that Google still doesn’t understand social and should buy struggling Twitter. And while that hasn’t quite happened (and we don’t really have any hard evidence that it will), it appears that ties between the two companies are strengthening. Twitter’s once-again-CEO Jack Dorsey has today announced that Google's previous chief business officer Omid Kordestani has been appointed as the social network’s executive chairman.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dorsey announced the appointment on Twitter:

This appointment, interestingly, comes not long after Omid Kordestani returned to Google in the summer of 2014. Mark Bergen of Re/code did an extensive profile on Kordestani that was published just a few months ago, chronicling his return to the Mountain View company. It’s not debated that Kordestani could very well be one of the most well-liked and respected execs in Silicon Valley, and it was just three months ago that he and Ruth Porat announced Google’s impressive 2nd quarter earnings.

One of Omid’s long-time employees during his time at Google characterized him as the company’s soul. "Omid is very much a dyed-in-the wool Google person," Dave Girouard, the CEO of Upstart, told Re/code. "You felt like you were speaking to the soul of Google when you talked to Omid." Another long-time Google veteran, Jeff Levick (who now works at Spotify), lamented the same. "He is the soul of Google coming back,” Levick said when Kordestani returned to Google last year.

And now, he’s fully at Twitter. Mr. Kordestani no longer has any affiliation with Google, according to sources for Reuters.

Omid took to Twitter (appropriately) to express his excitement. “Excited to work with @jack, the Twitter Board, @adambain, @anthonynoto and the rest of the team to grow @twitter's impact and business,” he said. “It's rare you get to be at a company with an amazing business that's also transforming the world. I've had good fortune to be at three: Netscape, @google, and now @twitter.” He spread the news across three tweets, thanks to the 140 character limit that the social network still imposes.

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T-Mobile is bringing back one of its most popular promotions by — once again — offering four 10GB data lines for $120 total. The offer is available for a limited time from today, and is ideal for data-hungry families needing multiple lines. With no overages, you know exactly what your bill’s going to be every month too.

If you don’t need four lines, you can get two 10GB lines at $50 each:

With #10Gigs4All, two people can get up to 10 GB of 4G LTE each – no sharing required – for just $100 a month. Then, each additional line is just $20 more per person – also with 10 GB of T-Mobile's blazing-fast 4G LTE. Now, with this promotion, that 4th line is free, bringing the total cost to just $120 per month for a family of four.

As with every Simple Choice plan, customers signing up get access to a host of awesome offers including rollover data for up to 12 months, Wi-Fi calling, unlimited music streaming and unlimited in-flight texting with GoGo. Customers also get unlimited calls to and from Mexico and Canada, as well as the ability to use 4G LTE data from their plan allowances in those countries, unlimited data and texts in 140 countries abroad and unlimited international texts from the US. Compared to the other three carrier options, it looks a fantastic deal:

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DxOMark recently published its review of the iPhone 6s, and it confirms what we already sort-of new: it’s not a huge step up from the last generation iPhones. In fact, the camera performs ever-so-slightly worse than last year’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which both entered the DxOMark rankings in 1st place when they were reviewed last year. Both iPhone cameras now sit 10th on the list, and have a number of Android phones ahead of them.

With Apple packing in more pixels in to the sensor, the company’s aim was to offer higher resolution pictures without ruining performance. For the most part, Apple achieved its goal. DxOMark notes that exposure, white balance and detail are all good in bright light. What’s more, autofocus and stabilization are both great on video in daylight.

It’s in low light conditions that the iPhone 6s doesn’t perform as well. There’s noticeable noise, yellowing and ghosting in low light and indoor conditions. Still, it’s outperformed by the likes of the new Huawei Nexus 6P and Moto X Style, both of which are much cheaper than Apple’s flagship.

DxOMark noted:

From our tests, images are generally well-exposed and for the most part colors are vivid and pleasing outdoors. However, there are occasional differences in exposure noticeable between consecutive captures in very bright outdoor scenes, typically due to the inconsistent activation of the HDR mode. There is also a slight but consistent underexposure in extremely low light levels (5 lux); the result however is still quite usable and an improvement over the iPhone 6.  White balance is reliable though inevitably some inaccuracies were noticeable at times, with a slight yellow cast visible in some outdoor scenes. Although this cast was present in captures from the iPhone 6 the cast was slightly stronger and more noticeable on the 6s.

As for video, it could do with some OIS action if it’s going to improve its stabilization in low light, which is currently supplied using some clever software tricks, rather than through mechanical means:

Results for digital stabilization were similar to the iPhone 6 (and the Samsung), with it working well in good lighting but rather less efficient at reducing shake in low light where, arguably, it is needed more.

Although the iPhone camera isn’t terrible by any means, there are a number of other handsets to choose from when looking for a great mobile snapper. Currently the Xperia Z5, S6 Edge and Nexus 6P occupy the first three places on the rankings. It’s also worth noting that the Galaxy Note 5, which many regard as having the best camera still hasn’t been ranked by the respected camera-testers at DxOMark. If/when that’s been reviewed, it’s likely the iPhone will have yet another Android phone ahead of it.

The days of Android fans having to put up with an average camera experience are long gone it seems.

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Uber has announced that it will be sending location-based AMBER alerts to its drivers across all 180 U.S. cities in which it operates, following a successful trial in Colorado.

AMBER alerts provide information on missing children, including description and last known location, so that the public can be on the look out for them. Since the launch of the scheme in 1996, a total of 722 children have been safely found as a direct result of an AMBER alert.

Robert Hoever, director of special programs at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, described the Uber program as “an incredible asset.”

The AMBER Alert program's success is built on the ability to reach the right people at the right time with these potentially life-saving messages. Uber's presence in communities all across the country will be an incredible asset and we are proud to team up with Uber to increase the reach of the AMBER Alert program and help bring more missing children home safely.

Apps have proven a powerful addition to the AMBER alerts program, with mobile apps from Facebook and Waze already supporting them. Google added the alerts to search and maps back in 2012.

Via The Verge

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Back in the summer, Google announced a major new restructure and rebranding, with Google itself just one of many companies now owned by Alphabet. The move caught us all by surprise, and seemingly, caught Eric Schmidt by surprise too. Re/code was able to get hold of some recordings where the former Apple man stated he was on vacation when the company announced the move.

I wake up, and I'm the chairman of Alphabet. We sort of announced it without actually knowing which companies it would be. So we're still working the details.

With Alphabet, each company within the group is given its own letter. Google, for instance, is ‘G’, and ‘L’ stands for Life Sciences. With there only being 26 letters in the alphabet, you might wonder what they’ll do when they’ve used all 26 of them. Schmidt’s answer: "After 26, we're going to probably transcendental numbers". Numbers like pi… “You think I’m kidding?”

Alphabet may have to start using them soon if Schmidt’s other comments are to be taken seriously. We’re to expect “a lot” of new companies: “"I've been meeting with the current CEOs of the Alphabet companies and the proposed ones. So you'll see a lot coming." He didn’t say what those new companies would be, but he apparently praised the innovation within the self-driving car move.

Schmidt was talking at the Virtuous Circle conference in Menlo Park, California when he made the comments. He spoke on many matters, including policy issues like encryption, the ‘Right to be Forgotten‘ policies in Europe and bandwidth regulation among others.  Like many, he’s worried about the tech scene in Europe, especially the Safe Harbor ruling which sees each country have its own digital borders, and their own set of regulations.

Alphabet is still in its early days, and like many of us, it seems Schmidt is excited to see what lies in the future.

For more information about Google, Eric Schmidt, and Talking Schmidt continue reading at 9to5Google.

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