Google and Alphabet Watch: Insights on Google's ecosystem, including Android, Gmail, Chrome, plus other bets and innovations coming from Mountain View.
Reviews of the Pixel 10a describe it as a minor update over last year's model, with mostly cosmetic changes and similar hardware. Despite the limited changes, critics say it remains one of the best budget Android phones thanks to its reliable performance, strong cameras, and competitive $500 price point.
Why it matters: One of the greatest risks of quantum computing is its potential to break many of the cryptographic protocols that keeps the internet safe today. Thankfully, quantum is still fairly distant from being that great a risk – at this stage, it can't break internet encryption. But Google isn't exactly waiting around for that to happen. On Friday, the company announced that Chrome is rolling out a new type of web certificate that's essentially designed to be quantum-proof from the ground up.
Chrome has received a trio of new productivity upgrades on the desktop. The browser's new built-in split view lets you run two tabs side by side without juggling windows, while its PDF viewer can now handle highlights, notes, and even signatures. There's also a new 'Save to Google Drive' option that sends docs to the cloud into a dedicated folder.
Google has rolled out version 50.0.23 of the Play Store, continuing its steady cadence of under-the-hood updates. As usual, this release focuses on stability and performance rather than flashy new features. You can check your current version under Settings > About in the Play Store app, and if you're behind, you can download the latest build right here.
Connecting the dots: When Google's Threat Analysis Group uncovered unusual network activity rippling across millions of internet-connected devices, something didn't add up. The traffic patterns didn't match typical malware signatures. Instead, what they found looked more like a massive distributed relay system: millions of private phones, computers, and smart home devices quietly moving data for someone else. That someone, Google now says, was a Chinese company called IPIDEA.