The year Google stopped being Google and became Alphabet... but what's in a name? Surely the company once synonymous with web search has become a true tech giant and a leader in cloud, mobile, software, mapping, and a contender in other related areas not limited to hardware, wearables, and car tech. Here are Google's top stories in 2015:
#10 Google Photos offers unlimited, free photo and video storage plus much more
Unveiled during its I/O conference, Google Photos was designed with three big ideas in mind: to provide a home for your photos that's available from any device, to help you organize and bring moments together and make it easy to share what matters.
#9 Google Maps knows everything about where you've been
A new Google Maps feature called Timeline lets you look back and see everywhere that you, or at least your mobile device, have been.
#8 Google is reportedly developing new versions of Google Glass - some without the display
Even though Google Glass wasn't the resounding success the company hoped it would be, Google hasn't given up on the wearable technology.
#7 Chrome to automatically pause Flash-based ads
Google announced a new Chrome feature that would pause non-essential Flash ads by default. The change launched with the public version of Chrome on September 1.
#6 Google announces massive reorganization, becomes subsidiary of umbrella corporation Alphabet
Google announced a major reorganization and management shuffle that includes a new holding company called Alphabet as well as a new CEO for Google.
#5 Google looking at designing its own Android chipsets to bring uniformity to the platform
Google is reportedly looking to follow in Apple's footsteps and start co-developing Android components based on its own designs.
#4 Police pull over Google self-driving car for driving too slow
A California police officer pulled over one of Google's prototype vehicles for driving so slowly it was backing up traffic. Speed is capped at 25 mph for safety reasons.
#3 Google Earth Pro, once $399 per year, is now completely free
Google Earth Pro had largely been reserved for businesses at $399 per year, but its advanced mapping tools are now available to anyone for free.
#2 Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages will arrive early next year
Early next year, Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages will enable articles from news publications to load almost instantly on smartphones and tablets.
#1 New Google algorithm transforms Street View images into seamless animations
Dubbed DeepStereo, Google's new algorithm will make it possible to simulate the exploration of foreign landscapes in a seamless series of images.