Material

We're all about indulging in distractions this week. We talk about our seemingly neverending frustration with the transition over to YouTube Music, then dive into all the drama associated with Epic Games' epic lawsuit against Google and Apple. We gush at length about the new Microsoft Surface Duo and how it might shape the future of Android devices to come. We continue to wonder out loud whether there's any hope for Wear OS. And we muse about how the Pixel is the second coming of the Nexus lineup.

Google's new Family Bell feature for homeschooling is a reminder it sucks to be a parent to school-aged kids right now. We'll touch upon the bummers from Alphabet's Q2 earnings call and why it's wrong to steal. This week also brings us the Pixel 4a and a whole lineup of new Samsung gadgets. We'll end wondering if NearbyShare will solve our cross-platform file-moving woes, and explain why file browsers have long implemented a "safe folder."

It's a very hearty episode of Material After Dark, as we recorded this episode in the dead of night. Flo's unboxing things. Andy's unboxing things. We talk about the theater that is US Congress and how Sundar Pichai carried the torch as the hearing veered off course. We'll also touch upon the rumors that Samsung is ditching Bixby for the Google Assistant, and we'll decode Google's cutesy Pixel 4a leak.

Is there a mass exodus from Chrome happening, or are Andy and Flo trying to will it into the world? After the catchup, we discuss Google's efforts to compete with Amazon in online shopping and how Marc Levoy's departure will affect future generations of the Pixel. We also take a journey back to the days of internet yore, before Google was a search engine.

Flo looks up at the stars with the Pixel 3's Astrophotography mode, and Andy wonders if he'll ever find neutral ground with YouTube Music. We discuss FastCompany's illuminating profile with ATAP's Dan Kaufman and why the EU's anti-trust concerns are delaying the FitBit turnover. Before we bow out, help us figure out if Google search has started implementing a countdown for soon-to-be-released games.

Andy discovers a hack for clearing his YouTube Watch Later playlist, while Flo embarks on a journey beyond the Chrome browser. We run through the consumer-facing news from Google's virtual smart home summit this week, and imagine a world where Microsoft finally launches the Android-powered Surface Duo. For your After Dinner mint, sign the petition to add a meteor animation to the Chrome Dino game (because, we suppose, the dinosaurs haven't already been through enough).

Flo leans into her Taurus Sun and Moon by talking about all the food she's going to eat over the holiday weekend. Andy is fed up with YouTube channels that don't practice basic coronavirus protocols (wear your mask, people!). This week, we break down the players in YouTube's latest dramageddon and delve into why the platform should take accountability for the drama that makes it off-screen. We'll also touch on Verily's backward step paying for its diversity initiatives, YouTube TV's drastic price-hike, and why we think Google Glass might be making a comeback. Andy sends us off with a chuckle-worthy Dad joke.

Andy is experiencing some severe bouts of Mercury in retrograde as he tells the tales of his flailing tech. Flo switched to the OnePlus 8, and she's wondering why the Pixel is lagging. We discuss why Google is (again) in the antitrust hot seat, and why employees are demanding the company stop doing business with police departments. We divulge all about Google Photos' latest redesign, ChromeOS's increased reliance on virtualization, why Google is fact-checking images, and what Pixel owners can expect from the newest update. For our After-Dinner Mint, we'll play around with Google's Pinterest-wannabe, called Keen.

Google finally updates its satellite imagery for Black Lives Matter Plaza, and Flo is learning about the significance of Juneteenth (despite the failings of her public school education). After the break, we'll tell you why folks are upset with Google's apparent misrepresentation of Winston Churchill in its search results, and express our disappointment for why the company hasn't de-platformed several prominent far-right publications. We finally get some details on when the Pixel 4a will hit the scene, and we'll get down to the bottom of why your Pixel Buds aren't connecting.

This week, we're diving into the Android 11 Beta, which Andy and Flo are both using on their Pixel devices. We'll also talk about why YouTube's commitment to amplifying black creators on its network is too little too late, and we'll tell you about Alphabet's pilot program for delivering library books by drone.