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Google is reorganizing the Devices & Services teams responsible for Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit hardware. This change was announced to employees today, and Google confirmed the changes in a statement to 9to5Google.

As part of this reorganization, we’ve learned that Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman, as well as other Fitbit leaders, are leaving Google.

This reorganization will see Google lay off a few hundred roles across Devices & Services, though the majority is happening within the first-party augmented reality hardware team. This downsizing suggests Google is no longer working on its own AR hardware and is fully committed to the OEM-partnership model. Employees will have the ability to apply to open roles within the company, and Google is offering its usual degree of support.

• Google has announced that it will focus on quality and reliability for its voice assistant, Google Assistant, by removing almost 20 features starting January 26.
• The features being removed include controlling audiobooks, setting media alarms, managing stopwatches, and sending emails. Google suggests alternative methods for these tasks.
• The company is also changing how users can access Assistant on their phones, with the microphone button in the Google search bar starting a search instead of pulling up Assistant.

Nearby Share was officially announced in August of 2020 to let Android users locally send files from one device to another. Google is now “collaborating with Samsung” to create a “singular cross-Android solution” called “Quick Share,” and it begins rolling out next month.

• Unity Software said Monday that it would lay off about 1,800 employees, or 25% of its overall workforce, as part of a corporate restructuring plan.
• The company said it is unable to “reasonably estimate the costs and charges in connection with this reduction, which it expects will be substantially incurred in the first quarter of 2024.”
• In October, John Riccitiello retired as Unity’s CEO, while former Red Hat CEO James Whitehurst became interim CEO.

• Google announced the terms of a $700 million settlement that alleged it overcharged customers due to Play Store policies.
• As part of the deal, third-party payments will be allowed for in-app purchases. Previously, these were part of a limited pilot program. (USA users only)
• Google will also make sideloading easier and change the wording used to warn users about potential risks.

In the barely two weeks since its debut, Beeper Mini and its sibling, Beeper Cloud, have experienced several major outages to iMessage support on Android and other platforms by Apple’s hand and, this evening, it’s happening yet again.

It’s all too common to want to keep Android apps hidden, with quite a few launchers offering a way to hide or disguise an app from onlookers. OnePlus and Samsung both even offer a built-in way to stash apps into a “Hidden Space,” ensuring your privacy stays intact if you ever need to hand your phone to someone else.

The Epic vs Google court battle has come to a verdict, with a jury unanimously voting in Epic’s favor, and declaring that Google has an “illegal monopoly” with the Play Store and Google Play billing.

As reported by The Verge, the jury voted that Google has a monopoly over Android app distribution and in-app billing, that Google has engaged in anticompetitive practices around its markets, and that Epic was injured by Google’s behavior. The case seems to have particularly come down to the multiple reveals throughout the case that Google’s practices and deals were deemed as anti-competitive.

While the verdict is in, the case isn’t over just yet. Judge James Donato still hasn’t announced what Epic has won or what changes Google will be required to make.

Epic, in a blog post, says that the verdict is “a win for all app developers.”

Today’s verdict is a win for all app developers and consumers around the world. It proves that Google’s app store practices are illegal and they abuse their monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition and reduce innovaion.

This afternoon, Beeper Mini is back, thanks to a new app update which indeed does restore service. The update, which currently requires sideloading as it’s still being reviewed by the Play Store, removes phone number support and leaves users to continue with iMessage via their Apple ID. That takes away several of Beeper Mini’s biggest selling points – no Apple ID sign-in and using the phone number on your Android phone – but it’s impressive to see it working at all, nonetheless.

Speaking to 9to5Google, Beeper’s Eric Migicovsky confirmed that, yes, this is still using the reverse-engineered method to connect to iMessage. It’s not using Mac server farms.

Phone number registration is not working yet. All users must now sign in with an AppleID. Messages will be sent and received via your email address rather than phone number. We’re currently working on a fix for this.

Beeper has also, given the chaos, made Beeper Mini free to use. The app will no longer require a $2/month subscription, though users are allowed to leave that on as a donation. The app won’t be free forever, but that leads to the next question.

How long will it last this time?

• Just days after Beeper Mini was launched, it seems that Apple has pulled the plug.
• Beeper Mini users have reported being unable to send messages, with the company stating it's "investigating reports."
• In a statement to TechCrunch, CEO Eric Migicovsky surmises that Apple was able to "cut off Beeper Mini's ability to function."

• Meta is pulling the plug on the cross-platform integration between Facebook Messenger and Instagram.
• This means that cross-app chatting between the two platforms will no longer be possible.
• The integration is being removed in mid-December.

Turn any image into an emoji.

• Google announced a handful of new features to Google Messages last week to celebrate one billion RCS users, with Photomoji being one of them.
• Photomoji lets users create a custom emoji from any image and save them within Google Messages.
• The feature is now rolling out to beta testers, but not everyone will be able to use it just yet.