Google Redesigns Gemini's Tools Menu for a Cleaner Mobile Experience.

Google is rolling out a redesigned "Tools" prompt bar for the Gemini app on Android and iOS, bringing a cleaner and more streamlined experience to mobile users. The update, which follows a similar change on the web, aims to reduce clutter and make it easier to access Gemini's powerful features.

The most notable change is the removal of the old "standalone chips" and the three-dot overflow button. The previous design often had two items on some devices, or a single button that led to an overflow menu, which could be cumbersome to navigate.

The new interface introduces a single "Tools" menu, accessible via a new icon on Android. Tapping this icon now opens a simple and compact sheet that presents options without the previous icons or descriptions. This change creates a cleaner look and reduces the risk of accidental taps, a common issue on mobile screens.

Furthermore, the new design introduces a series of pre-written suggestions like "Create Image," "Write," and "Deep Research." These suggested prompts are now always visible beneath the "Hello" greeting, giving users a quick way to get started. These suggestions disappear automatically as soon as the user starts typing.

The redesign is now widely available for both stable and beta users of the Google app on Android and iOS, signaling a more unified and user-friendly direction for the Gemini experience across platforms.

Also Read:

• Google Breaks Down Gemini's Usage Limits for Free and Paid Users.
• Google Gemini Rolls Out Temporary Chats Option.
• Create Custom Storybooks in the Gemini App.

Scan and Create Document From Images in Google Drive.

Do you often find yourself needing to quickly digitize a paper document, but are left with a blurry photo on your phone? In an increasingly paperless world, having a fast and reliable way to convert physical files into high-quality digital PDFs is essential. While many third-party apps exist for this purpose, they often come with a catch, from intrusive ads to questionable privacy practices.

Fortunately, you don't need a separate app to get the job done. Hidden in plain sight within the Google Drive mobile app is a powerful, built-in scanner. This simple tool lets you use your phone's camera to create clean, professional-looking document scans in seconds, all while ensuring your files are instantly backed up to the cloud. 

Best of all, it’s completely free, ad-free, and you can trust that your data is handled with the security you expect from Google.

What is Google Drive In-app Scanner?

The Google Drive in-app scanner is a feature built directly into the Google Drive mobile application for Android and iOS. It allows users to use their smartphone's camera to capture a physical document, receipt, or whiteboard and save it as a high-quality digital PDF.

Unlike simply taking a photo, this tool is designed specifically for digitizing documents. It automatically detects the document's edges, corrects for perspective, and enhances the image for readability. This saves you from having to use a separate scanning app, as the functionality is seamlessly integrated with your Google Drive cloud storage.

Tasks the Google Drive Scanner Can Do:

The scanner can perform several key tasks to streamline your document workflow:

• Digitize Physical Documents: Its primary function is to convert paper documents, like receipts, contracts, letters, or handwritten notes, into a clean, digital format.
• Create Multi-Page PDFs: You can easily add multiple pages to a single scanning session, resulting in a single, unified PDF file. This is perfect for scanning multi-page documents like reports or invoices.
• Auto-Crop and Perspective Correction: The scanner intelligently identifies the document's boundaries and automatically crops out the background, straightening the image to make it look like it was scanned on a flatbed scanner.

How To Use Google Drive as a Document Scanner?

To use Google Drive's built-in document scanner, you only need two things:

• A Google Account.
• The Google Drive app is installed on your smartphone or tablet (Android or iOS).

This guide will walk you through the process, from finding the feature to saving your final PDF. The steps are nearly identical for both Android and iOS devices.

Step 1: Open the Google Drive App.

Launch the Google Drive application on your phone or tablet. Make sure you are signed in to the account you want to save the scanned document to.

Step 2: Start a New Scan.

On the home screen of the app, look for the "Add" button, which is typically a floating "+" icon located in the bottom-right corner. Tap it to bring up a menu of options. From this menu, select "Scan".

Tip: You can also navigate to the specific folder where you want to save the document before starting the scan.

Step 3: Capture Your Document.

Point your phone's camera at the document. The app will automatically detect the edges of the document and outline it with a blue box. When it has a clear view, it will automatically take the picture.

For best results, place your document on a flat, contrasting background and ensure there's good, even lighting to avoid shadows. You can also switch to manual capture if you prefer.

Step 4: Review and Edit Your Scanned Document.

After the photo is taken, you will see a preview. The app automatically crops the image and corrects the perspective, but you can refine it using the tools at the bottom of the screen:

• Crop & Rotate: Tap this icon to manually adjust the corners of the document for a perfect crop.
• Filter: This allows you to change the color mode of the scan. Options typically include Black & White, Color, and a grayscale filter to improve readability and reduce file size.
• Clean: This tool helps to remove smudges, spots, or unwanted fingers that might have appeared in the photo.
• Add: If your document has multiple pages, tap the "Add" button to scan the next page. It will be automatically added to the same PDF file.

Step 5: Save Your Scan.

Once you are satisfied with the result, tap "Next". A final screen will appear where you can customize your file. Here, you'll have the option to give your document a name and select its file type. PDF is the recommended format for the document, but you can choose another option if needed.

Finally, tap "Upload". Your new, high-quality PDF will be uploaded to your Google Drive and is ready to be accessed from any of your devices.

There is no other free Document Scanner tool that is more secure than Google Drive to keep all your important documents safe and secure in your personal Google Drive.

Google Drive Scan Shortcut Widgets.

For even faster access, you can add a "Drive Scan" widget directly to your home screen. Tap and hold a blank area on your screen, select "Widgets," find the "Drive scan" widget, and drag it to your home screen. This creates a one-tap button that goes straight to the scanner. Google Drive will also give you an option to choose a folder in which you want to upload all your scanned documents.

The ability to quickly and securely digitize documents is more important than ever. While countless third-party apps exist, they often introduce risks, ads, or clunky workflows. The Google Drive in-app scanner is the perfect solution for this problem, offering a powerful, integrated tool that you likely already have on your phone.

Google Pay and Google Wallet Officially Launch in Saudi Arabia.

Google has officially announced the launch of Google Pay and Google Wallet in Saudi Arabia, bringing a new era of simple and secure payments to the region. The service, which will be rolled out to all users in the coming weeks, is set to transform how people pay for goods and services using their Android phones.

The rollout is a significant step for the tech giant in the Middle East, with the service initially partnering with the national payment system, mada, as well as major financial institutions Al Rajhi Bank and Riyad Bank. More banks are expected to join the service over time.

How It Works

At its core, the service provides a secure "Tap to Pay" experience in stores, enabling users to add and manage their Mada cards, Visa, and Mastercard credit cards directly within the Google Wallet app. The platform uses industry-standard tokenization, a security measure that replaces a user's actual card number with a device-specific virtual number, or token, during transactions. This ensures that a user's sensitive payment information is never shared with the merchant.

In addition to in-store payments, Google Pay will also be integrated into apps and on the web, offering a seamless and secure checkout process. Beyond payments, the Google Wallet app provides a convenient way for users to securely store and access digital items such as loyalty cards, boarding passes, and event tickets.

Google Parent Company Alphabet Joins The $3 Trillion Club.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has officially joined an exclusive club of the world's most valuable companies, surpassing a $3 trillion market capitalization for the first time. The milestone, reached on Monday, September 15, 2025, positions the company alongside tech giants Apple, Microsoft, and chipmaker Nvidia, which has already broken the $4 trillion mark.

This valuation surge is not just a reflection of market momentum but a definitive vote of confidence from investors in Alphabet's strategic direction, particularly in its aggressive push into artificial intelligence and its continued dominance in the cloud.

The Two Pillars of Growth of Alphabet.

Alphabet's stock rally was underpinned by two critical factors:

• A Favorable Antitrust Ruling: A U.S. federal judge issued a lighter-than-expected ruling in a high-profile antitrust case. The court decided that Alphabet would not be forced to divest its Chrome browser or Android operating system. This decision, which allows the company to maintain control over two of its most valuable platforms, removed a significant regulatory overhang that had worried investors for years and triggered an immediate stock rally.
• Strong AI and Cloud Performance: Investor optimism was significantly boosted by the company's financial results. Alphabet's cloud-computing unit, Google Cloud, reported a nearly 32% jump in second-quarter revenue year-over-year, outpacing analyst expectations. This growth was driven by the increasing demand for AI infrastructure and services, with the company’s investments in custom chips and the Gemini AI model beginning to pay off.

Financial and Market Context.

Alphabet's stock has been one of the top performers in 2025, with shares climbing more than 30% year-to-date. On the day it crossed the $3 trillion threshold, shares surged over 4%. This rapid ascent has added approximately $1.2 trillion in value since its low in April.

The company's success is a testament to its diversified business model, which extends beyond its core search and advertising revenue to include high-growth areas like YouTube, Waymo, and Google Cloud. Analysts view its ability to maintain dominance in search while expanding into new, high-profit segments as a key driver of its continued growth.

While the company celebrates its new valuation, the broader context of the tech market is also a factor. The current "Big Tech" rally, particularly among the "Magnificent Seven" stocks, has been fueled by excitement around the future of AI and expectations of potential interest rate cuts. Alphabet's entry into the $3 trillion club cements its position as a central pillar of the global digital economy.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Is Here, and It’s a Beast.

Qualcomm is finally pulling back the curtain on its next big thing. At its annual Snapdragon Summit, the company confirmed the name of its next flagship mobile processor: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. This isn't just a new chip; it's a new era of naming conventions that's designed to bring a little more clarity to the top of its lineup.

Forget the confusing, seemingly random name changes. The new "Gen 5" name is a direct continuation of the Snapdragon 8-series line, following the original Gen 1 through Gen 3, and treating last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite as the de facto "Gen 4." Now that we’ve got that straight, let’s get to the good stuff.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is expected to be a performance powerhouse. It’s built on Qualcomm’s custom Oryon CPU architecture that blew us away last time, and now it’s rumored to be running with a crazy-fast 4.61 GHz clock speed on its main cores. On the graphics side, we’re looking at the all-new Adreno 840 GPU, which could offer up to a 40 percent boost in graphics performance. That’s enough to make even the most graphically demanding mobile games feel buttery smooth.

Of course, this isn't just about raw speed. The new chip also comes with an upgraded Hexagon NPU for AI tasks, promising a serious jump in on-device AI efficiency. And to keep everything connected, it’s packing the new Snapdragon X80 Modem for screaming-fast 5G, along with support for the latest Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0 standards.

So when can you expect to get your hands on a phone with this new silicon? Both the Xiaomi 17 series and the Samsung Galaxy S26 series are rumored to be among the first to feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, so start saving up now.

Penske Media Sues Google Over AI Overviews.

In a landmark case for the publishing industry, Penske Media Corporation (PMC), the parent company of major publications like Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Variety, has filed a lawsuit against Google and its parent company, Alphabet. The lawsuit, filed in a Washington, D.C. federal court, is the first of its kind from a major U.S. publisher directly targeting Google's "AI Overviews" feature.

The Core Allegations of Penske Media.

PMC alleges that Google is abusing its dominant position in the search market to unlawfully use journalistic content to create AI-generated summaries. The lawsuit claims that this new feature, which appears at the top of search results, is causing a significant decline in traffic and revenue for its websites. According to PMC, about 20% of Google searches that would have led to their sites now feature an AI Overview, and their affiliate revenue has dropped by more than a third since late 2024.

The lawsuit argues that Google has "coerced" publishers into a no-win situation: either allow Google to use their content for AI Overviews and suffer a loss in traffic, or opt out of the feature and risk being completely removed from Google's search results, which would be "devastating" for their business. This, they claim, upends the "fundamental bargain" between Google and publishers, where content is indexed in exchange for web traffic.

Google's Response to Suits.

In its defense, a Google spokesperson has called the lawsuit's claims "meritless." Google maintains that AI Overviews provide a better user experience and actually help send traffic to a greater diversity of websites. The company argues that AI Overviews encourage people to use search more, which in turn creates new opportunities for content to be discovered. Google has stated it will "defend against these meritless claims."

Broader Industry Context.

This lawsuit is part of a growing trend of publishers and content creators challenging tech companies over the use of their material to train and power AI models. Other similar cases include:

• Chegg: The online education company previously sued Google over similar claims that AI Overviews were harming its business.
• The New York Times: The publication has a pending lawsuit against OpenAI for using its copyrighted content to train its models.
• Anthropic: The AI company recently agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement with a group of authors in a copyright lawsuit.

The lawsuit from Penske Media represents a major test case that could have significant implications for the future of digital publishing and the use of AI in search. It raises fundamental questions about copyright, compensation, and the relationship between content creators and the platforms that distribute their work.

Also Read: 

• Google Files Lawsuit Over BadBox 2.0 Android Botnet Infecting Over 10 Million Devices.
• European Union Fines Google €2.95 Billion for Adtech Abuses.

Android-to-iPhone File Sharing: Google's Quick Share Gets a Major Upgrade.

Sharing files between Android and iPhone users has long been frustrating, often requiring third-party apps, email, or a clunky workaround. Now, new details have emerged that suggest Google is about to simplify the process significantly with a major update to its Quick Share feature. A new method, currently in development, will allow seamless file transfers from Android to iOS devices using a simple QR code.

How the New QR Code System Will Work.

According to a leak found within the Google Play Services beta, the new sharing method will be a two-step process:

1. Generate a QR Code: The Android user who wants to send a file will display a unique QR code on their screen.
2. Scan and Download: The iPhone user will then scan this QR code to be directed to a secure, encrypted link where they can download the file directly.

This new process departs from the standard Quick Share functionality, which uses peer-to-peer technology for direct, offline transfers between Android devices. For Android-to-iPhone sharing, the files will be uploaded to Google's servers and remain available for a limited 24-hour window, which means a stable internet connection will be required for the transfer. The sender will also need to be signed into a Google account to use the feature.

Credit: Android Authority

While a similar QR code sharing option already exists for Android-to-Android transfers when devices are offline, this new implementation is specifically designed to bridge the gap between Google's ecosystem and iOS.

A Game-Changer for Cross-Platform Sharing.

This new system is a much-needed solution to a common pain point for millions of users. It eliminates the need to rely on messaging apps that compress images and videos, or to use cumbersome services and require additional login steps. By making it easy to share high-quality files between the two largest mobile ecosystems, Google is positioning Quick Share as a powerful, cross-platform tool. 

While an official launch date has not been announced, the appearance of these new features in a beta version of Google Play Services suggests a wider rollout could be coming soon.