Google kills product / Ars Series

  1. Google kills “One” VPN service, says “people simply weren’t using it”

    Did anyone want a VPN from the Internet's largest data collector?

  2. Google Podcasts shuts down tomorrow, April 2

    Building a podcast player into Google Search was always a weird plan.

  3. Google’s phone app no longer searches Google Maps

    Google's search-infused phone app was touted as a major feature a few years ago.

  4. Google will no longer back up the Internet: Cached webpages are dead

    Google Search will no longer make site backups while crawling the web.

  5. Google announces April 2024 shutdown date for Google Podcasts

    Does this mean YouTube Podcasts is ready for prime time?

  6. Google News is shutting down purchased magazine content, offering refunds

    Google offers static PDF downloads for some content, refunds for others.

  7. This week’s dead Google products: Google Podcasts, basic Gmail, and more!

    A thrilling roundup of the things Google has killed this week.

  8. Google is killing Play Movies & TV, will only have three video stores left

    Conveniently, Google still sells video content through YouTube, Android TV, and Google TV.

  9. Google kills two-year “Pixel Pass” subscription after just 22 months

    Two years on a Pixel Pass was supposed to get you a new phone.

  10. Waymo kills off autonomous trucking program

    Ride-hailing will let Waymo focus on "near-term" commercial success.

  11. Google Assistant kills off support for third-party note apps

    The Google Assistant continues to circle the drain, with yet another feature loss.

  12. YouTube Stories, Google’s clone of Snapchat, is dying on June 26

    Google's clone of TikTok is a decent replacement for its clone of Snapchat.

  1. RIP to Dropcams, Nest Secure: Google is shutting down servers next year

    Sales ended years ago, but they'll turn into bricks when the servers shut down.

  2. Google Assistant might be doomed: Division “reorganizes” to focus on Bard

    The Google Assistant makes no money and hasn't released hardware in two years.

  3. Stadia’s pivot to a cloud service has also been shut down

    After Stadia's commercial failure, the pivot to Immersive Stream for Games is dead, too.

  4. Google kills “Duplex on the Web,” an automated website navigation feature

    Google wanted to click through websites on your behalf, but did that solve a problem?

  5. Google kills Stadia, will refund game purchases

    The inevitable death of Google's game-streaming service happens early next year.

  6. Google’s cost-cutting kills Pixelbook division

    Google hasn't made a laptop in 3 years and won't be making one any time soon.

  7. YouTube Go is dead, and you can probably blame YouTube Premium

    YouTube Go offered free offline videos, but now you'll need YouTube Premium.

  8. So nice they killed it twice: Google+’s business pivot is dead

    Who remembered that "Google Currents" was still available for businesses? Anybody?

  9. Google relents: Legacy G Suite users will be able to migrate to free accounts

    Last week, Google essentially told free G Suite users "pay up or lose your account."

  10. Google to free G Suite users: Pay up or lose your account

    Have a free G Suite account from 2006-2012? You have until May to fork over cash.

  11. Google kills YouTube Originals, its original video content group

    YouTube content group produced exclusive shows like Scare PewDiePie and Cobra Kai.

  12. Take one last look at Google Toolbar, which is now dead

    Google Toolbar is dead, but we took it out for one last spin before it died.

  1. Google is killing Android Auto for phones (if you even know what that is)

    This app had an Android Auto-like interface, but for people without compatible cars.

  2. Google kills its augmented reality “Measure” app

    App let you measure things with your smartphone.

  3. Google is killing “Google Play Movies & TV” on smart TVs

    Smart TV users get pushed to YouTube, other OSes get Google TV or Play Movies.

  4. Google is killing the Google Shopping app

    In a few weeks, the Shopping tab on Google.com will be the main interface.

  5. Google’s VR dreams are dead: Google Cardboard is no longer for sale

    Google Cardboard is still open source, but Google is done with the project.

  6. Ex-Stadia developers dish on Google’s mismanagement and poor communication

    Former Stadia developers "shocked" by surprise shutdown of Google's game studio.

  7. Google closes Stadia’s dedicated game studios after less than 2 years

    Service isn't changing, but path to streaming-exclusive games will clearly narrow.

  8. Loon’s bubble bursts—Alphabet shuts down Internet balloon company

    After eight years, Loon couldn't find a "long-term, sustainable business."

  9. Google kills Android Things, its IoT OS, in January

    Google promised three years of updates at launch but stopped updates after one year.

  10. The Google Home Max is dead—Google shuts down production

    The Home Max was $400. It weighed 12 pounds. It was probably too expensive.

  11. RIP Google Play Music, 2011 – 2020

    We celebrate the life of Google's music service. It shall live forever in our hearts.

  12. Google kills the Nest Secure, its $500 home security system

    Nest got into home security three years ago, and now there's an unclear support future.