What you need to know
- Google recently launched its new Essentials desktop app, which brings together core services like Google Photos, Google Drive, and Google Messages in one place for easy access.
- This new experience ships pre-installed on new HP laptops, including Spectre, Envy, Pavilion, OMEN and Victus, and will be shipping to more Windows laptops soon.
- Google is offering a two-month free Google One trial to new subscribers through the Essentials app.
Google is releasing a new desktop app called Google Essentials, which the company says will help users “discover and install many of Google's best services.” The desktop app will include Google's core services, including Google Photos, Google Drive, and Google Messages.
The Essentials app will initially ship pre-installed on all new HP laptops, including Spectre, Envy, Pavilion, OMEN and Victus, and will then be available on more Windows laptops.
Google Essentials can be accessed directly from the Windows 11 Start menu, but Google allows users to uninstall Google services or Google Essentials entirely.
The app is a hub of shortcuts to Google's popular productivity services, as well as a central place to manage a user's Google Account information. The company added that “you can also access Google Photos and Google Messages from Google Essentials, making it easy to enjoy your photo albums and respond to texts from friends and family.”
Finally, qualifying subscribers can get a two-month free Google One trial through Google's new Essentials app.
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Microsoft's Windows 11 is 100% DMA compliant
Microsoft highlighted the changes it made to its services to make them DMA-compliant after being listed as a gatekeeper by the European Union earlier this year, which included allowing users to uninstall OneDrive, Edge and Bing, and pin third-party apps to the Windows 11 taskbar.
The tech giant was initially listed as a gatekeeper for its Bing, Edge and Windows services, but Microsoft argued that its Bing and Edge services did not meet the regulatory standards and put it at a competitive disadvantage against rivals.
After scrutiny and investigation, the watchdog determined that these services were not dominant enough in the digital market to justify DMA regulation and ultimately excluded them from the scope of DMA regulation.
However, Mozilla has slammed Microsoft for using deceptive tricks and harmful design to trick users into using Microsoft Edge on Windows. Additionally, Opera recently filed a complaint with the EU General Court asking the European Commission to set aside its decision not to designate Microsoft Edge as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act. The complaint highlighted how Microsoft is making it difficult for users to use third-party browsers as the system default on their Windows devices.