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Stay entertained and informed from home

While spending more time at home, you might find yourself re-watching your favorite classics, doing game nights with the family and catching up on the TV shows you've been missing. From staying informed on the latest news to tuning in to weekly podcasts or finding what to watch, here are a few ideas to keep your whole family entertained while at home:

A faster way to news and entertainment

Many of us are turning to our TVs to stay up to date and entertained while we stay in. To access fresh news and fun entertainment quickly, you’ll now find three new rows from YouTube right on your Android TV home screen:

  • COVID-19 Newsgives you the latest from authoritative publishers and local health authorities to help you stay informed.
  • Stay Home #WithMe features videos that invite you to cook, listen to live music and work out, so you can stay connected, even if you’re home alone.
  • Free movies from YouTube highlights movies you can watch for free with ads, so that you can find something new.
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Stay informed and entertained with three new rows from YouTube on the Android TV home screen.

Create your own Watchlist in Search

When you’re deciding on a TV show or movie to watch, there are a lot of options out there. And figuring out what content is available across all your subscriptions can be time consuming and overwhelming. You can already find TV and movie recommendations in Search and today we’re adding a new Watchlist tab on mobile, so that you can keep track of what to watch next.

Browse through personalized recommendations by searching “what to watch.” Then, simply tap “Watchlist” in the preview window for any show or movie to add it to your list. You can navigate between your recommendations and the “Watchlist” tab so you won’t lose track of what’s already been saved. You can also add content to your Watchlist whenever you search for a show or movie. To quickly access your full watchlist, search for “my watchlist” or tap on Collections in the Google app.

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Keep track of what to watch next with the new Watchlist in Search.

Entertainment deals you won’t want to miss

Google Play also has a collection of special deals including offers on apps for movies, TV and comics and fun ways to learn something new. If you’re looking to game with friends, you can #PlayApartTogether and explore these multiplayer games. For a throwback option, we’ve compiled a few retro arcade games to bring back childhood memories. In the U.S., we’ve also extended the free trial for Google Play Pass to 30 days to give you and your family more time to enjoy games and apps without ads or in-app purchases.
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Browse games to #PlayApartTogether with family and friends.

If you’re looking for apps on your big screen, Google Play is adding more collections to Android TV. Your favorite streaming apps are now organized in one row under “Stream the shows and movies you love.” You can also pick up a new hobby or skill with TV apps under “Learn new things.” If gaming on the TV is more your style, you can now find games to “Play with your remote” and “Play with your gamepad.”

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Find games and apps in Google Play’s collections on Android TV.

We’re offering gamers in 14 countries free access to Stadia Pro for two months, which includes instant access to nine games, including GRID, Destiny 2: The Collection and Thumper. If you’re already a paid Stadia Pro subscriber, you won’t be charged for the next two months.

Get a little help using just your voice

And whether you want to catch up on your favorite podcast or you want to spend some quality time with family or roommates, Google Assistant and Nest have got you covered. 

  • Game night:If you’re looking for trivia or quiz games to play, just say, “Hey Google, let’s play a game.” Or if you already know what you want to play, say, “Hey Google, play Are You Feeling Lucky.”

  • Kick back with a podcast:Search interest in “podcasts” hit an all-time high, worldwide. Ask Google Assistant for a particular podcast by saying, “Hey Google, play [podcast name]” or it will pick one for you if you say “Hey Google, find me a podcast about cooking.” If you have a Nest Mini, Nest Hub or Nest Hub Max, the Ambient IQ feature will automatically adjust the volume when there's background noise.

  • View your home movies easily:Watch videos and slideshows you’ve made in Google Photos using Chromecast. From the Google Photos app you can send videos and pictures to your TV by tapping the cast icon. With a Google Nest speaker you can simply ask, “Hey Google, show my 2018 summer vacation video on my TV.”

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Ask Google Assistant to cast your family photos and videos to your TV.

These updates and features are already available or coming this week. Check them out to keep the whole family entertained at home.

Source: Search


Dalgona coffee whips up global interest

For a lot of people, working from home means perfecting their own coffee-making skills rather than popping out to a cafe—and we’re seeing people whip up one style in particular. 

Dalgona is a delicious, sweet, creamy type of coffee that captured attention after Korean YouTube channel KBS Entertain uploaded a video in January. It took off from there, with fans around the world trying to make the perfect version and urging their friends and family to join in.  

A coffee breakout trend

It’s fair to say people were up for the “dalgona challenge”—but first, they needed to figure out how to make it. Search interest in dalgona has never been higher. It started heating up the week of March 15, when searches spiked 1,800 percent around the world. Since then, it’s increased to 3,000 times the usual number of weekly searches.

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Brewing up in Southeast Asia (and everywhere) 


Exactly how popular does that make dalgona? It’s become the most searched type of coffee worldwide in the past 30 days—overcoming legends like the latte, cappuccino, mocha, and the previously undefeated champion, the humble espresso.
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People everywhere have tried their hand at dalgona, but they seem a bit more determined to master the art in Southeast Asia: four of the five countries where dalgona coffee was the most searched were in the region.

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Spilling the beans on YouTube


A finished dalgona might look like a work of art, but there’s some serious science behind the process. People are turning to YouTube, where it all began, for videos showing how to make the best version. Between March 15 and April 6, average views of videos with “dalgona” in their title on YouTube increased by more than 5,000 percent globally. 


And it’s not just caffeine-lovers getting involved: people are experimenting with caffeine-free versions using matcha and Milo (chocolate, basically), both of which feature among the most-viewed videos.
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It’s been heartwarming to see dalgona coffee bring people together around the world, whether it’s to admire friends’ and strangers’ beautiful creations, or attempt the perfect dalgona themselves. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to perfecting my whisk.

Source: Search


Knead some baking inspiration? We’ve got you covered

Baking is intimidating. With all its numbers and measurements and exactness, it can be an unforgiving pursuit. And while I know these efforts end in a delicious treat, I’ve always remained wary of any activities that can be described as “chemistry.” 

But within the past few weeks of increased time spent at home, I’ve found myself searching the back of the pantry for flour and collecting my half-full bags of sugar. Turns out, I’m not alone: We took a look at Google Trends and found that Search interest in Bread has reached an all-time high in the U.S.

bread trend

Obviously, though, there are many types of bread, so I considered my options. Search interest in Banana Bread reached an all-time high this month in the U.S, as did searches for “focaccia recipe." The latter of the two happens to be trending on YouTube as well: All things sourdough—from starters to common mistakes—are currently enjoying the spotlight.

A video explaining how to create a sourdough starter.

If that doesn't inspire you to break out the measuring cups, check out this list of the most-searched bread recipes from Google Trends over the past month in the U.S.

  1. Banana bread recipe

  2. Sourdough recipe

  3. Beer bread recipe

  4. French bread recipe

  5. Garlic bread recipe

As a first time bread baker, I decided that it would be best to choose a recipe based on a different description: easy. Coincidentally (or not) enough, over the past year, search interest in “easy recipes” was highest the week of March 29 in the U.S. The instructions for no-yeast bread (searches for “yeastless bread” recipes increased more than 4,600 percent this month) seemed simple enough. Less than an hour later, I had an imperfectly shaped, but still delicious loaf of bread. 

And what goes better with bread (or rather, toasted bread) than coffee? Search interest in "whipped coffee recipe"—which is usually served cold and looks like a dreamy, marshmallow-like cloud—reached an all-time high in the U.S. In fact, “how to make whipped coffee” increased more than 4,200 percentthis month. Here are the top regions searching for "whipped coffee" over the past month. 


whipped coffee subregions

I’ll report back when I come down from the combo caffeine-sugar rush. (Take a look at the recipe and...I think you’ll understand.) 

Source: Search


Knead some baking inspiration? We’ve got you covered

Baking is intimidating. With all its numbers and measurements and exactness, it can be an unforgiving pursuit. And while I know these efforts end in a delicious treat, I’ve always remained wary of any activities that can be described as “chemistry.” 

But within the past few weeks of increased time spent at home, I’ve found myself searching the back of the pantry for flour and collecting my half-full bags of sugar. Turns out, I’m not alone: We took a look at Google Trends and found that Search interest in Bread has reached an all-time high in the U.S.

bread trend

Obviously, though, there are many types of bread, so I considered my options. Search interest in Banana Bread reached an all-time high this month in the U.S, as did searches for “focaccia recipe." The latter of the two happens to be trending on YouTube as well: All things sourdough—from starters to common mistakes—are currently enjoying the spotlight.

A video explaining how to create a sourdough starter.

If that doesn't inspire you to break out the measuring cups, check out this list of the most-searched bread recipes from Google Trends over the past month in the U.S.

  1. Banana bread recipe

  2. Sourdough recipe

  3. Beer bread recipe

  4. French bread recipe

  5. Garlic bread recipe

As a first time bread baker, I decided that it would be best to choose a recipe based on a different description: easy. Coincidentally (or not) enough, over the past year, search interest in “easy recipes” was highest the week of March 29 in the U.S. The instructions for no-yeast bread (searches for “yeastless bread” recipes increased more than 4,600 percent this month) seemed simple enough. Less than an hour later, I had an imperfectly shaped, but still delicious loaf of bread. 

And what goes better with bread (or rather, toasted bread) than coffee? Search interest in "whipped coffee recipe"—which is usually served cold and looks like a dreamy, marshmallow-like cloud—reached an all-time high in the U.S. In fact, “how to make whipped coffee” increased more than 4,200 percentthis month. Here are the top regions searching for "whipped coffee" over the past month. 


whipped coffee subregions

I’ll report back when I come down from the combo caffeine-sugar rush. (Take a look at the recipe and...I think you’ll understand.) 

Source: Search


Connecting people to virtual care options


To prevent the spread of COVID-19, many healthcare providers are reducing or stopping in-person visits for a variety of patient needs, from the treatment of chronic conditions to mental health services to evaluating cough and cold symptoms. Yet, people need a way to continue getting medical care from the comfort and safety of their own homes. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve seen interest in virtual care and telehealth rise dramatically. Health consultations over the phone or by video conference not only help alleviate strain on doctors’ offices and emergency rooms but are also recommended as an important way to protect patients and staff against COVID-19. 

To help individuals and health care providers connect, we’re focused on providing individuals with access to high-quality and authoritative information and supporting them throughout their health journey. Over the coming week, we’re beginning to roll out two new features in Search and Maps that make it easier for people to connect to virtual healthcare options, whether it’s to a doctor’s office down the street, the hospital across town, or a national telehealth platform.

Local healthcare providers, now virtual

Healthcare providers like hospitals, doctors, and mental health professionals can now enter a virtual care offering in their Business Profile, so that people searching for their local provider, for instance, might see a “get online care” link on Search and Maps. Clicking this link will take people to that provider’s virtual care website where they can find more information, and in many cases, schedule a virtual healthcare visit with a provider. 

The pandemic has affected many healthcare providers’ operating hours and walk-in visit policies. To help communicate changes that might affect someone’s visit, we’re automatically surfacing a link directly to health providers’ COVID-19 information page on Search and Maps, and we've assembled best practices on how healthcare providers can update their websites and provide COVID-19 information on Google My Business.

New health information about Hillview Hospital

With health providers limiting in-person visits due to COVID-19, we’re making it easier for people to discover virtual care options.

Find virtual healthcare, anywhere, anytime

Beginning as a pilot in the U.S., we’ll also begin showing widely-available virtual care platforms directly on Search so people can more easily access virtual visits. For example, when people search for “immediate care”, we’ll be able to also present available virtual care options and related information such as the out-of-pocket price charged for a visit (for those without insurance) and an easy way for people to directly connect with the virtual care platform. The visit between the patient and provider will take place on the healthcare provider’s platform of choice.

On Search, you can see information about virtual healthcare platforms

People will be able to see widely-available virtual healthcare platforms directly on Search as well as the out-of-pocket cost for a visit.

For healthcare providers, helping you keep up with demand

In addition to helping healthcare providers with information about how to keep their online business information up-to-date, Google Cloud is supporting providers with technology infrastructure and solutions to assist with care delivery and operations. This includes helping doctors support patients remotely with HIPAA-compliant G Suite products (including using Google Meet for telehealth or virtual visits),deploying virtual agents to field questions related to COVID-19, and helping with capacity-planning and demand forecasting of key medical supplies to better manage their supply chains.

The global COVID-19 pandemic and the response to prevent its spread has changed the way individuals access and connect to health care. Across our products, we’ll continue to ensure that healthcare providers have the tools to connect with patients, and that anyone can access the information and care they need to stay healthy.

Source: Search


Discover podcasts you’ll love with Google Podcasts, now on iOS

It took me a decade to find the podcasts I love most. When I lived in Chicago, I started downloading podcasts for traffic-filled drives to soccer practice. One that stood out during the ninety-minute commute was Planet Money, which became a ritual for me as I studied economics. Since then I've gradually gathered a list of favorites for all activities from long runs to cooking dinner—Acquired, PTI, and More Perfect are a few. Building my podcast library took years and a number of friends introducing me to their favorite shows and episodes, such as a particularly memorable Radiolab about CRISPR.

But you should be able to find new favorites in minutes, not years. We’ve redesigned the Google Podcasts app to make it easier to discover podcasts you’ll love, build your list of go-to podcasts, and customize your listening. To support listeners on more platforms, we’re also bringing Google Podcasts to iOS for the first time and adding support for subscriptions on Google Podcasts for Web. Regardless of the platform you’re using, your listening progress will sync across devices, and you’ll be able to pick up right where you left off.

The new app is organized around three tabs: Home, Explore and Activity. The Home tab features a feed of new episodes and gives you quick access to your subscribed shows. When you select an episode you want to listen to, you’ll now see topics or people covered in that podcast, and you can easily jump to Google Search to learn more.

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In the Explore tab, “For you” displays new show and episode recommendations related to your interests, and you can browse popular podcasts in categories such as comedy, sports, and news. You’ll be able to control personalized recommendations from the Google Podcasts settings, which are accessible right from the Explore tab.


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As you listen and subscribe to more podcasts, the Activity tab will display your listen history, queued up episodes, and downloads. For each show in your subscriptions, you can now enable automatic downloading and/or push notifications for when new episodes come out.

The new Google Podcasts is available on iOS today and rolling out to Android this week. Try it out and discover your next favorite show.

Source: Search


City of Antwerp and Google to digitize 100,000 books

The world of book publishing today is, in many ways, dignified and highbrow. But it was a different story in the 16th century, about a hundred years after the invention of the printing press. Publishing was a high-risk, high-reward proposition: With the right backing and enough capital investment, an entrepreneur could become wildly successful. But publishing the wrong thing in the wrong place could be disastrous—even fatal, with governments and religious authorities taking a very severe view of what content was fit to print.

No one knew this better than Christophe Plantin, who set up a publishing house in Antwerp, Belgium, in the mid-16th century. Facing religious intolerance and escaping persecution, he helped put the city on the map as a publishing powerhouse. His own printing operation continued in his family for generations. 

Today, Plantin’s home and business are preserved as the Plantin-Moretus Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to 25,000 early printed books. Visitors to Antwerp can walk through the rooms where the family lived and worked, and researchers can delve into the collection’s manuscripts, books, archives and original prints.

And now, thanks to a partnership between the City of Antwerp and Google, we will digitize more than 32,000 books from the museum, along with an additional 60,000 books held by the city’s Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library.

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    The Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library houses books from the 16th century.

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    The collection in the new warehouse of Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library

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    The Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library will digitize a large portion of its collection via Google Books.

In total, more than 100,000 international works published from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century will be made freely accessible in the coming years via Google Books and the library catalogues of both institutions. The scanned volumes, which are no longer subject to copyright, will be full-text searchable, meaning that researchers—as well as members of the public—will be able to search them easily and quickly.

The digitization will start in early 2021, allowing time for both Google and the city to set up the project and establish logistics processes. We expect it will take at least three years, partly because we don’t want to cause too much disruption to library visitors who come to view the materials. The books will be transported securely in batches from Antwerp to our European digitization center. Shortly after each work is scanned, the digital copy will appear on books.google.com, and the libraries will also receive digital copies of their respective works to incorporate into their own catalogues. 

Google Books was launched 15 years ago, with the goal of making all books from around the world digitally available and searchable for everyone. This collaboration with the City of Antwerp adds an incredibly rich collection from the Dutch-speaking world to our collection, and brings us a crucial step closer to achieving our mission.

Source: Search


Get helpful health info from the NHS, right in Search

People come to Search for all types of information to navigate their lives and look after themselves and their families. When it comes to important topics like health, high-quality information is critical, and we aim to connect people with the most reliable sources on the web as quickly as possible.

Now, we’re making it even easier for people in the U.K. to find trusted information from the National Health Service (NHS). Beginning this week, when you search for health conditions like  chickenpox, back pain, or the common cold, you can find Knowledge Panels with information from the NHS website that help you understand more about common causes, treatments and more. 

Knowledge panel in Search

These Knowledge Panels aim to give people authoritative, locally trusted health information, based on open source content. The NHS has formatted their content so that it’s easy to find on the web and available publicly to anyone via the NHS website—Google is one of more than 2,000 organizations using NHS website content to provide trusted information to people looking for it. 

To start, these Knowledge Panels will be available for more than 250 health conditions. Of course, they’re not intended to provide medical advice, and we encourage anyone searching for health information to seek guidance from a doctor if they have a medical concern or, in an emergency, call local emergency services immediately. But we hope this feature will help people find reliable information and have more informed conversations with medical professionals to improve their care.

Source: Search


“Parasite” searches ride an Oscars wave

It’s been over a week since “Parasite” made history, becoming the first non-English language film to win Best Picture. And people are still talking about (and searching for) it.


Surge in search interest

There was already global interest in “Parasite” before the Oscars (turns out a lot of people could find something to relate to in a dark, funny story about two very different Korean families). Parasite was the third-most-searched Best Picture nominee in the week before the awards ceremony, behind “1917” and “Jojo Rabbit.” 


Parasite map 1

But on the day of the Oscars, there was an 857 percent jump in the number of people searching for “Parasite” around the world, and that interest has continued since. In the week after the awards, it became the most-searched searched film worldwide—117 percent more searched than “1917” and 132 percent more searched than "Jojo Rabbit".

Parasite map 2

Focus on Bong Joon Ho (and his translator)

After being awarded Best Director, Bong Joon Ho won fans around the world with his gracious acceptance speech and promise to “drink until next morning.” Search interest for Bong increased by more than 2,000 percent on the day of the awards, while Korean-language searches for Martin Scorcese surged, too, after Bong quoted one of his lines (“the most personal is the most creative”).


Most queries were about Bong himself, but the fifth-most asked question was “who is Bong Joon Ho’s translator?” (The answer is Sharon Choi, a Korean-American and fellow filmmaker who gained her own following during awards season.)


A boost for Korean cinema

Interest in Korean cinema has been growing steadily over thepast decade—but the success of “Parasite” has sent people scrambling to find out more. Related searches for “Korea” and “film”  have increased by more than 47 percent in the past month and reached their highest peak for 12 months in the week after the Oscars.  


Ram-don fandom

We’ve also seen growing appetite for the Korean noodle dish ram-don (aka Jjapa Guri) which features in “Parasite”. Since the Oscars, searches for “ram-don recipe” have soared by more than 400 percent globally and searches for “Asian supermarket” are up more than 350 percent. Denmark, the United States, Canada, Singapore and Australia are the countries searching the most—suggesting there could be opportunities for enterprising Korean restaurateurs in places from Copenhagen to Canberra.

Source: Search


Helpful shortcuts for Google apps on iOS

If you have an iPhone or iPad, you might use apps like Gmail, YouTube and the Google app. These apps are specially built to work on iOS phones and tablets, and we’ve recently added Siri Shortcuts so that you can easily access your favorite features on those apps.  With Siri Shortcuts you can simply tap on a suggestion or ask Siri to shortcut the steps to common tasks. Now, to make it easier to find what you’re looking for on the web with the Google app, you can add a Siri Shortcut to “Search with Google.”

How to use "Search with Google" Siri Shortcut

“Search with Google” is the newest of many Shortcuts we’ve recently added to Google iOS apps. If you’re interested in exploring more, check out Drive where we’ve added a Shortcut to “Search in Drive” or YouTube where you can ask Siri to “Search YouTube.” If you regularly write a lot of emails (like we do), you can even add a Siri Shortcut to “Send email” in Gmail. 

You’ll find all our Shortcuts in the Shortcuts app on your iOS device. Give them a try today.

Source: Search