Official Google Australia Blog

Helping Australian retailers and shoppers

Thursday, October 1, 2020

As more Australian businesses turn to e-commerce, we’ve been focused on supporting them in every way we can. And we’re pleased to announce that from mid-October we are making it free for merchants in Australia to list their products on the Google Shopping tab. More info here.

For retailers, this change means free exposure to millions of people who come to Google every day for their shopping needs, regardless of whether they advertise on Google. For shoppers, it means more products from more stores, discoverable through the Google Shopping tab.

For advertisers, it means paid campaigns can now be augmented with free listings.

In the US, where the change was made earlier this year, retailers running free listings and ads got an average of twice as many views and 50 percent more visits—and small and medium-sized businesses saw the biggest increases.

Australia’s changing retail landscape

Free listings for Australian retailers comes at a time of huge change in the way people shop and sell across the region. Even before the pandemic, e-commerce was growing fast—over FY19, Australians spent more than $29 billion on online goods, which was up 20.8 percent year-on-year. (1)

COVID-19 has accelerated these trends:

Between March and August 2020, more than 900,000 new households shopped online for the first time. That’s 35.4% more than the same period in 2019. (2)
68 percent of online shoppers believe they will increase the number of online purchases after the crisis. (3)

To help retailers adjust to these changes, we’re offering skills training through Grow with Google and sharing research and insights to inform their business decisions. We’ve launched a playbook and webinar series to help retailers better manage digital storefronts. And we’re working closely with many of our partners to help merchants manage their products and inventory. This includes partners like Shopify, BigCommerce and Dynamic Creative.

In advancing our plans with Google Shopping, we hope to build on these programs, providing extra support and relief for Aussie retailers when it’s needed most.

What’s next?

Existing users of Merchant Center and Shopping ads don't have to do anything to take advantage of the free listings. For new users of Merchant Center, we'll continue working to streamline the onboarding process over the coming weeks and months.

We’re looking forward to working even more closely with retailers throughout Australia, helping shoppers find the products they need more easily, contributing to the recovery from COVID-19, and preparing for longer-term change in local commerce.

Posted by Renee Gamble, Industry Director, Retail, Google Australia
Sources: (1) Australia Post, Inside Australian Online Shopping: 2019 eCommerce Industry Update (2) Australia Post, Inside Australian Online Shopping Report, September 2020 (3) Kantar COVID-19 Barometer, n=500 Australians, 18-90 years 14-18th August

Our best Chromecast yet, now with Google TV

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Best Chromecast yet

Chromecast with Google TV has your favourite Chromecast features and now comes with the all-new Google TV entertainment experience. Google TV experience brings together movies, shows and more from across your apps and subscriptions and organises them just for you. We're also bringing our most requested feature—a remote—to Chromecast.

A new look, inside and out

The new Chromecast with Google TV comes in a compact and thin design and is packed with the latest technology to give you the best viewing experience. It neatly plugs into your TV's HDMI port and tucks behind your screen. Power it on and you'll be streaming crystal clear video in up to 4K HDR at up to 60 frames per second in no time. With Dolby Vision, you’ll get extraordinary colour, contrast and brightness on your TV. We also support HDMI pass-through of Dolby audio content.

More power in your hand

The new Chromecast voice remote is comfortable to hold, easy to use and full of new features. It has a dedicated Google Assistant button that can help you find something to watch, answer everyday questions like “how's the weather?” or play your favourite artist on YouTube Music all with just your voice. And when it's time to cozy up on the couch for movie night, you can control your smart home lights to set the mood or check your front door with Nest Camera to keep tabs on your pizza delivery. We also have dedicated buttons for popular streaming services, YouTube and Netflix, to give you instant access to the content you love. Best of all, you won't have to juggle multiple remotes thanks to our programmable TV controls for power, volume and input.

TV just for you

In need of some good movie or TV recommendations? Google TV's For You tab gives you personalised watch suggestions from across your subscriptions organised based on what you like to watch—even your guilty pleasure reality dramas. Google TV’s Watchlist lets you bookmark movies and shows you want to save for later. You can add to your Watchlist from your phone or laptop, and it will be waiting on your TV when you get home.

Best of all, you'll also have access to thousands of apps and the ability to browse 400,000+ movies and TV shows sorted and optimised for what you like—ask Google Assistant to see results from across your favourite apps, like YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, Stan, 9Now and ABC iview, among others.

Starting today Chromecast with Google TV is available for pre-order in Australia for $99 in three fun colours to match your decor or personality: Snow, Sunrise and Sky, and will be available from the Google Store as well as other retailers like JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, OfficeWorks, and The Good Guys starting from October 15. Sunrise and Sky will be exclusively available on Google Store.

Posted by Gerardo Capiel, Director of Product Management, Entertainment

Made for music, the new Nest Audio is here

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Lil BabySo, in a time when we’re all listening to more music than ever, we’re especially excited to introduce Nest Audio, our latest smart speaker that is made for music lovers.

A music machine Nest Audio is 75 percent louder and has 50 percent stronger bass than the original Google Home—measurements of both devices were taken in an anechoic chamber at maximum volume, on-axis. With a 19mm tweeter for consistent high frequency coverage and clear vocals and a 75mm mid-woofer that really brings the bass, this smart speaker is a music lover’s dream. Nest Audio’s sound is full, clear and natural. We completed more than 500 hours of tuning to ensure balanced lows, mids and highs so that nothing is lacking or overbearing. The bass is significant and the vocals have depth, which makes Nest Audio sound great across genres: classical, R&B, pop and more. The custom-designed tweeter allows each musical detail to come through, and we optimised the grill, fabric and materials so that you can enjoy the audio without distortion. Our goal was to ensure that Nest Audio stayed faithful to what the artist intended when they were in the recording studio. We minimised the use of compressors to preserve dynamic range, so that the auditory contrast in the original production is preserved—the quiet parts are delicate and subtle, and the loud parts are more dramatic and powerful. Nest Audio also adapts to your home. Our Media EQ feature enables Nest Audio to automatically tune itself to whatever you’re listening to: music, podcasts, audiobooks or hearing a response from Google Assistant. And Ambient IQ lets Nest Audio also adjust the volume of Assistant, news, podcasts, and audiobooks based on the background noise in the home, so you can hear the weather forecast over a noisy dishwasher.
Whole home audio If you have a Google Home, Nest Mini or even a Nest Hub, you can easily make Nest Audio the centre of your whole home sound system. In my living room, I’ve connected two Nest Audio speakers as a stereo pair for left and right channel separation. I also have a Nest Hub Max in my kitchen, a Nest Mini in my bedroom and a Nest Hub in the entryway. These devices are grouped so that I can blast the same song on all of them when I have my daily dance party. With our stream transfer feature, I can move music from one device to the other with just my voice. Just last month, we launched multi-room control, which allows you to dynamically group multiple cast-enabled Nest devices in real-time.
An even faster Assistant When we launched Nest Mini last year, we embedded a dedicated machine learning chip with up to one TeraOPS of processing power, which let us move some Google Assistant experiences from our data centres directly onto the device. We’ve leveraged the same ML chip in Nest Audio too.Google Assistant helps you tackle your day, enjoy your entertainment and control compatible smart home brands like Philips Hue, TP-Link and more. In fact, our users have already set up more than 100 million devices to work with Google Assistant.
Differentiated by design Typically, a bigger speaker equals bigger sound, but Nest Audio has a really slim profile—so it fits anywhere in the home. In order to maximise audio output, we custom-designed quality drivers and housed them in an enclosure that helps it squeeze out every bit of sound possible. Nest Audio is available in two colours in Australia: Chalk and Charcoal. Its soft, rounded edges blend in with your home’s decor, and its minimal footprint doesn't take up too much space on your shelf or countertop. We’re continuing our commitment to sustainability with Nest Audio. It’s covered in the same sustainable fabric that we first introduced with Nest Mini last year, and the enclosure (meaning the fabric, housing, foot, and a few smaller parts) is made from 70 percent recycled plastic.
Starting today Nest Audio is available for pre-order in Australia for $149 at the Google Store and other retailers, including JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, and The Good Guys. It will be on-sale from October 15 through these same retailers, as well as Officeworks and Vodafone.
Posted by Mark Spates, Product Manager, Google Nest

Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5 pack 5G speeds and so much more

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Launch Night InOur new smartphones, Pixel 4a with 5G and Pixel 5 offer more helpful Google features backed by the power and speeds of 5G.1 From Google’s latest AI and Assistant features, to the biggest ever batteries we’ve put in a Pixel, to industry-leading camera features, Pixel 4a with 5G and Pixel 5 join our much loved Pixel 4a in providing more help at a more helpful price.

5G speeds at affordable prices 5G is the latest in mobile technology, bringing fast download and streaming speeds to users around the world. Whether you’re downloading the latest movie2, listening to your favourite music on YouTube Music, catching up on podcasts with Google Podcast or downloading a game Pixel 4a with 5G and Pixel 5 can provide you with fast speeds at a helpful price.1 Starting at just $799 for Pixel 4a with 5G.
New camera, new lenses—same great photos Ask any Pixel owner and they’ll tell you: Pixels take great photos. Pixel 4a with 5G and Pixel 5 are no exception. These phones bring Pixel’s industry-leading photography features to the next level.

Better videos with Cinematic Pan: Pixel 4a with 5G and Pixel 5 come with Cinematic Pan, which gives your videos a professional look with ultrasmooth panning that’s inspired by the equipment Hollywood directors use.
Night Sight in Portrait Mode: Night Sight currently gives you the ability to capture amazing low-light photos—and even the Milky Way with astrophotography. Now, these phones bring the power of Night Sight into Portrait Mode to capture beautifully blurred backgrounds in Portraits even in extremely low light.

Night Sight in Portrait Mode, captured on Pixel

Portrait Light: Portrait Mode on the Pixel 4a with 5G and Pixel 5 lets you capture beautiful portraits that focus on your subject as the background fades into an artful blur. If the lighting isn’t right, your Pixel can drop in extra light to illuminate your subjects.
Ultrawide lens for ultra awesome shots: With an ultrawide lens alongside the standard rear camera, you’ll be able to capture the whole scene. And thanks to Google’s software magic, the latest Pixels still get our Super Res Zoom. So whether you’re zooming in or zooming out, you get sharp details and breathtaking images.

Ultrawide, captured on Pixel

New editor in Google Photos: Even after you’ve captured your portrait, Google Photos can help you add studio-quality light to your portraits of people with Portrait Light, in the new, more helpful Google Photos editor.

Stay connected and entertained with Duo To make it easier and more enjoyable to stay connected to the most important people in your life, the new HD screen sharing in Duo video calls lets you and a friend watch the same video, cheer on sports with a friend and even plan activities – no matter how far apart you are.3 And with features like Duo Family mode, you will be able to keep kids entertained and engaged with new interactive tools, like colouring over backgrounds, while you video chat.
A smarter way to record and share audio Last year, Recorder made audio recording smarter, with real-time transcriptions and the power of search.4 Now, Recorder makes it even easier to share your favourite audio moments. Since Recorder automatically transcribes every recording, now you can use those transcripts to edit the audio too. Just highlight a sentence to crop or remove its corresponding audio. Once you have something you want others to hear—say a quote from an interview or a new song idea—you can generate a video clip to make sharing your audio easier and more visual than ever.

Editing in Recorder is easy
To improve searching through your transcripts, smart scrolling will automatically mark important words in longer transcripts so you can quickly jump to the sections you’re looking for as you scroll. But most helpful of all? Recorder still works without an internet connection, so you can transcribe, search and edit from anywhere, anytime.
The biggest Pixel batteries ever Pixel 4a with 5G and Pixel 5 also have all-day batteries that can last up to 48 hours with Extreme Battery Saver.5 This mode automatically limits active apps to just the essentials and lets you choose additional apps you want to keep on.
And now, the specs Like all Pixel devices, security and safety are paramount in Pixel 4a with 5G and Pixel 5. Both devices come with our TitanTM M security chip to help keep your on-device data safe and secure, and both phones will get three years of software and security updates. Your Pixel also has built-in safety features like car crash detection6 and Safety Check.7

Plus, Pixel 5 is designed with the environment in mind; we used 100% recycled aluminium in the back housing enclosure to reduce its carbon footprint. You can charge your Pixel 5 wirelessly8 and even use it to wirelessly charge other Qi-certified devices using Battery Share.9 Pixel 5 also doesn’t mind a little water or dust. The metal unibody can handle being submerged in 1.5 metres of fresh water for 30 minutes.10

When you buy the Google phone, you get more from Google. Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a with 5G come with trial subscriptions to Google’s entertainment, security and storage services for new users.11 If you’re a new user you’ll get a YouTube Premium trial for 3 months, 100 GB of storage with Google One for 3 months and 3 months of Google Play Pass and Gold/Silver Status on Play Points. See g.co/pixel/4a5Goffers or g.co/pixel/5offers, as applicable, for more details.11

In Australia, Pixel 5 will range in two colours, Just Black and Sorta Sage (selected retailers). It will retail for $999 and can be pre-ordered today from Google Store, Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks and Harvey Norman, and will be available starting October 15. Pixel 4a with 5G will retail for $799 and can be pre-ordered today from JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks and Harvey Norman, and will be available from these retailers in addition to Google Store and Telstra in November ranging in Just Black.

Looking for the Pixel’s that’s right for you? Head to the Google Store now.

1 Requires a 5G data plan (sold separately). 5G service and roaming not available on all carrier networks or in all areas. Contact carrier for details about current 5G network performance, compatibility, and availability. Phone connects to 5G networks but, 5G service, speed and performance depend on many factors including, but not limited to, carrier network capabilities, device configuration and capabilities, network traffic, location, signal strength and signal obstruction. Actual results may vary. Some features not available in all areas. Data rates may apply. See g.co/pixel/networkinfo for info. 2 Download speed claims based on testing videos from three streaming platforms. Average download time was less than sixty seconds. File sizes varied between 449MB and 1.3GB. Download speed depends upon many factors, such as file size, content provider and network connection. Testing conducted in an internal 5G network lab and on pre-production hardware in California in July/August 2020. Actual download speeds may be slower. Australian results may vary. 3 Screen sharing not available on group calls. Requires Wi-Fi or 5G internet connection. Not available on all apps and content. Data rates may apply. 5G service, speed and performance depend on many factors including, but not limited to, carrier network capabilities, device configuration and capabilities, network traffic, location, signal strength, and signal obstruction. 4 Transcription and search are available in English only. 5 For “all day”: Maximum battery life based on testing using a mix of talk, data, standby, and use of other features. Testing conducted on two major US carrier networks using Sub-6 GHz non-standalone 5G (ENDC) connectivity. For “Up to 48 hours”: Maximum battery life based on testing using a mix of talk, data, standby, and use of limited other features that are default in Extreme Battery Saver mode (which disables various features including 5G connectivity). Testing conducted on two major US carrier networks. For both claims: Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5 battery testing conducted by a third party in California in mid 2020 on pre-production hardware and software using default settings, except that, for the “up to 48 hour claim” only, Extreme Battery Saver mode was enabled. Battery life depends upon many factors and usage of certain features will decrease battery life. Actual battery life may be lower.6 Not available in all languages or countries. Car crash detection may not detect all accidents. High-impact activities may trigger calls to emergency services. This feature is dependent upon network connectivity and other factors and may not be reliable for emergency communications or available in all areas. For country and language availability and more information see g.co/pixel/carcrashdetection. 7 Personal Safety app features are dependent upon network connectivity and other factors and may not be reliable for emergency communications or available in all areas. For more information, see g.co/pixel/personalsafety. 8 Qi-compatible. Wireless charger sold separately. 9 Designed to charge Qi-certified devices. Use of Battery Share significantly reduces Pixel battery life. Cases may interfere with charging and will reduce charging speed. Charge speeds may vary. See g.co/pixel/wirelesscharging for more information. 10 Pixel 5 has a dust and water protection rating of IP68 under IEC standard 60529. Charger and accessories are not water-resistant or dust-resistant. Water and dust resistance are not permanent conditions and may be compromised due to normal wear and tear, repair, disassembly or damage. 11 The Google One, Google Play Pass, Google Play Points, and YouTube Premium offers are available to eligible new users with the purchase of Pixel 4a (5G) or Pixel 5. Offer expires April 30, 2021 at 11:59pm PT. See g.co/pixel/4a5Goffers or g.co/pixel/5offers, as applicable, for more details.

Posted by Matt Gaskell, Director, Devices & Services Business Organisation, Google Australia and New Zealand

Small businesses and Australia’s Media Bargaining Code

Friday, September 25, 2020

Throughout this time, we’ve made sure business owners know Google’s tools and services are there to help. Small businesses are using our affordable ad services to advertise where they couldn’t before, and connecting with new customers via free listings on Search and Maps. We’ve also helped businesses operate online through national digital skills training.

As Australia starts to look towards economic recovery, we’re concerned that many of these businesses will be affected by a new law being proposed by the Australian Government—the News Media Bargaining Code—which would put the digital tools they rely on at risk.

While we don’t oppose a code governing the relationship between digital platforms and news businesses, the current draft Code has implications for everyone, not just digital platforms and media businesses. We wanted to explain our concerns and how we believe they can be addressed in a way that works for all businesses.

How does the Code impact small businesses?

The draft code affects small businesses because it would weaken Google services like Search and YouTube. These services created more than 130 million connections between business and potential customers in 2019, and contributed to the $35 billion in benefits we generated for more than 1.3 million businesses across the country. But they rely on Search and YouTube working the same for everyone—so that people can trust that the results they see are useful and authoritative, and businesses know they’re on a level playing field.

Under the draft code, we’d be forced to give some news businesses privileged access to data and information—including about changes to our search algorithms—enabling them to feature more prominently in search results at the expense of other businesses, website owners and creators.

For example, a cafe owner might have made their way to the top spot in Search results for a particular query over time, thanks to popularity, search interest and other signals. But if the draft code became law—giving some publishers an advanced look at algorithm changes—they could potentially take advantage of this and make their web content appear more prominently in search results.

Likewise, if you ran an independent travel website that provides advice to people on how to plan local holidays, you might lose out to a newspaper travel section because they’ve had a sneak peek at changes to how Search works.

That’s an unfair advantage for news businesses. Businesses of all kinds would face an additional hurdle at a time when it’s more important than ever to connect with their customers.

A bad precedent

The draft code would also create a mandatory negotiation and arbitration model that only takes into account the costs and value created by one party—news businesses. The code’s provisions mean costs are uncapped and unquantifiable, and there is no detail on what formula is used to calculate payment.

Regulation framed in this way would set a bad precedent. Most businesses support sensible regulation—but not heavy-handed rules that favour one group of companies over all others. Australian entrepreneurs like Mike Cannon-Brooks, Matt Barrie and Daniel Petrie have made the point that a market intervention like this would deter international companies from operating in Australia, risking jobs and investment just as we need to be focusing on the recovery from COVID-19.

And it’s not just business leaders who’ve spoken out. Over the last few weeks, we’ve heard a cross-section of Australia’s business community, from local retailers and restaurants to YouTube creators, and we’re deeply grateful for their support.

The way forward

The issues with the draft code are serious, but we believe they can be worked through in a way that protects full and fair access to Search and YouTube for every Australian business. We’ve made it clear that we want to contribute to a strong future for Australian news, and we’re engaging constructively with the Government and the ACCC to try to find a resolution — making proposals for changes that would support a workable code.

Throughout 2020, we’ve worked with business owners across Australia to help them get through the challenges of the fires and the pandemic, whether by providing digital tools, direct assistance, skills training or advice, and we hope to continue providing that support long into the future.

We know how tough this year has been, and we’re going to keep doing everything we can to make sure that the final version of the code supports Australia’s amazing businesses.

By Mel Silva, VP, Google Australia

Black Rainbow creates fund for the future

Thursday, September 17, 2020

This is a guest blog post from Black Rainbow, an emergent organisation that is 100% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQSB led. Black Rainbow is a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Sistergirl and Brotherboy (LGBQTISB) organisation in the pursuit of positive health and well-being for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBQTISB. Black RainbowClose the Gap Report
1. Grant funding, support by Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm
Google.org’s global initiativeTwitterFacebookInstagramwebsite
2. Indigenous LGBTIQSB Glossary posters website

3. Formalisation of our board

Environmental Insights Explorer Expands: 100 Australian councils and counting

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Environmental Insights Explorer

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a crucial step in fighting the climate crisis. And cities now account for more than 70 percent of global emissions. But measuring exactly which activities—whether it’s buildings, cars, or public transport—are contributing to emissions, and by how much, is complex. Without this information, cities can neither understand the challenges they face, nor the impact of their environmental policies.

This is the problem we’re working to solve with Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE), an online platform that provides building and transportation emissions, as well as solar potential analysis to make it easier for cities to measure progress against their climate action plans. Launched in 2018 for a handful of cities around the world including Melbourne, with Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide then added in 2019, EIE has helped councils accelerate GHG reduction efforts. Today, we’ve expanded EIE data access to thousands of cities worldwide, including 100+ Australian councils.

To scale data access to local governments, policy makers and community groups, we’re also developing partnerships with leading Australian organisations, councils, and climate change experts. This includes a new partnership with Ironbark Sustainability and Beyond Zero Emissions to make EIE transportation data available for 100+ councils in Snapshot—a free tool that calculates major sources of carbon emissions, including stationary energy, transport, waste, agriculture, and land-use change. Snapshot allows municipalities to easily compare their sources of carbon emissions. This data integration will provide updated GHG profiles and enable local government policy decision-making for more than 86 percent of the country's population to put councils on a fast track for delivering commitments, building local resilience, and ensuring economic recovery.

Accelerated city-wide analysis

By analysing Google’s comprehensive global mapping data together with GHG emission factors, EIE estimates city-scale building and transportation carbon emissions data with the ability to drill down into more specific data such as vehicle-kilometres travelled by mode (automobiles, public transit, biking, etc.) and the percentage of emissions generated by residential or non-residential buildings.

The insights that EIE provides have traditionally required many months of research, and a lot of resources for cities undertaking a climate action plan. Using Google’s proprietary data coupled with machine learning capabilities, we can produce a complete survey of a city that can be assessed very quickly. In this way, EIE allows cities to leapfrog tedious and costly data collection and analysis.

EIE transport data now available in Snapshot for 100+ councils

The next chapter

Over the next few months, we’ll be working together to help Australian councils learn more about data insights from EIE and expand data coverage to more councils. We hope that by making EIE data accessible to more councils across Australia, we’ll help nurture an ecosystem that can bring climate action plans to life.

Posted by Nicole Lombardo, Partner Development Manager, Environmental Insights Explorer

Australia Blog

Helping Australian retailers and shoppers

Our best Chromecast yet, now with Google TV

Made for music, the new Nest Audio is here

Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5 pack 5G speeds and so much more

Small businesses and Australia’s Media Bargaining Code

Black Rainbow creates fund for the future

Environmental Insights Explorer Expands: 100 Australian councils and counting

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