Alphabet Scoop 105: Assistant Driving Mode, new Google Pay, E2EE RCS in Messages, and Stadia’s birthday

This week saw Google announce an absolute flood of news from Assistant Driving Mode and end-to-end encryption for RCS in Messages finally happening to a brand new Google Pay. We then talk about everything the Stadia team announced for the streaming service’s one-year anniversary.

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New episodes of Alphabet Scoop are recorded every Thursday afternoon at 4-5 PM ET and published on Friday mornings. Subscribe to our podcast in Google Play or your favorite podcast player to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as they're available.

Abner Li
Ben Schoon
Kyle Bradshaw

Links:

Assistant Driving Mode in Google Maps arrives, but only as ‘early preview’
Google releases limited edition ‘Barely Blue’ Pixel 4a
New Google Pay app is now available in early access w/ redesign, rewards, more [Gallery]
Google Pay launching ‘Plex’ bank accounts with Citi, other partners next year
Google completes global RCS rollout as Messages starts testing default end-to-end encryption
Review: One year later, Google Stadia is still a diamond in the rough
Stadia will be playable on iOS via Safari in the coming ‘weeks’
Stadia set to expand to ‘more EMEA regions’ later this year

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkD5I7pfy7Y