Google is a company that’s not exactly known for sticking with products for the long haul. However, it doesn’t always put the final nail in the coffin. There are a few Google apps still kicking around that could really use some love and attention.
Action Blocks
Action Blocks was released in 2020 as an accessibility app, but it’s much more than that. The app allows you to create resizable, tappable buttons on your home screen to trigger literally any Google Assistant command—no “Hey Google” required. While it still works, it hasn’t been updated in two years.
The interface is pretty barebones, but more importantly, it’s still locked to Google Assistant. While Assistant is still technically functional, Google is clearly putting all its efforts toward Gemini. A Material Expressive facelift and Gemini integration would be welcomed updates to what was once a really cool concept.
Google Voice
Google Voice once felt like the coolest and most futuristic product ever, but it’s long been an afterthought. It’s still perfectly functional, reliable, powerful, and a staple for many people. But open up the app and you’ll see a pretty outdated design.
Compare Google Voice to Google Messages and it’s clear which one the company cares about. Voice hasn’t had many meaningful updates—if any—for a couple of years. It doesn’t even have RCS yet, which is something Google has been massively pushing everywhere else. The app gets regular maintenance updates, but that’s all.
Blogger
If you still maintain a blog on Blogger, I commend your dedication. You’re using one of the longest-running blog platforms on the internet—and it looks like it. The writing tools are ancient, the themes are incredibly boring, and trying to manage a post from the mobile app is a frustrating, clumsy affair.
I’m sure most people have forgotten that Blogger even exists. It’s clearly not a product that Google has much interest in these days. Frankly, it needs a ground-up rebuild. Google has the resources to compete with Substack and Ghost, but Blogger in its current form is woefully outdated. I’m a little surprised Google hasn’t killed it off, to be honest.
PhotoScan
Remember that box of old printed photos you have stashed away? Released in 2016, PhotoScan is an app that can help you digitize them—and it works really well. This isn’t just the simple document scanning you may have used in Google Drive. PhotoScan takes multiple pictures and stitches them together to eliminate glare. It’s far superior to taking a photo of a photo.
Admittedly, PhotoScan is still pretty dang impressive. However, it hasn’t been updated in over two years. I’d like to see a better UI and maybe some of the processing magic that’s currently found in Google Photos. I’m a bit hesitant to ask for that, though, because one thing I do not want to see is AI. Do not butcher your old photos with AI.
Snapseed
Snapseed has been my favorite Android photo editor for a long time. Sometimes, Google Photos’ tools aren’t enough, and that’s when Snapseed really shines. It’s a pro-level mobile photo editor that somehow still holds its own despite very infrequent updates. It’s the dark horse of mobile editing, but you can see the cracks starting to show.
The interface, while relatively clean, is starting to feel dated compared to other apps. Google has a genuinely great creative tool here, and letting it wither on the vine while mobile photography explodes is a shame. A major update to the interface and the core editing engine would put Snapseed back on top (but I’ll keep using it anyway).
Google has proven time and again that it can build world-class software—just look at the updates to Photos or Gmail. These five apps aren’t technically failures, but there’s definitely a lot of potential being left on the table.
