Google I/O 2018: Android P, Google News, Google Lens and more.
The Google Assistant will soon speak with John Legend's voice, Android P gets gestures and Google Lens analyses the environment in real time. This and all the other highlights from Google's developer conference.
Artificial intelligence was once again the focus of Google's developer conference in Mountain View. It finds its way into practically all of the search giant's products. The keynote speech, which lasted around two hours, was packed with news - even if there were no real hits.
Android P
For once, the beta is not only available for Google devices. Nokia, OnePlus, Sony etc. are now also among the lucky ones. Here is the complete list of supported devices. The beta is available now.
Adaptive Battery
Recognises which apps you need soon and which you need later or only rarely. As a result, the CPU should wake up 30 per cent less and the device should save battery.
App actions and slices
App Actions are like shortcuts. The feature predicts apps and actions that users normally use or perform and makes them just a touch away.
Slices shows extracts from apps in the search bar. Using the example of the Lyft transport service, it was illustrated how the most important information such as duration and price from the app are automatically displayed directly in the search bar when a "Drive me home" action is performed.
Gestures [[image:13911687]]
As leaks have already indicated, there are gestures in Android P. Instead of the three familiar buttons "Back, Home and App overview", only a dash is shown for the home button and, depending on the context, a small dot for the back button. Swiping up over the virtual home button opens apps and swiping up twice opens the app drawer. The gestures work in every app. Swiping left and right switches between the open apps. In this app overview, text passages can even be targeted and used for further commands.
Display rotation
The display can be rotated manually despite the autorotate being locked. If the display is rotated, a button simply appears that rotates the display after all.
The colleagues from The Verge provide a nice video overview.
Google Assistant
New voices
The Google Assistant is available on most Android smartphones, Android TVs, various smart speakers, etc. At home. Six new voices have been added to the existing two. Not including one very special one: John Legend. The singer will also find his way onto the Google Assistant this year - "in certain context". It is not clear exactly what this means. John Legend will hardly have a complete vocabulary like the other voices.
Source: The Verge
More natural and complex conversations
Instead of saying "Hey Google" before every command, you will soon be able to continue speaking without an intermediate command. Continued Conversation is the name of the feature that will be activated as an option in the coming weeks. The Assistant will also recognise several commands or questions at the same time. For example, you can play music and send a message - in one sentence. This was demonstrated in Google Maps. The Assistant is finally finding its way there too. Until now, the old voice control was still to be found there.
Assistant makes telephone reservations
Hotline bots are nothing new. In the future, Google Assistant will be able to make calls independently and arrange appointments, for example. Real calls were played in the demo. They were complex dialogues that seemed absolutely human. Google Duplex is the name of this impressive feature.
Direct control
Whether it's the temperature from the smart thermostat at home or ordering a coffee at Starbucks, both can be controlled directly via the Assistant. Coming in summer
.
Healthier smartphone use
Digital Wellbeing is the name of Google's initiative for a healthier use of smartphones. The associated app uses a dashboard to show how often you use your mobile, when it is unlocked, it reminds you to take a break between all the YouTube videos, and so on. Or apps are greyed out to visually show you to take a break. Similar apps already exist. However, Google wants to use its data about us to provide targeted tips.
Do not disturb
This function now also stops visual interruptions. Simply turn the smartphone round and Shush is active. Emergencies or important contacts can still get through
.
Wind Down
Wind Down is a timer function that slowly greys out the display to signal: Hey, time to sleep.
Digital Wellbeing is due to be released this week.
Google Photos
Suggested Actions
This function automatically makes suggestions in Google Photos based on image information that can be activated with one click. A few examples:
- Sharing photos with the person in the image
- Auto-correction of photos that are too dark
- Convert documents directly into a PDF
- Colourise old black and white photos etc.
Google News
Google News has been completely redesigned - both in terms of content and appearance. Thanks to A.I., Google continuously searches the web for content of interest to users - both locally and internationally. YouTube videos and podcasts are now also shown.
Newscast
Newscast is a feature that collects information on a specific topic from various sources and summarises it nicely.
Full Coverage
Another exciting feature that illuminates topics from as many perspectives as possible to show a complete picture. Timelines, critical questions, analyses, fact checks, pros/cons, etc.
Newsstand
The app, which was a mixture of news and magazine, is integrated into Google News. You can directly subscribe to newspapers etc with one click. Provided you have stored your payment information.
The update will be rolled out in 127 countries next week.
Google Maps
The map app has a new tab For You, which shows interesting restaurants, places etc. in the vicinity. It doesn't just consult good reviews from other users. Thanks to machine learning, a personal value is calculated, similar to Netflix for films, which is intended to make more accurate predictions.
Different restaurants can be saved with a long press. They are displayed visually as a small bubble at the edge of the display. The list can then be shared directly with friends.
Google Lens [[image:13911696]]
The function that analyses snapped photos and provides relevant information has been expanded. Previously, its use was very limited. Google Lens can analyse in real time using machine learning and cloud GPUs. In Google Maps, for example, the surroundings can be viewed live through the camera and the information is shown directly on the display.
Smart Text Selection
Take a photo of any text passages and Lens provides context information on the words or sentences
Lens will also be integrated into the camera app of various third-party manufacturers and is therefore no longer reserved for Pixel owners only.
The updates are to be rolled out in the coming weeks.
Gmail
Smart Compose
Smart Compose automatically suggests sentences. It understands the context of the email and provides suitable suggestions and addresses. Will probably only be available in English for the time being.
What wasn't discussed during the two-hour keynote was Google Chat, Wear OS, VR and especially the supposed social gaming platform.
If you have time: You can watch the whole keynote here.
Being the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.