At Google I/O we got to see the Pixel 6a, an unexpected tablet appeared, Google showed up with a Pixel 7 teaser and there was also augmented reality glasses. These are all the smaller announcements that you really should be aware of.
Improvements for Android phones and tablets
- RCS and Google Messages: With RCS you can use rich chat functions in Google Messages and these have long been encrypted in one-on-one conversations. Google will now also enable encryption in group conversations. An open beta will follow later this year.
- Improved tablet apps: Google will optimize 20 of its apps for tablets, so that the extra screen space is used well. It certainly concerns YouTube Music, Google Maps and Messages. Furthermore, other well-known services will also improve their apps for tablets this year. These include: TikTok, Zoom and Facebook. That’s in addition to the improvements for tablets in Android 12L and Android 13.
- New languages in Translate: There are 24 new languages for the app out of a total of 133 languages in Translate.
- Multisearch: Of Multisearch for Google Search you can view search results based on both an image and text. Now you can use your location as an extra factor. For example, let’s say you use an image of “dragon eye” sushi pieces along with the search term “sushi restaurants” and a location. Google will then show you all the sushi restaurants near that location where they have dragon eyes pieces like the one in your picture.
New in Wear OS
- Google Wallet: This Google service isn’t just making a comeback on phones, but it’s coming to watches. It works first with debit cards.
- Google Assistant: The Assistant should work faster and the feature will soon also come to the Galaxy Watch 4. When that is the case, Google has not announced.
- More apps: Google states that we can now expect new apps from Spotify, Adidas Running, LINE and KakaoTalk. Apps from SoundCloud and Deezer are coming later this year.
Making smart devices work together
- Chromecast: you will soon be able to cast from your phone to more types of devices. Google mentions Chromebooks and cars.
- Shared clipboard: Soon you can copy text, an image or url on your phone and then paste it on your tablet.
- Fast Pair: With Fast Pair you could quickly pair a bluetooth device with your phone. Fast Pair will eventually also support other devices, such as smart home devices that work with the Matter standard.
Skin color and Google
- Skin tones in Google Search: Google wants to provide relevant search results for people of all skin colors. For example, when you’re looking for inspiration for makeup, those styles differ depending on your skin tone. People with a dark shade will soon be able to select their skin color in Google Images to get relevant results. Google uses the Monk Skin Tone scale of Professor Ellis Monk to accommodate all different skin tones.
- Skin tones in Google Photos: Google launches so-called Real Tone filters with which you can edit photos. These filters are made to represent all skin tones in a realistic way. The feature will be rolled out in the coming weeks.
Google Workspace
- portrait restore: When you are barely visible during a Meet meeting due to the bright backlight, Meet automatically improves the image.
- portrait light: Meet can now improve the exposure of your webcam image in real time. You can make your video feed brighter and also determine the position of the incident light.
- To filter out echoes: Do your colleagues hear a disturbing reverberation noise when you’re in a video meeting with them? Meet will now automatically filter out that noise.
- Live Sharing: If you share media in Meet, you can now let meeting participants control that media themselves.
- Automatic transcriptions: Meet will make automatic transcripts of meetings. These are intended for people who were unable to attend the meeting. This feature is expected to work in English only.
- Automatic summaries: In Google Chat, Google will display a summary of the conversation in spaces at the top. Those summaries are generated automatically.
- Malware and Phishing Alerts: These notifications were already visible in Gmail, but they now appear in other Workspace services. Google calls Sheets, Docs, and Slides.
More news about Google I/O
With this list, we’ve tackled the small but interesting things, but there’s also a lot of big announcements made. Google introduced the Pixel 6a and the Pixel Buds Pro and we got to see a lot of teasers. From the Pixel Watch that was already expected to a Pixel tablet, augmented reality glasses and the Pixel 7 series. Find out all about the most important announcements at Google I/O 2022 here.
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– Thanks for information from Androidworld. Source