Google Announcements In I/O Conference 2019
The biggest event of the year- Google I/O, its developer conference was held yesterday where app makers from all over gather to hear about the company's latest products and announcements.
It's CEO Sundar Pichai laid out the tech company's new goal: "building a more helpful Google for everyone." But this event also showcases Google's newest products or technologies for consumers, often including new hardware.
We have also included details about what was announced during the opening keynote by CEO Sundar Pichai and other Google executives.
1. Pixel 3a and 3a XL
It’s certainly no surprise since every last detail has already leaked, but Google finally made the new Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL smartphones official.The phone will come in three colors - black, white or Purple-ish - and gets a polycarbonate body, rather than a glass of the Pixel 3 phones launched in 2018. It loses the waterproofing while moving to a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 platform, with 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage.
There's no support for microSD expansion. Most of the attention will be on the camera, great AI-driven portrait mode and the impressive night sight that turns night into day. The rear camera is essentially the same as the big Pixels, but the front camera is just a single lens and fixed focus, so slightly different to the bigger models.
Google is promising that you'll get 30 hours of battery life from the new phones. The smaller Pixel 3a gets a 5.6-inch display, while the Pixel 3a XL comes in at 6 inches.
2. Search
Google Search is obviously among the company’s most important products, and Google made several announcements related to Search. The first feature mentioned was the addition of podcast support, giving users the ability to find podcasts in search and even save episodes to listen to later.Google Lens, the new visual search tool Google introduced recently, is also getting a slew of new features. The coolest example was the ability to point your phone’s camera at a menu in a restaurant and have Google Lens highlight the most popular dishes using AR.
Another example was pointing the phone’s camera at a recipe in a magazine and seeing a video of the steps played out right on your screen.
Also cool was a new feature in Google Go, Google’s search app for entry-level phones. It lets the user point the camera at a sign and have the text translated and read aloud in their native language.
3. Duplex on the Web
Google Duplex is the AI feature that acts as a virtual personal assistant. The service rolled out last year with the capability to make actual phone calls to restaurants and have reservations made on your behalf.Duplex has now moved onto your phone. Using integration with Google Assistant on your phone, Duplex can, for example, navigation through a website and book a car for you. It knows the dates of your trip and your car preferences from Gmail and history, so it can do all the work for you.
Duplex on the Web isn’t something available just yet. Google is working on it now and will share additional details later in the year.
4. The Google Nest Hub Max
The Google Nest Hub Max is a video chat device, smart speaker, and security camera all-in-one. The new device features a 10-inch touchscreen with a camera and speaker. You can use voice commands just like a Google Home.There are some other features which include: video chatting with Duo with a lens that automatically pans and zooms as you move around the room; checking in on your living room by accessing a live feed from your phone, using built-in facial recognition to see personalized calendar events, reminders, and messages and holding up your hand to pause or play video/audio without having to say anything.
5. Google Assistant
Google is making its Assistant up to 10 times faster by moving its computing onto the phone devices and letting you control it without saying “Hey, Google” every time you want it to do something.Onstage, the company showed how this new, faster assistant can help you navigate between apps like text messaging and photos in one interaction. The Assistant is also becoming more personalized with a new feature called “personalized preferences” that will recognize contacts in your phone.
6. Incognito mode
Incognito mode is coming to Google Maps and YouTube. In the Google Chrome web browser, "incognito mode" allows you to surf the web without linking the browsing activity to your Google account.The same feature is coming to Google Maps and YouTube.Soon, in the Maps and YouTube apps, you'll be able to click on your profile picture to enter incognito mode. You can watch videos or look up locations without associating that activity with your account.
7. Live Caption
An awesome new Live Caption feature adds subtitles to any audio or video source. It runs completely on the device, so no data needs to be sent or received to make it work. A live caption will be introduced in Android Q, but Google is also working on adding the feature to more than just videos and audio files. Live Caption will also support live phone conversations, and it will be called “Live Relay.”8. Android Q
Google announced at its I/O 2019 conference that there are now 2.5 billion active Android devices around the world. 2.5 billion.Android 10 is the next big Android release set to hit devices later this year.The first Android Q beta has already been released of course, but Google announced several new features coming to an updated version of the Android Q beta.Support for smartphones with foldable displays is a big aspect of Android Q, as is native 5G support built right into Android Q.
The all-new Live Caption feature discussed above is built right into Android Q, and it uses speech recognition right on the device.Another cool Android feature is called Smart Reply, and it will now work across all messaging apps on Android devices. Smart Reply predicts not just words, but phrases and even full replies. Android Q will also get Dark Theme support.