Duplex, Android P and Assistant: Everything important from Google I/O
From Gmail that writes itself to an Assistant that may pass the Turing test, Google I/O brought us a ton of enhancements to its products, almost all due to its AI and machine learning efforts.
Microsoft Build 2018 started Tuesday and is still ongoing, but now Google is competing for your future attention with its own annual Google I/O developers conference. Unlike the hardware-centric announcements of last October, I/O focuses mostly on software and how to to get the most out of those devices.
Before the conference started, Google announced it had rebranded its Google Research as Google AI. That should give you some idea of its overall direction. It also announced the official version of its embedded smart operating system, Android Things 1.0.
CEO Sundar Pichai kicked things off by discussing how AI helps everyone, especially improving health care diagnoses and predictions and accessibility.
Subsequent to keynote day, we heard more about Google's intentions for WearOS and the very cool-sounding Tour Creator for building VR walkthroughs, with Ricoh Theta V on board for VR capture. And Google's Cloud Anchor multiplayer AR puts the future of gaming in your hand.
We also opine about how much better Google Lens is than Google Glass and wonder if he smarter, more human-like Google Assistant just left Amazon Alexa in the dust?
Google Assistant
Google's competitor to Amazon Echo is now 2 years old; even younger if you start counting from when the first hardware product, Google Home, became available. This year, it gets a slew of new capabilities, a lot of them coming this summer:
- It can speak in six new voices, including John Legend
- In the future, it might converse more like we do, thanks to Duplex
- The ability to perform two actions on a single command and continued conversation
- And it can train your kids to be more polite
- LG has embedded it in some of its TVs
- YouTube will be coming to Smart Displays
- You can now fully customize Google Routines
- On phones, you can now order carryout and lots more
- JBL Link Bar builds Android and Google Assistant into a sound bar
- You no longer need to "ask" Whirlpool appliances
- Forget smart speakers, now use Smart Displays
- Or heck, six ways Google Assistant just got better
And now Google Assistant gets native controls for ovens, coffee makers and a whole host of smart home products.
Android P
Google released the developer preview of Android P in March, but a lot can change in a few months. Today we saw the official update of Android P, along with some new features:
- Adaptive battery to improve life
- AI-driven auto brightness, Adaptive Brightness
- App Actions predict your next task
- New system navigation for multitasking and one-handed use, using gestures and vertical controls
- And Google wants to help with your digital well-being, delivering the stats on your screentime and more to help fight your phone addiction.
To help drive machine-learning use in applications, Google rolled out ML Kit. You can install the beta right now. And not just on Google's phones, but on the others, too.
See also
Google apps
Here are the enhancements you'll be seeing in its mobile apps:
- Maps texts ETAs
- And Maps does tons more
- Gmail will now autocomplete your entire email
- Photos will suggest actions for you to perform with photos and more
- A Google News overhaul incorporates AI everywhere for better, more well-rounded delivery
- Google Lens comes to the camera apps on a bunch of non-Google phones, adds smart text selection and more
Android P will give Android gestures like the iPhone X: Google's vision of Android P is now a lot less hazy. But the company still won't tell us what the "P" stands for.
Google's Duplex could make Assistant the most lifelike AI yet: Experimental technology called Duplex, rolling out soon in a limited release, makes you think you're talking to a real person.