Google wrapped up its annual I/O keynote yesterday led by CEO Sundar Pichai. Pichai talked about the new developments at Google and gave us a glimpse of what’s to come. Here’s all that was announced.
Smart Compose in Gmail
Just last month, Google unveiled a refreshed look to Gmail. Now, when composing an email, Gmail will soon suggest phrases related to the subject and assist in the easy writing of emails.
Updates to the Google Assistant
Google Assistant is now available on more than 500 million devices. The Google Assistant will soon be more “naturally conversational.” It will come with six new voices (including one with John Legend’s), the ability to have a natural back-and-forth conversation without repeating “Hey Google,” and carry out multiple actions at once.
An addition for kids included the Google Assistant being able to understand and encourage polite conversations.
The Google Assistant will soon be able to actually call businesses and make reservations or appointments for you. It can understand fast speech and complex sentences and respond naturally to follow up questions. After the appointment is scheduled, it’ll show you a notification about it.
Google News
The new Google News uses AI and Machine Learning to take a constant flow of information in real time and analyze it into storylines. It makes you aware of the situation and helps you understand the full story.
The newly redesigned app consists of a “For You” section that recommends the top five stories for you. It also has “Full Coverage” if you want to know more about the story. You’ll see headlines from different sources, videos, FAQs, social commentary, and a timeline of stories as they occurred over time.
Lastly, it has a Newsstand tab where you can find and follow the news sources you prefer, and even discover new ones.
Android P
Android P is based on three key points:
- Intelligence
- Simplicity
- Digital wellbeing
Android P will feature a new adaptive battery saving feature, which will use machine learning algorithms to figure out which apps you use the most at particular times of the day, to give more priority to them. On top of that, all lower priority CPU wakelocks will be processed on the lower powered cores of your CPU to increase your overall battery life. This results in a 30% reduction of CPU wakeups.
Auto brightness doesn’t take into account personal preferences. It learns how you prefer the brightness slider. Google says that they have made improvements to how the auto-brightness works in Android P, adding that they have applied machine learning algorithms to predict the amount of brightness that you prefer when in certain locations.
It goes from predicted apps to predicted actions in the launcher based on usage patterns. Google reported that it can predict the next app that you will select from the menu with 60% accuracy. Adding on to the predictions, apps can now add certain actions to the suggestions list. For example, a call action or a playlist action can be added as suggestions while opening the app menu.
Slice API
Google has introduced a new Slices API for developers to integrate parts of their app inside various other parts of the OS. For now, it has been kept to inside the Google app. One example that Google showcased is that when a user searches for directions to home, they get a suggestion for booking a cab to their destination along with the expected cost if the app is installed on the user’s device.
App Actions
With Android P, Google is introducing an App Actions API. Actions let users quickly dive into an app’s functionality throughout the OS, and they’re powered by AI. For example, if you plug in your headphones, Android might present you with a button to play your recent playlist.
Revamped Navigation
Google noted how usage patterns over time have changed, and have added a new, intuitive gesture-based navigation system to Android P. It consists of a single home button, which can be used to do various other things using certain gestures. For example, swiping up from the home button takes you to an app overview mode, where you can swipe between apps and also copy text right from the overview app. You also get suggestions while in overlay mode.
Vertical Volume Bar
Google has now switched the default behavior of the volume rocker to change the output level of the media that is being played, instead of controlling the notification sounds.
Dashboard
Google has introduced a dashboard in Android P, which shows you all your activities on your device on a given day. It shows you the apps you frequent, the number of times you unlock your phone, and other such activities. This gives you an idea about your smartphone usage and helps you make informed choices about your usage patterns.
Wind-down Mode
Bright light has been found to cause erratic sleep patterns. As a part of Google’s larger digital wellbeing campaign, you can now set a goal for going to sleep inside your Google Assistant. As you approach your sleep time target, the screen fades out to a grayscale mode, which eases the strain on your eyes and aims at ensuring that you go to bed at the right time.
Shush
It’s a common habit to flip your phone when you are busy and don’t need to be distracted by notifications turning on your screen. Google has now introduced a feature in Android P, where flipping your phone on a flat surface triggers a shush mode, where all distractions are silenced. However, important notifications such as starred contacts or repeat callers will be allowed. This can be customized from the settings screen for the shush mode.
Beta Rollout
Thanks to changes in Android Oreo such as Project Treble, it is now easier for developers to create Android P images for devices. Google has rolled out the Android P beta to 7 devices, and they can be found here.
