6 key takeaways from Google I/O 2018
What's the story
Google I/O 2018, the company's annual developer conference, has just concluded in California.
The three-day event saw Google updating a barrage of products and services to make them smarter, better, and more user-friendly.
Further, Google CEO Sundar Pichai clearly highlighted how the company is looking to become AI-first.
Here are six key takeaways from the conference.
Google Assistant
Google Assistant stole the show with Duplex
Several updates were announced to the Google Assistant. It is getting six new voices, new app integrations, and a feature to teach kids good manners.
But the most important of all was Duplex, which is essentially the AI's the ability to talk to a real person.
In a stunning live demo, Google Assistant made a real, natural-sounding phone call to book a salon appointment.
Android P
The ambitious overhaul that is Android P
Android P beta version was made public at the conference. There're two major changes in the OS: it is optimized to help you use your phone less and it gets gesture navigation control.
A new dashboard lets you set limits on app usage.
Further, you'll now half swipe up to go to app overview and full swipe up to go to the app tray.
Google Maps
Google Maps becomes more social
Google Maps has updated its walking navigation feature. While earlier users kept confused regarding which direction the "blue dot" wanted them to head towards, now Maps displays arrows on the screen to point out the way.
It has also become an AI-powered personalized service offering customized recommendations based on location.
You can also text someone your ETA while using the turn-by-turn driving directions feature.
Google Lens
Google Lens gets native camera support, new features
Google Lens is getting native support for the camera app.
It can recognize what's in images and then search the web for more information on it, scan text in real-time, and power an AR version of Street View in Google Maps.
You can also point your phone's camera at an item of clothing and Lens will look for other similar items on the web.
Information
Google Photos is doubling down with AI
Google Photos becomes smarter and more efficient. It can now change the color of only one section of an image or colorize a black and white photo with a single tap. Further, it can also turn a photo of a document into a PDF file.
ARCore
Share AR experience across devices
ARCore, Google's AR app development SDK on Android, has been updated with a new feature called "Cloud Anchors."
It allows users to share AR experiences across multiple phones (even iPhones!).
This was demonstrated by Light Board, a game in which two players could walk around an AR experience together to shoot missiles. This could totally shoot up the engagement of games like Pokemon Go.