{"id":30028,"date":"2017-05-19T18:01:52","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T10:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=30028"},"modified":"2017-05-19T18:04:15","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T10:04:15","slug":"google-io-2017-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/google-io-2017-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Google I\/O 2017 is Now in Full Swing: Here’s What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Google I\/O 2017<\/a> is upon us, and as the Keynote seems to indicate<\/strong>, Google seems to have big plans for both Google Assistant, as well as its artificial intelligence systems. Without further ado, let\u2019s dive right into the announcements that were made during the I\/O Keynote<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tRead Also:<\/strong>\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\tGoogle I\/O 2017 \u2013 What to Expect<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Google Assistant <\/h2>\n

2017 may turn out to be the year of Google Assistant<\/strong> for the company as it has announced that its own digital assistant will be extending its reach in a highly aggressive manner. For starters, iPhone users in the U.S. can now download and use Google Assistant<\/strong> from the App Store<\/strong><\/a>, giving them the option to choose between it and Siri.<\/p>\n

That being said, Google has warned that due to API restrictions<\/strong>, the iOS version of Google Assistant will only be capable of doing rather basic tasks<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"google<\/figure>\n

Aside from iOS, Google has also announced that Google Assistant will also be making its way into smart home appliances<\/strong> like fridges, light bulbs, washing machines, etc. Companies that will be launching Google Assistant-ready appliances includes LG, Sony, Panasonic<\/strong>, and many more.<\/p>\n

\"smart<\/figure>\n

Building upon the expansion of Google Assistant onto other devices<\/strong>, Google has also announced that it will be releasing an SDK for the assistant, allowing developers to add Assistant capabilities to their apps<\/strong> or devices<\/strong> if they choose to do so.<\/p>\n

\"sdk<\/figure>\n

Expansion aside, Google has also added a slew of new improvements<\/strong> to the Assistant. For starters, the Google Assistant now comes with a keyboard with which you can ask it questions<\/strong>. Besides that, Google has also made it so that transactions can be performed entirely via Google Assistant.<\/p>\n

\"perform<\/figure>\n

Google Home and Android TV<\/h2>\n

Google\u2019s own smart speaker will be getting a huge feature upgrade<\/strong> within the year as the I\/O Keynote reveals an array of new features that will be coming to Google Home.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest feature that will be coming to Google Home is what Google is referring to as Proactive Assistance<\/strong>. According to Google, this feature would allow Google Home to keep track of reminders, traffic alerts and flight statuses<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

When a scheduled event draws near, the speaker itself will light up to inform the owner that an item is pending<\/strong>, after which the owner can ask the speaker \"What\u2019s up?\"<\/strong> in order to receive updates from the speaker.<\/p>\n

While the feature feels rather generic right now<\/strong>, the potential that Proactive Assistance has is something that can grow over time.<\/p>\n

\"proactive-assistantce\"<\/figure>\n

Phone calls will also be a thing you can do with the Google Home as the company announced that a new calling feature will be added to the speaker<\/strong>. Only available for outgoing calls at launch, the calls themselves are completely free as long as the numbers dialled are located in the U.S. or Canada<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"hands<\/figure>\n

The next two features for Google Home relate to Google\u2019s own Android TV platform. Arriving in a future update, owners of both the Google Home and an Android TV will soon be able to ask Google Home to show information on their Android TV<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Some of the commands that were demonstrated at the Keynote includes \"show my calendar on the TV\"<\/strong> and \"show me nearby restaurants on the TV\"<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"android<\/figure>\n

Besides information, Google is also enabling you to be able to control your Android TV using Google Home via Cast<\/strong>. While you can\u2019t exactly navigate entire app with Google Home, you can ask Google Home to perform actions like showing you what\u2019s on your DVR<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t have a Google Home? Don\u2019t worry, as Android TV will be getting Google Assistant integration<\/strong> as well.<\/p>\n

\"youtube<\/figure>\n

Finally, Google will also be adding new actions to Google Home<\/strong>, allowing the speaker to control additional services like HBO Now and Spotify Free. In addition to that, the smart speaker will finally be able to support Bluetooth audio<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"bluetooth<\/figure>\n

Android O<\/h2>\n

Unfortunately, Google didn\u2019t announce the new name for Android O<\/strong> at the I\/O Keynote. Nevertheless, the company did reveal more details as to what it\u2019s hoping to achieve with Android O, and the answer is Vitals and Fluid experiences<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"fluid<\/figure>\n

For the Vitals side of things, Google is looking to improve upon the battery life, stability, startup time and security<\/strong> of Android with Android O. For the battery life side of things, Android O will come with something called \"wise limits\"<\/strong> that is applied to background location and app activities.<\/p>\n

With it, the OS will be able to monitor and regulate its energy consumption<\/strong>, preventing it from draining more energy from the phone than needed.<\/p>\n

\"wise<\/figure>\n

With startup time, Google claims that Android O would be able to boot twice as fast<\/strong> while app launches will be faster than usual. This is thanks to the \"extensive\"<\/strong> changes that were made to the operating system\u2019s core.<\/p>\n

\"android<\/figure>\n

As for security, Google will be introducing Google Play Protect with Android O, a feature that scans apps installed on your phone to make sure that they\u2019re not malicious<\/strong>. Seeing as Google already scans apps on the Play Store, this feature acts as an additional layer of security<\/strong> for your Android device.<\/p>\n

\"google<\/figure>\n

On the Fluid experiences side, Android O will now come with an iOS-like app badging feature that highlights apps that contains notifications with a small dot<\/strong> located on the top-right corner of the app icon.<\/p>\n

By long-pressing on the app<\/strong>, you\u2019ll be able to see the amount of notifications that it has received.<\/p>\n

\"badging<\/figure>\n

Also coming to Android O is the ability to copy a long string of text by just double tapping on them<\/strong>. This means you\u2019ll no longer have to drag handles around to highlight a location\u2019s address.<\/p>\n

\"copy<\/figure>\n

Does Android O sound interesting to you? If so, then you might be interested to know that the Beta version of Android O is now available<\/strong>. Those interested in trying out the new OS while also owning an eligible Pixel or Nexus device can opt into the Beta by registering<\/strong> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Google Lens <\/h2>\n

At the I\/O Keynote, Google made mention of a number of new features that are built using the company\u2019s knowledge of artificial intelligence and machine learning<\/strong>. Google Lens is one such feature.<\/p>\n

\"google<\/figure>\n

Essentially an improved version of Google Goggles<\/strong>, Google Lens is a feature that is integrated into Google Assistant and Google Photos. With it, the camera would be able to \"understand what you see\"<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

From the onstage demo of Google Lens, the system appears to be capable of recognizing the item it is focusing on<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"auto<\/figure>\n

Another demo showcases the fact that Google Lens can also pull up information <\/strong>about a certain location if your device\u2019s camera was to focus on it.<\/p>\n

\"able<\/figure>\n

Finally, Google Lens can also save and apply information to your Android device<\/strong> as well, as an onstage demo showcases a man focusing on a router\u2019s network name and password<\/strong>, which was then immediately applied on the phone.<\/p>\n

\"apply<\/figure>\n

Google Photos<\/h2>\n

Since I\u2019m on the subject of photography, let\u2019s talk about Google Photos as it appears that Google is adding even more machine learning-based features into the platform<\/strong>, turning it into a pseudo-social network service of sorts.<\/p>\n

With the updated Google Photos, the app will now come with a feature called Suggested Sharing<\/strong>. By utilising facial recognition technology, Google Photos can now identify the people that are in the picture <\/strong>and suggest that you share those pictures with them.<\/p>\n

\"identify<\/figure>\n

Alongside Suggestion Sharing, Google Photos will also come with an option called Shared Libraries<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"share<\/figure>\n

It lets you share some or all of your photos with a specific set of people<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"choose<\/figure>\n

Lastly, you\u2019ll be able to use the photos stored in Google Photos to create physical photo books thanks to the Photo Books<\/a><\/strong>. Once the update for Google Photos goes live,<\/p>\n