Tuesday’s Google I/O event highlighted several exciting innovations for consumers. Here are the most notable:
- A more inclusive camera
Google is developing a smartphone camera that more accurately maps skin tone by introducing changes to automatic white balance to highlight natural brown tones, and the tech giant is working on new algorithms to better distinguish the subject from its background.
This will be ready on the new Google Pixel, which is due to be released later this year.
- AI-curated albums
With the help of AI, Google curates collections that are shared with users on Apple and Facebook.
Google will allow users to control which photos they see or do not see by allowing them to remove certain images, people, or periods of time.
The tech giant is also introducing “little patterns,” that use artificial intelligence to scan images and create albums based on similarities in them such as the same wardrobe, couch, or cup.
With machine learning, Google also creates “cinematic moments” that look at two or three images taken within moments of each other, creating a moving image like Apple’s Live Photos.
- Inclusive language
Google has also introduced a new feature called “Smart Canvas,” which will connect Google Docs, Meet, Sheets, Tasks, and Slides. A new feature being announced under this umbrella is an “assisted writing tool,” that identifies “gendered items” and suggests alternatives to the user.
- Android 12
Google will unveil arguably the biggest design change in the history of Android. This update will have new privacy features that will allow users to have more control over how much information apps derive from them. A light at the top of the screen indicates that an app is using the phone’s camera or microphone. Users can also choose to share only an approximate location, rather than the exact one.
- 3D video conferencing
The tech giant also announced a project called “Starline”, a new video chat system in which the person you’re chatting to appears in 3D in front of you. This is a developing project that will probably be launched in a few years.
- Google AI aims to help identify skin diseases
Google has also unveiled a tool that uses artificial intelligence to detect skin, hair, and nail conditions, a new feature that has been awarded the CE mark in Europe and is used as a medical tool. This should launch later in the year.
For more information, read the original story in BBC.
