Facebook Launches 3D Photos Feature That Uses Portrait Mode Images From iPhone

Facebook today announced the launch of a new 3D photos feature that uses the Portrait Mode feature of the iPhone and other smartphones with dual lens cameras.

Facebook manipulates the Portrait Mode photo to display the scene in 3D, using the depth information between the subject in the foreground and the background.

Whether it’s a shot of your pet, your friends, or a beautiful spot from your latest vacation, you just take a photo in Portrait mode using your compatible dual-lens smartphone, then share as a 3D photo on Facebook where you can scroll, pan and tilt to see the photo in realistic 3D–like you’re looking through a window.

According to Facebook, 3D photos can be uploaded by starting a new post, tapping on the three dots for more options, and choosing the 3D photo option.

Facebook has several tips for creating ideal 3D photos using Portrait Mode, including choosing scenes with a clear difference in depth between the subject and the background, taking advantage of high contrast, and capturing images with some texture.

All Facebook users can view 3D photos in the News Feed and via VR starting today, with the ability to create and share 3D photos rolling out to all users over the coming weeks.

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Incredible images reveal the eye of a weevil and other microscopic wonders

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First: “Eye of a Metapocyrtus subquadrulifer beetle” Yousef Al Habshi / Nikon Small World

Second: “Fern sorus (structures producing and containing spores)” Rogelia Moreno / Nikon Small World

Third: “Spittlebug nymph in its bubble house” Saulius Gugis / Nikon Small World

Fourth: “Peacock feather section” Can Tuncer / Nikon Small World

Fifth: “Parasteatoda tepidariorum (spider embryo) stained for embryo surface (pink), nuclei (blue) and microtubules (green)” Dr. Tessa Montague / Nikon Small World

Sixth: “Primate foveola (central region of the retina)” Hanen Khabou / Nikon Small World

Seventh: “Human tear drop” Norm Barker / Nikon Small World

Eight: “Portrait of Sternochetus mangiferae (mango seed weevil)” Pia Scanlon / Nikon Small World

Ninth: “Security hologram” Dr. Harris Antonopoulos / Nikon Small World

Tenth: “Stalks with pollen grains” Dr. Csaba Pinter / Nikon Small World

Photographer Yousef Al Habshi says his work capturing small insects often feels more like photographing the beauty of jewelry than a scientific process. That approach has earned Al Habshi first place in the Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition, as announced on October 11. The contest recognized three winning images and an additional 92 entries in an annual contest mixing science and art.

Al Habshi’s winning image captures the eyes and surrounding scales of an Asian Red Palm weevil. The image was created using a stack of over 128 micrographs and reflected light. The image captures both the insect’s eye and iridescent green scales. Al Habshi works with Claude Desplan, a professor of biology and neural science at New York University Abu Dhabi, using the images to help expand the understanding of the weevil and controlling infestation.

“Because of the variety of coloring and the lines that display in the eyes of insects, I feel like I’m photographing a collection of jewelry,” Al Habshi said. “Not all people appreciate small species, particularly insects. Through photomicrography we can find a whole new, beautiful world which hasn’t been seen before. It’s like discovering what lies under the ocean’s surface.”

The 44th annual contest also awarded second place to Rogelio Moreno for an image of a Fern sorus. The image is a 10x magnification of a spore-producing structure that was captured by lighting the sorus with ultraviolet light and using image stacking for a sharp capture.

Another bug shot took third place, the work of Saulius Gugis. The image shows a spittlebug making a bubble house, which the insects use to hide in. The image was shot with a 5x magnification.

“The Nikon Small World competition is now in its 44th year, and every year we continue to be astounded by the winning images,” said Nikon Instruments communications manager Eric Flem. “Imaging and microscope technologies continue to develop and evolve to allow artists and scientists to capture scientific moments with remarkable clarity. Our first place this year illustrated that fact beautifully.”

The contest also recently awarded winners in a related microscopic video competition.

In total, Nikon Small World recognized 95 images out of 2,500 entries. Images entered in the contest came from 89 different countries.

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• How to photograph a solar eclipse (without damaging your eyes or camera)
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Here’s everything you need to know about Intel’s 9th-gen chips

After many rumors, leaks, and anticipation, Intel finally took the wraps off the first group of its 9th-gen processors this week.

The Intel Core i9-9900K processor is the star of the show for gamers, alongside some powerful, workstation-class options as well. Even so, Intel’s most recent generation of processors has only just begun. Here’s everything we know so far.

Price and release date

Intel wasn’t specific on how much these 9th generation processors will cost you at the store and instead recommended pricing for retailers who are planning on selling the chips. This means that you can find the processors for more or less than at certain locations, depending on where you are buying. Currently, you can buy the Intel Core i9-9900K at BestBuy for $530. The Core i7-9700K, on the other hand, comes in at $410, and the Core i5-9600K at $290.

As for the workstation-class Xeon Processors, Intel noted that it would start shipping in December. The Core X-Series, on the other hand, did pick up some suggested pricing starting at $590 and also goes all the way up to $1,980. The difference in pricing boils down to base clock speed, the amount of core and threads, and the Smart Cache amount.

More on the desktop chips

Intel’s first 9th-gen Core desktop chips are built for gamers and desktop enthusiasts and the firm is dubbing it as “the best gaming processor in the world.”  The Core i9-9900K is Intel’s first processor with a 5GHz Turbo Boost maximum, 8 cores, and 16 threads. It also features STIM technology, which helps dissipate heat and allow for more thermal headroom when gaming.

The cheaper Core i7-9700K and Core i5-9600K still present good options, coming with 8 cores and 8 threads, and 6 cores and 6 threads, respectively. Those come with a slightly lower base clock speeds of 3.6 GHz, and 3.7 GHz, turbo boost of 4.9 and 4.6 GHz, and Cache of 12 MB and 9 MB.

The specifications of  the Core i9-9900K add up to results, with Intel claiming that gamers can expect up to 10-11 percent more performance and frames per second in popular PC games compared to the last generation. They also claimed that video editing in Adobe Premiere can go up 34 percent faster than the previous generation, though there was some recent controversy in testing up against the latest from AMD.

The processor is compatible with the new Intel X390 chipset, and all Intel Series 300 chipsets. The new Intel X390 chipset includes high-speed integrated USB 3.1 Gen 2 and integrated Intel Wireless-AC with support for Gigabit Wi-Fi speed. Also, keep in mind that Spectre protection is built-in for the K-Series chips, but not the X-Series.

Mobile 9th-gen isn’t here (and won’t be for awhile)

Intel hasn’t announced the mobile and laptop versions for convertibles or 2-in-1’s. The company recently launched a new line of 8th-gen mobile chips at IFA 2018 in August. There were two generations of mobile processors, the first came in August of 2017, and the most recent U series and Y series in August of 2018. That is an inherently confusing and vague timeline, so it’s hard to point out an exact release date for the mobile 9th-generation chips. Desktop makers are only now introducing these 9th gen desktop chips, so more leaks and rumors might surface around IFA 2019 in February, and maybe even Computex 2019 in July.

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• How to watch Intel’s Fall desktop event live from NYC

Google Assistant will now show you a visual ‘snapshot’ of your day

When Google launched the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL on October 9, it announced a number of new features coming to Assistant — but only on Pixel phones. Now, however, it’s revealing a few new features coming to Google Assistant as a whole, meaning all Assistant-enabled phones will get them.

Perhaps the most interesting new feature is the ability to see a “snapshot” of your day, similar to how Google Now operated back in the day. Now, when you activate Google Assistant, you can swipe up on the display to see things like event recommendations, show recent notes and lists, reminders, and so on.

Next up is the ability to use Google Assistant straight from your lock screen. Because of the fact that Google learns its user’s voice, your voice can be used as a way to authenticate your identity. That means that you can use Google Assistant even while your phone is locked, as long as you opt in to the feature in your Google Assistant settings. Then, you will be able to ask Google Assistant to do anything it could do when the phone was unlocked, including asking it to show you unread emails or what’s next on your calendar.

In general, Google Assistant is getting much better, and quickly. That’s not good news for the likes of Amazon’s Alexa, which has generally been hailed as one of the better digital assistants out there, but it’s even worse news for Apple’s Siri, which has seriously been lagging behind the competition over the past few years.

Google has also started supercharging Assistant with its new Google Duplex technology, which sounds ultra-realistic and will be able to do things like taking phone calls, booking tables in restaurants, and more. To start, Duplex will only be available on Google Pixel devices, though it’s likely the technology will roll out to other Assistant-enabled phones eventually. Recently, Google also announced a new version of the Google Home app, which gives users more visual control over their smart home devices, plus it’s integrating its Nest smart home products a little more with devices like the new Google Home Hub smart display.

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Don’t install the Windows 10 cumulative update if you have an HP computer

The most recent cumulative update for the Windows 10 October 2018 Update is causing the blue screen of death on some HP devices, according to Windows Latest. Only a small subset of consumers appear to be impacted, and the issue appears to be primarily linked to a conflict related to HP drivers.

Concerns over the most recent KB4462919 cumulative update were documented on the Microsoft answers forum. “After installing KB4464330 (build 17763.55) my HP EliteDesk 800 G3 the machine refuses to boot, ending with BSOD WPF_VIOLATION,” explained post author Mikael Sillman.

The post suggests that the issue is only due to compatibility issues with HP keyboard driver. Concerned consumers in the Microsoft forum reported seeing the issue with HP Elitedesk G3 and the HP 600 G2. A separate discussion on Reddit also confirms the issue happens on HP Prodesk 400 G3 machines, though most there weren’t using HP keyboards.

Microsoft has yet to officially issue a comment on these forums, but the author of the post in the forum cites a chat with Microsoft support which attempts to explain the situation. Again, this isn’t an official response, so take it lightly.

“Actually HP computers are not the only product affected for this issue other computers as well like Dell, etc. That’s why for now, we’ve temporarily paused the update for people who seek to check for updates, to investigate an isolated reported issue and will make it available for download again once ready. That’s correct and other issue has been reported as well but our higher level of support already working on it.”

It probably will be best to temporarily pause Windows Update in order to avoid getting the bad KB4462919 update for now. However, if it already installed, your options aren’t limited and you can still fix your PC. Some in these forums have reported that going back to an earlier restore point, going to the command prompt on the recovery screen and deleting the HpqKbFiltr.sys file from the system32/drivers restored their systems to an original state.

This is just the latest headache for consumers who installed the Windows 10 October 2018 Update. Earlier in the month, some reported the loss of files, and Microsoft was forced to pull back on the release to investigate. The company has since confirmed that only a small number of users were impacted and rolled out an update to Windows Insiders which it claims isolated and fixes the problem.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Did the Windows October 2018 update delete your files? Microsoft can help
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• Windows update not working? Here’s how to fix it

Genius gives Apple Music a brainy boost with new lyrics integration

If you’ve ever wondered about the words to a given song, chances are fairly good that you’re at least somewhat aware of music lyrics service Genius. In a major move, Genius has partnered with Apple Music to add lyrics to the streamer’s content.

One major complaint users have had about Apple Music is that it doesn’t have any built-in support for lyrics. Now that has changed, as you’ll be able to find the lyrics to any of the “thousands of hit songs” supported by the service. That’s cool on its own, but the partnership goes further.

As part of the new working relationship, Genius has made Apple Music its player of choice for both the website and its mobile app. Now Apple Music subscribers will be able to easily play any music they find on the Genius website, simply by signing in with their Apple Music account details.

“Being able to read lyrics and annotations on Genius while you listen along on Apple Music is a dream Genius experience,” Genius chief strategy officer Ben Gross said in the blog post announcing the new integration. “We’re proud to make Apple Music our official music player, and we’re doubly excited to bring Genius lyrics to their amazing platform.”

This isn’t the first time Genius has partnered with a music subscription service. In 2016, the company partnered with Spotify to launch the Behind the Lyrics feature, which combined snippets of lyrics with the meaning behind them and explanations of background details. Earlier this year, Genius teamed up with YouTube to launch Song Stories, which combines clips from music videos and concert footage with informational snippets about the song in a Behind the Music-style format.

The difference with this new partnership is that Genius seems much more heavily invested in its partnership with Apple Music. This could be simply due to the fact that Apple Music is currently leading Spotify in the U.S., or we could see more from the two companies moving forward. Apple Music is currently available on the web version of Genius and its iOS app. Genius says it will have more to show off moving forward.

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Grab the Ultimate Data and Analytics bundle for $29!

Data can be super powerful, but only if you know how to read and analyze it. Unfortunately, that is the hard part and there are tons of different ways to do it which are super advanced. You could spend hours and hours researching the best way to understand the data and information that is at your fingertips, but that will just consume more time and money.

This amazing data and analytics bundle will get you nearly all the information you could desire to get started. From courses on the essential software you will need to more in-depth information like Oracle databases, SAS courses and more, there is tons and tons to learn here.

With this bundle you’ll get:

• Lifetime access to all 400+ courses
• Access to all future online data & analytics courses
• Access to experts via online academic support
• Courses on essential software used for business analytics & business intelligence
• Certificates of completion in SAS, R, Oracle & database courses
• SAS courses, including SAS Dataset, SAS Format & SAS Functions training
• R courses, including R Business Analytics, R-Studio, R Programming & Anova training
• Pinnacle data & analytics courses, including Hadoop, Cloud, Tableau, MongoDB & Informatica training
• Oracle & other database courses, including Oracle SOA Suite, Oracle SQL, RMAN, Oracle Database and Toad training

With its normal price tag of $2,099 this bundle may have been out of reach for many previously. Right now you can pick it up for just $29, which is a huge discount. The 130 courses will get you tons of great information, and when you run into an issue you’ll be able to access experts through an online support channel.

Don’t miss out on this 98% savings and be sure to pick up your bundle right now.

See at Android Central Offers

Treat your waist to a new perfectly-fitting leather SlideBelt for $47

The one belt to rule them all.

Today only, Amazon is offering 25% off select SlideBelts. These premium top-grain leather belts are only $46.50, and they usually go for around $62. Today’s deal gets you the best price in Amazon’s history for this item. There are multiple color options to choose from, but only through the end of the day.

These highly-rated belts fit up to a 48″ waist and they’re designed to be ultra-comfortable. They don’t have any notches, but rather they use a ratcheting buckle that locks in place. That means no more adding holes as you lose weight. No more punching a hole because the original ones are spaced awkwardly. No more stretching your belt out and having it loosen as you wear it throughout the day. The SlideBelt will fit you correctly every single time. You can even discreetly give yourself some slack if you overdo it on the Thanksgiving turkey.

The buckles can be switched out with additional belt straps so you aren’t that guy wearing a brown belt with black pants, too. Remember that this sale ends tonight!

See at Amazon

Save 25% on Speck’s cases for Google Pixel 3, Galaxy S9, and more

This coupon code discounts Speck’s entire product range for the next couple days.

If you’ve pre-ordered a Google Pixel 3 and are wanting to grab a case before your fancy new phone arrives, you’re in luck. We’ve partnered with Speck to offer 25% off its entire site including the newly-released case lineup for Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL as well as cases for all the Samsung Galaxy devices, and more. Simply use coupon code MOBILE at checkout to receive the discount. The code is good for today and tomorrow, so don’t hesitate.

Consider the Speck Presidio Stay Clear case if you want to show off the good looks of your Pixel 3 with its transparent design, resistance to discoloration and 8-foot drop protection. It’s down to under $30 with our coupon.

For a little added protection, why not opt for the Speck Presidio Grip case? The two-layer case with raised rubber grip offers protection from drops up to 10 feet. It’s available for Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.

There’s much more on offer — including cases for Motorola and LG phones, as well as Kindles and laptop backpacks, too — and our discount applies to all full-priced products (with a maximum of five items per order). Speck offers free shipping within the U.S. or you can get expedited 2-day shipping for $5.

See at Speck

Smart Displays finally support multi-room audio with Google Home speakers

There’s a lot going on with the Google Assistant — let’s break down the important stuff.

In May 2016, we got our very first taste of the Google Assistant with the debut of Allo. The Assistant was a big draw to Allo at the time, with Google marketing it as a helpful bot that could make restaurant reservations, search the web, and more within your conversations.

Since then, the Assistant has gained heaps of new features and expanded to smartphones, tablets, speakers, and more. Google’s shown no interest in slowing down development for the Assistant, meaning that it’s likely here for the long-haul.

Whether this is your first encounter with it or you just need a quick refresher, here’s everything you need to know about the Google Assistant.

The latest Google Assistant news

October 11, 2018 — Smart Displays getting multi-room audio support, call screening coming to Pixel + Pixel 2, and more

Google was mighty busy this past Tuesday unveiling all of its new hardware for the next year, but on top of the Pixel 3, Pixel Slate, and Home Hub, existing phones and Smart Displays have just been confirmed to get a slew of new features, too.

For starters, one of the most long-awaited features for Smart Displays — support for audio groups within the Google Home app, has finally arrived. Now, you can add any Smart Display to audio groups with other Google Home speakers and have your music play throughout your entire house on all your Assistant devices.

Speaking of Smart Displays, the new software features shown on the Home Hub are coming to all other Smart Displays. This includes the Home View dashboard for controlling your smart home devices, the ability to have Google Photos automatically put new pictures on your Ambient Mode, and support for the Nest Hello Doorbell.

Some other big updates include:

• The Pixel 3’s call screening feature is coming to Pixel and Pixel 2 phones in November.
• Google Duplex will be able to book restaurant reservations for Pixel owners later this year in New York, Atlanta, Phoneix, and the San Franciso Bay Area.
• You can now talk to the Google Assistant and get answers without having to unlock your phone.
• The Google Home app has a new “Filters” setting that helps you manage your kids’ device use and can block them from using Assistant speakers or Smart Displays at bedtime.

October 4, 2018 — The Google Assistant can now book Uber and Lyft rides

Ride-sharing services are one of the best ways to get around nowadays, and rolling out to users this week, you’ll now be able to book a ride from your favorite service using the Google Assistant on your phone or smart speaker.

Just say, “Hey Google, book a ride to Starbucks” or “Get me a taxi to John F Kennedy Airport.” You can then choose from Uber, Lyft, Ola, Grab, GO-JEK, and more, or specify the ride service you want by name with your initial command.

After selecting the ride you want, you’ll be redirected to its respective app to confirm the booking and you’ll be all set. Google says this is initially available in English in any country where the ride services are offered. Over the coming months, it’ll be expanded to additional languages.

October 3, 2018 — Google Assistant gets a complete revamp on phones

Back at Google I/O in May, Google announced an all-new user interface for Google Assistant on phones with new visual controls, deeper app integration, and more. Now, the new UI is finally rolling out to everyone.

What you’ll notice right off the bat are the visual tweaks. The Google Sans font is put into full use, there are new touch controls you can use after certain commands (such as dimming your smart lights), and everything just looks more rounded and polished.

A swipe up after prompting the Assistant now brings you to your daily overview page that was launched earlier this year, and if you’re typing to use the assistant, there’s a new messaging UI so you can easily add commas, change words, and more.

Last but certainly not least, Google’s giving developers a bunch of new tools to integrate new experiences into the Assistant. For example, you can start and complete a Starbucks order with full menu visuals, Fitbit’s Fitstar can show GIFs of upcoming workouts, and much more.

This update is rolling out now, so be sure to keep an eye out for it over the next couple of days.

September 18, 2018 — The Google Assistant can now lock your kids’ devices with Family Link

Google regularly updates its parental control suite, Family Link, with new features to make parenting in the modern world as easy as can be. With the latest update, you can now connect Family Link to the Google Assistant so you can control your kiddos’ devices with just your voice.

Assuming you’ve got Family Link set up for your family, you’ll be able to say commands such as, “Hey Google, lock Timmy’s phone” to remotely lock his device. Timmy will have five minutes to finish up whatever he’s doing, and once those five minutes are up, the phone is locked. Similarly, the Google Assistant will also be able to detect if a kid is talking to it and provide more kid-friendly responses as it sees fit.

Along with the Assistant updates, Google’s also expanding Family Link so that it can now be used with kids older than 13-year-old.

September 16, 2018 — Google details improvements made to Sound Search

Now Playing was a nifty little feature when it debuted on the Google Pixel 2, and Sound Search through Google Assistant paled in comparison to it. Google AI knows there’s still plenty of work to be done with Sound Search, but have shared some of the steps they’ve undertaken in the last several months to try and improve the Sound Search on Google Assistant and the Google app, including:

• Detailing of Now Playing’s musical fingerprinting system through embeddings to match a sound sample against a vast database
• Leveraging server-side resources and procession power for Sound Search to increase accuracy and speed of song matching
• Weighting the song sample catalog by popularity so that popular songs match quicker and obscure songs need higher levels of embedded matches to trigger a result

Google AI admits that trying to replicate the accuracy and success of Now Playing, which matches on-device against a small database, against a Sound Search sever-side database that’s 1000 times bigger, is not without difficulties that they’re continuing to work through, but they claim that they’ve already seen marked improvement to Sound Search in the last year. The challenges of identifying sounds in noisy environments like a crowded dance floor or sporting event are still being worked through, but knowing Google, it can only get better.

Read Google AI’s full Sound Search journey

September 11, 2018 — Google Assistant now supports Danish and Norwegian languages

Increased language support is always something we love to see with the Google Assistant, and most recently, everyone’s favorite AI can now speak in Danish and Norwegian.

The official Assistant pages are now live in both languages, but as we see with all of these rollouts, it may take some time for it to reach your devices. To check and see if the Assistant’s arrived for you, simply hold down the home button on a phone that’s set to either language and see if you’ve got the Assistant UI instead of the old Google voice search one.

September 10, 2018 — Disney doubles its Google Assistant content with three new games

Google Assistant can help your kids with questions about their homework or the universe, can help remind you and your kids when you need to get going for soccer practice, and it can even tell them a bedtime story. Disney is bringing a little more magic to the Google Home and beyond with three new Google Assistant activities.

• Maui’s Music Game lets kids help Maui defeat monster and reunite with Moana after getting separated from his hook in Lalotai, the Realm of Monsters. While playing, you’ll be rewarded with musical conch shells that play music from the film. You’re Welcome!
• Disney Princess brings you along on a daily adventure with one of your favorite princesses. Help Ariel learn what human world objects are called, navigate Jasmine through a horse race, and hear fun stories from Cinderella and Tiana. You can also get nerdy with Belle answering her questions about your favorite books.
• Toy Story Freeze Dance gets active with an interactive dance game that initiates you as one Bonnie’s new toys. Learn the moves and the meaning of being a toy, but make sure you pay attention, because at any moment, you could have to FREEZE! to avoid exposing the biggest secret in toydom.

These games are designed for Google Home, but you can also play them on phones and Google Assistant-enabled Chromebooks and TVs, as well as those nifty new Smart Displays. These games join Disney’s current Google Assistant offerings:

• Mickey Mouse Adventure
• Cars Adventure
• Belle’s Castle Adventure
• Star Wars Trivia Challenge

August 21, 2018 — “Hey Google, tell me something good” now dishes out “good news”

Staying up to date on all of the current news is important no matter who you are, but with everything going on in our world, sometimes it’s easy to feel like nothing good is happening. In an effort to bring “good news” to light, Google’s launching a new Assistant command in the U.S.

When talking to the Assistant on your phone, Google Home, or Smart Display, you can now say “Hey Google, tell me something good” to hear about how people are solving real issues all around us.

Google partnered with Solutions Journalism Network for this feature, and per Google, solutions journalism, “highlights how problems are solvable and that doing better is possible.”

If you’re in the U.S., you can try out this command starting today.

August 14, 2018 — Pandora Premium now supported by Google Home and Smart Displays

Users have been able to stream Pandora through Google Home speakers for quite some time now, but starting today, you’ll be able to link your Pandora Premium account so you can listen to specific, on-demand songs/playlists in addition to the service’s popular radio stations.

Pandora Premium costs $9.99/month like the majority of its competitors, but if you own a Google Home, you can get a free 90-day trial to test out the service before handing over any of your hard-earned cash.

You can start listening to Pandora Premium on the Google Home, Home Mini, Home Max, Lenovo Smart Display, and other Google Assistant speakers right now.

August 9, 2018 — Deeper, more specific news coverage is now rolling out

Pretty much since the Assistant’s inception, you’ve been able to say “Hey, Google, what’s the news?” to get a quick overview of all the big headlines for any given day.

Starting today and rolling out to users across the U.S., you can now ask the Assistant about news for specific topics, such as “What’s the latest on NASA?” or “What’s the news on the women’s national soccer team?”. Asking these questions on a Smart Display will pull up related YouTube videos while audio-only speakers such as Google Home will read out excerpts from news articles.

Additionally, this command will also be available for Android Auto, Android phones, and Assistant-powered headphones like the Bose QC35 II.

August 3, 2018 — Google Home can now understand what room it’s in for contextual light controls

That title might make this not sound all that exciting, but this is actually pretty cool.

Up until now, asking your Google Home to “turn on the lights” or “tune off the lights” without specifying a certain room would result in every single connected light being turned on/off. However, a new update now allows the Google Home to only control the lights in the same room as it when this command is issued.

For example, if you have a Google Home assigned to the same room as the smart lights in your living room, asking that Google Home to turn on the lights will only activate the bulbs in the living room. You can still specify rooms with your voice, but this update should make these interactions a lot more natural.

Following numerous Redditors discovering this feature, Google confirmed to Android Police that this is indeed rolling out to users and will be making its way to everyone over the coming days.

July 27, 2018 — You can now schedule custom routines for specific times/days

Building upon Custom Routines that were added to Google Assistant earlier this year, users can now schedule these routines to go off at a certain time/day. Previously, custom routines you made could only be used after saying a specific command.

While creating a routine, you’ll now see a new “Set a time and day” option under the “When” section. Here, you can choose the time you want it to play and what day(s) it should repeat.

There are a lot of ways to take advantage of this, with one example being to have your coffee pot turn on, crank up the AC, and hear about the weather as you’re waking up without having to ever speak to your Google Home. Neat!

July 26, 2018 — Dutch is now an officially supported language

Good news, Dutch speakers! As of July 26, 2018, Google’s confirmed that the Google Assistant now speaks Dutch as one of its official languages.

Assuming you’ve got an Android phone running Marshmallow or later, you can now access the Assistant to ask it questions about the weather, create calendar appointments, control smart home devices, and more.

In addition to your phone, you’ll also be able to use Dutch on the Google Home later in the year once the smart speaker goes on sale in the Netherlands.

July 17, 2018 — New Google Assistant page shows commute times, packages, upcoming flights, and more

Starting today, the Assistant on your phone is getting a big visual overhaul. After prompting the Assistant, tap the icon near the top right that previously opened up the Explore page for finding new Assistant actions and it’ll now show a visual overview of your day.

Similar to old Google Now cards, this page shows things like your commute to work, the current weather, upcoming flights, packages that are on their way from recent online orders, calendar appointments, and much more.

In the near future, Google says it’ll let you see a quick overview of notes/lists from Google Keep, Todoist, Bring!, and more, a discovery page that’ll help you find nearby events/activities, reminders of where you last parked your car, and recommendations for songs and podcasts the Assistant thinks you’ll like.

This new interface is rolling out today and is available on Android and iOS for all languages the Assistant supports.

July 10, 2018 — Google updates the UX for selecting the Assistant’s voice

During Google I/O this past May, four new voices were added to the Assistant’s existing male and female voices to help give it some more personality. Starting today, English users in the United States will see a new user interface when changing the voice.

With the new UX, users will now see a horizontal row of colors that denotes each voice rather than a vertical list of Voice 1, Voice 2, etc. The colors are entirely random and consist of Red, Orange, Amber, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple, and Pink.

Google says the new look should be live for everyone by the end of the week!

July 10, 2018 — Deezer Premium is now supported on Google Homes in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Italy

Deezer may not be as popular as rivals like Spotify and Pandora, but for subscribers of the paid Deezer Premium service, you’ll be happy to know that you can now listen to all of your Deezer songs and playlists through your Google Home.

Deezer Premium streaming has been available through Google Home since August 2017, but it was initially only live in France and Germany. This was later expanded to the United Kingdom in April of this year, and with this latest rollout, Deezer Premium now works on Google Homes that are in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Italy.

To link Deezer Premium to your Google Home, open the Home app, go to Music, and link your Deezer account.

The service regularly costs $9.99/month, but if you’re a new member, Google’s offering three months for just $0.99. If you want to take advantage of this offer, it’s good until September 20.

June 26, 2018 — All Google Home speakers now support Spanish

While users have been able to talk to Assistant in Spanish on their phones, we’re just now getting the ability to do the same on Google Home speakers.

Now, users in the United States, Spain, Mexico and other countries can choose to speak to Google Assistant in Spanish. If you want to change what language Google Home uses, open the Home app on your phone. The tap Settings -> Preferences -> Español.

All Google Home Speakers now support Spanish

June 12, 2018 — Google Home can now handle up to three commands at once

It can get old trying to ask multiple questions to our smart speakers — “What’s the weather” and “How’s my schedule” — but nowGoogle Home can understand up to three commands. Now, you can get your calendar, find out the weather and start playing music by only saying “Okay Google” once.

Another new feature is support for Multiple Actions. So now, instead of asking, “What’s the weather in New York and the weather in San Francisco?”, you can ask, “What’s the weather in New York and San Francisco?” This is a subtle change, but it makes conversing with Google Assistant much more like conversing with a human.

Google Home can now handle up to three commands at once

May 9, 2018 — Google announced a heap of new features at I/O

To little surprise, the Google Assistant was the star of the show for a good chunk of I/O’s opening keynote this year.

A lot of new features were announced for the Assistant, including new voices, the ability to ask follow-up questions without having to say “Hey, Google” each time, and an option for making your own custom Routines.

However, the most exciting thing was a system called Google Duplex. With this, the Assistant can call businesses and make appointments/reservations on your behalf. It’s wickedly cool and definitely one of the wildest things to come out of this year’s conference.

What’s new in Google Home and Assistant at Google I/O 2018

All the important details

Google Now paved the way for Google Assistant

The Google Now page compared to the new Google Feed.

Before there was the Google Assistant, we had Google Now. Google Now was introduced to the world all the way back in 2012, offering contextual info through the Google Now page and helpful answers to random questions with an “OK Google” voice command.

A lot of what made Google Now so great can still be found in the Google Assistant today, with the exception of the Google Now page. The Google Now page used to be home to cards showcasing the weather, information on packages that had shipped from online orders, boarding passes, and more. It’s since been replaced by the Google Feed – a collection of news stories Google thinks you’ll be interested in – and it’s definitely the biggest departure between the two services.

The Google Assistant as a whole is still more powerful than Google Now ever was, but long-time Android users like myself are still mourning the loss of that Now page. RIP, old friend.

Read more: Google Now is being left to wither and die as Google Assistant takes the focus

It’s available on just about everything

In just a few short years, the Google Assistant’s gone from being exclusive to a now-failed chat app to being integrated into just about anything you can think of.

You’ll find Google Assistant built right into most Android phones, it’s the star of the show for the Google Home lineup, and it’s even making its way into sound bars.

Here’s the full list of devices with Google Assistant

Setting up the Google Assistant is as easy or complex as you want

When you set up a device for the first time that has the Assistant, getting started is pretty simple. Accessing it is just a voice command or tap away depending on what gadget you’re using, but if you want to really fine-tune your experience, Google’s got you covered.

Take a quick dive into your Assistant settings and you’ll find options for just about everything – including your weather preferences, changing the Assistant’s voice, retraining your voice model, picking out preferred news sources, and much more.

How to set up and customize Google Assistant

Google Assistant is available in multiple regions and languages

Of course, a smart voice assistant isn’t any good if you can’t actually use it. Fortunately, Google Assistant will be available in 52 countries —adding 38 countries this year — and 17 languages by the end of 2018.

More: Google Assistant will expand to 38 countries and 17 languages in 2018

The Lenovo Smart Display is the best way to get Google Assistant in your home

Smart speakers like the Google Home and Home Mini are great affordable ways to bring the Assistant into your house, but if you’ve got a bit more cash to spend and want the ultimate Google Assistant experience, it really is worth looking into the Lenovo Smart Display.

The Lenovo Smart Display has all of the Assistant goodies you know and love but elevates them to the next level thanks to its built-in screen. You can use it to watch YouTube videos, browse upcoming weather, use music controls, and so much more.

Lenovo’s option is definitely the most popular right now, but you can also pick up a Smart Display from JBL and one that’s made by Google itself in just a few short days.

4 reasons I want a Lenovo Smart Display over a Google Home

Then again, is an always-listening speaker the right fit for your home?

However, the convenience of a Google Home (or any smart speaker for that matter) does come at the cost of privacy. Speakers like the Google Home are “always listening”, meaning they’re constantly on the lookout for a hot word to know when you’re talking to it (such as “Ok, Google” and “Hey, Google”).

This means the microphone on a Google Home is always active, but it’s not necessarily storing all the audio it hears when it doesn’t detect its hot word.

Most all speakers allow you to restore some privacy by being able to mute the microphone, but if you want to start asking the Assistant questions, you’ll need to unmute it first.

To learn more about these “always listening” speakers, I’ll pass the mic over to Jerry

The Assistant is now better than ever on Wear OS

Wear OS 2.0 is now available for almost all smartwatches, and with it comes a completely revamped way to experience the Google Assistant.

You can still perform your usual assortment of voice commands just like before, but in Wear OS 2.0, there’s now an Assistant feed you can access at any time by swiping to the right. Here you’ll see info about the weather, upcoming calendar appointments, traffic conditions, and more.

There are a lot of important updates in Google’s latest wearable revamp, but the renewed focus on the Assistant is definitely one of the best.

Wear OS 2.0 review: Simplicity, speed, and Assistant’s wearable redemption

IFTTT supercharges the Assistant’s usefulness

IFTTT (If This Then That) is a powerful online tool that allows you trigger something (that) if a certain event (this) happens. You can connect IFTTT to the Google Assistant to create your own recipes using this formula, and it can allow for some incredibly helpful combinations.

Some of our favorite uses for IFTTT and the Assistant include adding contacts to your Google account, setting your Google Calendar status to Busy for a certain period of time, and much, much more.

Getting started with IFTTT can take some time and patience if you’re new to it, but once you’re all set up and ready to go, it can prove to be a lifesaver.

How to connect Google Home and IFTTT to do amazing things with your connected tech

You’ll get the same experience no matter what devices you use

With so many devices capable of running the Assistant, it’d be easy to think that the experience you get on one gadget would be different from another. This is something that Google struggled with for a while at first, but we’re finally in a position where the Assistant experience you get on a smart speaker, for example, is the same you’ll get on your phone.

There are a handful of features here and there that still create for some discrepency, but for the most part, the Assistant you use on your Pixel 2 is the same one found on Google Home.

Google Home and Google Assistant finally offer the same experience

Google Duplex is actually going to be a thing

Google showed off Duplex — Google Assistant making natural-sounding phone calls on your behalf — at I/O 2018, but quickly noted that it was just an experiment. Flash forward a couple months, and Google announced that certain users have started testing Duplex, and a public release will be here in the next few months. Before you know it, Google Assistant will be able to book hotels, dinner reservations, hair appointments and more without you lifting a finger.

More: What is Google Duplex?

Updated October 2018: Refreshed sections about Smart Displays and the Assistant on Wear OS