Google debuts Assistant, a conversational AI helper
Say hello to Google Assistant, a more conversational spin on the company’s existing mobile voice search capabilities. In many ways, it looks like the logical evolution of Google Now. By saying “Okay Google,” you can query it with simple questions, or do complex things like book movie tickets. “We think of it as building each users its own individual Google,” CEO Sundar Pichai said on the Google I/O stage today.
Developing…
For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2016, follow along here.
Google launches Android Pay in the UK
As promised, Google has brought Android Pay to the UK. The app is now live in the Google Play Store, meaning anyone with a compatible credit or debit card can link their bank account and start making payments. The Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank, MBNA and Nationwide Building Society are all on board at launch, however it might take a little while before your particular bank is up and running. Oh, and don’t expect Barclays to support Android Pay any time soon. It’s a little preoccupied with its own Android app.
Once everything is set up, you’ll be able to use Android Pay almost anywhere contactless payments are supported in the UK. It will also integrate with other Android apps, including Deliveroo and YPlan, so you don’t have to enter your payment or address details every time.
Source: Android Pay (Google Support)
NYT: Google’s Echo competitor is called ‘Home’
Google’s answer to the Amazon Echo is named Google Home, according to The New York Times. Google Home, which was developed under the codename “Chirp,” is a voice-powered assistant that can answer basic questions as you bustle around the house. The device should hit stores in the fall and Google is set to unveil the device during its big I/O conference tomorrow, NYT reports.
We heard rumors that Google was building its own Echo-like device earlier this month, though Google had previously denied it was working on a home assistant, citing privacy concerns. Google already has its footing in the connected-home market, most notably with its Nest thermostats, which happen to play nice with the Amazon Echo. For now, at least.
Source: NYT
Starz starts streaming on Android TV
ESPN isn’t the only big broadcaster showing some affection for Android TV today. Starz has launched its streaming service on Google’s big-screen platform, giving you access to Ash vs. Evil Dead, Outlander and other shows through Android-powered TVs and set-top boxes. The features will resemble what you’ve found on iOS and smaller Android devices, including both the $9 per month internet-only plan and authentication if you already get Starz through a supporting TV provider (sorry, Comcast customers). Just don’t expect it to work on every gadget running the platform — the company only promises support for “select” Android TV devices, such as Sony’s Android sets and Google’s Nexus Player.
Source: Starz
Get ready for Android N, VR and more at Google I/O 2016
It’s that time of year again. Google’s about to give developers a serious show at I/O 2016, which this year is at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View (also known as Google’s backyard). We’ll be there throughout the week bringing you thoughtful, up-to-the-moment coverage of Google’s future looks like, but until then, here’s what we expect (and hope) to see starting tomorrow morning.
Android N
Let’s start with an easy one. Google usually reveals a developer preview of the newest version of Android at I/O, but that’s, uh, clearly not what happened this year. Our first taste of Android N — complete with a tighter design and split-screen multitasking — came months ago. Expect to see Google’s first set of N tweaks get the spotlight during the tomorrow’s keynote. Are we in for a smattering of stability changes meant to make the preview a better daily driver? Or are we getting new features that expand the scope of Android’s ambitions? We won’t have to wait much longer to find out. And if we’re really lucky, we’ll get a sense of what the next batch of Nexus phones will be like too.
The future of Chrome OS
A solid chunk of Google-related chatter last year centered on the idea that Android was set to become the operating system for just about all of the company’s devices. Part of that plan, prognosticators argued, involved folding Google’s existing Chrome OS into Android proper. The Wall Street Journal reported that the final shift would take place sometime in 2017, with early previews expected to surface this year. Hell, at least a few people can apparently access the Google Play Store from inside Chrome OS already. And really, what better place is there for Google to clarify its software plans than Google I/O? Don’t expect Chromebooks or Chrome OS to die out anytime soon, though — if reports hold true, Chrome OS will go open-source for continued use on third-party devices.
Android Wear
The first Android Wear watches made their debut at I/O two years ago but, despite regular updates, the platform is starting to feel a little stagnant. Hopefully that changes this year — there’s a session on the books called “What’s new in Android Wear,” which gives us hope that we’ll finally get our hands (or wrists) on Android Wear 2.0. Alas, we haven’t heard a thing about Wear since Google showed off its curious Mode wristbands, so you’ll have to stay tuned for the show.
Android VR
Make no mistake: Android VR is going to make headlines at the show. Now, if only we knew what it was. Or, at the very least, how ambitious Google’s plans are. Reports that Android would itself become a sort of VR platform have been making the rounds for about a year. Still others suggested Google is working on a new, Cardboard-style VR headset that relies on phone screens rather than bulky, built-in ones.
Android VR will definitely be announced next week, and from what I’ve heard will be less powerful than the Vive or Rift.
— Peter Rojas (@peterrojas) May 11, 2016
There’s no telling what we’ll actually see at the show (headsets from partners, or maybe some kind of Magic Leap tie-in), but the potential upside for VR adoption is huge. While Samsung, LG and even Alcatel have made headsets for their own phones, a VR-friendly version of Android paired with cheap, Google-approved headgear could be a potent introduction to the potential of virtual worlds.
Project Tango
Lenovo is probably going to unveil the first consumer Project Tango phone at its own event in June, but that doesn’t mean Google’s space-sensing plans won’t get any attention at I/O. With a hardware launch still set for the summer, this is going to be developers’ big chance to get a feel for how Tango devices will work. (And, more importantly, how to optimize their apps for it.) We took some of those demo apps for a spin back at Mobile World Congress, and after just a few moments, one takeaway was clear — once the novelty wears off, masterful software execution is what will make or break Project Tango. Good thing there are four Project Tango developer sessions on this week’s schedule.
Rise of the bots
Over the last two years, the idea of talking to chatbots to get things done instead of using a purpose-built app went from idiotic fantasy to honest-to-goodness reality. A Wall Street Journal report from the end of last year suggested Google is working on a messaging app that — in addition to letting you talk to people — puts you in touch with chatbots that can deliver certain services or perform actions. Nothing in Google’s schedule suggests this will get much spotlight, but considering recent news about Google Brain’s ability to recognize proper syntax and piece together weird poetry, we wouldn’t be shocked to get a quick earful about this.
Not-so-surprise hardware
Google’s latest stab at a consumer gadget could be an Amazon Echo-like device code-named “Chirp,” according to Recode. While the report goes on to say it isn’t expected to launch at I/O this year, there’s at least a thematic argument that Google could unveil its work. After all, Google took the opportunity to lay out its early plans for Project Brillo — a lightweight software platform for the Internet of Things — at I/O 2015. It’s not hard to see how Chirp could fit into Google’s vision of the Internet of Things, and it’s about time for an update on Brillo’s progress anyway.
Beyond thrilled to share that Xiaomi will be a part of Google I/O. A sneak peek of what you’ll see from Mi at #io16 pic.twitter.com/GP3HHE3F6c
— Hugo Barra (@hbarra) May 17, 2016
Meanwhile, Xiaomi VP of International (and former Googler) Hugo Barra tweeted a teaser about the Chinese company’s involvement with I/O. The image shows the letters “i” and “o” made out of what appear to be media controls — if we had to guess, we’d say it looks like Xiaomi is taking a stab at its own Android TV console. Since most of those Android TV boxes also double as gaming machines, yet another teaser from earlier today adds even more fuel to the fire. Whether anyone actually bites is another story, but if nothing else, it’s a clear example of the sort of big partnerships we’ll see this year.
Self-driving car pioneers bring their smarts to trucking
One of the minds at the heart of Google’s self-driving car project has decided that his future lies beyond the search engine. Anthony Levandowski has teamed up with other big names in the world of automotive intelligence to launch a new startup called Otto. Unlike his former initiative, Otto is an attempt to build a system for some of the largest trucks that haul freight up and down our highways. Rather than forcing truck makers to overhaul their vehicles, the Otto platform will be an aftermarket kit that can simply be installed on existing big rigs.
Autonomous cars are difficult because of the various technical and regulatory hurdles that hamper testing. Otto is hoping to slim down the problem by focusing the self-driving tech on highways, leaving a human operator to handle the difficult stuff like the back roads. As soon as the driver hits the freeway, they can engage the autopilot and spend the next half hour working on their version of the great American novel.
Otto’s founders have enough experience in navigation technology to make rivals like Google, Tesla and Uber slightly nervous. The aforementioned Levandowski started out at 510 Systems building self-driving cars before Google purchased it in 2011. Lior Ron, meanwhile, has previously led Google’s mapping division for three years and, after that, worked at Motorola.
The idea of retrofitting a self-driving system onto existing vehicles with off-the-shelf components is also being adopted by Comma.ai. That’s the platform being engineered by George “Geohot” Hotz that recently earned $3.1 million in backing from one of Silicon Valley’s biggest venture capital funds. With Otto’s arrival, it looks as if there’s yet one more contender in the forthcoming mass-brawl over autonomous vehicles.
Via: The Verge
Source: New York Times
Google’s gigapixel Art Camera captures the subtle details
The ability to browse a museum’s library of art online isn’t a recent development, but Google’s Cultural Institute is improving that activity. The company built a camera specifically for capturing works of art in a way that displays detail as if you were walking up to in a museum. In order to fully appreciate a piece, you need to observe the brush strokes, textures and any otherwise hidden items up close, and that’s exactly what this high-res camera allows you to do.
Google already built library of around 200 hundred ultra high resolution or “gigapixel” images, but its looking to catalog much more than that. To help expedite the process, the company built a camera that captures hundreds of close-up images using lasers and sonar to ensure the smallest details are in focus. From there, software takes all of those images and puts them together like a puzzle. This will be particularly useful for capturing works that are sensitive to humidity and light, offering the ability to not only preserve their intricacies digitally, but to display them for years to come.
To help museums catalog their exhibitions with the gigapixel images, Google is sending out “a fleet” of the cameras around the world. What’s more, it’s doing so free of charge. The company’s Cultrual Institute also made the first thousand art camera images available to celebrate International Museum Day, and you can view the collection right here.
Via: The Verge
Source: Google
Nest’s thermostat now talks to WeMo smart home switches
Want Nest’s smart thermostat to do a lot more than change the temperature when you’re out? Belkin is about to make your day. The gadget maker has introduced Works with Nest support to its WeMo switches and the WeMo Maker, giving you an easy way to toggle devices when you’re home or away. You can switch on the lights when you get home, for example, or turn on a fan to cool down your home while you’re out. The WeMo app has control over the Nest thermostat’s target temperature, too, in case you’d rather not switch apps. All the integration support will be live the moment the latest WeMo app update arrives (no later than 3PM today, the 17th), so you don’t have to wait long to automate more of your household.
Source: Belkin
Google’s neural network is now writing sappy poetry
After binge reading romance novels for the past few months, Google’s neural network is suddenly turning into the kid from English Lit 101 class. The reading assignment was part of Google’s plan to help the app sound more conversational, but the follow-up assignment to take what it learned and write some poetry turned out a little more sophomoric.
As Wired reports, Google’s team “inspired” the poetry by giving the system two sentences from the books it had read and telling it to reproduce a new sentence based on the data set of 11,000 books it had just plowed through. The results:
i went to the store to buy some groceries.
i store to buy some groceries.
i were to buy any groceries.
horses are to buy any groceries.
horses are to buy any animal.
horses the favorite any animal.
horses the favorite favorite animal.
horses are my favorite animal.—
no. he said.
“no,” he said.
“no,” i said.
“i know,” she said.
“thank you,” she said.
“come with me,” she said.
“talk to me,” she said.
“don’t worry about it,” she said.
While it might not win any Pulitzers at the moment, the neural network’s writing homework could eventually lead to smarter, more human-seeming chatbots. Or it could even learn to do the job of countless Engadget writers. For now though: “don’t worry about it.”
YouTube for iOS now works with Google’s Cardboard headset
You no longer have to pick up an Android phone to watch YouTube videos with a Google Cardboard headset. YouTube has updated its iOS app to introduce Cardboard support, so you can watch any clip (not just virtual reality videos) using your iPhone and a low-cost paper box. You’ve already had 360-degree video support before, but this is a big deal if you’d rather not swipe the screen to view footage from every conceivable angle… or if you’d just like to immerse yourself in 2D. There aren’t any other big upgrades here, but Cardboard support may be all that matters if you’ve been itching to try VR without spending a fortune or switching phones.
Source: App Store
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