Android P, 'Duplex' and more: 5 major takeaways from Google I/O 2018
Google's flagship event of the year I/O 2018 is underway and, during the keynote address, a number of key announcements were made that could have a major impact on the world of technology in the coming days. It saw Sundar Pichai make some blockbuster announcements about artificial intelligence-backed enhancements to some of their core products such as Google Assistant and the Google Photos app.
Though no direct mention was made about the prevailing debate around data privacy, Pichai did allude to it when he said, "We know the path ahead needs to be navigated carefully and deliberately... And we know we have a deep sense of responsibility to get this right."
Apart from the increased integration of AI with Google's services, there were also announcements about Google Maps, Gmail and smart displays that are set to make their way into the market in the summer. Here are the major takeaways:
Android P going for the kill
Among the more important things to be announced on the first day of I/O 2018 was the Android P beta. Given how Android has become the most widely used mobile operating system in the world, and Android P is a major update for it, its easy to understand the importance of the announcement.
Being a major redesign of the Android OS, Google's new operating system comes with a refreshed look. Android P will come with a new, gesture-based system similar to the one on the iPhone X and will do away with the three button navigation system found on the current iteration of the operating system.
It also comes with a new Dashboard that’s meant to plainly show “how you’re spending time on your device, including time spent in apps, how many times you’ve unlocked your phone, and how many notifications you’ve received.”
At I/O 2018, Google also announced that Android P will be an AI-focused Android operating system. As such, it will come with new features such as Adaptive Battery that will use machine learning to guess your app usage patterns. Google claimed it found a 30 per cent reduction in CPU app wakeups to increase battery life.
Creating the voice assistant of the future
Google's voice-based personal assistant was also given special treatment as the tech giant is looking to make it a central part of its ecosystem. At I/O 2018, this AI-powered voice-based assistant, which is available not only on phones running the Android OS but also on other devices such as the Google Home, was upgraded with a number of features that make it arguably the most advanced voice-based assistant out there.
With new voices, the ability to hold and continue natural conversations and even learning to make phone calls on a user’s behalf, the new Google Assistant will help the company expand its presence in the tech world.
Google Photos
The company's popular photo editing application, Google Photos too was upgraded to bring with it some really cool features. With the help of AI-based enhancements, the editor can now make intelligent suggestions about a dark photo that needs more brightness or based on the machine-learning technology suggestion on whom you want to share a particular picture with.
It can now also be used as a PDF creator, as users can now take pictures of documents with their smartphones and have Google Photos convert them into PDF files. Another interesting capability that Google Photos now brings is the functionality to convert old black and white digital photos into colour versions.
Expansion of AI-based technologies
As has been the case with Google for some time now, AI has been at the center of things for the tech giant. At I/O 2018, it sought to expand the reach of the technology.
As such, Google has announced that its adding to Gmail a truly remarkable functionality: Smart Compose. With this, Gmail will now be able to use AI “to help you draft emails from scratch, faster.” However, with the feature enabled Google won't start drafting emails at work yet, but for now only make suggestions to complete sentences as you’re typing. Google also announced its plans to start shipping by July its first smart displays with built-in assistants.
But it didn't just stop there. It also rolled out its third generation of silicon technology in the form of the Tensor Processor Unit (TPU) 3.0.
A custom application specific processor designed to accelerate machine learning and model training, this will not only help Google in its efforts to expand the footprint of AI, but also help researchers, developers and businesses to drive big data and machine learning applications.
Google News
Google is also making significant changes to its news platform. With questions being raised over its inability to control the flow of fake news, the tech giant is now looking towards AI to power Google News. A new “For You” section, along with a new format called newscasts, will be added to Google News in the coming days. While the former will collate the five top stories of the day, the latter will give you a collection of articles, videos and quotes on a single topic.
In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, news publishers are increasingly seeing Google as the preferred platform for disseminating news.
A refreshed Google News will only help make that choice faster.