At Mobile World Congress 2018, Google announced a wider rollout for Lens in both Assistant and Photos, and new features like improved support for recognizing animals. This ability to recognize different cat and dog breeds is now going live for users.
Update: The Google Assistant for iPhone is now available on the US App Store.
As previously rumored, Google today announced during its I/O developer conference that its Assistant platform is coming to iOS. The virtual assistant will arrive soon as a standalone app for iPhone, initially for users in the US. Previously the Siri competitor was only available through its Allo messaging app and for Android and Google Home devices.
Google is launching a new initiative called AIY Projects, which will include a number of do-it-yourself artificial intelligence reference kits for developers starting with a new Voice Kit it’s announcing today. Google hopes the first project will help developers build voice command interfaces directly into products, using them to replace, for example, apps, physical buttons and digital displays currently used to control appliances and other accessories.
In this week’s top stories we round up all of our coverage from Google I/O, the company’s annual developer conference where it also took the wraps off a number of upcoming hardware and software products. Android N Developer Preview 3, the Play Store comes to Chrome, Google Assistant, the new Daydream VR platform and much, much more.
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Google shared some updates on company stats today while kicking off its Google I/O developer conference including updates on Chromecast, active users, new Android phones, Google Play installs and more.
In addition to showing off its new chatbot-style Google Assistant, Amazon Echo-like Google Home device, new Allo and Duo messaging apps, and Daydream VR platform, the company also announced 25 million Chromecasts sold, 200 million Google Photos users, 600 new Android phones launched over the last year, and 65B Google Play installs.
Head below for the roundup of all the numbers Google announced during I/O today and check back for more as the event unfolds.
Update: You can now grab the Google Trips APK from APKMirror.
One of Inbox’s most convenient features are Travel bundles that organize reservations and other related emails in an easy to read manner. Google is now testing (via Androidworld) a Trips app that organizes every aspect of your travels and offers useful suggestions.
Microsoft recently released its Cortana digital assistant as a beta app, and we’ve been able to get our hands on the preview. Apart from its Material-like design, the app looks, performs, and acts just like the Cortana on Windows Phone. You can ask it to set reminders, give you directions and weather information, or do simple arithmetic. It has its limitations and doesn’t feel quite as intuitive or in-depth as Google Now or Siri, but it has its uses.
Today we’re getting a look at an upcoming new version of the Google Photos app courtesy of some screenshots obtained by AndroidPolice. The app features a new Assistant mode that appears to replace the old Autoawesome feature with a more manual editing experience, as well as something new features and tweaks to the overall user experience.
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A couple of months ago, Microsoft released a Bing-powered voice assistant app called Torque, and now the same app—which was previously only for Android Wear devices—can be activated at any time on your Android phone itself. The app works very similarly to Google’s own “OK Google” offering, but with a twist. Literally, you twist your wrist to activate the assistant rather than using your voice. But beyond that activation gesture, the app offers much the same information as OK Google, like weather updates, sports scores, information about nearby restaurants, stock prices, and more.
A new report from The Information claims Google and HP have discussed the possibility of bringing a Google Now-like Android assistant to the workplace. Google’s Android unit has also reportedly been in talks with others about the functionality:
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