Just a few short months after the release of the Pixel Slate, Google formally announced that they were getting out of the business of making tablets. Many took this as a bad sign for the future of Chrome OS tablets, thinking that Google wouldn’t bother developing tablet-specific features. However, evidence has come to light pointing to Google working on bringing something similar to Android 10’s gesture navigation to Chrome OS tablets.
Today we’re getting a look at an upcoming new version of the Google Photos app courtesy of some screenshots obtained byAndroidPolice. 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. Expand Expanding Close
Google announced some updates for Chrome today on its blog that bring new features for both desktop and Android users. Over the next week users on the desktop will now be able to search Google for images when right-clicking an image in Chrome, but the most notable update comes in the form of new gestures for the Chrome for Android app (pictured above):
The new gestures include:
Swipe horizontally across the top toolbar to quickly switch tabs.
Drag vertically down from the toolbar to enter into the tab switcher view.
Drag down from the menu to open the menu and select the item you want without having to lift your finger.
Google said the updates for Chrome on the desktop and Android will be rolling out in the next few days.
9to5Google gave you a demo yesterday of the Archos Android-powered GamePad coming to the United States market in the next couple of months. While at the Archos booth on the show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center for CES this week, we also got the rundown on its new “TV Connect” Android 4.1.1-powered TV product. The set-top box packs a 1.5GHz “Smart Multi Core” CPU, 8GB of storage (microSD card slot up to 32GB), and 1GB of RAM, and it comes with a hybrid game controller/QWERTY keyboard that also includes Wiimote-like gesture support. The TV Connect will retail for $130 this February. Expand Expanding Close
At this point, at the very least, we already know that Google’s augmented reality glasses are capable of snapping a photo. However, we do not have much of an idea of how the UI might work other than what is in the initial concept video. Our sources previously indicated that Google was using a “head tilting-to scroll and click” for navigation of the user interface. Today, we get a look out how the company is experimenting with alternative methods of input for the glasses from a patent recently granted by the United States Patent & Trademark Office and detailed by PatentBolt.
According to the report, the highlight of the patent is how Google’s glasses could work with hand gestures. The patent described various hand-wearable markers, such as a ring, invisible tattoo, or a woman’s fingernail, which could be detected by the glasses’ IR camera, to “track position and motion of the hand-wearable item within a FOV of the HMD.” In other words, the wearable marker, in whatever form factor, would allow the glasses to pick up hand gestures. The report also noted multiple markers could be used to perform complex gestures involving several fingers or both hands: Expand Expanding Close
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