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Fitbit’s health chatbot will arrive later this year
Like most other corners of the tech world, Google sees AI powering the next innovations in health technology. The company’s annual The Check Up event revealed plans to expand Google Lens for better skin condition searches, add a personal health chatbot to the Fitbit app and use a version of its Gemini chatbot in the medical domain.
Google Lens image and text multisearch will soon be available in more languages
The Near Me function is coming to the US this fall as well.
Google Lens is coming to Chrome on the desktop
Google is bringing Lens searches to Chrome on the desktop, and it's improving the feature on your phone.
Google Lens' new 'Homework' filter will solve math problems from a photo
Google has been giving students — and their parents — a few helpful tools to make studying from home a bit easier. Back in May, it launched an augmented reality feature within Search that lets you view 3D anatomy models and cellular structures. The company is using technology from mobile learning app Socratic, which it acquired last year, to power the upcoming Lens feature.
Snapchat adds voice commands so you don't have to search for the right filter
Snapchat is making its camera more powerful with voice search and new Google Lens-like abilities.
Google Lens can now help you pronounce the words it translates
New Lens features help you pronounce foreign words and learn more about complex subjects.
Google Maps borrows Lens tech to highlight popular restaurant dishes
Google introduced big changes to Lens at its I/O conference last year by turning your phone's camera into a powerful search tool. With one of the key features, you could point your camera at a restaurant menu and it would highlight the most popular dishes and even translate menu items. Now, Google has made that feature much more useful in Google Maps by cleverly sourcing menu photos taken by restaurant customers, 9to5Google reported.
Google Lens now lets you virtually dye your hair
Coloring your hair is a fun way to change your look -- but you never quite know how the end result will turn out before you pull the trigger. Until now, that is, as L'Oréal has partnered with Google Lens for a pilot which offers a fast way to try out hair colors virtually.
The Pixel 4 box is hiding an AR Easter egg
If you were one of the first people to scoop up a Google Pixel 4 or Pixel 4 XL, you might want to try pointing Google Lens at the rear of the box when you receive your phone. That's because Google has hidden an augmented reality Easter egg on the packaging.
Google Shopping gets product price tracking and other useful features
Google wants to remind you that its Shopping portal exists now that we're entering this year's holiday buying season. The redesigned Shopping experience it launched earlier this year is now live in the US across mobile and desktop devices, and a new post on its blog highlights some of its newer features. One of the things Google introduced after Shopping's initial rollout is price tracking, and you'll only have to toggle on "Track Price" within a product page to get a mobile notification in case of price changes. In the coming weeks, you'll also have the option to receive those alerts via email.
Google placed 'Stranger Things' AR ads in 'The New York Times'
If you see advertisements for a mall that look like they came straight out of the '80s on today's print edition of The New York Times, fire up Google Lens. Those neon-colored ads are most likely for Starcourt, the fictional Hawkins, Indiana mall that serves as the backdrop for some of Stranger Things 3's most heart-pumping scenes. Google has been teaming up with magazines and museums to place digital information, which you can only see through its Lens technology, on top of real-world objects. This partnership with NYT and Netflix is no different.
Google Lens can tell you about the people behind local artworks
If you're sitting in a coffee shop and you spot a neat mural on the wall, you could soon use your smartphone to identify the local artist who was behind it. A new feature of Google Lens currently being tested in San Francisco will recognize the artworks you see outside of galleries and tell you how to contact the artist.
Google Lens dining and translation filters roll out this week
Google is acting quickly on its plans to bring clever new filters to Lens. The search firm is starting to roll out its promised Dining and Translate filters to Lens on Android and iOS, giving you some potential time savers. Translate is likely to be the most practical if you're a traveler -- aim your camera at text and Lens can overlay a translation in the language of your choice. The Dining filter, meanwhile, can highlight popular dishes on a menu (complete with photos and feedback) as well as use your receipt to calculate bill splits and tips.
Watch Google's I/O 2019 keynote in 13 minutes
To say that Google had a busy I/O keynote would be an understatement. There were new Pixel phones and a Nest smart display, but those were really just the start. Google also had an avalanche of AI and software updates, including a next-gen Assistant, AR search and of course Android Q. That's a lot to digest, but don't fret about catching up. We've assembled the highlights of the keynote in a 13-minute clip that will get you up to speed on Google's many plans.
Google Search adds AR and big Lens upgrades
Google is going to start displaying search results in augmented reality, the company announced today at its I/O 2019 developers conference. "Sometimes what's most helpful in understanding the world," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said on stage, "is being able to see it visually." The idea, he added, is to bring visual information directly into search by letting users take advantage of their smartphone's camera. Google said it will use a combination of computer vision and augmented reality to turn your phone into a powerful search tool, whether you're looking to shop or wanting to learn more about the Solar System.
Google Lens may add translation and restaurant 'filters'
As clever as Google Lens can be, it's still quite limited in what it can do before it points you to another app. You might not have to lean on those other apps quite so often n the near future. In the wake of an initial discovery earlier in April, the 9to5Google team has spotted evidence that Lens could soon include a host of "filters" aimed at fulfilling specific augmented reality tasks. A "translate" filter, for instance, might auto-detect one language and offer to convert it to another instead of simply copying text and asking to launch Google Translate.
