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Google Cast beams Daydream VR to your TV
As slick as Google's Daydream VR can be at times, there's a simple problem: you can't easily share your experiences with others. That's about to get better. When the Daydream 2.0 Euphrates update arrives, it'll include support for Google Cast -- if you want to share a game or a 360-degree video on your TV (or other video devices), you just have to pick a source and start streaming. You won't usually get the immersive stereoscopic effect, of course, but this could be important for everything from education to social situations.
Android O has emoji you'll actually recognize
Ever since KitKat, Android's standard emoji have used minimalist blobs to represent people. They're unusual and cute, but that gumdrop look isn't usually what you associate with emoji -- just about everybody else uses circular shapes. And that can create real problems if you send an emoji that doesn't convey the same meaning on your friend's phone. Thankfully, Google has seen the light. Android O will include more conventional (not to mention more recognizable) emoji, complete with gradients and a wider range of colors. They're not as distinctive, but they make considerably more sense.
Google I/O 2017 by the numbers
It was an exciting few hours in Mountain View California on Wednesday when Google took over the Shoreline Amphitheater for its annual I/O Developers Conference. The company announced a bunch of updates to its AI efforts (including Google Assistant), previewed some of the features of the Android O beta, and announced that 360 degree YouTube videos are coming to your living room. Numbers, because how else will you know how much you need to save up for the new standalone Daydream headset?
Google Photos' improved AI pesters you into sharing pictures
Google is adding ways to make photo sharing from Google Photos a lot easier. And guess what? It's powered by AI. The feature is called Suggested Share, which will remind you to share photos and even suggest the people you should share them with. The app will have a new sharing tab; it will rifle with all the stuff you've taken and then use machine learning to discover who you should send them to. And to ensure sharing happens regardless of recipient, Photos uses SMS to send shareable links, no app install required for your friends.
Google Home is getting proactive assistance and visual responses
Google Home was a decent first stab at taking on Amazon's Echo, but there's clearly room for improvement. Today at during the opening-day I/O keynote, the company revealed that its smart speaker will soon be able to give you proactive notifications, like alerting you to traffic delays ahead of upcoming appointments. Google Home will light up to let you know it has an alert for you, so it thankfully won't just start talking without any prompting. Additionally, you'll soon be able to see visual responses to your Home queries on all of your devices. So, for example, if you ask for directions somewhere, you'll get that routed straight to your phone.
What to expect at Google I/O 2017
For the second year running, Google's massive I/O developer event will take place at the storied Shoreline Amphitheater, right around the corner from the company's Mountain View headquarters. Last year's conference had a host of major announcements worthy of such a high-profile venue -- it's where Google Home, the Google Assistant and the Daydream VR headset were all introduced. But this year, things seem like they'll be a little quieter, at least in terms of big consumer-facing hardware. It'll probably be a year of refinement, where big initiatives continue to be polished. We'll be there all three days this year, bringing you breaking news, analysis, interviews, videos and more. Without the benefit of a crystal ball, here's what we think we'll be talking about this week.
Audi and Volvo go all-in on Android
Audi and Volvo are making a very public commitment to Google after pledging to build Android into their next generation of cars. Rather than simply enabling your smartphone to interact with the vehicle, Google's software will be the operating system for these car's infotainment units. Users will, potentially, be able to use a wide variety of Android-specific apps on their whips, as well as use Google Maps for navigation. In addition, drivers will be able to control their AC, sunroof and windows from the same console that they find a new Spotify playlist or chat to their (Google) voice assistant.
Google is still adding basic chat features to Allo
Slowly, Google is bringing its Allo chat app's basic functionality up to speed with the likes of iMessage and Telegram. The application's latest update adds the encrypted incognito mode to group chats (previously it was only available in one-on-one conversations). As Droid Life notes, you can even set an expiration timer for when your conversation goes out of incognito mode. Then there are link previews, which many other chat apps have had for awhile now. But hey, having Assistant in your chats from the get-go was impressive, right?
Google I/O 2017 returns to Mountain View from May 17th - 19th
Once again, Google isn't straying too far from its home turf for its annual I/O conference. Like last year it'll be held at Mountain View's Shoreline Amphitheatre. It'll be a bit around the same time again too, running from May 17th to the 19th, according to 9to5 Google. The tech juggernaut is going about this reveal in a rather nerdy way, too.
