Business
Google announces new accessibility and productivity features at MWC
Google announced a new set of features for phones, cars, and wearables today at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. These features include using Gemini to craft messages, AI-generated captions for images, summarizing texts through AI for Android Auto, and access to passes on Wear OS.
The company’s Gemini implementation for image generation is facing a lot of criticism. But that isn’t stopping Google from rolling it out in a different context. The company said that starting this week, Google Messages will get a feature that lets you access Gemini in the app. The feature is currently in beta and only supports English.
Google is also rolling out a feature for Android Auto that reads out summaries of long text messages and contextualizes group chats. The feature, first announced last month, also dishes out quick suggestions for replies.
The search giant is also launching a few accessibility-related features at MWC. First, the company’s Lookout app, which helps visually impaired people with things like food labels and documents, will now generate AI-powered captions for images that have missing or inaccurate captions or alt text. The feature is now rolling out to all users across the globe with support for English. Last year, Google updated the Lookout app with an AI-powered assistant, which allowed users to ask questions about images.
Google is also rolling out improved screen reader support for Lens in Maps. Users can point their phone’s camera around them and TalkBack will read information about places and signs.
On the productivity front, Google is extending support for handwritten notes to docs on Android phones or tablets using just a finger or a stylus. You can choose from different pen styles and colors to highlight certain points in a document.
Additionally, the company is launching support for Spotify through an output switcher on the Android home screen. This means you can resume listening to a song or a podcast from one source to another source with Spotify. Previously this feature only supported YouTube Music.
Google is also updating the Fitbit app with support to get data from different sources like AllTrails, Oura Ring, and MyFitnessPal. The company redesigned the app with a new three-tabbed layout last year. The Today tab shows you data like exercise, steps, calories burned, and floors climbed. And the “You” tab shows you data from different apps along with Fitbit’s own data.
There are a few Wear OS-related updates as part of this announcement as well. You can now access Google Wallet passes like boarding passes, event tickets, gym memberships, and loyalty cards directly from the watch. Plus, you can get directions for transit by using voice. What’s more, there is an option to mirror directions from the phone or get compass-guided navigation directions.
-
Business7 days ago
London’s first defense tech hackathon brings Ukraine war closer to the city’s startups
-
Entertainment7 days ago
Mark Zuckerberg has found a new sense of style. Why?
-
Business6 days ago
Humanoid robots are learning to fall well
-
Entertainment6 days ago
2024 summer TV preview: 33 TV shows to watch this summer
-
Business5 days ago
Google Gemini: Everything you need to know about the new generative AI platform
-
Entertainment5 days ago
‘Bridgerton’: Everything you need to remember before Season 3
-
Business5 days ago
Indian ride-hailing giant Ola cuts 180 jobs in profitability push
-
Entertainment3 days ago
Hands-on with the Claude AI app: It’s pleasant to use, but janky