Google announces Google Pixel Watch

In the fall, Google will not only come with the new Google Pixel 7 smartphone, but also the Google Pixel Watch. This is the first time that Google itself has come with a smartwatch, which is not entirely coincidental that it has a deep integration with Fitbit. Google announced several different apps during its I/O presentation today. This developer conference is usually all about software, but this time – after a long wait – there was also plenty of room for hardware.

pixel clock

The biggest announcement tonight is the Pixel Watch. The new Google smartwatch has already been leaked from all sides, but now it’s official. It’s the first Google-made watch inside and out, and it’s due to be released this fall along with the Pixel 7. Expect a deep integration with Fitbit (which Google acquired a few years ago), which offers a variety of fitness features, heart rate tracking, and more. from sleep modes.

Pixel 7

The Pixel 7 will also arrive in the fall and Google – before the leaks started – decided to show an image of the new devices. The smartphone is equipped with the new Tensor chip (so not the Pixel 6 chip, but the Tensor chip has not yet been announced) and runs Android 13. The design is somewhat similar to that of its predecessor, but this time the camera bar is made of aluminum. There are three rear cameras on the Pixel 7 Pro and 2 on the Pixel 7, so it’s just like the Series 6.

Pixel 6 A

The Pixel 6 is the fastest-selling Pixel phone ever: it’s already outselling the Pixel 4 and 5 combined. Google now comes with the Pixel 6a, a device that costs $449 (converted €426). The look is the same as the Pixel 6 and so is the processor. The fingerprint scanner is not on the back, but below the screen and the device is slightly smaller than the regular Pixel 6: it has a 6.1-inch OLED screen (with a low refresh rate of 60Hz).

The cameras are different: there is a 12MP main camera with optical image stabilization and a 12MP ultra-wide lens with an 8MP selfie camera. The battery is also somewhat smaller: 4400 mAh. However, Google promises that it will last all day. The device will be released on July 28 and you can pre-order it from July 21, but only in the US and Japan.

Pixel Buds Pro

Google also announced the Pixel Buds Pro, new noise-canceling earbuds. Converted to €189, it has an IPX4 rating, which means it can withstand water spray. It has a sensor that checks how well the earplugs fit in your ear canal, so they can fit as snugly as possible. There is a hexa-core processor inside and you can connect it to multiple devices at the same time via bluetooth. The earbuds can last for 7 hours on a single charge with active noise cancellation, while they last for 11 hours without noise canceling. Of course, Google Assistant is also on the earbuds. They will be released on July 28 and can be pre-ordered a week in advance.

Pixel tablet

Google also announced something that won’t come until 2023, the Pixel Tablet. Tablets have made great progress in recent years, after being announced somewhat dead. Google didn’t say much about it in its presentation, except that it should be the most useful tablet in the world and that it will have a Tensor chip, but which one is still unknown.

google translator

Google has added 24 languages ​​to Google Translate, including the first language of the first inhabitants of America, as well as Quechua, the language of a people living in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.

Google Maps

Maps are greatly improved in Africa, where 300 million buildings are now registered. This is five times more than before and Google can do this using artificial intelligence and satellites to learn about new buildings. This was also done in India, so that twice as many buildings were recorded here. If you want to look inside a building, you can do it in restaurants, for example: There is a kind of panoramic view that consists of pictures.

Google Maps will give you the opportunity to drive in a more environmentally friendly way, which immediately has the advantage that it costs you less fuel. This option was already available in the US, but is also coming to Europe later this year.

Youtube

YouTube is getting better when it comes to what happens in a video. For example, you can cut a video into chapters automatically by DeepMind’s artificial intelligence. Voice recognition automatically generates video scripts for all iOS and Android users. Google is also expanding its automatically translated “Translations”.

google docs

Google Docs gets a feature that gives long text a kind of TLDR. It means “too long not read” and sometimes you see it on the internet with long articles. This is then done by the article writer, but in Google Docs you get the “Too long, not read” summary automatically. You can also give him a thumbs up to indicate that you like him (or not).

Google is dead

Google Meet gets better in terms of light and skin tone. For example, you can use artificial intelligence to better illuminate you by moving a circle on the screen.

google search engine

In the West, we don’t seem very excited about it yet, but in Google’s search engine, about 30 percent of searches in India are entered via voice commands (in Hindi). The search engine will be optimized for people who want to enter some facts about, say, a particular movie, making it easier to find a movie about which you know some details, but not anymore so called. You would normally get there using Google, but now it will do more to give you the right answer. Google Lens, which is part of the Google search engine, is used a whopping 8 billion times per month.

Multiple search

Moreover, multiple search can now be found in the search engine. You can take a picture and ask a question in the Google app. So for example a picture of a white dog with black dots. “What kind of dog is this?” And Google will answer you as dalmatians. You can also, for example, search for a specific jacket in a different color. Or you can take a picture of your empty bike tire and ask “How can I fix this?” And Google will help you find the answer.

Lens also allows, for example, to scan a shelf with products in the supermarket, after which you can see, for example, the characteristics of a particular product via augmented reality. It’s called Scene Exploration and it’s definitely something to keep in mind: this is kind of like control-F for the real world, because if you want to search for something, you’ll be able to find it faster.

Also important: Google’s search engine will work via the Monk Scale developed by Harvard professor D. Ellis Monk. This allows you to choose the skin tone you’d like to see when searching for an image of a particular person’s makeup, for example. After all, orange eyeshadow looks very different on white skin than on black skin. There are ten skin tones to choose from. As an extension of this, Google Photos adds “Real Tone” as a filter to apply specifically to a specific skin tone.

Google Assistant

You can now speak to the Google Assistant without saying “Hey Google!” need to call. If you want to talk to your smart Google Assistant via the Nest Hub Max, all you have to do is look at your Nest Hub Max, a small bell will appear in the upper left corner and you know you’ve seen it, and then simply ask a question. can be set. To do this, there are six machine learning models that process up to 100 signals to see if you are looking at the camera. Of course, all this means is that this device is constantly looking at you and that is something you can ask some privacy questions about. The assistant gets smarter, too. For example, if you want to hear a song from Florence + the device, you can say: “Play music from Florence and…” and Google Assistant will fill in itself that it should be the “Device” and start playing.

Security and privacy

Google says it will invest $5 billion in security over the next five years. In addition, it states that Gmail stops more than 15 million spam and phishing messages every day, while Google Play checks 125 billion apps. Additional phishing protection is also available in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. In addition, Chrome and Android both get virtual credit cards, so you can pay with a virtual credit card number, preventing fraud. Visa, MasterCard, and Amex, among others, will introduce virtual cards this summer.

In addition, Google announced that it will come up with a more comprehensive list of people to control the ads they see. This way you will soon be able to choose which categories and brands you want to see ads for or not. Thanks to the new tool, you can also more easily get search results with your personal information removed by Google. For example, consider websites that contain your phone number or address, so you can protect your privacy.

google wallet

A new Google Wallet has also been announced, where you can hold your phone against an ATM to pay with Google Pay. However, you can also store boarding passes, Disneyland passes and other cards, just as we know from Apple Wallet. For Americans, driver’s licenses can be placed in this Google Wallet.

There is clearly enough for Google fans, but the question is whether any of this equipment will be available in the Netherlands. As a Dutchman, you also have to get the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro from Germany or France. Pixel 6a is not even available in these countries. We’ll have to wait until fall to learn more about the Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch.