Google I/O Recap

Lots going on at Google I/O today. First off, as expected, they announced the Pixel 7a with face unlock for $499. At that price, it is by far the cheapest handset to run Google’s latest Tensor G2 chip. Google has also given the 7a a bigger battery with a claimed life of 72 hours if you run in Extreme Battery Saver mode. 

Besides the Pixel, Google is adding to its image search function…new features to make it easier to spot altered content. There will soon be an ‘about this image’ option that may help users to determine if a pic was altered by AI. 

Google has now ended the Bard waitlist, making the English version of the chatbot open to all using English. This includes 180 countries and territories. Google says they are holding off on some other languages as a safety measure. Also, Google announced that it will soon be adding multimodal content to Bard, meaning that it can deliver answers in more than just text. “Coming soon, Bard will become more visual both in its responses and your prompts. You’ll be able to ask it things like, “What are some must-see sights in New Orleans?” — and in addition to text, you’ll get a helpful response along with rich visuals to give you a much better sense of what you’re exploring.” 

Google Maps now has a new ‘Immersive View for Routes’ feature. It includes details about traffic simulations, bike lanes, complex intersections, parking and more. 

They have added AI to Google Magic Editor, which will allow for more complex edits to specific parts of photos. You can even reposition the subject for better framing in your photo. 

Workspace is also getting some AI muscle to make it smarter, and they have added automatic table generation (not that it doesn’t include formulas) in Sheets and image creation in Slides and Meet. Basically, that’s custom backgrounds for Meet. 

I’m Clark Reid, and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.