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Google announces several new security features at IO 2022

At I/O 2022, Google announced several new security updates such as a new Account Safety Status, Automatic 2-Step Verification, Virtual Cards and more.

Google’s Virtual Cards is a new feature on Android and Chrome. When you autofill to enter your payment details at checkout, virtual cards will add an additional layer of security by replacing your actual card number with a virtual number.

Further, it eliminates the need to enter card details like CVV at checkout, and you can manage it at pay.google.com.

Unfortunately, Virtual cards will roll out this summer only in the U.S., for Visa, American Express and all Capital One cards. Google is unable to offer a timeline regarding when Virtual cards will come to Canada.

Google is also giving users more ways to minimize their data footprint.

With a new tool, you can now remove personal information from Search. Google Search results containing contact details like phone numbers, home addresses and email addresses can now be removed. Google says this is partially done with AI, but that there will be humans checking these removal requests as well. The company says that this means it will take a couple of days before the personal information is removed.

This feature will be available in the coming months through the Google App, and you can access it by clicking three dots next to the individual Google Search results.

Lastly, you can control what ads you see a lot better. In the ads privacy settings, you can now select which brands you want to see more or less of. This feature applies to YouTube, Search and Discover feed, and you’ll still be able to block and report ads.

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Mobile Syrup

Nest Hub Max’s new ‘Look and Talk’ feature lets you skip out on “Hey Google”

At Google I/O 2022, the company is bringing some pretty cool features to the Nest Hub Max.

The first functionality is called ‘Look and Talk,’ which will allow users the ability to invoke the Google Assistant without saying “Hey Google.” Instead, all you have to do is look at the Nest Hub Max and start talking.

With machine learning models Google was able to learn 100 signals to process user intent, by analyzing things like gaze detection, head orientation, proximity, semantics, and even using the Pixel 6’s ‘Real Tone’ for those with darker skins. With all of this, Google will be able to determine if a user is speaking to the Nest Hub Max or someone else nearby.

This feature is coming to the Nest Hub Max devices connected with Android handsets later this week. It’s coming to iOS users in the next few weeks. It’s worth noting that you can opt-in and out of this feature if you find it too invasive.

Another feature with Assistant and the Nest Hub Max is ‘Quick Phrases.’ Quick Phrases is already available on the Pixel 6, but with the Nest Hub Max, Quick Phrases, you’ll be able to turn off lights, and kitchen timers, or even ask about the weather without even looking at the Nest Hub Max.

Assistant also now better understands when people stumble and mess up when they speak. The speaker, Sissie Hsiao, gave us an example of how she incorrectly got the name of an artist wrong and stumbled while speaking. Google Assistant understood that she stumbled, encouraged her to keep speaking and understood the incorrect name of the artist.

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Mobile Syrup

Google’s ‘Multisearch’ feature can help you find things nearby

1At Google I/O 2022, the Mountain View, California-based company revealed several new features coming to Google Search, Google Maps and Google Assistant.

Google Search is offering a new feature in the Google app called ‘multisearch.’ With the functionality, you’ll be able to take a picture of things like apparel, home goods and food, or screenshot the Google Search bar and then add the words “near me.’ Then Search will show options for a local restaurant or retailers that have it available.

Google will scan millions of images, reviews, web pages and more from the community of Maps contributors to find more about these nearby spots.

This feature will be available later this year in English and will expand to more languages in the future.

Google is also working on a new scene exploration feature. When you’re in a book store, for example, and you’re looking at a wall of books, you’ll be able to snap pictures and search for the exact book you’re looking for.

Google says it’s using computer vision, natural language understanding and the knowledge of the web as well as local on-device technology.

This technology won’t be available for a while, according to the tech giant.

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Mobile Syrup

Google using AI to bring more features to YouTube

On stage at Google I/O, Sundar Pachi announced that Google will use AI to make Youtube more searchable.

This includes 10x-ing the number of videos with auto chapters to make it easier to find exactly what you want inside a video.

Alongside this, the company will add automated transcriptions to YouTube videos on mobile so viewers can simply read ahead to find what they want in a video.

Overall, this seems like a simple update to YouTube for viewers, but it could be interesting to see how this shifts the video platform’s algorithms if this makes videos easier to search.

more to come…

 

 

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Mobile Syrup

Google introduces Google Doc summarization feature

Google is making it easy for people to quickly read long documents before a deadline.

The tech giant introduced ‘Automatic Summarization’ for Google Docs at Google I/O.

The feature will summarize the main points of a document and present it to the reader to gain a quick understanding of what the text features.

More to come…

Image credit: Google

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Mobile Syrup

Google Maps’ newest feature offers an ‘Immersive View’ of major cities

At I/O 2022, Google is bringing several new Maps features that fuse ‘Street View’ and ‘Live View.’ According to the tech giant, thanks to advances in computer vision AI, the company is able to fuse billions of images to create a new ‘Immersive View.’

Google says this is a new way to explore places you want to visit. With the feature, you’re able to soar over major cities and explore where you want to catch the sights, grab food and more. There’s also a ‘Time Slider’ feature that lets you look at the area around and check weather and traffic conditions throughout the day.

You can go down to street level and then check a nearby restaurant and even peek inside of the restaurant to look at the vibe. This feature will work on any device.

These features will launch in major cities like Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo by the end of the year.

Alongside this, Google Maps is launching a new AR Core Geospatial API to build new capabilities. The API brings Live View to developers for free. The Geospatial API will bring new features to games, parking apps, and more.

Image credit: Google

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Google Translate gets 24 new languages

Google Translate will receive 24 new languages, bringing up its total to 133.

Google says that an estimated 300 million people worldwide speak these languages.

Additionally, this is the first time Google Translate has added the Indigenous Languages of the Americas, such as Quechua, Rani and Imatra. These languages are spoken from Holloway to Bolivia.

Further, Google is adding its first-ever English dialect, Krio. Krio is an English-based Creole language spoken in Sierra Leone.

Google says it is adding the 24 languages today with an over-the-air (OTA) update.

It’s worth noting that these languages are so far only available via typing and are not audio-based like some of the other languages available on Translate. Google told MobilesSyrup there may be some errors when translating these languages to another non-English language, such as Krio to Spanish.

Finally, Google says that its Translate app now has more than 1 billion installs.

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Mobile Syrup

Google’s Pixel 6a has reportedly started production

Google has started production on the Pixel 6a, according to the tipster Mukul Sharma. The phone is being manufactured in “several Asian countries.”

The Pixel 6a is expected to launch on Wednesday, May 11th at Google I/O 2022 at 1pm ET/10am PT.

While the Pixel 5a only launched in Japan and U.S. and was delayed due to chip shortages, we’re expecting a wider launch for the Pixel 6a, and for the phone to show here in Canada.

The device is rumoured to feature either 6GB or 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, two 12-megapixel shooters and a 5,000mAh battery.

Source: @stufflistings

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Mobile Syrup

What are you excited to see at Google I/O 2022?

Google I/O is later this week, and we’re expecting to see new Android updates and unrevealed hardware. If you want to learn more about what might appear at this year’s I/O, check out my ‘What to expect’ story.

However, for this week’s MobileSyrup Community Question, we want to know: what are you excited to see at Google I/O?

While new Android features are always interesting, I want to see fresh hardware. Rumours hint that Google will finally reveal the Pixel 6a and the highly-anticipated Pixel Watch.

I’ve also been waiting for a Pixel Watch for what feels like half a decade now, so I’m excited to see what Google might have in store for us.

Last week, someone who got their hands on the rumoured smartwatch early said that the Pixel Watch’s band is the “most comfortable” they’ve ever worn. Additionally, reports indicate the wearable will measure in at 20mm and sport a crown.

Unfortunately, the Pixel Watch hasn’t appeared on Canada’s Radio Equipment listing, so it’s possible it won’t launch here at the same time as the United States.

Let us know what you’re most excited about for May 11th’s Google I/O event. 

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Mobile Syrup

Apple, Google and Microsoft to begin supporting passwordless ‘end-to-end’ sign-ins

Apple, Google and Microsoft are teaming up and committed to supporting a new passwordless sign-in standard from the FIDO Alliance and World Wide Web Consortium. This means users can use Fast Identity Online (FIDO) authentication to sign in to an app or a website using a smartphone or tablet.

The trio of tech giants envision a time when “end-to-end” passwordless sign-ins for apps and websites become the norm. Once in place, FIDO authentication reads a user’s biometric scans as a means of signing in. Users may use a facial recognition scan or a finger ID to sign in to a website or app. Alternatively, sign-ins are completed using PINs on a smartphone or tablet.

Plans are in motion to incorporate passwordless features accessible throughout the “coming year.” Most likely, the changes to bring this feature into effect will likely come as a major software update across each respective ecosystem.

FIDO authentication streamlines sign-ins and puts those laundry lists of passwords we have to rest. Additionally, biometric scans and device PINs make it more difficult for scams to succeed in obtaining passwords from unsuspecting users.

In theory, this is a great step towards passwordless ubiquity across ecosystems and platforms. The practice of passwordless sign-ins has already begun. Apple’s App Store already offers Face ID scans as a way to confirm new installs and purchases. Microsoft has also been independently working towards this future.

Via: Engadget