On Oct. 5, popular search engine Google unveiled the latest technology and innovations at their annual conference.
The first thing they announced was the new Google Assistant. Google Assistant is designed to keep a conversation going at all times. If you would like to see what’s playing in theaters, all you need to do is ask. You can add your own personality to Google Assistant too. Say you don’t like action movies. Google Assistant will change the movies it reveals based on your preferences. No action movies, no problem, Google Assistant will adjust movie times around action films.
In tandem with Google Assistant is Google Home, a voice-activated speaker that will work as your personal assistant. Google Home will remind you of tasks and everyday events and can answer any question via a stylish speaker.
With these two products, Google hopes to rival similar products by Google’s competitors: Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa.
After announcing Assistant and Home, Google focused on the communication aspects for their phones.
Google will be releasing their new messaging assistant called Allo. Allo learns the more you use it. Like Apple’s new iMessage, Allo can now change the way messages appear, suggest a response to a question or a picture and even make reservations to any place without leaving the app.
A lot like Skype and Facetime, Duo, the face-to-face communication application, brings something unique to the table: the receiver will see the caller before the call is even answered. Duo is available across multiple platforms, including Android and iOS.
Google expanded on software improvements, especially performance. Their software Vulcan now allows game producers to release content at a better quality and also announced their apps will download 75 percent faster.
On the security side of things, Google will now have file-based encryption. Their phones will also now be updated in the background. No more “updating” messages stopping you from using your phone.
A blast from the future, Google also announced their research on virtual reality, called Daydream. Its similar looks follow after other virtual reality devices in the market, but what’s really unique is the comfortable design of Daydream. Unlike Google’s Cardboard and other virtual reality devices on the market, Daydream is wrapped in soft fabric making for a more comfortable experience. Daydream will also have a separate remote, allowing users to change programs wirelessly from the headset.
Google is catching up to other competing companies with all this new technology and improvements to existing products. It will be interesting to see if the tech giant can break from the World Wide Web into the wide, wide world.