Update: Check out Here’s how Qualcomm-powered Wear OS watches will take on Apple Watch for a more in-depth, detailed follow-up report on this story. Qualcomm is working on new chips for Wear OS smartwatches, according to a report from Wareable on Tuesday. “You will see this new platform, this new architecture, significantly improve the look and …
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Ricoh Theta V is ready to take on your Google VR Tours
Google announced the browser-based Tour Creator, for roll-your-own VR walkthroughs, at its Google I/O developer conference this week. But if you want to create your own 360-degree content, you’ll need a camera that works with it. Out of the gate, Ricoh says it’s ready for you with its Ricoh Theta V, an existing 360 camera that will work with the …
Read More »Google Duplex lets a robot make phone calls for you (The 3:59, Ep. 399)
On this podcast, we talk about: Google’s experimental Duplex technology that empowers Assistant to make calls on your behalf to book appointments or make reservations, with a shockingly realistic pattern of speech. Google Home’s new continued conversation setting, which may end the days of parroting “Hey, Google” when you want to keep asking questions. Android P‘s measures to help you …
Read More »Google Tour Creator lets schools make their own VR stories
Will my 9-year-old start making VR projects when he’s in junior high? I think it’s likely, after seeing what Google has in store with Tour Creator. The tool is a surprise announcement at this year’s Google I/O conference aimed at the education market, and unlike previous educational VR efforts, this one’s about creating. Google’s first educational dives into VR, years ago, …
Read More »Google’s Wear OS watches get serious about better battery life
Odds are, the next big wave of Google smartwatches are coming later this year. In the meantime, Google’s updating Wear OS (formerly Android Wear) with a few key upgrades. In addition to a better on-board Google Assistant, Google’s added battery-saving functions to the new developer build of Wear OS, the company announced Wednesday. The key parts of that involve re-enabling …
Read More »How to get all of Google Assistant’s new voices right now
Tuesday, at the I/O 2018 conference, Google announced that users would soon be able to choose among six new voices, including the voice of John Legend. These new voices are powered by WaveNet, an AI-based voice synthesizer created by DeepMind, a subsidiary of Google UK. Now playing: Watch this: Give Google Assistant a new voice 1:41 WaveNet lets Google simulate entire …
Read More »How to enable Gmail’s new offline mode
Good news, Gmail users: You no longer have to be online to read, reply to and compose messages. At yesterday’s Google I/O conference (which also made Android P available to beta testers), Google flipped the switch to finally, finally allow offline mail. Ready to give it a try? First things first: This is available only for Chrome users. Second, you’ll …
Read More »Duplex, Android P and Assistant: Everything important from Google I/O
Microsoft Build 2018 started Tuesday and is still ongoing, but now Google is competing for your future attention with its own annual Google I/O developers conference. Unlike the hardware-centric announcements of last October, I/O focuses mostly on software and how to to get the most out of those devices. Before the conference started, Google announced it had rebranded its Google …
Read More »Here’s how Qualcomm
If a new Apple Watch debuts this fall, Google is likely to have a major new smartwatch (or watches) debuting right alongside it, powered by Qualcomm chips. Pankaj Kedia, senior director and business lead for Qualcomm’s Smart Wearables Segment, said as much yesterday in a story reported by Wareable. But I sat down at Google’s I/O developers conference with Kedia and …
Read More »How to get Android P beta right now
Android P is coming. Google’s next operating system will support navigational gestures similar to the iPhone X’s and employ sophisticated AI to help extend battery life. No, it doesn’t have a name yet — Android Plum? Peppermint? Parsnip? — or a release date, but the good news is you can get the Android P beta right now. Just head over …
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