Google Unveils Android Update, Lets Gemini Remember Where You Put Things

Google unveiled its September "Android Drop" update and said it would expand everyday assistance features through tighter integration between Gemini and Android. The update focuses on strengthening Gemini-based convenience features, while also highlighting improved accessibility and expanded use of Google Messages.

The update includes new support for convenience and accessibility features. Additions include remembering where items are stored and voice guidance about the surrounding environment. New support items also include logging item locations, reducing motion sickness while traveling, environmental guidance for blind and low-vision users, and taking notes in messages.

Among these, the feature that remembers where items are stored is implemented through integration between Gemini and the location management service "Find Hub." Users can ask Gemini to remember where they put items such as passports or spare keys, and Gemini stores that information in "Find Hub."

Storage location information can be saved along with photos. Through this update, Google has included item location storage, nearby guidance, and expanded messaging use in its supported features.

Saved information can be retrieved again through Gemini queries or by checking "Remembered items" in Find Hub. The feature is supported on Android 16 or later devices in countries where Gemini and Find Hub are supported.

A new "Motion Assist" has been added. Motion Assist is designed to reduce motion sickness associated with using a smartphone while traveling, and works by displaying a bubble-style overlay screen that responds to vehicle movement. This helps ease the sensory mismatch between visual information on the screen and actual motion.

Motion Assist can run automatically when the user is in a vehicle, and it can also be turned on manually from the Quick Settings menu. The bubble's shape, color, and transparency can also be adjusted. Devices that support Motion Assist are smartphones running Android 17.

In accessibility, "Guided Vision" has been introduced in Gemini Live. Guided Vision is aimed at blind and low-vision users, and analyzes the surrounding environment in a smartphone camera feed to provide the necessary information by voice.

Focusing on Gemini, Google rolled out related features while pushing to improve convenience and accessibility. Among them, the vision-assistance features can be used to read small print on food packaging, check menus in dark places, and distinguish nearby objects. When the camera view is not accurate, it helps by prompting users to change direction or center the subject on the screen so they can confirm the information.

This feature is being rolled out gradually to smartphones running Android 9 or later in countries where Gemini is supported. The direction of feature expansion centered on Gemini is aimed at convenience and accessibility.

Google Messages has also been expanded. Users can bring up Google Keep directly within the chat window to write grocery list notes or travel itinerary notes, and chat participants can edit the note together. "Theme" has also been added for each chat, allowing users to set the background and colors.

The background can be set to the default wallpaper or a photo taken by the user, and when applied, the color of speech bubbles is adjusted to match the background. Users can also choose a color manually. Eric Kay, vice president of engineering for Google’s Android Core Platform, said Android is offering new features tailored to everyday life, including Find Hub's important item location memory function and a motion sickness reduction feature while traveling.

Source: TECHWORLD · Kim Seung-gi
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406444

References

• https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406444