Google I/O 2023 recap

Lots of things were announced this year...

Image credit: Canva

So many things were announced at Google’s annual developer conference this year. Here is a (relatively) quick recap of about 900 words.

As you can expect, AI stole the show.

Devices

• Google has added new products to its Pixel lineup, including the Google Pixel Fold, its first foldable phone with a 7.6-inch screen, the Google Tensor G2 chip, Android's splitscreen functionality, and other new camera features.

• The Pixel 7a has also been released, featuring a larger sensor, a 13-megapixel ultrawide lens, Long Exposure, and Super Res Zoom.

• The Google Pixel Tablet has been introduced with an 11-inch display, four built-in speakers, and the power of the Tensor G2 chip, as well as Chromecast and the Titan M2 security chip.

• Google Meet on the Pixel Tablet uses Tensor's AI, and the Assistant voice typing on Pixel Tablet is almost three times faster than regular typing.

• Accessories are also available for the Pixel Tablet, such as the Pixel Tablet Case, which works with the Charging Speaker Dock.

• The Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold are available for purchase and pre-order, respectively, and purchasing the Pixel 7a comes with a free or discounted Pixel Buds offer.

Search

• Google has introduced Search Labs, a way to test new products and ideas. Users can sign up to try out new features and give feedback. The Labs icon will be available on the Google App or Chrome desktop.

• One of the features in Search Labs is a new generative AI experience that takes search queries and provides AI-powered snapshots of information with suggested next steps.

• Another feature is an AI-powered shopping experience built on Google’s Shopping Graph.

• Other Search Labs features include Code Tips for writing better code and Add to Sheets, which inserts a search result directly into a spreadsheet.

• Google also announced a Perspectives filter for search results, which exclusively shows firsthand or expert information from forums, social media, and video-sharing communities.

• Additionally, Google has made improvements to how it ranks results in search, with a focus on content with unique expertise and experience.

• Finally, Google shared that Lens is now used for 12 billion visual searches per month, which is a fourfold increase in just two years.

AI

• Google Search is testing new generative AI experiences, including a shopping experience and a Perspectives filter.

• Google Maps is launching Immersive View for routes in 15 cities worldwide, and the ability to delete recent searches.

• Google Photos is launching Magic Editor, an experimental editing experience for reimagining aspects of a photo, and the Google Home app will now open to your Favorites tab, with vertical video history scrubbing.

• Google also announced Universal Translator, an experimental AI video dubbing service to help with learning comprehension, and Project Tailwind, an AI-first notebook.

• Google introduced PaLM 2, a faster and more efficient next-generation language model that comes in various sizes for a wide range of use cases. It powers more than 25 products and teams across Google, and it powers the new PaLM API. Google used PaLM 2 to create Med-PaLM 2, which is fine-tuned for medical knowledge and is being opened up to a small group of Cloud customers for feedback.

• Google is working on Gemini, its first multimodal model that is highly capable at different sizes and efficient at integrating with other tools and APIs.

• Bard, Google's experiment for collaboration with generative AI, is now available in more languages and includes new features such as the ability to use images in prompts and more precise code citations. In the future, Bard will be integrated not only with Google services but also with popular apps like Adobe, Instacart, and Khan Academy.

Android

• Android 14 will introduce new customization options, including Magic Compose, Emoji Wallpaper, and Cinematic Wallpaper.

• Wear OS 4 will feature backup and restore support, and Android Auto will be available in more cars.

• Google is also partnering with Samsung to create an immersive XR platform.

• Android 14 will support 10-bit Ultra HDR images.

Security

• Google has introduced new features to enhance safety and privacy, including a Safe Browsing API that uses AI to identify dangerous sites, expanding spam protections in Google Drive, and expanding access to the dark web report.

• The company is also improving location data permission controls and introducing an option for data deletion within an app's Google Play Data safety section.

• Google is also expanding its Content Safety API to include video content and applying the Perspective API to mitigate toxicity found in online comments.

• The company is launching a refreshed Find My Device experience on Android that makes it easier to locate devices and belongings, as well as unknown tracker alerts that notify users if an unknown Bluetooth tracker is moving with them.

• Lastly, Google is launching a new tool called "About this image" in Search that provides important context about an image, such as when it was first indexed and if it appears on fact-checking sites.

Business and development tools

• Google Cloud has introduced three new models in Vertex AI: Imagen, Codey, and Chirp.

• Duet AI is a new AI-powered collaborator that helps with code generation and code reviews.

• Google Cloud AI is powered by AI-optimized infrastructure and new A3 Virtual Machines.

• The Aerial View API is launched, which allows developers to integrate birds-eye videos of an area in Google Maps.

• ChromeOS has been updated, and a new feature has been released in beta to allow users to stream Android apps from their phone to their Chromebook.

• The Android UI Design Hub, App Actions Test Library, and Google Assistant plugin for Android Studio are also launched.

• Additionally, Android 14 beta has been announced.