Google June update delivers Android 17 and Wear OS 7 featuring Gemini AI video tools multitasking bubbles and expanded safety features for Pixel hardware
Google rolls out its June feature update, delivering its new Android 17 and Wear OS 7 to its line up. The package includes improved video editing tools, seamless artificial intelligence capabilities, and essential safety features to devices across several generations, and it will continue to arrive on Pixel phones and tablets in the coming weeks, the company writes in its product release notes.
The new software updates are powered by Gemini AI. For example, the video editing suite receives new tools, and a feature called Screen Reactions which embeds your front facing camera within any on screen recording to create a virtual green screen on the fly that allows you to manipulate the selfie bubble size and position. It is designed for youtubers that wish to create reaction and tutorial videos with no external applications.
With Gemini Omni, you will have new ways to create and manipulate your video projects using only the voice commands from your keyboard to compile professional looking videos from text instructions, pre saved photos or camera roll media. Gemini can also create digital avatars and clone voices and expressions, and it adds a music generator that turns written prompts or images into song lyrics and custom audio tracks by allowing users to pick everything from the vocal style to the genre.
Multitasking was one of the areas that were re evaluated and it introduced Bubbles, a multitasking application that allows any compatible application to be turned into a bubble that floats on the screen and be accessible with a long tap, which will automatically snap to the side or corner of the screen to not obstruct the other apps open. On the foldable devices, these bubble notifications will reside at the bottom of the screen, thus giving easy access with just one tap of the icon to navigate between the opened bubbles.
Not only are there new system and hardware features added but Google is also expanding the availability of older flagships to mid range hardware with new capabilities such as Voice Translate being added to the Pixel 10a, the software being capable of taking speech to speech translation during active calls while using the acoustic profile of the actual user on both sides of the conversation to deliver that experience and this can translate speech to speech for six different languages. Quick Share has also been updated to be compatible with AirDrop for new Pixel devices such as the 8a and 9a models.
The communication applications were also not left out of the updates. Magic Cue contextual replies can now be sent using the Snapchat chat. Automated Taking a Message voice transcription for Voicemail has expanded to several regions and new custom greetings are allowed. Manual Call Screen has also been added for India, allowing call assist to block and question callers by asking them for their name and intent before ringing through to the user.
The system of safety will be built around Emergency Sharing, which when activated through a physical fall, crash or pulse loss detection mechanism in the devices it would automatically contact emergency services, broadcast the user location, and send emergency contacts the user position and current situation. The ability to fine tune emergency features such as each notification type independently is an option that will be made available to the users.
Finally, Ask Photos is now available in 5 new languages, being the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Italy added to its availability and now allowing users to carry out the same conversational multi stage edits and image corrections, like reflecting light or color balancing through written prompts with the help of Google AI.
