Google I/O 2021 Keynote Highlights: Everything from Android 12 to a New Wear OS

“Innovation in the Open” – The most awaited Google I/O 2021 is incessantly proven over years- it doesn’t build castles in the air, but amazes us with a tail of newest developments.

Unlike every year, which unfortunately was canceled in 2020, due to concerns around coronavirus, Google I/O 2021 keynote finally took place on Tuesday 18th May where CEO Sundar Pichai and his team of executives announced a list of new developments, along with the major hit product release of Android 12 and new Wear OS.

Being laser-focused and adamant on “we’re building something cool” instead of “giving a usual buy option”, this year’s I/O event has surprised us with a pack of punch.

Here’s everything in bits Google announced at the I/O 2021 Conference.

Biggest Announcements From the Google I/O 2021 Keynote

Android 12 Gets A First New Look

Android 12 the world’s most popular OS gets a new look, called Material You. As it sounds, your OS will now show you colors of seasons. Things like time of day and weather will change the UI’s colors and other aspects dynamically.

Along with UI, you get safety features like a new camera, microphone use indicators parked with some adventurous “private core computer features” designed to improve custom replies and notifications through AI processes.

Project Starline

This will excite you to the nerve! Project Starline is a video calling booth that uses 3D imagery on a 3D display to create a lifelike image of the people on both sides. Oh my god yes! Now you’ll be like:

“I feel I can touch you” or as if “we are in the same room” – It’s a 3D experience.

High-resolution cameras and custom-built depth sensors- too less if said two or three- it should be dozen around the display- capturing your shape from multiple perspectives, with a breakthrough light field display showcasing a real representation of someone sitting right in front of you in 3D. Aren’t you excited to experience it?

New Wear OS- The Biggest Update To ‘Wear’ Ever

Image Credits: Google

In partnership with Samsung, Google has come up with the biggest update to Wear with a fresh consumer experience to bring the best of Wear OS and Tizen into a single platform.

With features like support for third-party tiles, nimbleness to switch between apps by double-tapping on the screen, new interface, and health and tracking updates infused, Wear OS gets a real revamp powered with health-focused apps you’re sure to fall in love with.

Smart Canvas in Google Workspace

Image Credits: Google

For easy collaboration of teams on Google Docs, Sheets and other productivity tools- Google brought the Smart canvas. It enables team members on video calls to communicate with their team and simultaneously work on the Doc/sheet using Google Workspace for the first time.

Smarter meeting notes template, Google Meet integration, pageless Docs are some other productivity-boosting advancements announced by Google with Smart Canvas.

With LaMDA AI Conversations Gets More Natural

It will no more feel like a robot talking the next time you’ll ask a query to a search function. Google’s latest breakthrough LamDA is a language model for dialogue applications. LamDA can make conversation no matter what we talk about.

Mr. Pichai well explained it by picturing a conversation with a paper airplane.

Can see conversations getting more like a REAL person talking and less like a voice interface.

UWB Is New In Town

Well, no sooner you will trash the little old-school way of unlocking your cars with Bluetooth. Yes, guess right! Android phone would be your new car key- that will use Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology (acts like a tiny radar) to lock and unlock the vehicle without taking the phone out.

FYI, UWB is a form of radio transmission for which the sensor can tell the direction of the signal. Right now, Google is working with BMW with this digital car key. Later, it will join hands with other automakers.

This Google Photos Feature Will Awe You

Until now, finding a photo of you wearing a red color hat from those huge library of Google Photos was no less than finding a needle from a haystack.

But this time, to potentially make it more convenient, Google has powered new features that will allow you to search pictures with a specification. Meaning you can find “selfies with my red hat”, “selfies with friends in cafeteria”, “my photo with a sassy clutch”, so on. Isn’t it a cool dive into your sea-like gallery?

Meet Duplex To Fix Your Stolen Passwords

Next time when your password will get compromised, Google will do the homework for you. From filling in your old password to picking a new one and letting you copy it- Google will be your personal assistant- powered by Duplex on the Web, enabling you to automatically change your password.

Google Lens Upgrades

Solve the dining’s most annoying problems with Google Lens Upgrades. The company’s AR-VR technology has got new capabilities for restaurant diners. By simply pointing the camera at the receipt, users can calculate the tip, split the bills, and by pointing the lens at a restaurant’s menu, one can highlight the most popular items.

The other amazing round of features that did the rounds in Mountain View, California were:

• Google Photos with Memories, Cinematic Moments, Locked Folders
• AI-powered medical tools
• A unified smartwatch platform by Samsung and Google
• Vertex collecting machine learning development tools in one place
• Flutter cross-platform devkit gets an update
• The next version of Android Studio is Arctic Fox