The Google and Facebook Philosophy (the computer does your work for you)

vs.

The Microsoft and Apple’s (the computer enables you to do your work better and more efficient)

Tech’s Yin and Yang
That there are two philosophies does not necessarily mean that one is right and one is wrong: the reality is we need both. Some problems are best solved by human ingenuity, enabled by the likes of Microsoft and Apple; others by collective action. That, though, gets at why Google and Facebook are fundamentally more dangerous: collective action is traditionally the domain of governments, the best form of which is bounded by the popular will. Google and Facebook, on the other hand, are accountable to no one. Both deserve all of the recent scrutiny they have attracted, and arguably deserve more.

Gmail – Smart Compose

Literally, Gmail can now auto-complete entire emails for you. Just keep hitting the tab button, and Google will auto-complete your message. You can switch it on right now as part of the new Gmail experience Google is rolling out.

Google Photo

Not only can Google Photo remove the color from your photo, it re-colorizes your old black-and-white photos taken back from the old days. Heck, you can instantly turn photos of documents into PDFs as well.

Google Assistant – Naturally Conversational

Just like this slide says, there is a new voice of Google Assistant, by the R&B star John Legend. There is the new Continued Conversation that doesn’t need you to constantly say “OK Google” every single time. And there is this politeness feature that turns this magic word magical again. When you say “Please”, Google will respond in kind and even compliment you.

Google Assistant – Duplex

https://youtu.be/bd1mEm2Fy08

This wild experimental Google Assistant feature called Duplex takes this AI thing to a new level. You can ask Google Assistant to call a business on your behalf, and Google’s AI will schedule an appointment for you. Yes, this is totally real. Google demoed two phone calls on stage to give people a taste. It’s totally cool and the voice sounds so natural that the person on the other end has no clue that they just talked to a robot on the phone. It can even say the filler words like “hmm” to sound more human.

Android P

Two new smart features will come handy in the upcoming new Android.

First one, let’s called a “Shush” mode. If you put your phone facedown on the table, it will automatically activate the “Do Not Disturb” mode.

The second one, let’s called smart rotate. If you are looking at the screen and rotate the phone, either on purpose or accidentally, a button will pop up to let you also rotate the screen. Otherwise, you can keep the display the way it is.

The new Android P also revamped the app navigation feature. It removed the task button. You can simply hold down the Home button to open the navigation instead.

Google Map – Augmented-Reality integration

Google showed off some very cool technology for Google Maps designed to let you use your phone’s camera to navigate around town using Street View. If you waved your phone in front of you, you’d see the Street View version of what you’re seeing. If you needed directions, giant arrows — or even animated characters — could point you where to go next.

Google Lens

Some new smart features are being added to Google’s futuristic camera software, Google Lens. One of them is called Style Match. If you point your phone’s camera at an outfit, or accessories or furniture. Google can use its object-recognition and machine-learning power to help you buy items online or show similar styles you might like.

If you point at a book, you can highlight the text with your finger and copy it to your phone.