1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,600 I don't know if it was scary good, or just plain scary scary, but the Android show just 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:10,480 wrapped up today, and the theme is Android everywhere! 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:16,360 With a side of, uh, oh by the way, that means Gemini's also everywhere, hence the rebranding 4 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:20,920 of Android from an operating system to an intelligence system. 5 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:25,600 It's pretty telling that they turned off comments on the video, isn't it? 6 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,000 I mean to be clear, Google's not the only one who does this. 7 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:34,840 But it really does say a lot about the current state of tech, that major brands are so afraid 8 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:39,760 of what their terminally online customers might say about their new products and features. 9 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:46,120 Features that, admittedly, look very cool, it's just that they're often privacy and 10 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:52,960 data collection nightmares. So here's an idea, if you've got something to say to big tech, maybe watch our video 11 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,960 instead and leave your comments there! 12 00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:00,520 Unless you want to trash talk Microsoft, who bravely leaves comments enabled. 13 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:05,600 Bold moves, Hatcha. I respect it. Almost as much as I respect our sponsor. 14 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:12,880 We've got to kick things off with the Google book. Not to be confused with other books like Pixel books or Mac books, see those are made by 15 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:19,160 one brand. But Google books are going to be like Chromebooks, which come in a variety of hardware configurations 16 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:25,520 from partner brands like Lenovo and ASUS, which raises the question, okay, what's the 17 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:33,720 difference then between a Google book and a Chromebook? Well, let me tell you, for one thing, Google books will have this. 18 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:38,280 The glow bar that tells everyone around you, this ain't no Chromebook. 19 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:42,080 No ma'am, this is a Google book. Cool. 20 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:47,280 Also, unlike Chromebooks, Google books are going to be using a new operating system that 21 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,360 unifies Android and Chrome OS. 22 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:55,640 It doesn't have a name yet, which is kind of awkward for a company the size of Google. 23 00:01:55,640 --> 00:02:00,760 So the media has taken to referring to its development codename, Aluminium OS. 24 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,720 We don't know too much about it yet. 25 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,720 Hint hint, Google I.O. is next week. 26 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:11,840 But what we do know is that it's going to come with a new magic pointer feature, not 27 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:19,400 to be confused with Magic Mouse. Do you feel like when I have to say not to be confused with this many times, your product 28 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,760 announcement might just be confusing? Anyone? 29 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:30,000 Bueller? Anyway, Magic Pointer allows anyone to easily use Gemini by simply wiggling the cursor and 30 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:35,320 then pointing it at an on-screen element and asking it to do AI things like, say, draft 31 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:42,040 a reply to the text in the email. I can actually see this being very useful, much like the Circle to Search feature on Android 32 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:48,360 today. However, if you're anything like me, it'll probably be between one and three accidental 33 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:53,280 activations of the gesture before you rebind it to something, anything else. 34 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:57,160 Something I'm legitimately stoked on, though, is custom widgets. 35 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:02,440 Now Google's not the first to talk about how they need more AI in their operating system. 36 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:06,920 And pretty much every example of that we've seen so far has been kind of cringe. 37 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:09,920 This one, not so. 38 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:14,760 Custom widgets have got to be the best example of AI in an operating system that I've seen 39 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:20,280 so far. If you want just rain and wind speed in your weather app, boom. 40 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:23,920 You give it a plain text prompt and it creates a widget for you. 41 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:27,160 Finding exactly the right widget is something that I have personally struggled with in the 42 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:32,760 past. Like, I can't wait, for example, to create a time zone and alarm management widget that 43 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:39,360 really works for me. And this is coming to both the new unnamed OS as well as Android mobile with Android 17. 44 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:45,440 I'm stoked. Also Google Books are getting quick access, which is the ability to browse and access 45 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:50,840 files on your phone directly from your laptop and then just, like, drop that file as an 46 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:56,560 attachment on an email, even if you don't necessarily use Google Photos and Cloud Sync. 47 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:02,200 And sure, Windows has had the Your Phone feature since, like, 2018, but it is great to see 48 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:06,680 app mirroring and phone access that are now available to everyone, regardless of which 49 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:10,480 developer's garden you prefer to sip tea in. 50 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:14,360 Tea that's getting much sweeter on the Google side of things because the rest of their Gemini 51 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:19,240 sizzle reel looked, if I'm being honest, legitimately amazing. 52 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:22,760 Running late for a very important date, but you see an upcoming concert poster as you exit 53 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:26,960 the train station, just snap a pic of it, tell your AI assistant to book you a couple 54 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:33,040 of floor tickets, enjoy the concert, then ask Gemini to find some good late night za, 55 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:37,160 then, assuming things went well, ask it to book a spot in your calendar to do it all 56 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:42,080 over again next week. Wow, it's like everyone having their very own Vance. 57 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:47,720 Hey, Vance, can you look up how many times Google has promised this level of integration 58 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,240 between, like, my personal life and my calendar and my Google Assistant? 59 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:59,480 I don't know, a lot? Yeah, we've kind of reached a bit of a boy who cried wolf point now, haven't we? 60 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:04,240 Remember that clip on camera that claimed to use AI to take pictures at opportune moments? 61 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:08,600 Remember that feature where Assistant would totally seamlessly phone and book hair appointments 62 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:14,680 on your behalf? And remember the image searchability that just time and time again on ShortCircuit 63 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:19,960 has failed to find, or in many cases even recognize, the LTT Northern Lights Deskpad 64 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:24,320 in spite of there being countless images of it online and it being available at LTTstore.com? 65 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:31,320 I mean, to be fair, some of this stuff, especially that last one, does work way better these 66 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:37,800 days, and if all this new stuff works, it sounds great, but I can already tell that 67 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:43,360 that concert demo is pure weapons grade balonium because it doesn't ask any follow-up questions, 68 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:50,120 like, what time? When you're booking a date, that's kind of important, and I wish Google would just 69 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:56,600 be honest and realistic about how it's going to work outside of their perfect dev environment 70 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:04,320 bubble. Like, here's another example. That auto form-filling feature where they talked about how Gemini could scan your photo 71 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:09,600 library for that time you took a picture of your passport last year and then automatically 72 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:13,960 input your passport number or your expiration date into a form for you. 73 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:18,360 That sounds awesome, but will it work in the real world where maybe you've got multiple 74 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:22,520 passport photos for yourself and some for your kids and one for your wife? 75 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:26,440 Is it going to get the right one? I don't think it's crazy to be skeptical about this. 76 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:32,120 I mean, okay, look, how often does your auto complete, say, oh, 3663, Crowley Drive? 77 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:35,280 All the time! Yeah, and when's the last time you lived there? 78 00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:43,200 Years ago! That's what I'm talking about. I mean, for me, even just setting alarms screws up a solid like 5% to 10% of the time. 79 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:49,600 So, I'm not sure when, if ever, I'm going to get past the trust but verify phase for 80 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:59,800 my AI personal assistant. And all of that ignores the privacy and targeted ad side of this whole data collection conversation. 81 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:05,960 But hey, you know, some of this stuff, again, if it works, looks so good that people probably 82 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:10,080 will turn it on regardless of the privacy implications. 83 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:14,240 Rambler is a new feature for phones, but also Android Auto, which we're going to get into 84 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:19,360 in a second. And I'm really excited about both Rambler and the Android Auto overhaul. 85 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:24,240 Okay, guys, have you ever tried responding to a message through voice to text while you're 86 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,080 driving and someone cuts you off? Or maybe your kids won't shut up in the back seat? 87 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:35,560 Well, with Rambler, you don't have to worry about, hey, watch where you're fucking driving! 88 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:40,240 Any of the expletives that you might be shouting in the middle of your reply that could accidentally 89 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:45,080 make it to your wife or your boss, who for me is the same person, which doubles the risk. 90 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:50,160 Supposedly Rambler is going to take the entire context of your dictation and, hey, watch 91 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:57,880 it, asshole! Pick out only the relevant parts of your voice note and then condense it into a proper message. 92 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:04,120 Super cool! On the subject of distracted driving, Google is also rolling out a massive update to Maps, 93 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:11,160 making it look more 3D, so you can tell, is that an overpass, an underpass, a touchdown 94 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:16,960 pass? And that's almost as cool as the way that Android Auto is not only going to fit better 95 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:21,800 on all the various display sizes and cars these days, but it's also getting the ability 96 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:25,560 to play video through that screen. 97 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:30,960 And with Dolby Atmos? Now that's only going to be on vehicles or apps that support it, and only while the 98 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:35,720 vehicle is parked, but guys, if you've got an EV that isn't a Tesla and you've ever 99 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:40,360 been stuck at a charging station, you are going to freaking love this. 100 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:44,920 Google is also rolling out more customization for your in-car display, like different fonts, 101 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:50,280 widgets, or backgrounds to help enhance the Android Auto experience. 102 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:54,680 And if you're driving one of the roughly 100 vehicles that are rolling out with Google 103 00:08:54,680 --> 00:09:00,320 built-in, formerly known as Android Automotive, thank goodness they changed that, any of the 104 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:05,080 apps that you might use should feel more seamless and more responsive thanks to direct hardware 105 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,200 integration and being on board instead of running on your phone. 106 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:12,040 Okay, so what does that look like? This one's pretty cool. 107 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:16,240 If a symbol pops up on your digital dash that you've never seen before, supposedly you 108 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:22,880 could just ask Gemini what it means. Or another great example they gave was asking about trunk dimensions and whether or not 109 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:29,280 a TV would fit in your car. Okay, that's stuff that you could look up yourself, and you're still going to probably 110 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:33,720 want to verify that before you just carry a 75-inch TV into the parking lot and just 111 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:39,560 go for it. I've done that by the way, it sucks. I had to actually take the packaging off and take it back into the store in order to get 112 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:45,040 anyway. The point is that these are the kinds of hassles that a lot of folks would genuinely be very 113 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:50,040 happy to live without, especially if you're not a car person and you don't care what exact 114 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:55,640 make, model, and trim level you drive. With that in mind, they really need to step up their game when it comes to co-marketing 115 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:03,240 these features with vehicle manufacturers. Some of the links on the Google built-in site go to specific models that support it. 116 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:11,040 Honda is a shining example here. But others, when you click through, they just dump you on the partner manufacturer's homepage, 117 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:17,040 which leaves you with questions like, which Mazda or BYD vehicle supports this feature? 118 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:24,800 Moving away from AI, end-to-end RCS encryption with iOS is rolling out effective now. 119 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:31,720 Even Apple has an announcement for that. And Google says, on that subject, they're making it easier than ever to swap from Apple 120 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:37,400 to Android. Quickshare is coming to more devices later this year, and juiced up voice isolation and 121 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:41,080 sound separation looks awesome for clearer calls. 122 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:44,600 Even cooler though is their new screen reactions feature. I am loving this. 123 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:49,920 This allows you to record your screen and also, at the same time, record yourself over 124 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:54,440 top of whatever is showing so that you can pop up over your photos as you talk about 125 00:10:54,440 --> 00:11:00,840 them, or for me, you can explain what's going on as you are marking up a document or giving 126 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:07,120 feedback on something that might be broken. The one thing that I'd love to see improved here is I'd like to see some transparency 127 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:11,240 options so that my viewer can see whatever part of the screen I happen to be covering 128 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:17,960 in case that's important for troubleshooting. In all, Google showed off some really cool and exciting stuff today, or maybe yesterday, 129 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:26,160 depending on when this gets edited and posted. And the idea of automating some of life's tediousness sounds great. 130 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:31,120 But I'm going to be a wee bit skeptical until I actually try it out for myself. 131 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:39,160 Oh, when is that coming, you ask? Later this year, sometime after this segue, to our sponsor. 132 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,920 Thanks for watching, guys. If you liked this video, maybe check out Apple's latest announcement. 133 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:47,960 I'm actually feeling like Apple and Google are competing pretty hard these days, because 134 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:53,720 it's hard to differentiate on the hardware side. So it's going to have to be making your life easier and better through software.