Got a note from our friends at Google that updates were coming and my phone just starts to download immediately.
There's a few updates in the latest security update.
First up I get notice of in the phone is the Portrait Blur that you can take with the camera in Pixels is now available in the Google Photos app for ANY photo now.
Just find a pic, edit and use the sliders, and where you'll have seen highlight/shadow sliders, there's now a blur slider. It'll try to isolate the face in the photo and adjust it accordingly.
I found it a little 'rough' with little finesse (via the camera it's not as perfect either), but to have it at the tap of a button is awesome.
Then there's some Duo updates (as much as I like it, I just find the adoption is so minimal).
But the brains behind the phone is the Assistant and it just got updated. Now, they make it seem that you can do some of these commands with out the hotphrase of "Hey Google", but I haven't been able to do that yet, same with the continued commands/asks.
Maybe there's another update after the security update.
The new Google Assistant - what is it?
Thanks to a deeper integration into Pixel 4, the Google Assistant is now a faster way to get more things done. Breakthroughs in speech processing mean that more requests can happen right on your phone, without always sending your request to the cloud.
We redesigned the Assistant so it doesn’t take up too much room on your screen, letting you better multitask across other apps. It can quickly open apps, search your phone, share what's on your screen, and more. It also considers the context of your query to do a better job answering. For example, you can ask the Assistant to “show my photos from Vancouver” and then say “the ones in Stanley Park.” Then, you can share a picture by saying “send it to Mom.” We’ll continue improving the technology that powers the new Assistant over time.
Here are some of the things you do with the New Google Assistant:
1) Open your favorite apps without having to search for them on your phone
Simply say:
- “Open YouTube”
- “Open Google”
- “Open Spotify”
2) Search within the app using just your voice
“Hey Google, open Google Photos”
- “Show me the ones on the beach”
“Hey Google, show me Lady Gaga on Instagram”
- “Show me Beyonce”
- “Now show me Jay Z”
“Hey Google, what’s the weather like tomorrow?”
- “What’s it like on the next day?”
“Hey Google open YouTube”
- “Show me yoga classes”
- “Show me how to bake banana bread”
3) Make in-app contextual commands to make sharing things like photos, URLs, and screenshots a lot easier
If you’re looking through your photos and one reminds you of a friend, simply say:
- “Hey Google, send this to John”
Or, if you’re looking at a gig ticket page, share the URL with friends by saying:
- “Hey Google, share this with Lucy”
4) Multitask efficiently and activate the New Google Assistant to find the information you need without losing focus or exiting the app
If you’re speaking to a friend about an upcoming holiday and they need to book a taxi from the airport, simply ask “what time does my flight arrive” without needing to exit the chat
Or, if you’re talking to a friend about weekend plans and they suggest going to the cinema, search for the movie times whilst staying in the conversation by saying “What’s on at the Cineplex Theatre this weekend”