Google I/O 2017 keynote has begun, and CEO Sundar Pichai has announced a new feature called Google Lens, which can recognise objects by simply pointing your smartphone's camera at them. It can even enter WiFi passwords directly and all you have to do is point the camera at the password text. Pichai has also announced at his Google I/O 2017 keynote that the company has built neural networks to help pathologists improve cancer diagnoses.
Scott Huffman, Vice President - Engineering, Google Assistant, took to the stage after Pichai, revealing that the AI-powered digital assistant is now even more conversational. He announced Google Assistant is now heading to iPhones, and the SDK will allow developers to integrate the virtual helper in all kinds of devices. He also said roughly 70 percent of queries to Google Assistant are in natural language, and many of these queries are follow-up queries.
Though the Google annual conference is primarily for developers, it has a lot of announcements that will interest people who aren't developers, the biggest draw being Android O, the next version of Google's operating system for smartphones. The Internet giant is expected to announce many new features of Android O during the keynote, as well as new developments around its other products.
Google I/O 2017 Keynote: How to Watch It and What to Expect
There are several other things that may be announced at Google I/O 2017, not least of which are improvements to Google Home and Google Daydream. Home is a speaker that has Assistant baked in, meaning it can listen to your voice and execute commands, and Daydream is the company's virtual reality headset.
Google May Launch a Standalone VR Headset at I/O 2017: Report
While Android has been at the centre of Google I/O every year, this year we might hear more about something beyond Android. The Fuchsia project is an operating system that the company might reveal more about at the Google I/O 2017 keynote. There's also the long-rumoured standalone VR headset.
Google I/O 2017: Android O, VR Focus, Google Assistant on iOS, and More You Can Expect
We could also hear about how Google Allo and Duo have been performing, although that's unlikely because the two apps aren't exactly very popular. Google I/O 2017 could feature a mention of Android Instant Apps, something Google announced in 2016 but only started testing earlier this year.
Google I/O 2017 Dates, Schedule, and Rumours: What We Know So Far
If you are interested in Android Auto, then you may hear something about it during Google I/O 2017. This could also be the time Google mentions something about Chrome OS and Chromebooks. Apart from that, we could hear mention of Project Tango - the company's augmented reality project as well.
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