latest
'Enhanced notifications' replace Adaptive Notifications in Android 12, but they're basically the same
Except they can now be updated through the Play Store
One of the first things you'll spot launching Android 12 Beta 2 is a big notification that explains that Android's Adaptive Notifications are being replaced. Going forward, Android has "enhanced notifications" instead. The bundled explanation is a bit impenetrable, and there aren't any observable changes in notification behavior. Turns out that's because it's basically the same thing, Google's just changing the name and moving what controls it.
Google Messages can suggest adding calendar events while you chat (APK Download)
Plus other smart actions too
Contextual suggestions in Google Messages aren't new. The app can already offer up stickers, Assistant recommendations, smart replies, and some actions while you're talking to your contacts, and it's that latter ability that seems to be expanding. Among the new actions, Messages can now propose adding a calendar event when you bring up a specific time and date during a chat.
YouTube introduces smart suggestions for dumb people who can't hold their phone good
Plus streamlined player controls with more accessible captions
YouTube is one of the most widely used apps in the world, so whenever the company makes even a slight change, people notice. The announcement that four playlist-centric features were being killed last month was a bit disheartening, but YouTube's latest move doesn't kill off old features — instead it brings a variety of useful new ones to life, including streamlined player controls and a more accessible captions button.
The last few Android iterations have introduced a lot of contextual actions and shortcuts in various places of the OS. You can select a phone number to call it, a word to define it, an artist name to open it in Spotify, or you may sometimes find smart actions in notifications. The most widely available of the latter is an "open" button when you receive links. Now, there's a new addition that lets you set reminders only when a contact asks you to do something.
Support for Tenor GIFs was recently added to Google's SMS messaging app, allowing you to easily add a GIF into your chats by tapping on the + and then 'GIF search.' Google really wants to encourage you to use this, it seems, as it's now offering suggestions for GIF searches based on your conversations.
Using the increasing power of its AI smarts, Google is getting better at anticipating our next move and offering us convenient suggestions that make our lives easier. We've seen this with App Actions in Android and suggested edits in Google Photos, and now a similar feature has arrived in the Google Messages app.
In a busy week of updates, Google Photos is joining the pack with the v4.8 release. As is fairly usual, the visible changes appear to be limited mostly to minor tweaks to wording. However, a teardown does point to some of the things we might expect in the future, including a new or enhanced feature for automatically suggested sharing, a new option for photobook cover imagery, and more.
I/O is now in full swing, and so far Google has placed a significant emphasis on its AI-powered plans for the future. In fact, it's planning on making one of its best products ever, Google Photos, even better through liberal machine-learned seasoning called suggested actions. So the next time you grab a photo of your friends or an image doesn't come out quite perfectly, Photos will be able to lend a hand.
Read update
- As pointed out by +Chaitanya K and Prince Javier, the smart replies and vertical attachment interfaces are both shown in this official Android Messages video. We're not sure if that means they're exclusive for users with RCS on their network, but at least we know the design isn't a momentary server-side test.
A couple of months ago, Cody unearthed in his Android Messages 2.3 teardown hints of the app implementing suggested actions, something akin to Gmail and Inbox's smart replies, but more in line with Allo or Assistant in that it could suggest to share your location or open your calendar and more. The image above is our first glimpse at what one of the possible actions, smart replies, could look like.