On May 10, Google I/O 2023 took place. The event began, as it often does, with a spectacular keynote address that let us all understand what Google has been up to lately, even though many of the lectures and presentations during I/O are developer focused. That covers both software and hardware developments this year, as well as, as you might expect, a ton of discussion on AI. Here is all the information you require.

Big Announcements from Google

Hardware announcements from Google : Pixel 7a, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet

The Pixel 7a, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet have all been formally unveiled by Google. There’s a probability that some of these items will start selling on May 11 in India.

A more affordable model of Google’s Pixel 7 line of smartphones is the Pixel 7a. The Pixel Fold, the company’s first foldable phone, is directly targeted at rival models from Samsung, Oppo, and other manufacturers. The Tensor G2 series processor featured in the Pixel series powers the Google tablet known as the Pixel Pad.

AI announcements from Google: Bard and PaLM2

Google showcased some of the enhanced capabilities of its chatbot Bard when it came to artificial intelligence. The chatbot now offers a number of developer-friendly features as well as customer-focused additions, like access to a huge selection of extensions from partners. Additionally, the business added a number of features to its PaLM 2 large language model. The LLM now handles over 100 languages across a variety of functions and has been trained on multilingual documents.

Software announcements: Android 14

During I/O, Google also launched Android 14, the most recent version of its enormously successful smartphone operating system. Additionally, the business might start distributing Android 14 Beta to a few smartphones.

The Pixel 7a is available now

The Pixel 7a, Google’s upcoming midrange phone, was completely unveiled at I/O, and the company also unexpectedly revealed that it is now $499 and ready for purchase, not just for presale. The phone’s Tensor G2 chipset, eight gigabytes of RAM, and nearly identical design as its more costly cousin, the $600 Pixel 7, are just a few of the similarities between the two devices. We have a thorough review for you to read if you’re curious to learn more.

Google shows off the Pixel Fold

Google debuted its first foldable during I/O this year, as was expected. The Pixel Fold features a 7.6″ display (with some pretty significant bezels) on the inside and a 5.8″ screen on the outside. With 12 gigabytes of RAM and a Tensor G2 processor, it has an outstanding IPX8 water resistant rating.

Preorders for the pricey $1,800 Pixel Fold may be made starting today, and it should arrive on June 27. We had a hands-on experience with the Pixel Fold at I/O if you want to learn more.

Gmail will eventually write emails for you

An improved AI version of Gmail’s automated reply tool is being developed by Google, and it will allow you to enter a brief instruction to essentially have the service write your entire email for you. You can, of course, change the text that Gmail generates. Help me write is the feature, and although Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai did not provide a specific release date, he did state that it would be arriving “soon.”

We got a peek at Android 14 features

At I/O this year, Android 14 made multiple appearances. Although we didn’t learn much about new features, we did get a glimpse of some customization possibilities. Android will employ generative AI to build any wallpaper you can imagine, so you can create stylish personalized wallpapers out of emoji, photographs, or even text prompts.

Additionally, Android 14 will allow users to customize their lock screens in a similar manner to iOS, including changing typefaces and organizing other visual aspects.

Google Maps Immersive View expands

A Google Maps feature called Immersive View enables you to digitally explore specific regions in realistic 3D. The recently unveiled Immersive View for routes expands on that experience by displaying not only information about the weather and transit alternatives in larger areas of more cities, but also 3D-recreated environments. Nevertheless, the feature will continue to be regionally restricted. By the end of the year, Google claims it will introduce Immersive View for routes in 15 cities, including Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Miami, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, Tokyo, and Venice.

Google Bard gains new features, loses waitlist

Although Google’s Bard text generator is still in beta, the company demonstrated at I/O how far its AI chatbot has come. Soon, Bard will be able to perform new functions like picture identification with Google Lens, place visualization with Google Maps, and sophisticated spreadsheet creation with just a text prompt with Sheets.

With no queue and starting today, Bard is accessible in 180 nations just in English. According to Google, 40 other languages will eventually be included. A lovely new dark theme has also been added.

There’s a new Google Labs hub

Google unveiled a new center for its countless AI research at I/O. You may browse and sign up for waitlists for a variety of new experimental projects, including planned generative AI features in Search, at the hub, which is already operational at labs.withgoogle.com.

Google Photos is getting a new Magic Editor

An improvement in editing with AI is coming to Google Photos. With the use of machine learning techniques, the new Magic Editor simplifies previously challenging photo editing chores. You can use a long press to remove someone from the background and place them in the frame, or you can add in pieces of objects that were out of focus when you snapped the picture. Later this year, Magic Editor is anticipated to debut.

AI comes to Google Search

It was just a matter of time before Google adopted AI in the same way that Microsoft’s Bing search engine has. As a result, Google has declared that Bard will be incorporated into Search, enabling Google to present summaries of search results in natural language and give a “conversational mode” where users may inquire further about results. US citizens can register to join a queue here to test out the new Bard search interface.

Play store

A number of new AI-powered features will soon be available in the Google Play Store. To save you the trouble of actually reading user reviews, app listings will soon provide an AI-generated review summary that seeks to summarize reviewer opinions in just a few words. A developer-focused tool that will make it easy for developers to create text for app listings is also being rolled out in the Developer Console as of today.