February 2024 Android Feature Drop Announced: 9 new features for all Android devices
Google has announced the February 2024 Android Feature Drop, which brings a range of new features and improvements to help you get more done on your Android devices. Whether you use your phone, tablet, smartwatch, or car, the new Android features are developed to make your life easier.
February 2024 Android Feature Drop comes with 9 new Android features to help you stay productive. You can check them below.
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9 New Android and Wear OS Features
1.) Stay in touch while focusing on the road
Android Auto now uses AI to summarize long texts and group chats while you drive and suggests smart replies and actions. You can easily send a message, share your ETA, or start a call with a single tap.
2.) Hear AI-generated captions for images
Lookout on Android now offers image captions, which let you listen to AI-generated descriptions of photos, online images, and pictures in messages. This feature is especially useful for blind and low-vision users and is available globally in English.
3.) Explore around you with more accessible
Lens in Maps now has enhanced screen reader support, which helps you explore nearby places and identify them with your phone’s camera. TalkBack will read out the place’s information, such as business hours, rating or directions.
4.) Give Feedback with handwritten markups in Docs
Google Docs now supports handwritten markups, which allow you to add annotations to documents using your finger or stylus. You can choose from different markup tools, such as pen colors and highlighters, to review documents and provide feedback quickly and easily.
5.) Listen uninterrupted on Spotify with new casting controls
Spotify now integrates with the output switcher on Android’s home screen, which lets you switch between your devices when playing music. You can now use Spotify Connect to change the audio output from your phone to your smart speaker, TV or other devices.
6.) View your health, wellness and fitness date in one place
Fitbit app has been redesigned to show you a complete picture of your health, wellness and fitness data. You can now see data from your connected wearables and apps, such as AllTrails, Oura Ring and MyFitnessPal, in the You tab of the Fitbit app.
7.) Access tickets, membership passes, and more
Google Wallet passes are now available on Wear OS watches, which enable you to access your tickets, passes, memberships and cards from your wrist. You can choose which passes to display or hide, and use them when you need them.
8.) Get transit directions with a quick game at your wrist
Google Maps for Wear OS now offers public transit directions, which help you catch your bus, train or ferry with a glance at your wrist. You can look up departure times, get compass-guided navigation and mirror directions to your phone if you prefer.
9.) Chat with Gemini right in Messages
Gemini is a new chatbot that you can access right in Google Messages on your Android phone. You can chat with Gemini to draft messages, brainstorm ideas, plan events or simply have a fun conversation.
Google is making file sharing easier on Chromebooks by soon enabling Quick Share as a default feature. Quick Share allows seamless transfer of files between Android, Chrome OS, and Windows devices without needing cloud services. Previously, users had to manually activate it, but Google is planning to simplify this process for Chromebooks
When enabled by default, Quick Share will default to sharing files only with devices signed into the same Google Account (“Your Devices”). This change removes the option to selectively share with specific contacts and removes the On/Off toggle.
Recently, Google introduced a new flag known as Quick Share V2 for Chrome OS. This flag brings the above-mentioned enhancements to enhance user convenience with the use of local file sharing across its platforms.
In addition to this, Quick Share may soon include peer-to-peer Wi-Fi support for faster transfers similar to Android devices. While the exact release date for these improvements is not specified, Chrome OS users can look forward to more enhanced file sharing in upcoming updates.
Google Photos is developing a ‘Cinematic Moment’ feature, which will enhance videos by adding slow-motion effects automatically. This feature is similar to the ‘Cinematic Photos’ tool, which creates 3D-like images.
The ‘Cinematic Moment’ feature of the Google Photos app will select parts of a video and slow them down to create an amazing effect. This process is developed to be fully automatic, allowing users to enjoy their videos with an added layer of enhancement without any manual effort.
Discovered by Assemble Debug (Android Authority) during an APK teardown of Google Photos app version 6.84.0.634885033, the feature is still in the development phase. The code hints at the ability of the feature to create moments by slowing down parts of a video.
It’s important to note that not all features discovered in development code are released to the public. This new feature is expected to be available in a future update of Google Photos, making it easier for users to create interesting videos without manual editing.
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At the recent I/O 2024, Google showcased the importance of on-device AI for Android’s future. Some Android apps are already using Gemini Nano, and the search engine is going to expand it to more apps.
The session titled “Android on-device AI under the hood” highlighted the three uses of on-device generative AI – Cosume, Create, and Classify. These three offer text summarization, messaging suggestions, and sentiment analysis
The advantages of on-device AI are enhanced security, offline availability, reduced latency, and no cloud costs. However, the limitations include a smaller parameter size of 2-3 billion and a limited context window.
Gemini Nano is the chosen platform for developing on-device AI applications. Currently, Google’s apps like Pixel Recorder and Google Messages are using Gemini Nano, and more apps are expected to integrate it in 2024.
Future updates will introduce Gemini Nano for features like TalkBack captions and spam alerts. The Multimodality update is expected later in the year for Pixel devices. Google aims to provide smarter, more secure, and more reliable services.
Gemini Nano will enhance Android’s call security with smart alerts
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