This is something that has long been anticipated, but it will only be offered as an Android-to-Android capability. Google did not specify a particular rollout date, but it will happen within the coming weeks. The upgrades’ primary goal is to increase accessibility on Android and other platforms. For Google Drive and Google Keep, for instance, there are now larger widgets. “Three home screen buttons now provide one-touch access to your Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google Sheets files thanks to an improved Google Drive widget. Additionally, a larger widget and text size in Google Keep make note-taking, to-do lists, and reminders simple to access, according to a blog post by Google.
In addition to making devices more accessible, Google has unveiled a number of new Android features that are intended to make it simpler to share content across all of your devices. The most important upgrade concerns Nearby Share, Android’s solution to Apple’s AirDrop technology, which facilitates file transfers. Users may now opt-in with their electronic gadgets and rapidly transfer data between their devices thanks to the new update. Even if the screen is off, they will be automatically accepted. Instead of having to accept the file on the receiving device, you can transfer the picture, file, or web link this way.
Highlights
Google is also adding an ‘Emojify’ button to the Gboard app for Android. When you’ve completed your sentence, you can hit Emojify in order to add a collection of suggested emoji related to what you’ve typed out. Google reckons this’ll be easier than searching for emoji one by one. You can keep tapping the button to get the configuration you want. Google has also added loads of emoji mashup stickers to Gboard. Games like Uno and Heads Up are coming to Google Meet and you can play on Android phones and tablets with up to 100 people. Bitmoji are also coming to Wear OS watch faces for deeper personalisation of those wearables.
Google TV is also getting new Audio Descriptions to help blind and low-vision people, which are discoverable by hitting the Google Assistant button and saying “search audio description movies”. For the deaf and hard of hearing community there are now custom sound alerts for the Sound Notifications section of the Live Transcribe & Notifications settings. That feature can detect fire alarms and running water sounds, for example.