Google I/O 2021

This week we had the Google I/O conference and here are the biggest announcements.

Android 12

The newest version of the Android got a redesign and now with Material You allows to customize the color scheme of the phone. If you don't feel like an artist, Android has you covered and will automatically adjust colors based on your wallpaper. Beside design, Google also added features to control and monitor privacy.

Workspace

Google's Workspace will get more tools making online collaboration easier. One of them is ability to start a meeting right from Google Doc, Sheet and Slide.

Lamda

Lamda is a new Language processing AI. Its main goal is to help understand natural language and conversations. I have to admin, the demo, although prerecorded, was super impressive.

Starline

Another futuristic project is Starline. This technology recreates, in a real time, a 3D model of a person across from you. The main goal is  to recreate the feeling of having a face-to-face conversation.

Animated photos from still shots

Google Photos will be able to create an animated photo based on two still photos. The result will be the same as we have with live photos on iOS, but with Google solution we will be able to make animated version after the fact using the AI.

Password Manager

Password manager built into Android and Chrome will allow to change password on a website right from the manager.

Skin conditions

Google announce a new tool to monitor and check conditions that only require a phone with a camera. The tool should be available later this year.

Microsoft plans to replace Outlook with new Universal Client

According to Windows Central, Microsoft plans to replace all the current versions of Outlook with one, web based, universal client. This new client - codename Monarch - is based on the Outlook Web app already available available in a browser today. There is no information when the actual switch might happen.

10th years of the Mac App Store

The Mac App Store launched exactly 10 years ago, on January 6, 2011. Although it is the easiest way to install an app on the Mac, it never gained the popularity. The 30% Apple tax and not clear app review rules caused that many developers never sold their apps through the AppStore or even abandoned the AppStore.

Hopefully the new and lower Apple Tax for small businesses and upcoming investigations regarding Apple's monopoly will make the AppStore a better place for developers.

Google workers plans to unionize

A group of Google workers plan to unionize. The Alphabet Workers Union will be available to all employees and contractors that work for Google's companies. So far about 400 workers joined the union out over 130K people working for Google. The union might be small, but it is determined to solve the issues that has been reveled in recent months.

Image credits: Microsoft

Pixel 5

Google has announced the next-gen flagship smartphone. And here is the spec:

• 6-inch (2340 x 1080) OLED display,
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G CPU,
• 8GB of RAM,
• 128GB of  storage,
• Hole-punch 8 Mpix selfie camera,
• Dual rear camera: 12.2 Mpix (main) and 16 Mpix (wide),
• 5G capabilities,
• 4080 mAh battery.

Phone will be available from October 10th for $699.

Dope links

• Encapsulating SwiftUI view styles
• Apple’s use of Swift and SwiftUI in iOS 14
• StoreKit Testing Improvements in iOS 14
• Local unit tests with Xcode

Image credits: Google

Introducing DualSense the New Wireless Game Controller for PlayStation5

Microsoft Edge Is Now More Popular Than Firefox | Digital Trends

The web has changed a lot over the years, and so has the way we use it. The thing that hasn’t changed? The web browser, the tool every one of us depends on. Here’s why it’s well past time for new ideas.

Digital TrendsArif Bacchus

Play Stadia Pro for free, starting today

Video games are a great way to socialize while at home, so we’re giving gamers in 14 countries free access to Stadia Pro for two months.

GooglePhil Harrison

Disney Plus surpasses 50 million subscribers

The international rollout of Disney Plus in a number of countries has helped it roll past the 50 million subscriber mark, the company has announced. To compare, Netflix has 167 million subscribers worldwide.

The VergeJulia Alexander

Leaker Claims New 13-inch MacBook Pro Coming as Soon as Next Month

Apple will announce a new 13-inch MacBook Pro in May with the codename J223, according to a rumor shared by YouTuber and leaker Jon Prosser. ...

MacRumorsTim Hardwick

No one’s getting new emoji in 2021 because of the pandemic

The Unicode Consortium says it’s delaying the release of emoji in 2021 and will be pushing back the schedule until 2022. This means the deadline to submit new emoji goes until September 1st.

The VergeAshley Carman

Google extends free access to advanced teleconferencing features to September 30th

Google has announced that it will extend free access to some advanced Google Meet features to all G Suite and G Suite for Education customers until September 30th. Previously, Google said it would offer free access until July 1st.

The VergeJay Peters

Apple and Google partner on COVID-19 contact tracing technology

Apple and Google announce a joint effort to help governments and health agencies reduce the spread of the virus, with user privacy central to the design.

Apple Newsroom

Cyberpunk 2077’s DLC will be revealed before release, CD Projekt suggests | VGC

Company says it’s planning “no less” DLC than it released for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Video Games ChronicleAndy Robinson

iOS 14,  iPadOS 14, watchOS 7 details leaked

Couple of details leaked about upcoming operating systems and new Apple's products:

iOS

• Over-ear headphones with AirPods feature are coming,
• iPhone SE 2 will have TouchID,
• AirTag might have removable battery,
• Home screen will get list view for the apps,
• New augmented reality app will display detail information about real objects,
• 3rd-party apps will be able to integrate their wallpapers with the system
• HomeKit will be able to change the color temperature of lights throughout a day.

iPadOS

• Smart keyboards with trackpads are in the works,
• iPad Pro might have triple camera system,
• Extended support for mouse pointers,
• New OCR system capable to detect text written with Apple Pencil

watchOS

• Sharing watch faces with friends & family,
• Watch face with tachymeter,
• Watch face with country flags,
• Photo watch face could be made not only out of single photos, but entire albums as well,
• Parental controls,
• Sleep tracking app,
• Blood oxygen tracking,
• WatchOS apps will be no longer be based on extensions.

New MacBooks

According to Ming-Chi Ku, couple of new MacBooks will be released in upcoming months:

1. 14- inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air with Scissor Keyboards will come in second quarter,
2. MacBooks with ARM processor will come in late 2020 or early 2021.

Google Pixel 4a

New details regarding upcoming budget phone have surfaced:

• 5.8-inch (2340 x 1080) display,
• Snapdragon 730 CPU,
• 4GB or 6GB of RAM,
• Hole-punch selfie camera,
• Single 12-megapixel rear camera,
• Fingerprint sensor on the back,
• 3.5mm headphone jack,
• support for dual-sim in 6GB model,
• 3080mAh battery,
• Phone will be available in April starting  at $399.

Coronavirus vs conferences #3

This week another conferences have been affected by coronavirus:

• E3 2020 joined has been cancelled,
• Microsoft's Build 2020 has been converted to online-only event,
• WDDC 2020 will be an online experience.

Dope Links

• Drawing In SwiftUI – A Comprehensive Guide
• Integrating MapKit with SwiftUI
• Avoiding massive SwiftUI views
• How to create Activity Ring in SwiftUI
• Class-only Protocols: class or AnyObject
• Google's Swift Style Guide
• Getting started with Vue & Apollo GraphQL
• Here is what Cloudflare Workers do
• is it canceled yet?
• Re-imagining the Windows Experience

Image credits: the Hacker 34