NEW DELHI, MAY 03
Google appears all set for its annual developers conference, I/O. The company’s AI-based camera app, called Google Lens, is likely to take centre stage at I/O 2018. According to South Korean electronics giant LG, Google is said to announce new features for its camera app.
According to LG, Google will add support for a dedicated physical button to call the Google Lens app on Android smartphones (when required). This button will double up as a Google Assistant button as well. “Located just below the volume is a button that launches the phone’s AI functions. A single tap of this button will launch the Google Assistant while two quick taps will launch Google Lens, a first on any phone. Users can also hold down the button to start talking to the Google Assistant,” said LG in a statement.
This is similar to the ‘Bixby button’ on Samsung smartphones like the Galaxy S9. While Google is yet to confirm and throw more light on the ‘Google Lens/Assistant button’, LG has officially confirmed it for its upcoming Android flagship smartphone–LG G7 ThinQ.
Google had announced the Google Lens feature at Google I/O last year. The app made its debut on Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones launched in October last year. Google Lens is available inside Google Assistant and Google Photos. It intends to offer more information on objects like landmarks, plants, animals, books as well as identify text. Users can visit websites through the Lens app, add a business card to contacts, add events to the calendar or look up an item on a restaurant menu. Google had recently rolled out its Lens app for iOS as well and is expect to reveal more about it at the I/O developer’s conference.
Google I/O 2018 is happening at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California. The developers conference is scheduled to begin on May 8 and will run through May 10. In India, the event begins at 10.30PM on May 8. One of the biggest announcements at the event will be the official introduction of Android P. The company is likely to talk about the new OS version, its features along with some other enhancements it has made in other apps.
