Google recently unveiled new features for Wear OS, Chromebooks, and Android that are intended to boost accessibility, productivity, and connectivity.
New features include Google Keep shortcuts for your phone and smartwatch, forthcoming Quick Pair compatibility for Chromebooks, and new Wear OS accessibility options.
Quick Pair, according to the business, will soon enable the quick pairing of new Bluetooth headphones with Chromebooks.
A user’s Chromebook will immediately connect to any headphones they have previously configured for their Android phone. Although Google did not specifically state when this update would go live, it did say that it would do so “soon.”
As part of today’s audio announcements, Google Meet will soon include noise cancellation on additional Android mobile devices, allowing users to block out background noise while conversing in a meeting.
The tech giant also said that users would soon be able to simply boost the size of any content on Chrome by up to 300% while maintaining the page structure. This includes text, photos, and videos.
To avoid having to change it every time they open the browser, users will be able to set their chosen content size as a default.
The new version is now accessible in Chrome Beta and will shortly be made available to all users.
A Google Keep single note widget that users can access from their home screen to manage their notes and cross things off of lists is also something the firm plans to make available.
The widget syncs with your smartwatch and shows reminders, background colours, and images added to notes from the Keep app.
Additionally, Google Keep will be releasing two new watch face shortcuts that allow users to quickly create notes and to-do lists.
A new productivity feature from Google will let users mark PDF files in the Google Drive app for Android using a stylus or just their fingers.
To write notes or criticism, you can experiment with various ink techniques. You can also use the highlighter tool to capture essential information on your tablet or phone.
Your annotated papers can then be hidden, deleted, or undone, or a fresh copy can be saved. Now available in Google Drive for Android is freehand annotation.
Two new sound and display modes are also being added to Wear OS with the aim of enhancing watch accessibility.
Users will soon have access to the mono-audio option, which will lessen the disorientation that split-audio causes. Users will get more options for their watch display with the addition of new colour correction and grayscale modes.
A Gboard product called Emoji Kitchen, which enables users to transmit combined or remixed sticker versions of Google’s emoji designs, is also getting new emoji combinations from the firm.
Users can experiment with the new basketball team and spring selections before sharing them with others.
The imminent release of new tap-to-pay animations in Google Wallet to assist you in validating your in-store purchases is another exciting new feature. Google made a suggestion that “cheerful penguins” and other characters will start to appear for users starting next week.