Google Camera starts rolling out Time Lapse mode to other Pixel phones

When Google launched the Pixel 3a and 3a XL at Google I/O 2019, one of the new features the phones got was a Time Lapse mode in the Camera app. The said feature is now making its way to other Pixel phones. As its name suggests, it’ll let you record long segments of video at a few frames per second so you can speed up said footage by 5x, 10x, 30x, or 120x. The interface for video recording in Time Lapse will have a slider that shows the different recording speeds. Google Photos will support these videos natively. If you own a Pixel phone and head to the Play Store now, you can get Google Camera 6.2 with Time Lapse included. You can access the feature in the More section of the app.

Source: 9to5Google

Google Maps rolls out AR walking directions on Pixel phones

So, you don’t like asking people for directions but don’t want to seem lost. Google Maps is rolling out its AR walking directions feature to all Pixel smartphones. This feature was previously only available to “Level 5” Google Maps Local guides. As its name suggests, it overlays arrows on the street view of Maps to help you navigate a place. You just need to look for the Start AR option from directions to fire this up. Your phone will need to do a quick calibration to help you get to where you want to go. As expected, this will affect the battery life of your phone, so you have to be wary of that.

Source: 9to5Google

Smart Reply is coming to all messaging apps with Android Q

If you use Google’s Messages app or Gmail, then you’re familiar with Smart Reply. Thanks to machine learning, the feature anticipates what you’re going to type before you type it out. With the upcoming Android Q release, Smart Reply will be heading to other third-party messaging apps. Aside from using it to reply to messages, it’ll also anticipate your actions. So, if a friend sends you an address, it’ll assume you want to open Google Maps and suggest that to you. If you’re worried about sending your activity to Google, the machine learning happens on-device, so you don’t have to worry about it hitting Google’s servers. The company has really been rallying around promoting the privacy and security of its users with this next Android release.

Source: Android Authority

Get real-time subtitles on any audio or video on your phone with Android Q's Live Caption feature

One of the most useful features coming to Android Q makes it easier for the hard of hearing or deaf users to understand what’s happening in video and audio clips they’re watching or listening to. Live Caption will let you see any audio or video clip transcribed in real time, which The Verge’s Chris Welch is said to be done “with extremely accurate results.” The Live Caption is overlaid on top of whatever media app you’re using. It even works for video chat apps like Skype and Google Duo as well as with video or audio you record yourself. It makes use of on-device machine learning so it doesn’t have to send your data to the cloud to interpret what’s happening. It also works even when volume is turned down or muted. However, it won’t save the translations for later use.

The captions, which appear in a black box that you can move around, disappear when the content is over. It is turned off by default, but you can enable the feature in your phone’s accessibility settings. These can then be enabled through a software icon that appears in the volume UI pop-up. The feature will prove to be useful even to those without hearing problems. Imagine being on a crowded train and just wanting to watch a clip without having to turn up the volume to hear what’s happening or use it as a guide for transcribing.