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.

Android Q Beta adds Dark Theme

The Verge

It’s a trend we’re seeing across platforms and it’s making a system-wide debut on Android Q Beta 3. Dark Mode, or Dark Theme as Google calls it, comes to the latest version of the operating system that just dropped. And as The Verge’s Dieter Bohn points out, it’s true black and not dark grey, which theoretically could mean this could help save battery life. To activate it, you just need to pull down the Quick Settings menu, tap a button, and watch the interface change. If you use battery saver mode on Android 10 Q, that’ll also trigger Dark Theme.

As expected, the feature is rolling out to first-party Android apps. For third-party developers, Google plans to develop an API to let these apps know when Dark Theme is on, so their app switches to it as well. The company is giving developers an option to add one line of code into their app to create a “quick-and-dirty” version of Dark Theme. This might be a hack, but it could be used in the meantime before they implement a more elegant Dark Theme—if they choose to do so.

Google refocuses efforts on Privacy and Security for all users

Google is changing the image of Android OS with the new Android Q OS which has major security and privacy features that could give Android a much anticipated edge against iOS. Apple has famously rallied around privacy and security through various security features. Google promised to give Android users greater control of their personal information and data. There will be tools within Android Q to Auto-Delete browsing history and location information, as well as Incognito Mode across various system apps.

Google is really rallying around privacy and security, the difference from Apple's approach is that Google is making these features more accessible even through lower cheaper smartphones running on older hardware. In an OP/ED in the New York Times, titled Privacy Should Not Be a Luxury Good,  Google CEO Sundar Pichai discussed the company-wide push towards safeguarding user privacy, or at least giving users the ability to decide and control what they do with their information. Google will employ various strategies to safeguard user's personal data.

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