ArduinoMania

Google is rolling out auto-translated video captions for YouTube on mobile devices, with support for 16 languages. The feature is live now. Additionally, YouTube video transcripts are now available to all Android and iOS users.

This is all part of Google's work to make YouTube videos easier to navigate and search, building on existing features like auto-generated chapters. Google has a plan to increase the number of YouTube videos with auto-generated chapters from 8 million to 80 million by the end of the year. 

Next month, Google plans to add auto-translated captions to Ukrainian YouTube content.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2022 right here!

At I/O 2022, Google provided a number of updates regarding search including a powerful new feature called scene exploration. 

One new addition is support for Google Lens inside the default Google Search bar, which makes it easier to point your camera at an object and look it up on the web. However, to support more natural search across a range of inputs, Google is looking to enhance multisearch by making it easier to find info about local businesses with the new Near Me feature. 

However, in the future, Google wants to supercharge its search abilities with Scene Exploration, which looks to condense info from places like cluttered store shelves in order to serve it in a more digestible way. On stage, Google demoed this by showing a picture of chocolate bars in a store, before using scene exploration to call out additional info like the presence of nuts, user ratings and more. 

This story is still developing, so check back soon for more information...

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2022 right here!

Google Maps is getting an "Immersive View" that will offer users digitally rendered looks at major US cityscapes, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai told the audience at Google I/O developer conference on Wednesday.  

The new feature uses computer vision and AI to blend Maps' existing Street View function with aerial photography to create high-resolution models of the various buildings and urban features of a given location. "With our new immersive view, you’ll be able to experience what a neighborhood, landmark, restaurant or popular venue is like — and even feel like you’re right there before you ever set foot inside," wrote Miriam Daniel, VP of Google Maps, on Wednesday. What's more, Maps' other tools and features can be applied to the view as well, enabling users to see what the area looks like at different times of the day and varying weather conditions.

Immersive View will first be available for Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo later this year, with more cities to follow. The company also notes that its recently released eco-routing feature, which lets drivers in the US and Canada to pick the most fuel efficient route for their trip, has already been used to travel 86 billion miles, and prevented the release of roughly half a million metric tons of carbon emissions.

developing

Google is making it easy to catch up on long documents with a new auto summarization feature, which will soon be available on Google Docs. It relies on machine learning to break down the key points in a file and generate a readable briefing. Think of it like automatic Cliff's Notes for all of those work reports you never read. Google originally announced the feature in March, but now it's closer to reaching the public.

Google

As Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai explained at today's Google I/O keynote, the automatic summary feature relies on language understanding, information compression and natural language generation to work its magic. And while it's coming to Docs soon, he says it'll eventually make its way to Google Spaces and Chats, where it can summarize your conversations so you don't have to spend hours scrolling up. If anything, it'll be a nice way to keep tabs on those group chats you're lurking in.

As for other Google Workplace updates, the company is introducing a Portrait Restore feature to clean up crummy webcam video in Google Meet, and it's launching a customizable way to simulate studio portrait lighting. It's also using AI to de-reverberate sound, which makes it seem like you're talking into a high-quality microphone, and bringing automatic transcriptions to Google Meet later this year.   

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2022 right here!

Google is adding support for 24 new languages to its Translate tool, the company announced today during its I/O 2022 developer conference. Among the newly available languages are Sanskrit, Tsongae and Sorani Kurdish. 

According to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the expansion allows the company to cover languages spoken by more than three hundred million people. Pichai credited the breakthrough to a new monolingual AI learning approach where Google's translation algorithm learns how to translate a language without ever seeing a translation of it.   

Developing...

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2022 right here!

YouTube is giving Shorts creators yet another way to incorporate content from other users within their videos. Starting today, the company has begun rolling out Green Screen, a feature that allows you to use up to 60 seconds of an eligible YouTube VOD or Short as the background for your own original Short. Green Screen allows you to use both the video and audio from a sampled clip.

If you don’t want other people incorporating your long-form footage in their Shorts, you can opt out from Green Screen sharing through YouTube Studio. Otherwise, each time a user samples someone’s content, you’ll see a link to the original video in the Shorts player.

YouTube has begun rolling out Green Screen to iOS, with Android to follow at a later date. You can access the feature through the three-dots menu found in the Shorts app. The rollout of Green Screen follows the announcement of the Cut functionality YouTube introduced last month. That feature allows creators to add up to five seconds of footage from an eligible Short or YouTube video to their clip. Remixing has played an important part in TikTok’s success, so it’s not a surprise to see YouTube working to offer Shorts users similar tools.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2022 right here!

Twitter has revamped its privacy policy to help you understand how it handles your data, but it's not convinced that's enough. The social network has launched a Data Dash game that it hopes will help you understand the trickier parts of the new policy in simpler terms. At its heart, it's a simple platformer that has you guide your dog Data around unwanted ads (for cats, naturally), navigate through spam DMs and avoid trolls. Complete a level and you'll learn more about Twitter's approach and how you can take control of the experience.

Data Dash won't exactly challenge hardcore gamers, and the mechanics are a bit crude. The 8-bit retro style is cute (if unoriginal), though, and the easy gameplay makes it more likely that you'll learn something rather than give up in frustration.

The biggest issue may simply be the tone. While the game is glib, the issues it's dealing with are potentially serious — we doubt people will enjoy this if they've been targets for harassment or hate speech. Data Dash is more for newcomers and other innocents who want to wrap their heads around privacy concepts before they encounter the sobering reality.

Google I/O is one of the company's most important events of the year, and it all kicks off with today's keynote. It's a safe bet that Google will reveal fresh details about Android 13, but the company will most likely have much more to discuss.

It's not exactly a secret that Google has been beavering away on its own smartwatch — especially after a prototype was left at a restaurant recently. It wouldn't be a surprise if the company officially showed off the Pixel Watch for the first time today. There are also rumblings of news on the smartphone front, particularly in the form of the rumored Pixel 6a. 

Google will also surely have announcements on other fronts. Key products like Search, Google Assistant and other hardware may be on the docket as well (I have my fingers crossed for some Stadia news, but I'm not holding my breath).

Before the keynote gets underway at 1PM ET, join us for our pre-show, which starts at 12:40PM. Deputy Editor Cherlynn Low and Senior Reporter Sam Rutherford will break down what we expect Google to announce and provide their expert analysis. Engadget will also have full coverage of all the biggest news from I/O.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2022 right here!

The wait is over. After a year of regional betas and a delay to the game's initially planned limited launch, Respawn Entertainment announced on Wednesday it will release Apex Legends Mobile on May 17th. At that point, anyone who wants to check out the battle royale can do so on Android and iOS. Fans can pre-register to receive a notification as soon as Apex Legends Mobile is available to download. And by signing up for a download prompt, Respawn says you'll be helping the community unlock special rewards.   

EA first shared it was bringing Apex to mobile in 2019. The Android and iOS release does not feature cross-play support with the PC and console versions of the popular first-person shooter. At launch, Apex Legends Mobile will also include a smaller pool of playable characters, but one will feature one exclusive legend. 

Now that it's relatively safe to travel again, Airbnb is unveiling an overhauled experience that includes some much-needed features for frequent travellers. To start, the reworked app now lets you search for categories tied to the home style, location or activity. You can look for places close to national parks, or even book a treehouse. Airbnb is clearly hoping you'll book stays beyond the usual tourist hotspots.

The biggest addition, however, might be Split Stays. As the name implies, this lets you split a trip between two homes without having to separately book each location. You can split between categories or destinations, too. This promises to be helpful for long trips, or any travel where you won't stay in one place.

And while Airbnb no longer offers refunds if you get COVID-19, it is providing some extra protections to encourage travel. A new AirCover program will either relocate you or provide a refund if the host needs to cancel (within 30 days), if you can't check in or if the home doesn't match the advertised claims. The 24-hour safety phone line has also expanded support to 16 languages, and AirCover is built directly into both the app and Airbnb's website.

The reworked experience is available in the US today, and should spread worldwide this week. Airbnb may be stretching when it claims this is its largest change "in a decade," but it might be enough to prompt a vacation after two years of huddling in place.