Google Launches New Android Logo and Adds AI to ‘Glance’ Widget

While waiting for the stable release of Android 14, Google decided to give users an updated logo for the upcoming Android branding. The operating system has a new look and feel, and the company is rolling out a number of new features to celebrate the event. These include AI improvements to the Quick View widget and Lookout, one of Android’s accessibility tools. You can also upload library cards to your Google Wallet and make more conference calls in the car.

Rebranding Android

Android has gone through a years-long transition to figure out what its aesthetic is and how it wants to present itself as a platform. It may have finally found its look. Google has officially rebranded Android with a new look and improvements to the iconic green Android icon. The logo has been updated so that Android now has a capital “A”, which Google says makes it stand out from the rest. The new logo has “more curves” and “personality”; Google even showed off how the new “Android” logo fits over the Google logo, hinting at a unity between the parent brand and the mobile platform that hasn’t appeared in a while.

Fortunately, Google didn’t remove the bug droid, Android’s longstanding mascot. The Android robot is more three-dimensional than ever, and it’s back to showing off its whole body instead of just the head like the logos of the past few years. You can check out Google’s post if you want to read the full story behind the new interface.

Android AI Advanced Improvements

To celebrate this new look for Android, Google is adding some new features, and it doesn’t appear that this feature is exclusive to Pixel smartphone users. The new Quick Look widget will have a more prominent image and an additional line of information. The sample smartphone that demonstrates this feature is the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, which includes Samsung’s OneUI-style icons in the Home row.

I saw how helpful Glimpse can be when flying last week—it’s incredibly helpful to get the details you need while rushing to get somewhere. But I missed it at the top of the Home screen because it didn’t stand out very much. This new tweak will make this feature more prominent on the Home screen, to be exact. Google wants you to see its AI enhancements in action clearly.

Android users who are visually impaired and rely on apps like Lookout for support will also get the major update starting today. AI will help the Visual Q&A feature on Lookout generate more detailed descriptions of what’s happening in front of or on the screen. After importing images, you can ask questions via text or voice to understand the context of the image. Lookout also added 11 new languages ​​to its catalog, including Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. Now it supports 24 languages.

Library card in Google Wallet

Admittedly I don’t have a library account. I use my daughter’s card for everything from borrowing books in person to getting Libby’s audiobooks. But it’s inconvenient when I don’t have her card with me, especially when she wants a spontaneous trip to pick up new books.

This latest feature allows you to digitize cards with barcodes or QR codes that only work in specific settings, including library and exercise cards. All you have to do is take a photo of the card for Wallet to store.

A few more things

Android Auto users, I understand that you must make a conference call in your car while in heavy traffic. That doesn’t change the fact that we need better infrastructure to not have to deal with such things while behind the wheel. But at least, Android Auto can now natively handle both Webex and Zoom calls, so you can use the big screen in your car to manage calls instead of swiping through the smaller phone screen.

Fitbit and Google Fit users can now hear your sleep results as part of their daily wake-up routine with the Assistant.

The new look and feel of Android will start appearing in future phone releases and software updates. And the new features will start rolling out to everyone this week.

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