What you need to know
- Google's Android 13 September Feature Drop brings a new Assistant At a Glance widget for Android devices.
- Blind or low-vision users will find new AI-generated image descriptions through Lookout.
- New features and updates are also coming to Google Wallet, Android Auto, and routines.
- This feature drop also includes Google's redesign for its Android OS.
Google announces its latest set of additions and features for the Android ecosystem as we kickstart September and head into fall.
According to Google's blog post, the September Feature Drop starts by bringing an updated Assistant At a Glance widget on Android devices. Using AI as its centerpiece, Google states this updated widget will bring "high-precision" weather alerts, dynamic travel updates, and upcoming event reminders to a user's home screen.
Google is using its AI technology to generate more detailed descriptions of visual content for people who are blind or with low vision. With this update, users can open an image and type or voice a follow-up question about a photo in Lookout. Furthermore, the September update is bringing support for 11 more languages to Lookout, including Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.
Google has included some personalized and motivational aspects to personal Routines. The company states the information displayed will come from their Fitbit or Google Fit activity and sleep data. Users can enjoy some extra morning motivation by adding their hours slept and sleep start time to their "Good Morning" Routine.
Saying, "Hey Google, good morning" will prompt your device to deliver a recap of your nightly sleep stats once you're awake.
On the other side, Google Wallet Pass photo import gives users a way to digitize barcodes or QR codes present on passes. Uploading an image of a pass (gym card, library card, etc.) will store it securely within a user's Google Wallet account. Google announced this feature in Wallet back in June, so it's likely we're going to see this rolling out on plenty of devices very soon.
Not only can users save physical passes in Wallet, but the company states this also includes state IDs, tickets, and more.
Lastly, Google is preparing to add a few communication apps to the Android Auto world. Webex by Cisco and Zoom come aboard so users can start or join conference calls (audio only) and peruse their meeting schedule all from their car. Users will have the ability to mute their microphone if need be through their car's display, as well.
With the rollout of September's Feature Drop, Google is taking this time to reveal its "modern" redesign of the Android OS brand.
We've been expecting these Android changes for a while now. Ever since Google's I/O 2023 event, it was evident some sort of change was coming up for Android. We won't have to wait long as Google announced these changes to the Android brand will occur on phones and in other places this year.
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