Google is taking advantage of CES 2022 to unveil its new features, with the desire to help its many users to switch more easily from one device to another, through the prism of Android.
Starting from the observation that the number of connected objects present in each household has doubled in the space of two years, Google has realized that the owners of these devices have various types, often from different brands. Many of these objects are supported by Android, such as smartphones, laptops, headphones, speakers, smart speakers, watches, tablets, televisions, but also cars. On the sidelines of CES 2022, where Google shines with its physical absence due to the Omicron variant, the company presents new solutions ” to make your Android devices and beyond work better together “. Let’s see what the American giant is talking about.
Google wants to help you quickly set up and connect all your devices
In the coming months, Google will allow its users to pair their headphones with Google TV or any device running Android TV OS. In the shorter term, ” in the coming weeks “, Says the Mountain View firm, you will be able to associate smart devices compatible with Matter to your network, but also associate them with Google Home and other related applications. Matter is Google’s new home automation standard, which should take off this year. It will ensure real interoperability between products of different brands.
Regarding Fast Pair, the Google standard that connects an Android device to any Bluetooth connectable audio device, there is also going to be something new here. In the coming weeks, the protocol will take a step forward, since it will be possible to easily associate your audio device (for example your headphones) with your Chromebook, which will automatically detect it and associate with it with a single click. In the event that you buy a Chromebook within a year, you can quickly set it up with your Android smartphone and access the information already saved through your Google ID.
New to locking and unlocking devices, now easier
More convenience and peace of mind: these are Google’s goals. If today, it is possible to unlock your Chromebook with your Android phone, it will also be possible, in the coming months, to extend this functionality to your Wear OS connected watch. So this means that with the help of your watch, you will be able to instantly unlock and access your smartphone, Chromebook or Android tablet.
We were talking to you earlier about vehicles, and Google is just announcing a partnership with BMW. Later this year, owners of a German brand vehicle will be able to use their compatible Samsung or Pixel smartphone to lock, unlock and even start the automobile. These actions will be made possible thanks to Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, which will even allow them to be carried out without having to take your smartphone out of your pocket.
What’s even crazier is that Google will give these same owners the ability to share their digital car key with a trusted loved one, who can move or borrow the vehicle if necessary. On this aspect, Google’s goal is now to expand the number of compatible Android smartphones and vehicles.
Jump from one device to another as you use it, effortlessly
Still with a view to better connecting devices to each other and making it easier for the user to switch from one to another, Google is developing technology for Bluetooth-compatible headphones that will automatically switch the audio based on the device you are listening to, from Chromebook to Android. If, for example, you are watching a movie with headphones from your Android tablet and you receive a call on your smartphone, the program will instantly pause when you answer the call, and the sound from the headphones or the phone. headset will switch to your mobile. By hanging up, it will pick up sound from your tablet again. Google is also working on spatial audio, expected in the coming months. Here, the sound will be adapted according to your head movements.
After the sound, the content. Google wants to make it easier to move and manage it on any device. Thus in a few weeks, Chromecast technology, which allows you to project videos from your phone or computer on screens or televisions, will be available for more brands. Bose smart speakers and soundbars will become compatible this year.
There will also be new for Phone Hub, which today allows you to access your smartphone’s features from your Chromebook screen, such as replying to a message from a messaging app. New options will arrive later this year. So, if your phone is out of range, you can still stay in touch by accessing mobile applications from your Chromebook, without having to reinstall them.
Let’s go back to the cars side again. In the coming months, it will be possible to turn it on and off, control the temperature and obtain a variety of information about your vehicle on devices compatible with the Google Assistant, such as Volvo Cars. . This feature will make your car a real connected object. Other models will follow thereafter, promises the American firm.
Google doesn’t forget Windows and (simple) file sharing
Finally, it will soon be possible to link your Android smartphone to your Windows PC to configure Bluetooth accessories, to synchronize text messages and share files using Nearby Sharing, which is a bit like Android’s AirDrop and which avoids connecting to USB-C. Google announces that it is working with Acer, HP and Intel to make this accessible to certain Windows PCs and their users.
Remember that all the new features unveiled in this article will only arrive, at best, in the coming weeks, or even in the coming months for some, on devices in the Google galaxy. It will therefore be necessary to take his troubles patiently.
Source: Google press release
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