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Google Apps Updates Roundup #94
This is Google Apps Updates Roundup number 94. In this episode, I will show you more than 30 new features in 10 different apps, so make sure all your Google apps are up to date, and let me show you what’s new.
On a side note, if you like any of the wallpapers you see in this video, you can go ahead and download the channel’s wallpapers via the In-Depth Reviews app from the Google Play Store. You will find the link in the description below. It will give you lifetime access to all my exclusive wallpapers for only $1.99. Now, let’s get back to Google Apps.
YouTube App Updates
Let’s start the episode with the YouTube app, which has received eight new features.
The first one: when you try to share a channel link, you now have the option to generate a QR code, which looks very similar to Snapchat, with the YouTube logo and the channel logo on top of each other. At the very bottom, you have the ability to save this QR code to your camera roll or, in other words, to your photo gallery, so you can get back to it later.
In the viewfinder, you will see a redesigned time and chapters overlay. They now have a new pill-shaped design, so each one has its own container. The casting menu has also received a complete revamp. Let me cast this video to my Google TV. When I tap on the cast button one more time, you will see this brand-new design. Here, you have the microphone, the remote control, and the volume slider. When you tap on the ellipses, you can disconnect from the TV with the ability to switch back to your phone if you want.
The share sheet has also been updated and now includes one more option called “With Kids,” which will show you the kids’ accounts you have under your current Google account.
YouTube Shorts Updates
Moving to Shorts, there are two new changes. The first one: when you pause the video, you will see this overlay carousel that gives you quick access to your subscriptions, live trends, and shopping. If the short is live, you will also get a redesigned overlay card. Let me play a live short and then tap the ellipses. You will see a carousel here for likes, dislikes, share, and report. Then, you will get the description, view, channel quality, and so on. Finally, you have the live chat settings and feedback section.
Sometimes, while scrolling in your home feed, you might come across this carousel that includes suggestions related to the already suggested video to make things a little bit more specific. In some cases, when you play live content, you might come across this overlay chat summary box that gives you a quick summary of what people are saying in the chat. You also have the ability to give feedback using the thumbs up and thumbs down, and when you keep it for a while, it disappears automatically.
YouTube Music Updates
The next app we have is YouTube Music, which has received four new changes. The first one is the updated splash screen, similar to the YouTube app. Under the profile menu, I found a brand-new option called Badges. When I go inside, it’s currently empty, even though I use YouTube Music every day. However, I found an article by 9to5Google released on June 28, 2023, talking about the feature, which means it’s an old one, but this is the first time I’ve seen it. These are the different types of badges you can earn. When I scroll down a bit, there are some screenshots showing how the badges interface looks.
Under settings, I found a new Family Center option. When I go inside, I see the kids’ accounts I have under Family Link. When I tap on any of them, it gives me the ability to restrict some features like search. I can disable autoplay, pause watch history, pause search history, clear history, and unblock videos. Additionally, I can choose the age of my kid: older, younger, or preschool.
Last but not least, when I try to create a new playlist, I now get a slightly updated design for the overlay card. It looks a little bit better than before, with a button to turn on collaboration or not.
Gmail Updates
The next app we have is Gmail, which has received three new additions, all related to Gemini. The first one is the new Gemini button next to the search bar at the top, which will help you ask some generic questions about your inbox, like “Show unread emails from today” or “Show unread emails from this week.” You can even use it to summarize your inbox. For example, I’m going to type “Summarize unread messages from today” and hit the send button. Give it some time until it finishes. Now it’s done, and here’s the summary. When you scroll down a bit, you will see another section called Sources, which will show you the source emails used to generate this summary. You can also copy it to your clipboard. You can give feedback using the thumbs up and thumbs down, and you can also clear the history using this button.
When you go inside any of the messages, you will see another Gemini button at the top, which will give you more options tailored to this specific message, like “Summarize this email,” “List the next steps,” or “Suggest a reply.” It looks exactly the same as the other one. If you decide to keep the history without clearing it using this button, every time you open Gemini, you will see all your interactions intact, so you can get back to them at any time.
Google Maps Updates
Next, we have Google Maps, and here I’m going to show you six new features. Starting with the updated Google Maps style, the first thing you will notice is the text at the top that says “Search and go.” Instead of getting only two shortcuts for home and work, now we have even more. The third one is the ability to start an immediate voice search, and another one takes you to your recent locations. We also have the map button that will take you to the map view right away. On top of this, you can now add two Google Maps complications to your watch faces. Let me show you how they look. The first one is called “Search Maps.” Let me scroll down a bit until I find it. Here you have Search Maps and Show Map. Search Maps will immediately start a voice search when you tap on it, and the second one will simply open the map view.
The most exciting feature is the ability to report incidents while navigating, which is something we had in Waze for a very long time. When you tap on this button, it will give you seven different options to choose from. When you tap on any of them, you have the chance to undo your action in case you tapped on it by mistake, which will enhance Google Maps navigation a lot more. I also noticed this overlay alerts button at the top got a small visual tweak. When you select any of the options, it will briefly show the selected one in a pill-shaped container, which looks really nice.
Moving to the timeline, Google is now saving your timeline data on-device. It says here, “With Timeline, your visits and routes are automatically saved to a map on each of your devices.” To avoid losing visits and routes, choose your settings by December 1, 2024. Let’s tap next to see what we will get on this page. It will allow you to choose how long you would like to keep your timeline data. If you ignore it, it will automatically delete your timeline data after 3 months starting December 1, or you can choose to keep it all the time. When you choose to auto-delete, you have three choices: 3 months, 18 months, or 36 months. I’m going to keep it all the time and then hit save and continue. Because your data is now saved on-device, you have the option to keep it locally or back it up to your Google account using this backup button. When you tap on it, it will give you the option to turn the backup on or off, and it shows here which device it will back up from. Another change is the ability to show all your visited places on the map by tapping on this layers button, then tapping on Show. All these dots represent places I visited, and when I tap on any of them, it will jump to this specific day to show me the places I visited.
Google Home Updates
The next app we have is Google Home, which has received two new features. The first one is under the Activity tab, and at the top, we got two new filters. The first one is called Events. You can tap on Select All to select everything or Clear All and choose individual items. Here you have service linking, permission changed, data access, and finally, presence sensing, in addition to the ability to filter by date. Here you can choose a specific day or a date range. Lastly, the Automations page got a redesign, and now each item shows in its own rectangular container.
Updates in Other Google Apps
Now, let’s go through the apps that only got one new change.
Google Contacts
When you try to add a new contact, you will see this redesigned page. Here you can add extra fields like email, significant date, address, and label. When you add any of them, you get this really nice animation, and you can remove them as well by tapping on the minus sign.
Files App
In the Files app, you will see this new Recent carousel that looks similar to the Memory section in Google Photos, with the ability to tap on See All, which will show you everything in a grid view.
Circle to Search
In Circle to Search, we got a new shortcut for the Hum to Search feature, which can help you identify songs. It has this really cool animation while listening. Here is what you get when it identifies the song: it will take you to a Google search page with everything you need to know.
Google Search
In Google Search, we got the same Add to Your Search functionality of Google Lens. Let me show you a quick example. When I open this photo and scroll down, you will see the Add to Your Search bar showing at the top, so you can add things like a different color, model, or variant. If I want the brown color from this car, I can add it to the search and get more relevant results.
Pixel-Exclusive Features
Now, let’s end this video by talking about some Pixel-exclusive features.
The first one is in the battery widget. You will notice that the phone will always get a different color compared to other Bluetooth devices connected to your phone. Not only this, but if you have the Pixel Buds Pro, you can now control the active noise cancellation directly from the Sound and Vibration card. You can turn it off, activate the transparency mode, or noise cancellation.
The Pixel Sounds app also got a brand-new category called Sound Matters. When you go to Sound and Vibration and then Phone Ringtone, under Sound Matters, you will find six different nature sounds to choose from as a ringtone. Here’s a quick example. You will find the same thing under the Default Notification Sound, but this one includes four.
Conclusion
That’s pretty much it for today. Those are all the new features I wanted to show you in Google Apps. Please reach out to me on social media if you spot any new features to include in my future episodes. For now, thanks so much for watching, and see you in the next video.
