Google is constantly unveiling smart features that make people's lives and dealing with their smart devices easier (thanks to the information you get by tracking them all the time), and this time, during the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company revealed some new features that are coming in time. Later this year, smart devices will be able to communicate and interact, and work better together, making it easier for users to easily switch between them and continue their tasks and projects on their other smart devices without additional complications.
First up, in the coming months, Google will provide an easy setup for Matter-enabled smart devices. Matter is a new industry standard, trusted, secure and open-source standard, created by more than 200 companies around the world such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and aims to make smart device setup with a single click without the need for any additional steps.
Soon, when you buy a Matter-enabled smart home device, all you have to do is turn it on and bring it close to your Android smartphone, the phone will recognize it and help you to set it up, connect to your network, Google Home, and other accompanying apps, quickly all in just a few taps on your phone screen. This process uses Google's Fast Pair feature for Bluetooth devices.
Starting in a few weeks, when you turn on your Fast Pair-enabled headphones, your Chromebook will automatically detect it and pair with it in a single click, letting you stay focused when studying or working, and If you get a new Chromebook later this year, you can use your Android phone to quickly set it up and instantly access all the information you've already saved, like your Google login and Wi-Fi passwords.
In Windows, you'll also be able to quickly set up Bluetooth accessories, sync text messages, and share files using Nearby Share (finally we'll get to use this feature for something useful), by connecting your Android phone to your PC using Fast Pair. Google is working with Acer, HP, and Intel to bring this experience to select Windows PCs models later this year.
Fast Pair will also allow you to set up your Bluetooth headphones when you need to watch your favorite shows on your Google TV or Android TV OS device in the coming months.
Smartwatches with Wear OS later this year will also allow users to unlock their Android phones, tablets, and Chromebooks when they're near them. Your Chromebook can already be unlocked with an Android phone close to it, today, and using a smartwatch unlocking it will be a great addition, especially when you don't have your phone with you all the time.
With the Digital Car Key, you can now use your compatible phone (with Ultra-Wideband Chip) to lock, unlock and start your supported BMW vehicles from your phone. Later this year, you won't even have to take out your phone to use it as a car key, and you'll also be able to share your car key securely and remotely with friends and family if they need to borrow your car.
With Google Assistant Remote Actions, you'll soon be able also to use your voice to heat and cool your car, lock, and unlock it, and get info (like how much battery you have left) on all your Google Assistant-enabled devices. These capabilities are coming first in Volvo Cars in the coming months, with more to follow.
Google is also working on a technology for Bluetooth headphones that will enable users to automatically switch audio to any device you're listening to. So, if you are wearing headphones to watch a movie on your Android tablet, and you get a phone call, the movie will pause, and the headphone sound will automatically switch to your Android phone and then back to the movie when it's finished.
Android will also support Spatial Audio on headphones which adapts the sound based on the movements of your head, positioning the sound in the surrounding space. These features will be available on some supported headphone models over the coming months.
Google is also making it easier to transfer and manage content across any device by bringing the built-in Chromecast to more brands, starting with smart speakers in the next few months.
Noting cross-device sharing, your Chromebook will soon get the Camera Roll extension to the Chrome OS Phone Hub, making it easy to access your latest photos and videos with a single click.
Finally, You'll also be able to access chat apps from your phone directly into your Chromebook without having to install them, adding to the existing features you can do, even when your phone is away from you like viewing and responding to chat notifications, toggling Do Not Disturb, or off the ringtone to find your phone or continue browsing your recent Chrome tabs.
These features will contribute to making the Android operating system more integrated and more useful for more people to achieve the maximum possible benefit from an operating system whose biggest drawback has always been that it does not allow a smooth transition experience between the smart devices that run on it and does not help create an integrated ecosystem that competes with that of Apple, or that Huawei recently introduced in its Harmony OS.
