Exactly a year ago, Google revealed a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses at its I/O developer conference. But don’t like Google’s smart glassesThis new concept, which had no name at the time (and still didn’t), demonstrated the reality of digital overlay, advancing the idea of real-time language translation while you’re chatting with others.
It’s not about casting spells or watching dancing cartoons but providing access to something we all do every day: communication.
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The concept takes the form of a regular pair of glasses, making it clear that you don’t have to look like a robot to reap the benefits of today’s technology. Again, though, it was just a concept, and Google hasn’t really talked about the product since.
Twelve months have passed and the popularity of AR has now been replaced by another acronym: artificial intelligencemove much of Google and the tech industry to focus more on artificial intelligence and machine learning and beyond metaverses and, I guess, glasses help you transcribe languages in real time. Google literally said the word “AI” 143 times during yesterday’s I/O event, like calculated according to CNET.
But it was during that same event that something else caught my attention. No, that’s not Sundar Pichai’s claim that hotdogs are really tacos but, instead, a feature that Google briefly introduced with the new version Pixel Fold. (Smartphone taco? Never mind.)
The company calls it Dual Screen Interpreter Mode, a transcription feature that takes advantage of the foldable phone’s front and back screens and the processing power of Tensor G2 to display what one is doing simultaneously. speak and how it translates into another language. At a glance, you can understand what other people are saying, even if they don’t speak the same language as you. Sound familiar?
I don’t say one foldable phone is a direct replacement for AR glasses; I still believe there is a future where the latter exists and has the potential to replace all the devices we carry around. But Dual Screen Interpreter Mode on the Pixel Fold is the closest callback we’ve got to Google’s age-old concept, and I’m excited to test the feature when it arrives.
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Pixel Fold is available for Pre-order nowand Google says it will start shipping next month. But even then, you’ll have to wait until the fall before the translation feature is officially released, so stay tuned.
