Google Photos’ portrait blur feature on Android will soon be able to blur backgrounds on a wider range of photos, including photos of pets, food, and plants. It’s one of a series of updates to Google’s apps and services on Android, which also includes tweaks to Google TV, new Screen Time widgets, and wider deployment of Gboard features to help improve your grammar.
Google Photos is used to blur the background of people’s photos. But with this update, Pixel users and Google One users will be able to use it on more objects. Portrait blur can also be applied to existing photos as a post-processing effect.
The grammar correction feature of the Gboard keyboard will also be rolled out more widely after it was previously only available on Pixel phones. Google says the feature works on-device and joins the existing spell-checking feature. Gboard is also being updated, adding 2,000 emoji mashups, combining two existing emojis into stickers that can be posted across various messaging apps and online services.
The Live Transcribe accessibility app, designed to provide fast and easy speech-to-text for the hearing impaired, is currently being updated to work offline. Google says this should be helpful for conversations that take place in places like subways and planes where reliable internet connectivity is a problem. Live Transcribe is available on all Android phones and comes preinstalled on Pixel and Samsung phones.
There are also many small upgrades coming. Google Assistant is getting some parking features that let you pay, check your parking status, and extend your time, using just your voice. It works through integration with ParkMobile and is available in more than 400 US cities. Meanwhile, Android’s “Share Nearby” feature is being updated to share files with more than one person at the same time, and Google TV is getting a new “Highlights tab” designed to provide entertainment news and reviews based on the movies and shows you follow.
Finally, a new Screen Time widget from Google on Android is designed to provide an at-a-glance view of the apps you spend your time in throughout the day. Google hasn’t provided an exact release date for these features. But as with Google’s updates to its Messages app, it seems safe to assume these features will roll out in the coming weeks.