Meme culture peaked in 2012, and now Google are putting out a meme function for photos. (Picture: reddit, Shadow_Strike99)Google Photos has a new feature where you can take any one of your photos and turn them into a meme.
The feature works best with well-lit portraits, and uses Nano Bana to create «funny, personalized images.»
All you need is to select a template (which are already available in the app), choose a photo and click on Me Meme, available through the Create button. You can then share it widely right from the app.
The feature launched just before the weekend, and so far it doesn’t seem to have the viral uptake Google might have hoped for.
Expanding from on-device AI, Google’s new tech will provide the same level of privacy. (Picture: Google)Similar to Apple’s Private Cloud Compute, Google’s solution is to enhance apps on your phone, Chromebook or whatever else you are using, with extra power from Gemini in the cloud.
Most of Google’s AI features are handled on-device, but they are seeing the need for more computing power to move «from completing simple requests to AI that can anticipate your needs with tailored suggestions or handle tasks for you at just the right moment.»
The connections between the device and servers are encrypted, and the data transmitted is not available to anyone’s prying eyes — not even Google’s.
The new tech is not getting a wide rollout, and most AI queries will still be on-device. The only feature to use it is the Magic Cue in Android, and the Recorder app, that will be able to summarize transcripts in «a wide range of languages.»
This is foundational technology for Google, and they will be rolling out features across their services in short order, saying «This is just the beginning.»
Google has split the screen in its AI photo search. (Picture: Google)After a rocky rollout in May, 2024 and since languishing in Early Access for select users, Google has listened to its critics and is back with a better experience.
The complaints on the initial launch were that the Gemini-powered AI search was sluggish and took much longer than users had patience for, Mashable writes.
Complex queries for the photo library
The idea of the AI-powered search feature was to let people search in natural language with complex queries, like «what did I eat in Barcelona?» and finding photos that would make great backgrounds, according to 9to5Google.
Gemini will soon be the default assistant on all Android devices. (Pitcure: Google.)Google said in a blog post today that they will waste no time phasing out the revered and often frustrating Google Assistant, and default to Gemini instead on billions of devices, in what could be a risky antitrust move from the behemoth.
That’s despite a multitude of hallucinations and other issues with the AI model, Ars Technica writes.
Assistant was first introduced in 2016, listened for the «Hey Google»-prompt, and worked well for mostly playing stuff off Youtube, but often frustrated users on other tasks.
Only supported assistant
Now the entire Android universe will be using Gemini instead, as the only supported assistant across cars, cellphones, TVs and tablets, which should be a enormous boon to the user base for the AI model.
