With the new update, users will be able to check their schedule in Google Calendar, listen to podcasts on Spotify, and customize watch apps and tiles. Additionally, the update will enable users to respond to emails, browse their inbox, and complete Google Tasks directly from their smartwatches. The new text-to-speech engine is expected to be faster and more accurate, making it easier for users to interact with their smartwatches using voice commands.

Another significant announcement related to Wear OS 4 is the introduction of the Watch Face Format, which is a creative playground for Android developers to create new and unique Wear OS faces and publish them on the Google Play Store.

Although the Wear OS 4 developer preview and emulator launched during Google I/O 2023, but the update won’t be available for consumers until later this year. The transition to Wear OS 4 is expected to be smoother than the switch to Wear OS 3, which was announced two years ago and is still rolling out. With the latest update, Google is hoping to make Wear OS more competitive with other smartwatch operating systems in the market.

Meta previously launched a large language model called OPT-1758 but LLaMa is a newer and more advanced system. Another model Meta released late last year, Galactica was quickly pulled back after researchers found incorrect results. The company further emphasized its commitment to democratizing access to AI technology by making Llama available in multiple sizes language models.

Google has its own model called LaMDA or language model for Dialogue Applications. The internet search and advertising leaders are testing a chat-based AI-powered search product called Bard which still has some glitches. Microsoft Corp has already launched the ChatGPT model powered by artificial intelligence.

With Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Twitter also cutting their workforces, Google’s decision to lay off 12,000 employees comes amid a major churn in the tech sector.

Sundar Pichai’s full email to his employees is given below

Googlers,

I have some difficult news to share. We’ve decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles. We’ve already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices.

This will mean saying goodbye to some incredibly talented people we worked hard to hire and have loved working with. I’m deeply sorry for that. The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.

Over the past two years, we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth. To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today.

I am confident about the huge opportunity in front of us thanks to the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in AI. To fully capture it, we’ll need to make tough choices. So, we’ve undertaken a rigorous review across product areas and functions to ensure that our people and roles are aligned with our highest priorities as a company. The roles we’re eliminating reflect the outcome of that review. They cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and regions.

By the Googlers who are leaving us: Thank you for working so hard to help people and businesses everywhere. Your contributions have been invaluable and we are grateful for them.

While this transition won’t be easy, we’re going to support employees as they look for their next opportunity.

In the US:

• We’ll pay employees during the full notification period (minimum 60 days).
• We’ll also offer a severance package starting at 16 weeks’ salary plus two weeks for every additional year at Google, and accelerate at least 16 weeks of GSU vesting.
• We’ll pay 2022 bonuses and the remaining vacation time.
• We’ll be offering 6 months of healthcare, job placement services, and immigration support for those affected.
• Outside the US, we’ll support employees in line with local practices.

As an almost 25-year-old company, we’re bound to go through difficult economic cycles. These are important moments to sharpen our focus, re-engineer our cost base, and direct our talent and capital to our highest priorities.

Being constrained in some areas allows us to bet big on others. Pivoting the company to be AI-first years ago led to groundbreaking advances across our businesses and the whole industry.

Thanks to those early investments, Google’s products are better than ever. And we’re getting ready to share some entirely new experiences for users, developers, and businesses, too. We have a substantial opportunity in front of us with AI across our products and are prepared to approach it boldly and responsibly.

All this work is a continuation of the “healthy disregard for the impossible” that’s been core to our culture from the beginning. When I look around Google today, I see the same spirit and energy driving our efforts. That’s why I remain optimistic about our ability to deliver on our mission, even on our toughest days. Today is certainly one of them.

I’m sure you have many questions about how we’ll move forward. We’ll be organizing a town hall on Monday. Check your calendar for details. Until then, please take good care of yourselves as you absorb this difficult news. As part of that, if you are just starting your work day, please feel free to work from home today.

Sundar

With Android 13, users can make sure that their devices reflect their unique styles and preferences. It is jam-packed with new features for the phone and tablet, including the ability to copy text and media from one Android device and paste it to another with just one click, increase app colour theming to even more apps, adjust language settings at the app level, and enhance privacy controls.

Now let’s talk about the 13 of benefits of Android 13

• The updated design of Android 13 builds on Material you. Non-Google apps can be modified to match the phone’s wallpaper theme and colours, giving the home screen a more modern feel that is also more cohesive and unique to the user’s style.
• The company has added a top feature request for the various Android users who speak more than one language. Users can retain their phone’s operating system in one language while having each of their apps in a different language by setting particular languages to each app.
• An updated media player in Android 13 adjusts its appearance and feel in accordance with the music or podcast that users are currently listening to.
• Android has prioritised users’ well-being, and getting enough sleep is essential! Bedtime mode on Android 13 can be further customized with wallpaper dimming and a dark theme. These screen options enable users’ eyes to adjust to the darkness as they prepare to go to bed – and help them get back to sleep if they wake up in the middle of the night and check the phone.
• In Android 13, users can restrict access to only the photographs and videos they want to access. It is no longer necessary to share the full media library with apps.
• Users can protect the clipboard from unauthorised access. If they copy sensitive data on the device, such as email address, phone number, or login credentials, Android will automatically delete the clipboard history after a period of time.
• Android 13 allows users to manage notifications and ensure them to receive the information they want. Now, the apps they download will require specific permission to deliver notifications, rather than being authorised to do so by default.
• When using supported headphones that allow head tracking, spatial audio adjusts the source of the sound to adjust with how users tilt their head and provide a more realistic listening experience on the Android phone or tablet.
• With Android 13, users will soon be able to stream the messaging apps directly to the Chromebook so that they may send and receive messages from the laptop.
• Android 13 adopts Bluetooth Low Energy (LE)  Audio, a new Bluetooth audio technology that offers reduced latency than classic audio. As a result, there is reduced latency and users can hear audio that is in better sync with the sound source. With Bluetooth Low Energy Audio, users may continuously broadcast audio to numerous devices and experience improved audio quality.
• Users will soon be able to copy and paste content from their Android phone to the tablet, such as a URL, photo, text, or video.
• With Android 13, multitasking on a tablet is even simple. Due to the newly updated taskbar on tablets, users can now see all of the apps at a moment and quickly drag and drop any app in the library into split-screen mode.
• Android tablets will identify both touch mode with the hand and a stylus pen. Therefore, while writing or drawing on the tablet, users will experience fewer unwanted stray marks.

Hence, Android 13 is packed with these and various other features, like HDR video support on third-party camera apps, an updated media output switcher, braille displays for talkback and more. And it goes beyond the phone to give users a connected set of experiences across other devices like tablets and laptops.

The project was officially launched at an event held at the Sunder Nursery under the auspices of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ in the presence of Union Culture and Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy and other senior Ministry officials.

The project, which was carried out by Google Arts and Culture, was based on the theme “Unwavering and undying spirit of India over the past 75 years.”

The highlight of the celebration is the launch of the new collection on Google Arts & Culture named “India ki Udaan”. This collection will honor India’s enduring spirit and 75 years of independence.

This special collection, whose literal meaning is “India takes flight,” allows anyone to explore more than 120 visuals and 21 stories created by 10 talented artists, as well as exhibitions from various institutions across India, including the Ministry of Tourism, Museum of Art & Photography, Heritage Directorate of the Indian Railways, the Indian Academy of Sciences, and the Dastkari Haat Samiti.

 I am hopeful that the partnership with Google shall strengthen the Ministry’s goal of preserving, promoting, and disseminating all forms of Indian art and culture. This is an important expansion of our collaborations with Google arts and culture in digitizing India’s rich history and heritage”, said Mr. G Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Development of the North Eastern Region of India.

This project offers a unique perspective on some of India’s most extraordinary moments, allowing individuals to discover India’s history, famous personalities, proudest scientific and sporting achievements, and how Indian women continue to inspire the world.

“A celebration like this would remain incomplete. Without the involvement of children, whose ambitions and goals will help build the future” Google Company informed.

That’s why the company announced the opening of entries for the 2022 Doodle for Google contest, with the topic “In the next 25 years, my India will…” to students from Grade 1-10 based in India from September 30, 2022. For details on how to enter the contest, resources for educators and parents, as well the contest rules, head to the Google website.

The National Winner’s artwork will appear on the Google homepage in India on November 14th, and they will get an INR 500,000 college scholarship, an INR 200,000 technology package for their school/non-profit organization, and a recognition of achievement, Google hardware, and fun Google collectibles.

Google Chromecast with Google TV Features

Google’s new Chromecast with Google TV has a small, thin design that fits easily into the TV’s HDMI port. The device provides Crystal clear video streaming in up to 4K HDR at up to 60 frames per second. It also supports Dolby audio pass-through over HDMI. The Chromecast with Google TV includes a voice remote with a dedicated Google Assistant button that can be pressed to answer common questions or play content on the TV.

The Chromecast with Google TV remote includes dedicated buttons for popular streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube, and according to the company, it will provide users with “instant access to the content they want, thanks to Google’s programmable TV controls for power, volume, and input.”

The For You tab on Google TV offers personalized recommendations from the platforms to which users subscribe, as well as the ability to bookmark movies and shows to watch later. Users can add to this Watchlist from their phone or laptop, and it will be displayed on the TV.

Google’s Chromecast with Google TV provides access to platforms such as Apple TV, MX Player, Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix, Voot, Prime Video, YouTube, Zee5, and others, giving users a plethora of content options.

Those who purchase the Chromecast with Google TV will receive three months of free YouTube Premium access with the device. The Chromecast with Google TV is currently available for purchase on Flipkart, and it will be available in additional retail outlets soon.

In a blog, it is mentioned that on Tuesday Google is announcing the Google News showcase initiative in India to incentivizes and support news publishers so that they curate high-quality content on Google’s News and Discover platforms, connecting readers with the news they need.

Google rolled Google News showcase platform with 30 news publishers including national, regional, and local news organizations like The Hindu Group, HT Digital Streams Ltd, Indian Express Group, ABP LIVE, India TV, NDTV, Zee News, Amar Ujala, Deccan Herald, Punjab Kesari, The Telegraph India, IANS (Indo Asian News Service) and ANI.

Now the content from these Indian publishers will begin to appear in dedicated News Showcase panels in Google News and on Discover in English and Hindi. Additional Indic languages will be launching in the future. As per the agreement, Google is paying participating news organizations to give readers access to a limited amount of paywalled content. This feature means readers will have the opportunity to read more of a publisher’s articles than they would otherwise be able to, while deepening readers’ relationships with publishers and encouraging them to subscribe. 

During this worsen condition, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, announced to help India with Rs. 135 crore. He mentioned his heartfelt feelings on Twitter, “Devastated to see the worsening Covid crisis in India. Google & Googlers are providing Rs 135 Crore in funding to @GiveIndia,@UNICEF for medical supplies, orgs supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information.

According to the official blog, it is mentioned that this 135 crore INR help includes two grants from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, totaling 20 Crore INR. The first is to GiveIndia to provide cash assistance to families hit hardest by the crisis to help with their everyday expenses. The second will go to UNICEF to help get urgent medical supplies, including oxygen and testing equipment, to where it’s needed most in India.

Google is also helping through its core information products like Search and Maps, YouTube, and Ads. This includes information on where to get testing and vaccines; so far, Maps and Search surface thousands of vaccine sites.

Vera Gedroits was born on 19 April 1870 and was the first one to raise the voice in Russia related to hygiene and nutritious food. She belonged to the Lithuanian royal dynasty and studied medicine in Switzerland and became a doctor. After this, she returned back to her country and started her career in a factory hospital.

Apart from being a surgeon and professor, she is an excellent poet and writer. She wrote her biography in 1931 titled ‘Life’. She died in 1932 at the age of 56 in Kiev.

In a blog, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, announced new efforts, including opening up enrollment for the latest career certificates, expanding employer consortium, and introduce new tools to improve the job search.

Google has started enrollments for Google Career Certificates, in the fields of Data Analytics, Project Management, and User Experience (UX) Design. A new Associate Android Developer Certification is also there for entry-level jobs in Android development. We’re also providing 100,000 scholarships globally, for Career Certificates in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In India, we’re working to make certificates more accessible and launch an employer consortium, wrote Sundar Pichai.

Last year, Google also announced a $10-billion fund for Google for India Digitization to help accelerate India’s digital economy.