Google announces KitKat, other new feature for Glass
Google on Monday confirmed that Android 4.4 KitKat will be arriving to Google Glass later this week. What’s more, the wearable technology will pick up a handful of other features, including photos organized into bundles, photo replies in Hangouts, and the ability to directly send feedback. What’s more, voice commands are also enhanced and sorted by frequency and recency.
It’s not all “new and improved” for Google Glass though as video calls are being removed from the device. Why, you ask? According to Google it’s something that used by less than 10% of the Explorers and the overall experience is not up to their standards. It’s hinted that it could eventually return but Google says they “don’t know when that will be”.
- KitKat for Glass – Our most exciting update is subtle, but big. We’ve been working on a significant upgrade to a new version of the Glass software. It’s not a change you can see, but it brings improved battery life and makes Glass more reliable and easier to update in the future. And now that Glass runs Android KitKat, developers can write Glassware using the latest Android SDK goodness, along with new features from our GDK.
- Photo bundles – This one has been a long-standing request from our Explorers: now when you scroll through your timeline, your photos, videos and vignettes from each day will be organized in bundles so that you can swipe less and see more.
- Photo replies in Hangouts – Photo sharing has been really popular amongst our Explorers, so we’ve added new ways to send photos in Hangout messages. The next time someone asks “what’s up,” tap “Reply” and then take a photo to show them. (If you already took the perfect photo, you can still tap to “Send” it in a Hangout message.)
- Sending feedback – We always want to hear feedback from you on ways we can make Glass better so we’re making it even easier. Tap on the device info card in Settings and tell us what’s on your mind. If you need help, you can still send us an email, call us, or post in the Explorers Community.
- Voice command sorting – With new features and Glassware, your voice command menu has grown pretty long. When you tap or say “ok glass,” voice commands are now sorted by recency and frequency, making it easier to see the commands you use most often and faster to access them from the touch menu.