Google I/O Event
Google’s live Google I/O 2021 keynote took place on May 18. A huge number of announcements were unveiled, and we’re here to catch up on them with you.
The Android 12 has a radical and bubbly new look; the “Material You” design offers color and customization, a new mobile OS, and new privacy features, including a new privacy dashboard. Another announcement included “smart canvas”, a new initiative for Google’s Workspace office software to make it easier to work between products. Some features include “smart chips” that can link to other Workspace apps or allow you to start a Meet video call right from a Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide. Google also showed off pre-recorded demos around its new LaMDA AI language model technology where AI “talked” as Pluto and a paper airplane.
A few other announcements included the merge between Google’s Wear (formerly Wear OS) and Samsung’s Tizen into a unified platform, real-time 3D models of a person “sitting” across from you demonstrated through Project Starline, and updates in progress to Google’s camera and imaging products to more accurately capture and reproduce skin tones in images. Google Photos unveiled “cinematic moments” which uses two photos to create a moving image, plus a password-protected Locked Folder feature where you can store and hide photos.
Rolling out over the next few months will be the ability to change a stored password for a website from right inside Google’s password manager. Google Maps will receive new features for its Live View augmented reality tool, other privacy-focused features will be added to Android, and digital car keys will soon be supported to unlock your car with your phone, though BMW is the only confirmed automaker to support this so far. Lastly, is debuting a new health tool which will identify skin conditions using your camera. To learn more details around this pilot, as well as all of the other announcements made, visit here for a more in-depth recap.
Apple Spring Loaded Event
Apple’s Spring Loaded Event went virtual this year, taking place on April 20, 2021. The event was jam-packed with news, including these 8 biggest announcements.
The newest iPad Pro tablets were unveiled, equipped with the Apple-designed M1 chip, which can also be found in the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and the new iMac which was also announced during the event. Both new models, 11-inch and 12.9-inch include a new 12-megapixel ultrawide camera that can automatically track you during video calls, while the 12.9-inch model has an upgraded display called Liquid Retina XDR display. The newly debuted and completely redesigned iMac is really thin with a 24-inch screen, 1080p FaceTime camera, and perhaps most notable comes in 7 different color options. Another long rumored item was unveiled, Apple’s AirTag item trackers. Available individually or in a four-pack, you can track them in the Find My app and customize with emojis.
Some of the other major announcements included a new Apple TV 4K which will be equipped with the A12 Bionic chip, as well as a newly designed Apple TV remote which has a click pad at the top and a Siri button on the side. A charming new trailer was dropped for the second season of Ted Lasso, debuting this summer on July 23rd. In other media related news, Apple will be launching in-app podcast subscriptions, in addition to a redesign of the Podcast app.
A fun last announcement of the bigger announcements is that the iPhone 12 will soon be available in purple! To learn more about the specific dates for pre-orders and pricing for all the different items revealed, visit here.
Tips of the Month
We’re sharing a couple tips of the month, straight from our Help Desk, to help you stay efficient and productive whether you are working remotely or once you return to your office! Contact the office if you need additional assistance.
Enabling Apple File Protocol (AFP) on Datto Shares
- If you are using a Mac and have a 4TB share on the Datto, you can enable AFP alongside the SMB protocol on the same share. This will allow Mac to connect and use the AFP, which will help to speed up searches and folder view loading times on larger shares.
Windows 10 Storage Sense
- If you use OneDrive, you can set up a Storage Sense
- Searching from the Start Menu, you can set up Storage Sense to run every week, checking on files on OneDrive to see if they have not been used within a certain amount of time (you can set the time criteria)
- Files will be removed from the computer and left on the cloud in order to reduce the workload on the OneDrive app by syncing those files locally.
