From tools that let you manipulate the subject of a photo to the ability to translate phone calls in real-time, AI is slowly starting to play a bigger role in smartphones. But if you want to get a better idea of how AI could change your smartphone experience over the long term, the auto industry may have some clues.
That’s according to Sameer Samat, Google’s president of the Android ecosystem, speaking to CNET ahead of this year’s Google I/O developer conference. Automakers like Cadillac and Honda have big ideas about how cars will change in the future. Both brands unveiled concepts that reimagine cockpits for a time when humans don’t have to spend as much time behind the wheel.
But for now, those concepts are just that. Big changes like this won’t happen overnight, if at all. Instead, cars are gradually getting upgraded sensors, better lane assistance, and better smartphone integration. AI will similarly gradually transform phones over time, Samat says.
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“I think phones and other form factors will evolve as well, where we’ll start to see the ability of this AI technology to enhance and assist experiences,” he said. “And then there will be a moment, especially in some parts of it.” [user interface], where things start to change more fundamentally. ”
It is still impossible to say exactly what it will be like. But recent additions to Android, such as Circle to Search and an upgraded version of Gemini that Google just announced at Tuesday’s I/O conference, offer a glimpse of where smartphone software is headed.
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These features don’t completely rethink how you use your phone. However, they introduce new behaviors that shift away from some of the traditional processes we are used to. For example, Circle to Search lets you search by circling anything on your screen, so you don’t have to leave the app and manually type anything interesting you find into Google Search.
Google’s new version of Gemini integrates Assistant into Android on a more basic level. This is probably an effort to get you to think in terms of prompts and questions rather than apps when doing things on your phone.
But whether it’s your car or your phone, there are several reasons why you should make these changes gradually. First, the technology must be ready. And second, consumers need to be prepared for it, Samath said.
“We’re on a multi-year journey here to reinvent and reimagine how experiences work,” Sammat said. “I believe it’s going to be very different. I also think it’s going to come in stages.”
Editor’s note: CNET used an AI engine to create dozens of stories and label them accordingly. The notes you are reading are attached to articles that substantively cover the topic of AI, all written by professional editors and writers. Learn more about. AI policy.
