Google Photos Set to Begin Offering Physical Photo Albums and More
Google’s artificial intelligence software is growing and evolving, even on the iOS platform. Some of those growth efforts are due to arrive as early as Wednesday, May 17, according to reports Bloomberg has received. Not only is Google Assistant reportedly set to arrive, but the AI behind Google Photos will grow into physical products.
I/O Conference Will Announce New Steps for Artificial Intelligence and Google Photos
As we reported yesterday, the new Google Assistant app is expected to be unveiled during the search giant’s I/O Conference May 17 through May 19, 2017. While much of the attention and fanfare is sure to be centered around the release of Google Assistant for iOS, that won’t be the only big news.
Google is also expected to release a new feature for its Photos app for iOS. The new functionality will allow users to create physical coffee table photo books, according to sources familiar with the project. The app is already able to automatically create albums by combining relevant and related images, courtesy of the AI built into the software, so it seems likely that same intelligence will be used to create and recommend the physical products.
A Gorgeous Coffee Table Photo Book Shipped to Your Door
Google plans to offer multiple types of book materials for the service, said the person familiar with the feature. Users can order physical, printed books of their photographs straight from the app, and the final product will be shipped to their homes. At least one option will cost $10 per book.
Apple used to offer this feature as part of the iPhoto app on Mac computers, but the functionality was discontinued about a year ago. Google is attempting to compete with Shutterfly, which offers a digital image storage service along with photo books and calendars. I don’t foresee the feature truly competing with Shutterfly, but the automatic nature of it may take some business from the competitor.
Other Google AI Integrations
Google is beginning to integrate its AI into GE home appliances, like refrigerators, dishwashers, ovens, washers and dryers. Owners of such appliances will be able to instruct Google Assistant to turn on the oven, or ask it how many detergent pods are left in the dishwasher.
