Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.
Google's year in review: All of the highlights and lowlights from 2018
Google's year in review: All of the highlights and lowlights from 2018
Dec 18, 2018, 23:13 IST
Google introduced a ton of new hardware in 2018.
Advertisement
Google unveiled a $130 gadget called Google Home Hub, which controls all of your smart-home devices (no need to open a million different apps), and shows you information at a glance.
Advertisement
Google also released its Pixel Slate tablet, which has a brilliant display, dual front-facing speakers, two 8-megapixel cameras, and a fingerprint sensor.
And of course, Google also unveiled the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones, the excellent successors to last year's Pixel 2.
Advertisement
Google updated some other hardware lines this year, like the Chromecast streaming dongle, but the company made a much bigger impact with new and exciting software.
Google added a new feature to Gmail called "Smart Compose," which uses machine learning and predictive text to autocomplete your messages. It works really well!
Advertisement
Google Assistant also made big strides. You can now have continued conversations with the Assistant, and it can now parse multiple commands in a single sentence. It's also more natural-sounding than ever before, and you can choose from a bunch of new voices, including that of R&B star John Legend.
Parents will love this one: Google finally gave its Assistant a "politeness" feature, where you get credit for saying "please" when you ask Google Assistant for something. It's designed to teach children to not be bossy when asking for things.
Advertisement
Google's own CEO Sundar Pichai unveiled a wild new feature called Duplex where you can ask Google Assistant to call businesses on your behalf, and Google's AI will schedule appointments for you. Yes, this is totally real.
Google's new "Call Screen" feature for the Pixel 3 is the first time you'll be able to use Google's Duplex technology, which uses Google Assistant to deal with phone calls on your behalf.
Advertisement
A new feature called Subscribe with Google lets you access all your paid magazine and news content anywhere, including on Google Search, Google News, and the publishers' sites.
Google's new Android software, Android P, launched with a great new feature that every phone needs: "Flip to Shhh." Just put your phone face down on a table, and it will automatically silence itself and activate "do not disturb" mode.
Advertisement
Google announced a very cool Google Maps feature, which uses your phone's camera to navigate around town using Street View. Giant arrows and animated characters point you in the right direction, like a real-world version of "Crazy Taxi."
Google's futuristic camera software, Lens, finally made its public debut. It can recognize objects so you can buy items online by pointing your camera at them in the real world, or you can even copy the text of whatever you're pointing at onto your phone. It's pretty wild.
Advertisement
Google put rival smartphone makers to shame with an incredible Pixel 3 feature called "Night Sight." It automatically lights up dark settings in a very natural way, negating any need for flash photography.
Another fun feature that made its debut on the Pixel 3 is Google's new "Photobooth" mode, which automatically takes pictures if you're smiling or making a funny face.
Advertisement
In October, Google unveiled a groundbreaking new service called "Project Stream," which lets you stream video games to your Google Chrome web browser. This negates any need for a high-end PC to run great-looking games.
Google is working on even more innovative technologies behind the scenes.
Advertisement
But it's impossible to talk about Google's year in tech without mentioning its company controversies. To name a few lowlights that occurred in 2018 ...
Google was apparently building a censored search engine for China and quietly collecting data from people in the country until backlash from Google employees led to the project's cancellation.
Advertisement
The EU fined Google $5 billion in July for antitrust violations — basically for abusing its role as a dominant player in the industry to quash competition.
Lawmakers grilled Google CEO Sundar Pichai in December after the company was accused of suppressing conservative voices in its search results.
Advertisement
About a dozen Google employees quit, and thousands of employees signed a letter in June to protest Google's "Project Maven," where Google had been working with the Pentagon to analyze drone footage. Google shuttered the project in response.
In November, thousands of Google employees around the world walked out of their workplaces after a bombshell New York Times report detailed how Google protected executives who were accused of sexual harassment and misconduct.
Advertisement
In August, an Associated Press investigation discovered that Google was still collecting location data from users even if they had their Location History turned off. After the report was published, Google quietly updated its help page to describe how location settings work. People didn't like Google's handling of the situation.
Google is an excellent company with a wonderful approach to technology, but the company has a history of getting caught bending the rules, which usually leads to some form of backpedaling or apology from higher-ups. This, frankly, should not happen. Here’s hoping Google improves — and continues to listen to its employees — in 2019.