Google is using AI to help Android users personalize the tone of their texts with a new tool called Magic Compose, set to roll out this summer in beta.
Powered by generative AI, Magic Compose "can help you add an extra spark of personality to your conversations," Google says. "It'll magically transform what you write into different styles. Make your messages more concise, professional or even written like Shakespeare himself!"
In a demo, Magic Compose changes "Wanna grab dinner?" into three versions depending on "your desired vibe before you hit send":
- Excited: I'm starving!!?Wanna grab a bite to eat?
- Chill: You down for some grub?
- Shakespeare: Prithee, shall we dine tonight?
Building off Gmail's Smart Compose, which offers up suggested words and phrases as you write an email, Magic Compose will do the same for texting. "It'll offer suggested responses based on the context of your messages," Google says.
Custom, AI-Generated Wallpaper
Google also announced more personalization features to deepen the digital vibes. Later this year, Android users will be able to create their own home- and lock-screen wallpaper.
In a process similar to that of similar tools like DALL-E and Midjourney, you can tell Android you want "cats in a cubist style," or a "city in the Bay area in a post-impressionist style," or "mountains in a Pop Art style," and it will generate that for you (see example above).
"With Generative AI wallpaper, you can answer suggested prompts to describe your ultimate creative vision," Google says. "Using Google’s text-to-image diffusion model, your phone will generate unique wallpapers for you to choose from. Thanks to Material You, the color palette of your Android system will automatically match the wallpaper you’ve selected."
The upcoming Android 14 release will bring the ability to add shortcuts to the lock screen, choose from "beautifully crafted clocks," and apply a new monochrome color scheme to your whole phone.
Starting next month, certain Pixel devices will have two new features: emoji wallpaper options and a new "cinematic wallpaper."
"What really makes a lock screen yours is the wallpaper," says Dave Burke, VP of Android Engineering at Google. "We thought, wouldn't it be cool to bring them to your wallpaper?" Android users will also be able to change the color of the emojis.
Cinematic wallpaper transforms photos on the lock and home screen into 3D images, which "come to life when you unlock or tilt your device," Google says.
'Magic Editor' Enhances Photos With Generative AI
Google also teased a new Magic Editor tool for Google Photos, which taps generative AI to let you "make complex edits without pro-level editing skills," like adding or removing things from pics.
"Take this picture of a boy on his birthday. It’s a good photo but it could be better if he was front and center," Google says. "With the power of generative AI, you can create more of the bench and balloons to fill in those gaps, and they’ll blend seamlessly into your photo."
Look for it on select Pixel phones later this year.
Manipulating photos with AI naturally brings up concerns about misinformation. Google acknowleged this in a separate blog post that teased an upcoming "About this image" tool in Google Search, which will explain the background of an image, including where it first appeared and where it's been seen online.