Google is introducing a handful of updates that aim to take some of the stress out of planning trips and outings, from new translation features and AI-powered trip itineraries in Search to curated recommendations in Maps.
Technology
Updates to Google Maps and Search make it easier to plan your next outing
Google is introducing new translation features and AI-powered trip itineraries in Search and lists of curated recommendations in Maps.
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Starting this week in over 40 cities across the US and Canada, Google Maps will now show users lists of recommendations for places to eat and visit. Google’s algorithmically generated recommendations include a weekly updated “Trending” list of places that have seen a recent spike in popularity, a “Top” list of historically popular locations, and a “Gems” list of places that are, well, hidden gems worth visiting. The app will also surface recommendation lists from Lonely Planet, The New York Times, The Infatuation, and OpenTable.
A new generative AI feature is also being tested in Search that will provide a sample itinerary when users ask for trip ideas. This itinerary includes helpful information like options for flights and hotels, alongside suggestions for local attractions and places to eat. Google says it’ll also pull in additional information about recommended locations — such as business information, reviews, and photos — and that the itineraries can be exported to Gmail, Docs, or Maps. This feature is, for now, only available to users who enroll in Google’s free Search Generative Experience.
Google is also updating the Circle to Search feature it introduced in January with new translation capabilities. This will allow users to translate whatever is on their screen — such as an online menu or local events page — by long-pressing the home button or navigation bar and tapping the translate icon.
Circle to Search, which is currently available on the Pixel 7 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S24 series, is rolling out to more Android devices this week, with the translation feature rolling out “in the coming weeks,” according to Google.
Correction March 27th, 1:00PM ET: Clarified that Trending, Top, and Gems lists are curated by Google Maps, and aren’t informed by the lists publishers create.
Technology
Qualcomm quietly demos Baldur’s Gate 3 and Control on Snapdragon X Elite laptops
Qualcomm has apparently been showing influencers how well its Snapdragon X Elite can game, using Control, Baldur’s Gate 3, and a few other games.
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If you read my scoop last week, I bet you’ve been wondering — how well could a Snapdragon chip actually run Windows games? At the 2024 Game Developers Conference, the company claimed Arm could run those titles at close to x86/64 speed, but how fast is fast?
With medium-weight games like Control and Baldur’s Gate 3, it looks like the target might be: 30 frames per second at 1080p screen resolution, medium settings, possibly with AMD’s FSR 1.0 spatial upscaling enabled.
That’s what Qualcomm has apparently been showing influencers, according to numerous videos from YouTubers, TikTokers, and “Snapdragon Insiders,” many of which were uploaded over the past week after they flew down to Qualcomm’s San Diego headquarters for the company’s “eXperience Day.”
While some of the videos feel a little promotional — one influencer talks about how he’s seeing “Elden Ring playing really nicely at about 30 frames per second” while actually showing Baldur’s Gate 3 running at a mere 21-24fps — it’s admittedly pretty neat to see games like these running on Windows on Arm at all.
Enobong Etteh, aka BooredAtWork, has the video with the most uninterrupted gameplay footage; he apparently got to try Control, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Redout 2 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this February. In early scenes from Control that don’t demand as much horsepower, we’re seeing frame rates that dip as low as 26fps in a firefight or between 30fps and 40fps just running around.
Today’s gaming handhelds can do better than that, but this is an early demo.
Another video from JuanBagnell shows frame rates of 25 to 30fps in Baldur’s Gate 3 in the game’s very first fight, which takes place in a completely enclosed area, not the open world; BG3 also infamously demands a lot more of a computer’s CPU in the final third of the game, so calling the game “playable” might be a bit of a stretch.
BooredAtWork also suggests later in his video that Baldur’s Gate 3 may be playable on the laptop with AMD’s FSR 1.0 toggled to its “Performance” setting, which lets games render at a much lower render resolution than 1080p and try to make up the difference with upscaling.
Here’s a third video:
It’s worth remembering we’re looking at these games running on a Qualcomm reference design laptop, not final hardware, and we don’t know how much (or little) optimization these games have had. They might perform better!
We may also now have a hint at battery life, too: JuanBagnell says Qualcomm told him the entire laptop is “rated to operate at around 20-24 watts.” If that’s true, and you theoretically put that in a thin laptop with a typical 49.5 watt-hour battery (like the Qualcomm-powered Lenovo ThinkPad X13s), you can roughly divide 49.5 by 24 to get just over two hours of battery. That’d be on par with today’s Windows gaming handhelds, but not better.
BooredAtWork says Qualcomm told him these laptops already support 250 PC games and should have 500 by launch.
Technology
Google adds more AI in shopping
Now available in the US, shoppers on Google’s app or on mobile can rate items and search for clothing based on an AI-generated image.
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Now, shoppers using Google’s mobile website or apps can refine their searches with tools designed to help them narrow down exactly what kind of jacket or other item they’re looking for. The Style Recommendations feature is rolling out now for signed-in shoppers in the US, and it lets users rate items in their searches so it can pick up on their preferences, kind of like Tinder or Netflix ratings but with shirts.
After they’ve found clothes they like, shoppers can specify the brands they like, which will instantly bring up more apparel from those selections.
Google previously tested AI tools that help people find more of the items they like. In November, users on the company’s Search Generative Experience tested out an image generation feature that puts together jackets and other clothing based on prompts. People can then find similar items based on the AI image. The company also tested a virtual try-on so shoppers can see how dresses from brands look on them. Both features are now live on Google Shopping.
Google joins other e-commerce platforms in bringing generative AI tools to shopping. Amazon’s shopping assistant, Rufus, answers customer queries about products. While the chatbot began making up jokes about Jeff Bezos, Amazon rolled it out to select users. The company also offers AI-powered sizing recommendations.
However, AI-powered shopping features are still new and can lead to questionable items. The Verge’s Mia Sato said the AI shopping experience proved confusing and yielded clothes that weren’t prototyped to fit other humans.
Correction, March 27th, 1:47 PM ET: An earlier version of this story claimed Google is adding more AI in shopping. In fact, the new style recommendations and refining search do not use generative AI technology like the image generation and features that were previously added, and the headline and text now reflect this. We regret the error.
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