It's a new month, which means that it's also time for another Google Glass software update. Today Google officially announced the XE9 update for its Glass headwear, which brings with it a handful of new features as well as some additional Google Now cards. Here's a quick rundown of what you Glass Explorers can expect to find after installing XE9 onto your device:
- Vignettes: Include a screenshot of your Glass display on top of a photo, allowing viewers to see both what was in front of you and what was on your Glass screen
- Play videos in search: Pretty straightforward feature that enables video search and playback using Google Search
- Sound Search: Will listen to a song and attempt to identify the name and artist. Activated by long pressing the touchpad and then swiping forward or by saying "ok glass, google what song is this?" from the Home menu
- New Google Now cards:
- Transit cards - Displays nearby mass transit directions
- Reminder cards - Shows reminders that have been set on a phone or tablet
- Nearby Attractions - Notifies the wearer of any interesting attractions that are nearby, like the Golden Gate Bridge
- Nearby photo spots - Sends an alert when near a scenic view or other popular photo area
- News results in search: Searching for a newsworthy topic on Glass will bring up a dedicated news card on the subject
- Google Apps account support: Users with Google Apps can set up Glass with their account. Google says that most Google Apps are supported and that it plans to continue testing and adding more.
- MyGlass app 1.7 for Android: The MyGlass companion app on Android allows users to screencast their Glass display to their phone, then control Glass using the paired handset.
Overall this looks like another nice little update for Glass owners, and it's good to see Google keeping to its monthly update schedule and adding new features to the device. If you've got a Google Glass unit of your own, keep an eye out for XE9 in the coming days. Oh, and when it does hit, don't forget to take a break from searching for cat videos and identifying every song around you so that you can tell us all about how the update is working.
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