Digital Trends Live: Walmart brings out A.I., Google cancels the Slate, and more

By Will Nicol June 21, 2019

On this episode of Digital Trends Live, we discuss the hottest news stories from the world of tech, including Google’s cancellation of the Pixel Slate, Walmart using A.I. to spot potential shoplifters, Prime Day is approaching, autopilot for cars might not be as good as you think, and more.

Also on this episode, host Greg Nibler spoke to Jeff Powers, CEO of Occipital, a company that develops software and hardware that gives devices spatial awareness.

Later, Nibler was joined by Ashok Srivastava, the chief data officer at Intuit, to talk about how artificial intelligence can help workers in the gig economy.

Speaking of artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles are a hot subject these days, and Nibler spoke to Dan Hushon, CTO of DXC Technology, about how A.I. and driverless cars can create value for businesses.

Finally, Nibler and DT editor Ryan Waniata convened to talk about the latest news about movies and entertainment, including a misguided boycott of Good Omens, JJ Abrams’ new deal with Warner, and more.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Nicol is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends. He covers a variety of subjects, particularly emerging technologies, movies…

Mobile

Google brings Digital Car Keys, quicker access to Snapchat to Pixel phones

Android 12 running on a Google Pixel 5.

On the heels of the launch of its new Pixel 6 lineup, Google is rolling out several new Android features exclusively for Pixel owners to get more out of their smartphones. Pixel feature drops happen on a regular basis, with Google releasing new software updates and features for both old and new Pixel devices.
What's new in this feature drop?
With the latest feature drop, even those with older Pixel devices will be able to get faster access to Snapchat, control bass levels on Pixel Buds, and better hear conversations. For Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro owners, the update also adds support for digital car keys and enables Ultra Wideband for Nearby Share.

The new Quick Tap to Snap feature makes Pixel the fastest smartphone for making a Snap, letting you pull up the Snapchat camera directly from the lock screen by tapping twice on the back of your phone, much like the Quick Tap feature already works for other tasks like taking screenshots or playing music.

Mobile

Apple’s iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1 bring SharePlay, camera improvements, and more

iPhones with ios 15.

Apple is rolling out iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1, its third update to the current generation of iOS since it rolled out alongside the iPhone 13. The iOS 15.1 update brings SharePlay, which lets multiple Apple users enjoy movies, music, and other content together during FaceTime calls; ProRes video recording on the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max, among other improvements to the camera; and some additions to the Home, Shortcuts, Translate, and Wallet apps.

Among the slew of new features that iOS 15.1 delivers, SharePlay is bound to get most of the attention. As its name indicates, SharePlay offers multiple shared experiences using FaceTime, from browsing the web together to watching synchronized movies or TV shows to sharing content across the Apple Music, Apple Fitness+, Apple TV, and other App Store apps. It also gives each user the ability to play, pause, rewind, or fast-forward movies, shows, or music and automatically lowers the volume of the content when it detects someone speaking.

Mobile

Google Maps is getting improved Live View navigation, more detailed map data

google maps

Google is making Maps even more helpful than it already is. At Google I/O 2021, the company announced a series of updates to Google Maps that will make it more helpful in day-to-day life, and improve features like the augmented reality (AR) view that Google launched in Maps last year.

Perhaps the most notable change to Maps is that Google is adding more detail in several places. For example, Google Maps will now show users where things like crosswalks, street signs, and intersection markers are straight from the normal map view. As noted by Google at the event, this could be very helpful for parents with strollers, those in a wheelchair, or those who just want to plan their exact walk. The more detailed view was actually already announced by Google in August, but is now more rolling out to 50 more cities around the world.