Alphabet Inc.’s Google unveiled a series of planned upgrades to its search and maps services revealing the company’s augmented reality ambitions—and its appeal to a generation of internet users drifting away from the company.
The new features include ways for people to search for nearby items using images and identify physical objects with their smartphone cameras. On Google Maps, the company promised a way for people to explore detailed 3D digital models of landmarks and neighborhoods before setting foot in person. Google shared the plans on Wednesday for the first day of its annual I/O developer conference held near its Mountain View, California headquarters.
Google is working to keep its products relevant and growing as users’ needs evolve beyond text. “Search should be something that you can do anywhere, in any way you want, using any of your senses,” Prabhakar Raghavan, Google’s senior vice president and product chief, said in an interview. Google’s core search advertising business has continued to grow steadily during the pandemic, despite recent middling financial results. Yet the I/O announcements underscored nascent threats Google sees to its flagship services.
