Google I/O 2017: Assistant on iOS, Bluetooth Streaming on Google Home, and Easy Sharing With Photos

Google today kicked off its annual I/O developer conference in Mountain View, California, beginning with a keynote where the company announced Google Assistant for iPhone, new Google Home features including the ability to stream Apple Music via Bluetooth, and new photo sharing features in Google Photos.

Google Assistant on iOS

As it was rumored earlier this week, Google today announced that its AI helper Google Assistant is out now for iOS as its own standalone app [Direct Link]. This way, users will be able to chat with Google and gain access to all of its interactive features without needing a Pixel or Android smartphone.

google assistant ios
The company also revealed that Google Assistant will be gaining new chatbot abilities and integration with a new technology called Google Lens, which enhances a smartphone's camera with AI learning. As an example, Google showed a demo where a user took a picture of a business's sign, and gave them reviews, menu items, friend check-ins, and more. Other examples include the camera's ability to identify what a user is looking at, such as the species of a flower, or connecting to a Wi-Fi network by taking a picture of a sticker on a router.

Google Home

Google highlighted a few new abilities coming to its smart home speaker Google Home, including personalized assistance features that will keep on top of each user's schedule. With the help of Google Assistant, Google Home will light up and warn users that they might be late for an upcoming appointment due to traffic or flight delays, and tell them when to head out accordingly.

Hands-free calling is also coming for free on any landline in the United States and Canada, and can be activated by saying something like, "Hey Google, call mom." Google Home also supports multiple accounts and will learn the voices of each person over time, automatically adjusting certain commands depending on who is speaking. By the end of the year Google Home will launch to users in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and Japan.


Integration with Spotify's free music service, Soundcloud, and Deezer is coming so users will have more music listening options. The addition of Bluetooth support will greatly expand audio playback as well, meaning anyone with an iOS, Android, or any Bluetooth-supported device can stream audio from the handset directly to Google Home. This way, users can now stream Apple Music on Google Home.

Visual responses with Google Home will speak directly with other Google products, like a Chromecast device, and let users check out their upcoming appointments or look at the weather forecast by simply asking Google Assistant on Google Home, and seeing the info on their TV.

Google Photos

For Google Photos, the company announced major sharing options coming to the photography app, including smart search and automatically curated albums, similar to Apple Photos. "Suggested Sharing" will use machine learning to remind users to share photos from a party or family gathering, smartly picking out the best pictures and sending it to other users on Google Photos.


The receivers can see the shared photos in a new "shared" tab in the app, and anyone not on Google Photos will be able to get a text message or e-mail invite to check out the pics and save them to their phone. Further expanding on the sharing abilities of Google Photos, users will be able to share entire photo libraries with friends and family to collaborate and interact with their photo albums.

The updates aren't just for digital photos either, with Google announcing a new feature called Photo Books. Similar to companies like Shutterfly, Photo Books will send users real albums filled with photos taken with their smartphone. Using Photo Books, users can select a variety of pictures, have Google Photos intelligently detect the best shots, and create a twenty-page softcover ($9.99) or hardcover ($19.99) book that's sent to them in the mail.

Other Announcements

Google announced Smart Reply is coming to Gmail on iOS, suggesting to users three responses based on the email that was received. Users can tap and send the reply right away, or edit it, and Google said that over time Smart Reply will figure out each user's preferred method of responses. So, for example, it'll be able to tell "if you're more of a "thanks!" than a "thanks." person."

Throughout the keynote Google covered a variety of other topics, including new streaming options for YouTube, ongoing VR initiatives with Google Daydream, and detailed updates coming to Android. More information about the announcements, and what else is coming during the remaining days of I/O, can be found on Google's website.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Battery Capacity and Weight Allegedly Revealed

Monday May 19, 2025 2:22 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
Apple Glass

Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know So Far

Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by
Google made waves yesterday by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand. Current Development Status Apple is actively working on new chips specifically...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
macOS 16 visionOS Inspired Feature 1

macOS 16: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday May 20, 2025 7:31 am PDT by
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple's annual developer and software-oriented event, is less than three weeks away. We haven't heard a great deal about macOS 16 ahead of its announcement this year, so we could be in for some major surprises when June 9 rolls around. Here's what we know so far about the next major update to Apple's Mac operating system. macOS 16 Name? Every year ...
Apple Intelligence General Feature

Report: Apple's Next-Gen Version of Siri Is 'On Par' With ChatGPT

Monday May 19, 2025 9:00 am PDT by
Apple has big plans to improve Siri over the next few years, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett report. Some Apple executives are now reportedly pushing to turn Siri into a true ChatGPT competitor. A next-generation, chatbot version of Siri has reportedly made significant progress during testing over the past six months; some executives allegedly now see it as "on par" with recent...

Top Rated Comments

dan9700 Avatar
105 months ago
Omg the keynote was the most boring crap ive ever seen was like hell
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TimUSCA Avatar
105 months ago
I have no doubt Google Assistant is better than Siri. But how is this useful at all on iOS? Who is going to open an app just to use the assistant?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BlueCreek Avatar
105 months ago
Apple seriously needs to pull its finger out with Siri
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I7guy Avatar
105 months ago
Not interested at all, but that's me.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
falainber Avatar
105 months ago
Omg the keynote was the most boring crap ive ever seen was like hell
Have you seen Apple keynotes lately?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hubieonekanubie Avatar
105 months ago
I think it's working just fine!

Attachment Image
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)