Inside Search
The official Google Search blog
A voice for everyone in 2016
July 15, 2016
Every election matters and every vote counts. The American democracy relies on everyone’s participation in the political process. This November, Americans all across the country will line up at the polls to cast their ballots for the President of the United States. With states’ varied deadlines and methods, the voter registration process can be tricky. So starting on Monday, we're introducing a new tool in Search to simplify the voter registration process to make it easier for you to have your voice heard.
Now when you search for “register to vote” or similar queries, Google will display a detailed state-by-state guide providing information on how to register, general requirements, and deadlines.
No matter which state you’re in or how you plan to cast your ballot, you can find the step-by-step information you need to register correctly and on time—right at the top of your Search page and in the Google app.
And for the kickoff of the
Republican National Convention
next week (and coming in time for the Democratic National Convention next week), when you search for these events on the Google app, you’ll find a summary of the event, nominees and the lineup of speakers. You’ll also find a livestream video from YouTube, and relevant social media posts, so you can stay up-to-date with both the political parties and the public.
We hope these new features in Search will help keep you informed this election season and make it easier for you to make it to the ballot box in November.
Posted by Jacob Schonberg, Product Manager
More on Tap: Translate, discover and improved Search by image
July 6, 2016
With Now on Tap, Android Marshmallow users can get quick help from Google without having to stop what they’re doing. Today, we’re introducing new Now on Tap features that surface useful content and create a more engaging experience. With these updates, users can translate text on any page, discover more about the things that interest them, and learn more about products by using QR codes and bar codes in Search by Image.
Translate text from any screen
Chrome makes it easy to translate any webpage into your native language, but what about translations in your apps?
With Now on Tap’s new translate feature, you can translate text on any screen, whether it’s an app or webpage. Just long press the home button and tap the “Translate this screen” card. Voilà, the text on screen will be translated into your phone’s language.
So if you’re using Google Maps and come across a location or a restaurant review in a foreign language, just long press the home button and continue reading. You’ll even be able to translate multiple languages at once.
The translate feature is currently available for phones with the language set to English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.
Discover more interesting content
Now on Tap is great for getting things done, but our new discover mode can also help you learn more about things that interest you. Just tap the “Discover” icon and get a stream of visual content related to what’s on your screen — it’s perfect for browsing and exploring, rather than searching for something in particular.
For example, if you’re reading an article about Pluto and are interested in learning about NASA, discover mode will show you a stream of links to YouTube videos, news articles and more.
Search by Image - Barcodes and QR codes
Last month,
we announced
that you can use Now on Tap to search via your camera app for objects like famous landmarks. Today, we’re expanding that to include barcodes and QR codes.
Next time you’re shopping, you can simply point your camera at the barcode and get helpful cards related to that object, such as user reviews. This feature will work with packaged products, books, DVDs and more!
We’re excited to continue to bring more engaging features to Now on Tap and hope today’s updates help you get things done faster and find new and interesting information.
Posted by Aneto Okonkwo, Product Manager
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