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Google introduces Gallery Go, updates for Africa

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 25 Jul 2019

Google has introduced Gallery Go, an app that allows users to manage and edit photos offline.

The app, introduced yesterday, is part of the new products, features and other programs announced by the tech giant at the third Google for Nigeria conference.

Using machine learning capabilities, Gallery Go automatically organises photos according to the people and things users take photos of, in order to easily find their favourite selfie, remember when they had taken specific photos, and keep track of important documents.

Google launched Google Go last year, to make it easier for people to discover the best of the Internet even on low-RAM smartphones or an unstable network.

The difference with Gallery Go is that the app is designed to work offline, taking up only 10MB of space on the phone.

Users can also use it to auto-enhance their pictures and apply filters.

“With the growth of Android, more and more people around Africa have phones that take pictures, but not everyone has access to reliable, high-speed Internet or cloud backup to quickly find a photo,” notes Google in a statement.

“That is why Google has launched Gallery Go, a fast and smart photo gallery designed for users who don’t have a reliable Internet connection. Gallery Go brings many of the best features of Google Photos on a device, to help users find, edit and manage their photos even when they are offline.”

Gallery Go is available on Google Play for all devices running Android 8.1 (Oreo) or higher, and will come pre-installed as the gallery app on the Itel S15 and select A55 devices.

What else is new

Google also announced new products and app updates dedicated to African users, at the Google for Nigeria conference.

These include navigation instructions on Google Maps, in a Nigerian accent for both motorcycle and car driving modes, new Street View imagery, Google Lens and updates on reading app, Bolo.

On Google Maps, the American multinational technology company has introduced a dedicated travel mode to provide directions and navigation for motorcycles in Nigeria.

This will also be available in Benin Republic, Ghana, Rwanda, Togo and Uganda from this week.

To help make it easier to visually explore places in Nigeria, Google says it is publishing more panoramic imagery on Google Street View, a feature in Google Maps and Google Earth.

From next week, users will be able to access Google Assistant directly from Google Go in a new Nigerian voice. Using their voice, users will be able to ask Google to call their mum or play their favourite music video.

Google Lens helps users to find out more about the world around them through their camera and photos. In its latest update, Lens is housed inside Google Go, to help people read, translate and search the words they see, by simply using their camera. Users can open Lens, point it at a sign, and listen to the words read out loud.

Bolo is a speech-based reading app that helps children learn how to read in English. The app was launched in India earlier this year, and this week it has been introduced in Nigeria and Ghana.

“Every day, people in Nigeria, Africa and around the world turn to Google for help,” says Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor, Google Nigeria country director.

“We hope the products and updates we're announcing today will make Google even more helpful for fuelling people’s hustles and getting things done. We remain committed to bringing the transformational power of technology to everyone in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.”

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