Another month has past and that means another Google Glass update. We saw the XE10 update arrive on October 7th and the XE11 update has been detailed by Google today. Last time around the update added transit directions, links in notifications and the ability to see the profile picture of the person you are messaging with. This time around we are seeing a few more changes and additions, including the departure of the long press.
Google mentioned that “a lot of people long pressing the touchpad to activate a Google search were doing so by mistake.” To that point, they have deemed that as not being as useful as they originally thought, and as a result, have since removed the ability. Moving forward, users can begin a search by saying “ok, glass, google” from the homescreen or by tapping the touchpad three times while the display is off.
Next up with the XE11 update is directions. Specifically, Home and Work directions. This one requires the user to have set those addresses in Google Maps. But once that has been taken care of, navigating to either place should be as easy as saying “ok glass, get directions to home.” Another addition brings Calendar Search. For this you will need to be a Google Calendar user with a Gmail account and also have private search enabled.
We suspect most Glass users will have those items set and in place, and once done, you will be able to use search commands such as “ok glass, google my agenda” to learn your upcoming appointments or “ok glass, google what am I doing next week” to get a look at your upcoming schedule. Google also improved the screencast experience. For this Glass users will now be able to start a screencast from the notification drawer on their Android handset. Just click “Start Screencast” link which sits under the “Connected to Glass” notification.
Otherwise, Google has also added something that should be useful for those being invited to join the Explorer program. A new tutorial has been added, and it walks you through the process of learning how to swipe and also get Glass setup and connected with your phone.
SOURCE: Google, +GoogleGlass
