Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is developing a new feature called Gemini Space for Pixel devices, potentially as an evolution or rebrand of the current At a Glance feature.
- We’ve now found strings for a “Daily Hub,” feature within At a Glance/Gemini Space, described as a “space for content and suggestions to simplify your day.”
- This suggests Daily Hub could offer helpful content and suggestions similar to Samsung’s Now Brief and the erstwhile Google Now.
We’ve previously spotted Google working on a feature called Gemini Space for Pixel devices. There aren’t a lot of clues telling us precisely what this feature is or what it would do, but we speculated that it could be Google’s version of Samsung’s Now Bar and Now Brief features. We’ve now spotted more clues pointing in the same direction.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
On recent Galaxy flagships, the Now Bar is a small chip on the lock screen with live app updates. It is complemented by Now Brief, a full-screen summary of your day with contextual information, which can be accessed from its Now Bar lock screen shortcut, the Now Brief home screen widget, or the Edge panel.
Previously spotted evidence suggested that Google could be planning to rebrand the Pixel’s At a Glance into Gemini Space, and relaunch it with more capabilities. At a Glance can be argued to be very similar to Now Bar already, while Gemini Space could be comparable to Now Brief.
We’ve now spotted new strings that corroborate our direction, albeit with a new feature called “Daily Hub” that could exist within Gemini Space:
Code
gemini_space_subzero
Show a space for content and suggestions to simplify your day
Daily Hub In the strings above, “SmartSpace” is the codename for the Pixel-specific At a Glance implementation (not to be confused with the At a Glance widget that is part of the Google app and is available to all Android smartphones with the app installed). The Pixel-specific At a Glance implementation looks like a widget but cannot be removed from the Pixel Launcher, so it is a permanent addition to the home screen and lock screen.
Further, “subzero” appears to be the codename for the Daily Hub feature, which is described as a “space for content and suggestions to simplify your day.” It sounds a lot like Samsung’s Now Brief, and even surprisingly close to what the long-dead Google Now feature used to offer.
Google Now
It remains to be seen what direction Google ultimately takes for Gemini Space and its Daily Hub feature, but it’s looking more likely to be similar in concept to Now Bar and Now Brief. We’ll keep you updated when we learn more.
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