What you need to know
- Google appears to be preparing a new Pixel Tablet feature called “Look and Sign.”
- It’s unclear what Look and Sign will do, but it could provide a way for people to interact with their devices through sign language or more basic hand gestures.
- Look and Sign is thought to be similar to Look and Talk, which is currently available on the Nest Hub Max.
The Google Pixel Tablet is already a great smart home companion thanks to the included charging speaker dock. This essentially turns your Pixel Tablet into a Nest Hub Max, allowing Google Assistant to answer your questions and manage your smart home devices. However, according to 9to5Google’s APK teardown of the Google Search app, the Pixel Tablet could become more similar to the Nest Hub Max in a future update.
This teardown reveals an upcoming feature that Google seems to be trying to hide. It’s disguised as “LnS” in the code reference, but it stands for “Look and Sign.” This feature seems similar to Look and Talk, which is currently available on the Nest Hub Max, and the two may work similarly. Look and Talk uses your device’s built-in camera to detect when someone is looking at or talking to your Nest Hub Max. You can simplify things and omit “OK Google” from the process.
Look and Sign detected in version 15.15 The Google Search app is still in beta. 9to5Google reports that with this update, some references to Look and Talk in the app now point to his Look and Sign. The Look and Talk feature isn’t yet available on Pixel Tablets, but it’s reportedly been in development since October 2023, which is why it’s now showing up in the Google Search app.
In particular, Google has decided to edit certain parts of the page related to Look and Sign. This is rare, even for unreleased features that must be force-enabled. See below.
Google is apparently keeping the exact method of enabling Look and Sign a secret. This can literally be interpreted to mean that the Pixel Tablet will now be able to detect someone using sign language. This isn’t far-fetched, but it’s a somewhat lofty goal that requires advanced machine learning to handle. All of that processing must be done on the device for privacy and speed considerations. Another avenue Google might take with Look and Sign is gesture detection. This is similar to how certain video calling apps allow thumb-ups to trigger on-screen effects.
There’s no way to know when Look and Sign will debut, as this feature is clearly in its early stages and a similar Look and Talk feature hasn’t been rolled out for Pixel Tablets after months of internal testing. However, we will likely learn a lot from the Google I/O 2024 event scheduled for next month. That may provide insight into when Look and Sign will be deployed.
Also functions as a smart hub and tablet
Google Pixel Tablet has two functions. At your disposal, it becomes a killer tablet, docking into your speaker hub to control your smart home. As such, it shares many features with the Nest Hub Max, and new features may be added soon.
