from metronome to musical instrument tuner

When Google was born in 1998, its function was only one: to organize information on the Internet and make it easy for everyone to search the Internet. It was not the first search engine, but it was the simplest and, over time, the most used even in Europe. But as always happens, little by little it became more complex, adding functions and elements in the results section.

We saw the latest big step forward at Google I/O 2024, where the company showed off what the new AI-powered results will look like. This addition is in addition to summaries, direct purchase items, charts and other items. In fact, the company even announced a new filter called Web in the search engine to display only links, without added graphics.

But sometimes these elements can be very practical, especially if you are looking for perform a simple action that may require a computer but we do not have the specific application installed or we don’t know the website to perform this action. For example, if we want to decide something heads or tails, we can do it quickly thanks to certain applications integrated into the search engine itself.

The 8 hidden applications

There are eight applications in the Google search engine, which have very different tasks. To use them, all you have to do is enter the name of the tool in question and it will appear as the first search result.

Calculator. This feature is pretty obvious and perhaps one of the least useful because most computers have a calculator app, just like smartphones. Perhaps on the iPad this function is more practical since by default this tablet does not have this application, although it can be downloaded from the App Store.

Metronome. This application allows you to emulate a metronome, that is to say it allows measure time and indicate the rhythm of musical compositions. In the lower bar you can modify its speed, to know the number of pulses per minute that it will reproduce.

Spinner. This little program allows you to spin a Spinner simply for the pleasure of doing it. This can be done by clicking the SPIN button or by clicking and dragging it. But at the top right there is an option to enter numbers, and a six-division roulette wheel appears. It can also be rotated in both directions.

Color pipette. This tool is perfect for taking the digital code of a specific color. You can choose between HSL, HSV, RGB, CMYK and HEX formats. As with the rest of the tools, it can be shared by clicking on the icon in the upper right corner of the module, with the icon that appears on Android.

draw. To quickly choose something, heads or tails, it’s easy to use a coin. But these days, it’s not uncommon to encounter people, or ourselves, who no longer have cash on them. This little program allows you to quickly flip a virtual coin to choose one of these two options, heads or tails.

Tuner. In this case we can use the Google tool to tune the instruments. We will need to give access to our device’s microphone for this to work.

Of. Similar to roulette, with this option it is possible to choose between one of six options, the faces of a die. Additionally, we can use more complex dice than the classic six-sided dice, with options of 4, 8, 10, 12 and 20 sides. It is also possible to add a modifier to faces, which will add a specific number to any face result.

To meditate. The latest application is designed to be able to meditate. It is a respiratory control tool with inhalation and exhalation exercises lasting one minute. These are the same ones found in smartwatches from many manufacturers.