Google I/O 2015 summary
Google’s 2015 I/O Conference, and you know what that means, announcements and lots of them! This year, the gifts keep on coming, as Google’s keynote gave us some interesting new insights into what happens behind closed doors.
With so much information flying around, we've broken it down into bite-sized pieces so you can walkaway knowing everything there is to know about I/O 2015. It looks like everyone had a whale of a time at the event.
Google Play now officially has 1B active users, with 50B app installs in the past 12 months.
Android M
It all starts with Android M. With no official name just yet, it comes loaded with new features and handy tricks that will sure throw Android even further into the lead in the battle for your pocket. Android M is focused on pure user improvement on top of software improvement. Journalists already have access to the Developer Preview on Nexus Devices and feature a few improvements on the UI experience, as well as stability improvements. Android wants to focus on the best and most user friendly Android experience it can for the populous who are either previous android users, or looking to come over to the platform. When the public release is available for download, we will be able to see if this is the case or not. Android M as of launch will support USB Type C, a fast and reversible USB type that’s already featured on the new MacBook, as well as Google’s latest Chromebook Pixel. On top of USB Type C support, selected handsets and tablets will also showcase a dual purpose charging feature.
Family Star
Apps can now get a “family friendly” designation called 'The Family Star'. These apps will also be available in a special family section, with categories for different age groups.
App Permissions
App Permissions (like camera or GPS access) are now requested the first time they’re used, rather than in one big blast at install. Permissions can also be toggled on a one-by-one basis after install. This makes the Android application experience more safe and secure with your permission.
Chrome Custom Tabs
Developers now have a full featured, skinnable version of Chrome they can embed in their app.
App Links
App developers can now lock down Android intents. If you click a link that should open in Twitter, for example, Twitter can keep third-party apps from hijacking that intent.
Android Pay
Another announcement is Android Pay. Coming to any device running Android KitKat and up, this uses the phone’s NFC capabilities and an app to store your credit/debit cards to use existing contactless payment machines to make purchases. This is in direct competition with Apple Pay, as this is already available in the United States, it would be in Google’s best interests to bring Android Pay to the UK, Europe and Australia as fast as possible to maximise their device potential and give users a feature they have been after for a number of years. Remember the NFC, touch-to-pay part of Google Wallet? It’s that, but rebranded and built into the OS by default. Unlock your device, hold it up to an NFC reader (in Whole Foods, McDonalds, or many other retailers), and bam — you’ve paid. Your credit card is not shared with the store. Android Pay works with any NFC-enabled Android device.
Fingerprint Reader Support
While Android phones with fingerprint readers already exist, such things were always built by the device makers — not Google. Android now supports fingerprint readers at an OS level, allowing for things like making purchases in the Play store with your thumb or unlocking your device. It also works as a payment authentication method within third-party applications.
Doze
Android M will now feature Android Doze. Working for the user, it gives an advanced power management scheme to give far longer standby times for better overall battery life. Working with device sensors and the accelerometer built into the phones, Doze can tell whether you’re using your phone, or if it is stationary on a desk for example. It can still send you messages and give alert notifications, but can apparently extend battery life far beyond the default expectations of the device. When you haven’t moved your device in a while, apps can be pushed into low-power “doze” modes. Google says this can extend your device’s standby life by up to 2x.
Android Wear
Android Wear is getting an overhaul. The gist: wrist flicking gestures for fast (if goofy) navigation, emoji recognition, an always on display, and a rearranged (and improved!) UI flow.
Google goes after the Internet of Things:
Brillo and Weave
Google announced two new projects focusing on the Internet of Things: Brillo and Weave. Brillo is an Android-based operating system for IoT devices; Weave is a standard for IoT devices to communicate with each other. Gadget makers can use both Brillo and Weave, or just one of the two. Both will roll out to developers in late 2015.
Speech Recognition
Google has improved the speech recognition error rate from 23% in 2013, to 8% in 2015.
Google Now
Google Now can now use the current on screen information as context to provide you info. If you’re looking at a text about a certain restaurant, holding the home button will bring up details about that restaurant or movie. If you’re listening to a song by, say, Skrillex, saying “Okay Google, What’s his real name?” will auto-scrape that “his” refers to Skrillex. Yup, i know - #mindblowing.
Google Photos
Google is breaking its photo hosting stuff out of Google Plus. Google Photos is a free, unlimited storage service. It’ll host photos up to 16MP, and videos up to 1080p. It’s available for Android, iOS, and the web.
Offline Maps
Google Maps is getting deep offline support. Once you’ve saved a map for an area, you’ll be able to search for businesses within that area, read reviews, and even do turn-by-turn navigation without an internet connection.
Google Cardboard V2
Google released V2 of their super-economical VR viewer. It now supports phones with screens up to 6″. Meanwhile, the incredibly neat magnet-button from V1 has been replaced with a more universal button.
The little things…
Other, smaller features include:
– An improved copy/paste workflow
– Greatly improved volume controls with independent settings for ringer/alarm/music volume.
We sure enjoyed the 2015 event and can't wait to see what Google can come up with in the future. Drop your opinion below and tell us what you thought about Google’s 2015 keynote! Keep your non-robot eyes glued to TechDependent for future coverage on the world’s hottest tech news! Catch us on twitter: @openlyintel @samtoohey93 @techdependent
