In just this month we had Apple and Amazon already unveil some of their most exciting things of the year. Apple released their refreshed look and features for OS X Yosemite, and Amazon released another buying machine. This week, Google is strutting their stuff at I/O in San Francisco. Whether or not you believe that Google is making killer robots to wipe out mankind, Google did manage to show off some pretty neat non-lethal software. Let's dive in.
Android One will probably have the biggest impact on the world. It is designed to be used in developing markets, and it will provide people with high quality and low cost smartphones, somewhat like the recent Nexuses but much cheaper. The reference hardware will have a 4.5 inch screen, FM radio, dual SIM card slots, an SD card slot, and it will be available for under $100. Micromax, Karbon, and Spice are the first hardware partners for Android One when it goes to India later this fall. Don't worry, it will go worldwide later. Maybe this is finally the right smartphones for "the next billion."
Right now, Google is calling their next version of Android "L". KitKat already looked nice, but L is a much more refined and cleaner version of it. It's not incredibly dark like Ice Cream Sandwich, not super flat like Windows Phone, and it is not translucent like iOS 7. Instead of depth, L uses different colors and shadings to make it appear that the icons and images have depth. They give you more information, stand out, and honestly look pretty cool. There are many new icons for version L, almost all of the stock icons have been changed, and they look much cleaner. Bold colors are on top of bright whites, which results in a nice contrast throughout the UI. Many of the square buttons have also been changed to round buttons so you can view more information while still having your controls visible. Google is calling this Material design, and it is a great improvement over KitKat. We hope the material design will make it to all the updated Android devices, unlike the Nexus 5 launcher for KitKat. Version L looks great and seems to be very fast, but we just hope that manufacturers won't put hideous skins over it. We're looking at you again Samsung.
Version L does look great, but it also has many neat new features. One of the biggest features is how Google has changed up notifications. Instead of having your lock screen and the swipe-down notification tray, all of your notifications are shown on your lock screen. You can act upon them without unlocking your phone, and this basically combines both the lock screen and the notification tray. There are also new "heads-up" notifications that pop-up similar to how iOS 6 and below handled notifications, but you can choose to answer or dismiss them without swiping down your notification tray. These notifications will help power users and consumers alike, and we can't wait to use them ourselves.
Since I/O is Google's developer conference, Google also talked about the behind the scenes upgrades in version L. There is a new runtime in L that runs on Android Runtime, or ART. It manages RAM better, does better "garbage collection" in apps, and is 64-bit compatible. For the gaming developers out there, there is a new Android Extension Pack that supports geometry shaders, tesselation, computer shaders, and many more nerdy things. Google claims that this will give high-end smartphones and tablets PC caliber gaming, but we'll have to wait to see that for ourselves.
L also comes with a new battery saver feature, which will hopefully give Android smartphones even more amazing battery life. Google lets you tweak performance and display settings to let you get up to 90 minutes more battery life. This is not much and many hardware manufacturers have already introduced similar features, but this could come in handy when you are away from an outlet for a short time. L seems like a good upgrade with new features, new looks, better notifications and better battery life, but the big smartphone OEMs will first have to let those features shine through.
If you have had paid even the smallest attention to wearables, you have probably heard about Android Wear. It is Google's open operating system for smartwatches so multiple OEMs can develop and make hardware for it. For those of you that do not know about Android Wear, it is a smartphone companion that handles all of the little things that you would normally use your phone for. Taking notes, playing and controlling music, setting reminders, bringing up boarding passes, replying to texts through voice diction, counting steps, notifications, and Google Now cards can all show up with a simple "OK Google. Apps installed on your phone carry over to your watch, and update in the same time. If you are scrolling through a recipe, it syncs with your phone and you can set timers for the recipe right from your watch. When you are using a ride sharing app, such as Lyft, "OK Google call me a car" works to call you a car. These features aren't very new or exciting, but the incredible flow and ability to do it from your wrist is what makes it so amazing. The full Android Wear SDK will be available soon. On the LG G Watch that Google showed off today it is always on, but it also comes with a few neat tricks to save battery life. It is black and white when you are not looking at it, but it changes to full color when you lift your wrist. The G watch is cool and does look like a smartwatch, but the Moto 360 is by far the most exciting device for Android Wear.
The Moto 360, Samsung Gear Live, and LG G Watch will be available "soon". The G Watch and the Samsung Gear Live will be available to order in the Google Play Store later today. Sadly, the Moto 360 is still coming "later this summer".
To respond to Apple's CarPlay system, Google debuted Android Auto. Google is trying to take over yet another aspect of your life, but it works pretty well. All of the controls work with the car's steering wheel buttons, dials, and more. It also has tabs for music, phone, Google Now cards, and another unnamed tab. Google Maps works, and you can obviously navigate through the UI with your voice. Android Auto will also read out your messages to you to help with that not distracted, but semi-distracted driving. Streaming services like Spotify, Pandora, Songza, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, and iHeart Radio already work, but there are many more in the works. It's coming to many of the most popular car manufacturers, and it will debut with Android L later this year. Android Auto has been designed well and seems to work very intuitively, but we do not see a compelling case for people to buy into this over just putting their phone on the dash.
The nerdiest of nerds might also remember the failed Google TV. Google doesn't like to talk about it, and we'll just tell you that it was an overpriced range of devices that did not do much. Today, Google is unveiling Android TV as their second try towards your living room. It runs on the single Android SDK for all forms of Android, and it is not much different than from what we have seen before. The interface goes on top of what you are watching, offers recommendations, and lets you play some games on it. There are only Android phone games now, but maybe some developers will make something more interesting. We guess this is probably the last nail in the coffin for the Ouya. Android TV also supports Google Cast, so it essentially can work like a Chromecast. Android TV looks good with pretty movie and app posters on the left and a bright menu bar on the side, but what will really make it shine is Google's large device support and ecosystem.
Chromecast has also been talked about at I/O. Google bragged about how successful it is in big box stores, and we wouldn't be surprised. The Chromecast is the easiest and cheapest way to get a "smart" TV. Now you can let people cast to your Chromecast without being on the same WiFi network, but you can control who gets to do so. There is also Backdrop, which lets you put weather, pictures, and other information on your idle TV. You can also now mirror your Android device to your TV, but that should have honestly been there since the beginning. Right now only a few high end phones from Samsung, HTC, LG, and the Nexus program support it, but many more are coming soon.
Chromebooks, AKA Microsoft's biggest ad slamming victim, were another big aspect of I/O 2014. Google has now allowed your Chromebook to mirror notifications from your Android phone on your desktop, and you will soon be able to run Android apps. Everyone knew this would happen soon, but we are not completely sure it will happen the way we want it to. From what Sundar Pichai said, it seems like only a few Android apps will be available for your Chromebook.
Google is making Android even more enterprise friendly with this year's I/O. Android has new security and data features that let your work apps be on the same device as your personal items, while still providing the safe features you need. Google Slides, Google's presentation software, is coming to Android and brings some new converting features to Docs. Now you don't have to worry about opening certain files in different apps, if you happen to be that kind of person. These small features are just pushing Google Docs even closer to beating Microsoft Office. Some of the stats Google touted showed that 67 of the top 100 start ups, 58% of the Fortune 500 companies, and 72 of the top 100 Universities have all gone Google. Pay attention Microsoft. Google is taking one of your most valuable assets.
Back to Android for smartphones, Google has also previewed a few features from their new Fit Platform. It puts together data from your wearables and devices, like a connected scale and your Android Wear smartwatch. Adudas, Nike, HTC, ASUS, LG, noom, and RunKeeper are among some of the big partners for Android Fit. Developers will be making apps and programs for it when the SDK comes out in the coming weeks.
Google Play Games, Android's not too popular Game Center competitor, has also been refreshed. New features like game profiles, saving games in the cloud, real-time Quests, direct carrier billing for tablets, and game gifts are available to the more than 100 million users currently on Google Play Games. Game developers could popularize their games by offering up interesting challenges of the day, and saving games in the cloud could help with multiple devices. These new features have made Play Games incredibly competitive, and in some ways better, than Game Center. This, however, is not how Google succeeds with it. Everyone knows about Apple's Game Center because it is shoved into everyone's faces. There were many commercials showing people playing on Game Center, there are sections for Game Center, and Game Center is sometimes front and center on the App Store. Google needs to shove Play Games into people's faces to get anyone to use it. These excellent features are here and everyone would want to use them, but Android users can never do so if they do not know about it.
Google I/O 2014 was filled to the brim with two hours of developer talk. Yes Google showed us once again that they have some of the best mobile designers in the world, they make pretty amazing UIs, everything is gorgeous, and they showed us how to be more productive with Android Wear and the improved notifications. What Google did not show us was the weird Google we loved last year and two years ago at I/O. There were no skydivers, no crazy cyborg glasses, or any incredibly interesting products or software. We are aware that this conference is geared towards developers and not consumers, but it is always exciting to see weird Google. I/O 2014 was a great place for Google to show off their great software improvements, and we can't wait to see more about it. Despite what you have heard about Android and Chromebooks before, you should definitely stay tuned.
Pictures courtesy of The Verge
Comments
Post a Comment