Key announcements at the Google I/O 2016

And what it means for YOU

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, during the Keynote at I/O

Announcement of a voice based assistant, finally

The new voice based assistant, also available as a text based assistant(in Allo)

Google has announced its very own Siri competitor, and it’s going to change the whole voice assistant scene. It can serve queries directly from Google, and do everything else Google Now, or any other Google service could. From looking up movies to booking show tickets, and sending messages to checking Whatsapp(Allo now). Yes, you can naturally talk to it. We can expect almost all major apps and services in the Play Store to be integrating with it, thus leaving little which wouldn’t be possible with voice commands — communication instead.

One major thing announced is that Google can now understand ‘context’, and what that means is — suppose you ask the assistant, “Who directed the Revenant?” and it replies with the answer, and you want further info, so, instead of asking “What awards did the director of Revenant receive?”, you can simply ask, “What awards did HE receive”.

The Assistant would be personalised, thus, it would learn about the way you talk, the way you reply, how you commute, what you eat, how much you jog… Every single piece of information makes the Assistant ‘smarter’.

The newly announced Google Home…

Google has announced the making of its very own home Artificially intelligent assistant device, which again, is here to bring all of Google, closer to you. Built on the same fundamentals as Echo, it’s a wireless speaker base combined with a voice assistant, without any buttons at all (Completely voice based). Here’s a quick speciality check:-

Completely voice based assistant. Access all of Google — messages, mail, events, appointments, queries, conversation, in one place. Play music directly, from most of the streaming services, or a local library on any device. Support for both Android and IOS. Control multiple speakers in home, and thus play in multiple rooms, simultaneously. Control all the other smart devices in the house from one point — Light to TV, Fridge to Washing Machine. Have a natural conversation with the AI assistant, which serves queries, gets things done(book tickets and shows, orders food, etc.), and provides entertainment. Integrated with Chromecast, thus display content directly to any screen. Sleek and beautiful design, customizable, to suit its surroundings.

A full coverage can be read here.

‘Smarter’ Communication with Allo and Duo

Google has announced two new ‘smart’ communication apps — Allo and Duo, which will supposedly help you better express yourself.

During the announcement at I/O 2016

Allo is the new text based messenger. What separates this from the crowd is also what makes Google unique, it’s Artificial Intelligence and huge search engine capabilities. It’s supposed to offer all of google, in a messaging platform. It’s special features include —

Query on Google, right from your chat window. Now, no need to leave your chat window, go to Google, search for a show, check its reviews, book tickets and get back — instead, do all that directly from your chat window with the help of Google Assistant. Google’s smart reply suggestions — Google analyzes your messages and suggests a reply, based on the way you talk. It can even learn and process images exchanged and use it for providing suggestions. Edit images and pictures in app, and send it instantly. Whisper Shout — Send text which varies in size(big for emphasis, and small for trivial things), dramatically influencing the expression levels. Incognito Mode — No perks and whistles, and no privacy issues either. This mode lets you talk privately, and once the chat window closes, the chat is gone, forever. Google Assistant — Apart from integration with the chat window, you can even chat with the Google assistant separately. You can talk to it, query it, and even play games with it.

Duo is the video calling companion to Allo, and it’s built keeping in mind that many a times, receiving a video call can be intriguing, disturbing or even irritating. It is supposed to offer an easier and more friendly way to video calling. Features include:-

Knock Knock — Lets you see a preview of the caller, even before you accept the call. Change networks seamlessly, under the hood, thus ensuring a good travel video calling experience.

A more detailed description of both can be read here

Android N

Google has announced the Android N, with a lot of changes and improvements. Let’s quickly go through it:-

Desktop class graphics in phones — Android N has announced support for OpenGL and Vulkan graphics(both bringing desktop class graphics to phones), which is sure to boost the graphics rendering and overall feel. Rejoice gamers, and UI lovers!! Up to 75% faster app installations. Smaller app sizes, thus, more apps in smaller storage. The new JIT compiler ensures optimal battery usage. Much better security, with support for encryption at the file level. Seamless updates — Get all the security updates from Android, without bothering about it. The ‘recent apps’ screen has become better, now with a clear all button. Also, it removes the app screens you haven’t used in a while. No more ‘optimising app X of X’ screen at bootup.

9. Switching between apps becomes easier — Revert back to the previous app simply by double tapping the ‘recent apps button(the square)’.

10. 2 new multiple window modes, At last —Picture in picture(for big screens) let’s you define an area for showing the app within another app. Side by Side let’s you see multiple apps side by side.

11. Notification — Take actions right from the notification tab. Reply to messages directly by typing in the notification tab.

12. Notification — Long tap an app to set its priority and visibility.

13. Support for Unicode 9 Emoji standard — Much better and novel Emojis, natively in Android.

These are certainly going to change the way we interact with and use phones, and also might lead to much better phones coming at a much cheaper price. Let’s see, what is on hold for us…

Daydream — A VR platform with native support from Android

At the I/O 2016

After a successful enterprise in VR with Cardboard, providing cheap VR for the first time consumer, Google has announced to go one step forward, with Daydream —

A VR platform with native support, starting with Android N. Built on the same principals as Cardboard, it uses a phone as the heart for displaying and rendering. VR headset — Google is also building a VR headset, in which you can put in any ‘VR ready phone’(phones labeled by Google) and use it for experiencing VR.

The headset… as shown during I/O 2016

4. Controller — Google has even announced a Wii style controller for VR which knows its exact surroundings and its own location.

The controller, as shown during the announcement at the I/O 2016.

5. Content — According to announcements, big players in the entertainment field like EA and IMAX are already developing content for it, and its developer APIs are already available, so, you can expect a plethora of content whenever it is launched(probably with Android N).

6. Android N support — It will have a VR mode which will optimize the system for low latency and good performance in VR. The Play Store will be accessible directly within the VR and even Google Photos, Youtube, etc. support it already.

This recent advancement will, keeping in mind that Android users are already integrated into the Google ecosystem, will surely prove to be a big step towards VR for all(though we don’t know anything about the pricing yet). The fact that it would support a lot of phones is very welcome. It should prove to be a good competitor for the high end and highly expensive VR headsets — HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and even the Gear VR. We all look forward to it.

Android Wear 2.0

Smart Reply(similar to Allo), Handwriting and Keyboard… Wear 2.0 at I/O 2016

Google has announced major updates for the Android Wear, ensuring better ‘smart’ watches, for all of us —

Data and Notifications on watchface — Now, any app can display any data(Notifications) on any installed watchface. It doesn’t require you to have a smartphone, anymore. Standalone apps — which can access network, make calls, use Google’s services, etc. New Google fit APIs — Apps can exchange data, for example, the diet app and fitness app can exchange data about calories taken and consumed. Smart move… Text Input — Support for handwriting recognition and even keyboards.

Instant Apps

Did someone send you an app link, and you don’t want to waste your time and resources installing it? Don’t worry, instant apps lets you directly open a link by just downloading that part of the app needed to display the content. After that, you can choose to install the app if you want. And that too, it supports right down to Android Jellybean.

Other Major Announcements

Progressive Web Apps

Now, web apps have the capabilities to display notifications, be added to homescreen and even work offline. Very less difference between a native app and web app, Now. More using, less installing.

Better Mobile Websites

The new web APIs mean that developers can now build much better websites which load up to 4x faster and even reduce your data costs by 10%.

That’s all(quite a lot) for the major consumer announcements at the Google I/O 2016….

If all of these are implemented well, it could change the tech world and clearly advance us towards a more Artificially Intelligent world. Apart from these, a lot of Developer tech was also announced, which will surely lead to much better content, for all devices. The event was much awaited, and it hasn’t disappointed anyone. The concerns about Google’s strategy towards privacy can be a matter of concern for all, thus, we need to carefully balance tech and privacy. We have to carefully adopt Google’s ever new technological advances, along with adapting ourselves to better keep private information, private. There are methods available, always. However, the various privacy features are a major relief for it’s users. What do you think, do let us know…