Top 4: Announcements from Google I/O 2016
My favourite announcements from Google's annual developer conference
It's just over a week since Google I/O 2016 and the dust has finally settled down over the latest news and announcements from the search giant during the conference.
For those of you who aren't aware, Google I/O is Google's annual software developer-focused conference. It is during Google I/O that Google shows off and/or announces its latest products such as the next version of Android, new updates in current products, new tools that help developers build apps, and most importantly, the direction the company is headed in.
This year's conference marks the 10th anniversary of Google’s first developer day, hence, the change in venue from San Francisco to their own backyard at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. I/O 2016 also marks the first official conference hosted by Google under the new Alphabet corporate structure with Sundar Pichai's first I/O conference as the new CEO of Google.
I/O 2015 was pretty lacklustre by Google's standards but there was lots to get excited about during this year's conference. It's just impossible to talk about everything in one post, so here are my 5 favourite announcements (in order) from Google I/O 2016:
1. Project Soli updates
The announcements about Project Soli during Google I/O was truly a standout for me. Project Soli is Google's attempt at touchless interaction. It is currently being developed at Google under Google ATAP (Advanced Technology and Projects), which is a division at Google that aims to develop new radical technology. They are a small group, pretty much the merry band of pirates of Google and they "like epic shit".
Being anounced at last year's Google I/O, Soli has since been released to a selected group of developers around the world for them to tinker with and the results have been very impressive so far (check out the video below!). Soli works as a new sensing technology that uses miniature radar to detect touchless gesture interactions. Radar is used for motion tracking of the human hand and the sensor tracks really minute, rapid motions at great accuracy. This allows people to interact with technology without even touching it.
This tech is truly exciting and I'm personally pumped to see it in the hands of more developers and consumers soon. The possibilities are endless and Soli seems like the next natural progression of the user interface. We might be able to interact with our computers like how Tony Stark in the Iron Man movies does with his and that is just the very tip of the iceberg!
2. Android Instant Apps
Say you have an app you need to download and use at the moment but don't need it in the long run. It's annoying to have the app on your phone because it's idle in the app drawer as the app isn't your go-to app for something (it's not WhatsApp, Uber, Spotify, etc.). Also, what if you want to try out an app first without having to download it in the first place?
Google's answer to this problem is Android Instant Apps; a somewhat simple solution to a longstanding problem. Android Instant Apps evolves Android apps to be able to run instantly, without requiring installation.
Android Instant Apps isn't another app that has to be installed, it's going to be baked into Android devices running Android 4.1+ or higher with Google Play services. Based on one of the demos, let's say a user is sent a link by a friend to a video on Buzzfeed Video but doesn't have the Android app. That user will be directed to that part of the app without having to install it by just clicking on the link. Only the code needed to display that part of the app is downloaded and run on the go.
High quality Android apps are now only a few taps away instead of a few minutes. This is a win-win for both users and developers; users will get a better user experience on Android as they have better access to high quality Android apps while developers can get more users to their app quickly.
3. Project Ara updates
Project Ara is another project under Google ATAP and is Google's first big swing from their hardware division led by former President of Motorola, Rick Osterloh.
Ara is a modular phone. You will be able to add in modules like a better camera, larger speakers, and an E-Ink display with more modules from 3rd party hardware developers in the future. Here is how Ara works: buy the Ara frame that includes the screen, processor, RAM, battery, and 6 slots, then get modules to fill in those 6 slots. These modules will be able to fit into and work with future Ara frames.
There has been some negative fanfare about Google's decision to not allow consumers to switch out the screen, processor, and other core components of the Ara smartphone as it prevents it from being a truly modular phone. Personally, I'm pretty happy with their decision to do that for now. Ara is still in a fairly early stage and having too many components that are modular will give Google a headache.
I like how they are taking a leaf out of the book of the late founder of Apple, Steve Jobs. It can be summed up in quote of his: "A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.". Apple is famous for the tight integration between Apple software and hardware, allowing for a greater control over the user experience.
This way, Google maintains some form of control while still allowing consumers to customize the phone. When the Ara platform truly takes off, then we can start thinking about customizing the core components of the phone. Either way, Project Ara is still truly exciting and I can't wait to see what developers build with the release of the developer edition this fall before consumers get their hands on it in 2017!
4. Android apps & the Play Store come to Chromebooks
It's finally happening! Chromebooks will soon be running Android apps natively, together with the Google Play Store. This is huge news, particularly because it allows Chrome OS (the operating system of Chromebooks) to gain more functionality.
Chrome OS users will soon be able to get more than a million Android apps from the Google Play Store on their Chromebook. This would of course increase the appeal of Chromebooks to more people as they can get more done on it. This is a huge step in the direction of a more seemless and intergrated user experience between Google's two operating systems, Chrome OS and Android.
This is also a huge blow to Microsoft that has been trying to create an ecosystem of lightweight apps on a laptop computer from an app store. Google can achieve exactly that when this comes out in fall this year.
That wraps up my favourite announcements from I/O 2016! There were loads of cool announcements during the conference with didn't make my top 4 but some honourable mentions include major updates to Firebase and the new Google apps Allo (a smart messaging app) and Duo (Google's version of FaceTime) coming out later in summer.
I was really hoping to see a new version of Google Glass this year but I guess it'll be some time until they have something more polished for consumers. As for now, till Google I/O 2017!
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