Google Photos officially unveiled at Google I/O 2015
We’re live at Google I/O 2015 where the new Google Photos app has just been announced. Google has basically taken the Photos experience out of Google+ and moved it to a decoupled app, where we’re given basically all of the same abilities that we’re already used to, with a few handy features and improvements thrown in to the experience.
For starters, Google Photos is being marketed as a backup service with completely “unlimited storage”. Previously, Google+ Photos ate into your Google Drive storage space, and now that’s changed this time around. Photos will have a 16MP cap, and videos can only be uploaded if they’re 1080p or lower. Even though “unlimited” has its drawbacks in this scenario, it should be a welcome change for most users.
Google Photos can recognize and categorize your photos for you, automatically. It will not only be able to identify individual faces, but it can also group together everyday objects like food, landscapes, buildings and basically any other category you can think of. Your photos are separated into three main categories – People, Places and Things. From there, more specific categories are put in place, like individual people, locations and more. The jury is still out as to how well this app will actually be able to categorize photos on its own, though the demo was very promising.
There’s a new feature in Google Photos called “Assistant”, which is very similar to Autoawesome on Google+. It still automatically creates stories for you, but it also allows users to create their own albums, collages (mixes), movies, custom stories and animations. That means you won’t have to wait for Autoawesome to work its magic on its own – you can take matters into your own hands. This new Assistant feature seems easy enough to use, while also giving users plenty of control over their photos.
Of course, Google has made it easy to share photos and videos directly from the app, but now users have the option to share media privately, as well. Simply select the photo or video you want to send, open up the sharing menu, and select the “Get link” option. This will copy the link to your clipboard, and you can do with it what you want.
Users can access photos on the web by heading to photos.google.com, which features a completely revamped user interface, and provides an easy way to manage and edit photos on the desktop. The app will be live in the Play Store beginning today.
You can learn more about Google Photos by heading to the official announcement post. The app itself is expected to arrive later today for Android, iOS, and the web. We’ll be sure to update you as soon as it hits Google Play.
Android M will bring Google Now on Tap
At its I/O 2015 keynote today, Google has just announced Now on Tap, an update to Google Search integration on Android M which brings contextual information to your fingertips when you need it. The core feature of Now On Tap is delivering information when you need it so you no longer have to exit what you’re doing – such as listening to music or texting your friends – to find a quick piece of information.
As part of the company’s upcoming Android M release, you will be able to ask Google for assistance with whatever you are doing, regardless of where you are on your phone and what you are doing. One example of this on-stage was a conversation where you learn you need to drop off the dry cleaning; with “Now on Tap” you can tap and hold the home button and it will deliver a list of dry cleaners and then set a smart reminder card so you don’t forget.
Another example is receiving an email from a friend to see the new movie Tomorrowland; simply invoke Google Now without leaving the app you’re using and you’ll be able to quickly see the ratings, watch a trailer or even buy tickets for the movie and then head straight back to the app you were using.
Android M will also allow you to let you launch Google Now using the “Ok Google” voice command from any screen and any app on your phone. Google Now will then bring contextual awareness so if you’re listening to a band on Spotify, you can just say “Ok Google, who’s the lead singer” and it’ll recognise the context of your search.
Google Now on Tap will launch with Android M later this year and will work with any app whose developer has had their app indexed by Google.
Android Studio 1.3 and Polymer 1.0 announced for developers
Google has today unveiled the next version of its Android Studio integrated development engine (IDE) during its I/O 2015 keynote and also revealed Polymer 1.0.
Version 1.3 of Google’s IDE brings native support for development in C/C++ along with faster build speeds and a new memory profiler. The support for C/C++ will mean that developers no longer need to use Google’s Native Development Kit (NDK) and instead can build apps using the native coding language in Android Studio 1.3.
During the keynote, the company also announced Polymer 1.0, which brings new elements to make it easy to build your app’s user interface, such as drag and drop controls, integrated maps and the ability to build a complete mobile checkout flow within your app.
… Developing …
80% of phones shipped in 2014 were based on Android
Among the the slew of interesting stats mentioned by Sundar Pichai, Vice President of Products, during the opening address of the Keynote at Google I/O 2015 showcasing the growth of various Google services, particularly impressive was the continued growth, and dominance, of Android around the world.
Only in the last year, since Google I/O 2014, over 600 millions users around the world have been first time smartphone adopters, and with 8 out of every 10 smartphones sold based on Android, you know what the platform of choice for most of that large number was. Over a billion users also use various Google services including Google Search, Youtube, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Chrome, and of course, Android. When it comes to Android, over 400 manufacturers around the world result in more than 4000 distinctive devices currently available, with a connection to close to 500 network carriers as well.
Android’s growth is of course, not just restricted to mobile, with a lot of headway being made with Android Wear, Android Auto, Android TV, and Google Chromecast, to mention a few. Android Wear has grown from two reference-type models, which has grown to 7 models thus far, with many more to come. The software experience itself has seen a lot of improvements along the way, and continues to become even better with every update.
Android Auto, that was announced just last year, can now be found with the Hyundai Sonata in the US right now, with 13 Chevrolet models arriving with Android Auto in 2016, with Volkswagen announcing recently the availability of Auto with every car in their 2016 lineup for Europe and North America. With close to 35 car manufacturers on-board, Android Auto is set to see an impressive growth over the next few years.
Android TV was released last year with a reference model, the ADTV-1, and is now available from companies such as Sony, Sharp, and Phillips, with many more models coming soon. Also worth noting is the fact that Google has sold over 17 million units of the Google Chromecast, and with over 20,000 applications now coming with support, it’s no surprise that the cast button has been pressed around 1.5 billion times.
Fully-featured offline features coming to Google Maps
During I/O 2015 Google unveiled that it is bringing a full offline mode to Google Maps by the end of this year! Google already made it possible to save specific maps for offline use, but this new change takes things much further.
While the offline feature is aimed at markets that might not have the best mobile data, this feature should reach all markets that Google Maps is available in. The offline mode will let you not only save maps, but you’ll be able to search for locations, get turn by turn voice direction, and much more. Basically anything you can do now, you’ll be able to do offline.
We’ll be sure to bring you more details about when offline Maps is coming as soon as we learn more!
Google is making it easier for Android One users to overcome connectivity and data challenges
Google is looking ahead at its annual developer conference, talking about bringing the internet to the next billion people. The company plans on doing this by utilizing its low-cost smartphone platform, Android One. Android One was introduced last year in India with three OEM partners, and that number has since grown to seven countries with more than ten OEM partners. Of course, Google’s plans for Android One don’t stop there.
The problem is, although folks in developing markets may have access to Android One devices, there are still many connectivity challenges and data costs to overcome. It can even sometimes take a few minutes to load up a simple webpage or a map. To combat these problems, Google is looking to focus on speed, size and connectivity to deliver the best experience to users, no matter where they live.
Starting in Indonesia, Google is rolling out a “light” search results page for users on slow connections. These optimized web pages will be able to load 4x faster, use 80% fewer bytes, and reduce memory usage by up to 80MB.
Google is also rolling out a “Network Quality Indicator” for Chrome in India, which evaluates the quality of the data connection you’re on, and will respond to lower bandwidths to adjust the quality of the webpage. For instance, if users have a slower data connection, the webpage will insert image placeholders instead of taking time to load each individual image. The company is also working to bring offline capabilities in Chrome on Android.
Google has also recently launched “YouTube Offline” in nations such as Indonesia, which allows users to take videos offline for up to 48 hours at a time.
We’ll have more information on Android One in the next few hours, so stay tuned!
…Developing…
Android Nanodegree offers a crash course in development
Google has today unveiled a new Android Nanodegree, which aims to explain the entire lifecycle of Android app development in a course lasting six to nine months. Launched in partnership with online education specialist, Udacity, the Android Nanodegree was built by Google to offer training for would-be developers to reach the standards that Google expects from its developers.
The course takes six to twelve months to complete at a cost of $200 per month and will cover everything from the fundamentals of Android development to advanced development skills. It will also cover things like Google Play services and Material Design and real-life projects will be graded by Google’s global network of 300 code reviewers.
Once you complete the Android Nanodegree, you’ll receive a joint certificate from Google and Udacity, in what is being described as an industry first. 50 students from the new Nanodegree will also be invited to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View for a three-day summit on Careers as a developer, with items on the agenda including developer sessions, a Hackathon and interactions with hiring engineers.
To bring Android development to other markets, Google has worked with the Government of Egypt to localise the Android Nanodegree into Modern Standard Arabic and as part of the initiative to make Android accessible to all, Google will offer 2,000 scholarships and host sessions for students in Egypt. The company also expects to bring localized Nanodegrees to other countries in the new future.
Registration for the Android Nanodegree is now open and you can get a one week trial of the degree program before having to pay the course fees. The course is listed as taking between six and twelve months to complete and requires a minimum of 10 hours per week.
Google Family Star features makes it easy to find kid-friendly apps
We’ve know for a while now that Google was planning to make some big changes to the way parents and kids discover family friendly apps on Google Play. During the Google I/O 2015 keynote, we saw this change to fruition with the announcement of the new “Family Star” program.
Family Star is a new rating that applies not just to games, but video, general apps, books and more. Google Star makes it easy to find kid-friendly content and is even broken down into three general age groups: 5 year olds ad younger, 6 to 8 year old, and 9 to 12 year olds. In addition to creating categories for easy discoverability, Google is also bringing 3rd-party ESRB ratings to all apps and will make sure to clarify if apps have in-app purchases. Google is also expanding the IAP controls and making a more powerful password system to better protect kids from accessing content they shouldn’t.
For those wondering about the content that Google will let into the Google Star program, they have a pretty strict approval process lined up, one which Google has mentioned before and should go a long way in ensuring quality apps are the only ones that make it in.
In line with making it easier to find kid-friendly content, Google is also letting parents and kids search for content based on characters, franchises and companies like Nickelodeon, Mattel, Sesame Street, and characters like Dora, Star Wars characters, and the list goes on. So when exactly will the new changes to Google Play roll out? While we don’t have an exact date, Google says that most of these changes should be rolling out in the next few weeks.
Google Announces Android ‘M’ Developer Preview, Android Pay and Unlimited Photo Storage
Google today previewed Android “M,” the next major version of its mobile operating system featuring Android Pay for mobile payments, app permissions, an improved web experience with Chrome Custom Tabs, app linking, Doze power management, USB-C support, direct sharing, simplified volume controls and a handful of other incremental improvements and bug fixes.
Android M prompts users with app permissions when access is required to certain elements of the operating system, including the microphone, location services, camera, contacts, phone, SMS, calendar and sensors. The new software version also features app linking, with verified links automatically redirecting to their related app without a cumbersome dialog popping up.
Android M delivers an improved web experience with Chrome Custom Tabs, which function as a Chrome web view overlaid in third-party apps with prefetched content. Google partnered with Pinterest, for example, to integrate Chrome Custom Tabs, providing all of Chrome’s benefits such as signing in, saved passwords, autofill and multi-process security. Chrome Custom Tabs are available on the Chrome developer channel today and in Q3 for the public.
Android Pay
Android Pay, essentially a rebranded and improved version of Google Wallet, is an NFC-based mobile payments service with virtually identical functionality as Apple Pay. Android Pay keeps payment information secure by generating a virtual account number and requiring fingerprint authentication for secure identification.
Android users can add their supported credit and debit cards to the Android Pay app and easily tap to pay at over 700,000 retailers and businesses that accept contactless payments, such as American Eagle, Bloomingdale’s, McDonald’s, Macy’s, Staples, Target and Walgreens. Android Pay can also be used for in-app purchases in supported apps.
Google announced that four major credit card companies in American Express, MasterCard, Visa and Discover will support Android Pay, alongside major financial institutions and AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in the United States. More partners should be added in the future.
Project Brillo
Brillo is a slimmed-down version of Android that’s designed to power the Internet of things. It’s an operating system that will be made available to manufacturers, who can build it into devices like thermostats and lightbulbs. It includes support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
Weave goes along with Brillo and serves as a communications layer that allows Internet of things devices to talk to one another. With Weave, Brillo devices, smartphones, tablets, and the Internet can communicate. Weave is cross-platform, so it can work with non-Android devices, and Android devices can auto-detect Brillo and Weave devices. Brillo will be available to devs in Q3, while Weave will be available in Q4.
Google Now
Google announced a new feature for Google Now in Android M: Now on Tap. With Now on Tap, you can tap on the home button of an Android device to get more information about what’s on the screen.
For example, when listening to music in Spotify, if you tap and hold on the home button and ask a question about the artist, Google Now understands the context and will reply. When tapping on the home button, Google Now is able to read the content of any app that’s running and bring up relevant, contextually aware Google Now cards. Apps don’t need to implement support — it works automatically.
Another example: On stage, a chat window with a discussion about laundry and a restaurant was brought up. A tap on the home button brought up a to-do card and cards for Maps, Yelp, and OpenTable.
Google Photos
Google announced a new Photos app centered around three ideas: a “home” for all your photos, deep organization, and sharing. Google Photos includes unlimited high-quality photo (16MP) and video (1080p) storage at no cost. It’s launching today on Android, iOS, and web.
Google Photos backs up all photos from an Android device, much like iCloud Photo Library. The smartphone app looks quite similar to the Photos app on the iPhone, supporting a main view with all photos with pinch gesture controls for zooming in and out on albums and timelines.
Google Photos includes auto-organization that organizes photos by people and place. Its facial recognition capabilities are impressive, able to recognize a person even as that person ages. A Photos Assistant feature automatically creates GIFs and videos from your content, which you can share or delete. Sharing is simple — you can group multiple photos and instantly get a link that lets other people see the images.
Juli Clover contributed to this report.
Google Maps delivers destination info, voice directions while offline
Sometimes you still need navigation and destination info when you’re offline. Google is delivering just that with offline Maps. Even when you’re not connected (or in airplane mode), the app will still provide information on places in your searches. This means that you can browse hours, reviews and other important details for places like museums and restaurants. What’s more, voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation is included as well for maps that you’ve saved for offline use. Unfortunately, there’s no word on when the new tools will arrive other than a vague “later this year.”
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