YouTube on TV is uber-popular, 360-degree video support coming soon

The YouTube TV app is getting support for live 360-degree videos this summer!

YouTube is a big deal, but you already knew that. At Google I/O, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced Google’s video services serves one billion unique viewers every month, and delivered over a billion hours of content every day in 2016. Those are mind-boggling numbers!

Furthermore, Wojcicki noted that while 60% of watch time occurs on mobile, the fastest growing screen is actually the TV, which saw over 90% growth in the past year.

This is partially due to the growing prevalence of Smart TVs. Sarah Ali, Head of Living Room Products for YouTube, gave an update on the YouTube app for TV, which is available on 500 million TVs, consoles, and smart TV devices. Coming soon, you will be able to watch 360° videos on YouTube on TV, with the ability to pan around the video using your TV remote.

Live 360-degree videos will be coming to the YouTube TV app, too, which should start rolling out over the summer — just in time to check out 360-degree concerts from summer festivals all from the comfort of your living room.

TensorFlow Lite will help apps stay small and fast in Android O

On stage at Google I/O, Google revealed TensorFlow Lite, a special version of the open source TensorFlow software library that should help apps remain fast and small with machine learning.

TensorFlow Lite will help developers enable state-of-the-art machine learning and on smartphones with silicon-specific processes, Google says. This all feeds into one of Google’s themes for Android O, which is to provide “fluid experiences.” We’ll learn much more about TensorFlow Lite as Google I/O wears on, but Google has already hinted that it will require new processors to best take advantage of TensorFlow Lite.

Android O adds support for the Kotlin programming language

There’s certainly a lot to take in with Android O, but one of the bigger announcements for developers concerns the first new programming language added to Android. As revealed on stage at Google I/O 2017, Android O will support the Kotlin programming language.

Google says Kotlin will be fully compatible with the Android runtime, providing a mature and production-ready experience. Google partnered with the JetBrains development team, who introduced Kotlin in 2011, to bring support to Android. Though it might not mean much to those of us who aren’t coding Android apps, Kotlin is a big deal because it’s the first language to be added to Android since its inception.

Daydream support headed to Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+, and LG’s next flagship phone

It looks like Google’s Daydream is headed to even more phones. Revealed on stage at Google I/O, Daydream is not only headed to LG’s next flagship phone, but support for the VR platform will be rolled out to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ with a software update later this year.

Considering the massive sales Samsung has already seen with the Galaxy S8, that’s good news for millions of S8 users. And yeah, the S8 and S8+ can already be used with Samsung’s Gear VR headset, but more options are never a bad thing.

The LG flagship in question is likely to be the LG V30, due later this year. Given Daydream requires an OLED screen due to its low-resistance display requirement, that virtually guarantees the V30 will sport an OLED display.

In any case, look for a Daydream software update later this summer for the Galaxy S8 and S8+. We’ll have to wait a little longer to learn more about LG’s plans.

How to use Samsung Health to train for a 5k or 10k run

Go from couch to 5k with the help of Samsung Health.

Samsung Health is all about helping you to build better habits, and become a healthier version of yourself. While there are plenty of folks out there who are already in decent shape, and just need some help to keep up those good habits, that certainly isn’t the case for everyone.

That doesn’t mean there is no hope though, and if you’re considering taking up running you can use this app to take you from couch potato to a 10k runner in a matter of weeks. We have the details for you here!

Train for a 5k run with Samsung Health

Inside of the Manage Items panel, you’ll notice all sorts of activities that Samsung Health can help you track and work with. There is one section in particular that may have piqued your interest though, Programs. Samsung Health offers four programs to help you prepare for both a 5k, and a 10k run, even if you currently spend most of your time curled up on the couch.

They have a program for those brand new to distance running, as well as for those who have done it before and want to make sure they’re ready for the next big challenge. When you tap on a program, you’ll then be able to see an overview of exactly what you are jumping into.

During the first week of workouts for Couch to 5K, you won’t even be running.

This includes the number of weeks, the total number of workouts, when the program will begin and end, and even which days of the week are set to be your workout days. If you tap view workout schedule at the bottom right of your phone screen, you can even look at what you’ll be doing on each day that you workout.

This makes it a breeze to ease into getting more active. For those checking out the Couch to 5K program, you’ll see that during your first week of workouts you won’t even be running. Instead you are getting your body used to being more active by walking briskly for about a mile.

Trying to jump into running a mile or more thrre times a week is just a bad idea.

These baby steps are handy because jumping right into trying to run a mile or more three times a week is just a bad idea. Running a 5K or a 10K is more about stamina, than it is about speed, and stamina takes time to build it. It isn’t going to happen overnight, but at the same time you’ll start to build muscle faster than you think.

Once you have added a program to Samsung Health, it will pop up at the top of the Samsung Health home screen, above your goals. This means it’s the absolute first thing that you will see when you open the app, helping to ensure that you don’t conveniently forget about which days you are supposed to be running.

How to add a program to Samsung Health

Open Samsung Health.

Tap Manage Items.

Tap the program you are interested in.

Tap Add Program at the bottom of the screen.

How to set your workout days

Open Samsung Health.

Tap Manage Items.

Tap the program you are interested in.

Tap on the three days of the week you want to train on.

How to set a start date for your workout program

Open Samsung Health.
Tap Manage Items.

Tap the program you are interested in.

Tap on the date to the right of Start
Tap to select the date you want to start your workout program.

Tap select to set a date.

How to view your workout schedule

Open Samsung Health.

Tap your workout program.

Tap the green running icon on a date.

Tap View Details at the bottom right of the screen.

Have you used Samsung Health to start training?

Samsung Health provides you a dedicated workout schedule to get ready for running your first 5K. From slowly introducing you to longer and more intensive workouts, to being able to see exactly what you are getting into before you actually jump into getting ready. Have you been considering a 5K? Are you going to be using Samsung Health to train for a 5K? Be sure to let us know about it in the comments below.

Google is taking another stab at the budget segment with Android Go

Android Go will power entry-level devices in emerging markets.

Google hasn’t fared well with its attempt to revolutionize the entry-level segment in emerging markets with Android One, and now the company is taking a different approach. At I/O 2017, Google has launched Android Go, a lightweight version of the OS that’s optimized for low-cost devices.

With Android One, Google worked directly with device partners in finalizing the hardware, while controlling the software updates. Android Go, however, is a purely software undertaking, with Google optimizing the platform to run smoothly on devices with as little as 512MB of RAM.

Currently, you can get a decent phone in India for the equivalent of $100, including at least 2GB of RAM and 16GB storage. Android Go is aimed at devices that cost half as much. The platform will offer heavily-optimized versions of Google apps — including YouTube Go — and Google is rolling out a series of best practices so that developers can optimize their own apps for the platform.

Google is also prioritizing data savings with Android Go. Data Saver mode is baked into the platform, and enabled by default. The quick settings panel has a dashboard that allows you to easily see your data quota, and you’ll also be able to purchase data packs directly from the settings. Finally, Gboard will offer multilingual language support for 22 Indian languages.

There are more Android users in India than in the U.S., which isn’t surprising given that the subcontinent has a population of over 1.3 billion. Hundreds of millions of people are making their way online for the first time, and Google wants to create a better experience for the next billion customers with Android Go.

There will be an Android Go branch of Android O, which will be available for devices with 1GB of RAM. The first batch of phones running the platform will make their debut next year.

Google working with Qualcomm, HTC, and Lenovo on standalone Daydream VR headsets

Google’s Daydream VR platform is breaking free from its phone-based confines with the standalone headsets, Google has revealed. Speaking on stage at Google I/O 2017, Google VP of Virtual Reality Clay Bavor announced it is working with partners to bring standalone Daydream headsets to market.

The standalone headsets, as you’d expect, don’t require any cables, phones, or a PC to work. You simply slip one of the standalone headsets on, and it works. The company says each headset will feature VR-optimized displays, optics, and sensors. “WorldSense” tracking will provide positional tracking to match your location, and dedicated sensors will keep track of the environment around you.

There’s no hardware to check out right now, but Google says it is working with Qualcomm on a reference device, as well as HTC and Lenovo.

Google Play Protect uses machine learning to detect and remove harmful apps

Google Play Protect will use machine learning to scan for malicious apps.

A big theme at this year’s Google I/O has been machine learning. Furthermore, we know that keeping our phones secure is more important than ever. Google uses its powerful machine learning tools within the Google Play Store to scan and verify the apps installed on your phone. If a malicious app is detected, the service will remove it before it causes harm. These services were already in placc, but will soon be more visible for users.

As explained by Stephanie Cuthbertson, Director, Product Management, Android, Google is launching Google Play Protect, a new suite of services that will help secure all your Android devices with Play Store access. Google will continue to use machine learning to scan all installed apps connected to your Google account, searching for harmful apps and remove them from your device if detected.

You will be able to see these service at work on your phone by navigating to the “My apps & games” section of the Google Play Store. This will making security more visible and accessible for all users and will be coming to all Google Play devices.

Google Play Protect is mostly a rebadged version of features that were already there, going back to Verify Apps, supported back to 4.2 — but this new feature will make the process much more visible to users.

Google’s Tango Visual Positioning Service is like an indoor GPS

Google’s Daydream VR platform got a lot of love on the Google I/O stage, but the company has some intriguing plans for augmented reality (AR) as well. That includes what Google is calling its Tango Visual Positioning Service (VPS), a sort of AR GPS for the indoors.

As Google VP of Virtual Reality Clay Bavor noted on stage, AR is most useful when tightly coupled with the real world, which is exactly what Tango VPS does. Working with Google Maps and visual data from the camera, Tango sees features in the environment to give you hyper-local directions guidance.

Where this becomes particularly useful is with something like in-store directions. For example, Google showed off Tango VPS working inside of a Lowe’s, showing how it can monitor the surrounding environment to help a user hone in on a specific product in the store. When combined with an audio interface and Google Lens, Google sees Tango VPS as something that could be incredibly handy as an accessibility feature.

The last year saw more than 82 billion Google Play app installs

Google Play sees a huge uptick in app installs in 2016.

At I/O 2017, Google’s VP of Engineering for Android, Dave Burke, revealed that over 82 billion apps have been installed from Google Play last year, a noticeable uptick from the 65 billion in 2015. Android itself now powers over 2 billion active devices, and is the largest operating system in the world.

Burke also shared details on Android wear, stating that 24 manufacturers have committed to the platform. Similarly, Android Auto is picking up momentum, and will soon be heading to Audi cars.

Google is continuing to gain ground in the education sector with Chromebooks, with over 60% of K-12 laptops sold in the U.S. powered by the platform. With 1 million new activations every month, Android TVs are also on the rise. Google launched a fourth preview for Android Things IoT earlier this week, and a full launch is slated for later this year.