Google’s Play Console Dashboards help developers pinpoint problems with their apps

Google is helping developers get a better grip on problems with their apps thanks to new Play Console Dashboards. Launched on stage at Google I/O 2017, Play Console Dashboards essentially provide developers with the vital signs of their apps, helping to pinpoint problems with specific analytics.

Play Console Dashboards pinpoint six issues that cause battery drain, crashes, and slow UI, Google says. Those include ANR rate, crash rate, slow rendering, frozen frames, stuck wake locks, and excessive wakeups. The dashboards also report how many users are seeing each issue with each app version, making it easier to drill down into specific problems.

Also worth noting are new unified profiling tools in Android Studio that can visualize CPU and memory usage over time, drill down into threads and call stacks, and more on a unified timeline.

We’ll likely learn much more about these new tools as I/O wears on, but be sure to check out our list of the most important announcements from Google I/O 2017 for more.

Google Lens resurfaces questions about AI and human identity

Today at the company’s annual developer conference, Google CEO Sundar Pichai uttered a phrase that will no doubt be repeated in corporate board rooms across the world for the foreseeable future: “AI first.” It wasn’t the first we’ve heard of the formerly “mobile first” company’s focus on artificial intelligence, but Google I/O 2017 marked the first time we saw many of the tools that will backup that new catchphrase.

“When we started working on search, we wanted to do it at scale,” CEO Sundar Pichai said at the conference’s opening-day keynote today. “That’s why we designed our data centers from the ground up and put a lot of effort into them. Now that we’re evolving for this machine-learning and AI world, we’re building what we think of as AI-first data centers.”

But it was a quick, innocent enough reference to the company’s image recognition software, preceding the announcement of Google Lens, that should raises some red flags. In trying to appeal to the family women and men in the audience, Pichai revealed that the platform could recognize and tag your “boy” as such when you snap a pic of him blowing out the candles on his birthday cake.

“Similar to speech, we’re seeing great improvements in computer vision. So when we look at a picture like this we are able to understand the attributes behind the picture. We realize it’s your boy, in a birthday party, there was cake and family involved and your boy was happy. So we can understand all of that better now.”

He went on to say that Google’s image recognition systems are now “even better than human.” The screen shot, showing what the image recognition system identified in the photo included a flurry of words including: people, children, child, family, arm, hand, joy, surprise, birthday, party, laughter, family, women, and, yes, “boy.”

What could possibly be wrong with your camera identifying and tagging your “boy” at this “birthday” and the “woman’s” “hands” holding him in front of his “cake”? Well, nothing, if that’s really who is in the photo and what is going on. But as Google and other tech giants have proven, AI isn’t always as enlightened as the people who created it, and gender identity isn’t always visually recognizable. Tagging an image of a boy as “boy” isn’t an issue, but what if that child is transgender, gender fluid or gender non-conforming? Gender identity, as we’ve come to learn, is a divisive issue and a very personal one.

How Google’s AI will account for those of us who don’t fit stereotypical gender norms, is still unclear, but here’s hoping it’s learned from past mistakes. Google is no stranger to the slippery slope of AI image recognition and the very complex subject of human identity. Back in 2015, the company’s photo app tagged and organized pictures of at least one developer’s photos of black friends as “gorillas.” The incident shed light on the limits of image recognition algorithms and the people that program them. Google followed with an apology in a widely published statement.

“We’re appalled and genuinely sorry that this happened. There is still clearly a lot of work to do with automatic image labeling, and we’re looking at how we can prevent these types of mistakes from happening in the future.”

There’s a difference between labeling a black person as a gorilla and misgendering an individual, but both come with their own set of historical, political and societal problems.

In a look at the future of Google Photos on The Verge, Anil Sabharwal, the head of product, focused on the diversity of individual organizational habits saying:

“Suggestions, patterns, the people that are important in your life — how we bring those to you at the appropriate time,” Sabharwal says. “Everyone is different.”

Let’s just hope Google’s AI recognizes that.

For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2017, follow along here.

Google is bringing machine learning to job searches

Google is making it easier to search for jobs by leveraging machine learning and AI.

Google is rolling out a new initiative called Google for Jobs that will make it easier for you to find relevant jobs in your area. When you type in a job search query, Google will start offering suggestions for openings at the top of search results. The company is partnering with LinkedIn, Facebook, Careerbuilder Monster, Glassdoor, and others, and will rely on its machine learning and AI expertise to deliver results that match what you’re looking for.

You’ll be able to filter jobs by location, title, date posted, category, wage levels, and more. There’s the option to sort between full-time and part-time positions, and Google will also show commute times for jobs posted in your area. You can easily apply for jobs with a single tap

Google rolled out a pilot program of the Clouds Jobs API for FedEx, Carrier, and Johnson & Johnson back in November, with the companies seeing an 18% increase in applications. The feature will be rolling out to users in the U.S. in the coming weeks, and will be making its way to other countries in the future.

Be sure to take a look at all the announcements from Google I/O.

First beta release of Android O is available!

First beta release of Android O is available today!

It was only mentioned in passing during the Google I/O keynote, but the Android O beta is live!

You can sign up for the beta here, which will be available on the following devices:

• Pixel C
• Pixel
• Pixel XL
• Nexus 5X
• Nexus 6P
• Nexus Player

We’ll have more details on Android O soon as we dive into the beta ourselves.

Click here to sign up for the Android O beta!

Daydream Standalone: Everything we know so far

Google is upgrading Daydream in a big way.

On stage at Google I/O today, VR VP Clay Bavor announced the next step in Daydream’s evolution. While using your phone to power a VR headset is convenient, and the experiences created there have been impressive, the next step will probably not be powered by your phone. Clay dubbed this evolution of Daydream “Standalone VR” and this is what we know about it so far!

Read more at VRHeads.com

Google Photos gets better at sharing, creates actual photo books

Google Photos is easily one of the best ways to store and organise your best camera shots in the cloud. It’s free, smart, and completely cross-platform. Today, the company announced updates coming to the service, which take the cloud photo storage product to a new level.

• How to watch Google I/O 2017 and what to expect from the Google developer conference

All the new features are centered around the idea of making sharing better, both within the app and in physical form. 

Coming soon on #GooglePhotos, we’re bringing more ways to share photos and hold onto the moments that matter most. #io17 pic.twitter.com/QcU9Y7spFf

— Google (@Google) May 17, 2017

The first feature, dubbed Suggested Sharing, can automatically detect people in your photos and then offers to share it them with the relevant people. You get a notification on your phone, or you can access the new sharing tab in the mobile Photos app to see the suggestions. 

When you send it to the recipient, they can then choose the images they want and Photos can detect photos in their library from the same event, and then offers them the chance to share them back. That means a shared album with photos from all the people that were there. 

Shared Libraries is the second feature, and is aimed at couples, families and close friends. With this, you can automatically share specific kinds of photo with specific people. For instance, you can set it to have all your photos of your children and/or partner, with your partner. 

With it set up, any time you take a photo of your kids, it appears in a library in your partner’s Photos app. They can even set them to appear right in their main photo library stream. 

google

Lastly, there’s Photo Books. Which is exactly what the name suggests. In the Photos app, you’ll be able select if you want a soft or hard cover Photo Book, choose a ton of photos from your collection, then Photos automatically picks out the best and lays them out in the book.

You can make adjustments, then place an order which arrives a few days later. Initially, Photo Books will be US only. 

These features are rolling out on Android and iOS as well as the web over the coming weeks. 

Standalone Daydream VR is now a reality, Qualcomm, HTC and Lenovo onboard

Daydream VR has so far been an experience that has run on your smartphone, but now it’s making the jump into a standalone headset. Google and Qualcomm have partnered on a standalone Daydream VR headset.

Building on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 platform, the companies have produced a reference device that will give you a VR experience with no need to slip a phone into the front and no need to plug it into a computer. We’re yet to see exactly what this headset looks like, but we suspect it will be close to the reference devices that Qualcomm has produced in the past.

Using technology from the Tango project, he new standalone headsets will come with WorldSense, a positional tracking system with no need for any external cameras. This is enabled by sensors on the outside of the device, aiming to help you feel like you’re actually in the virtual world.

Google has also announced that it is working with HTC and Lenovo on the first standalone Daydream VR devices. The former produced the Vive, the latter worked heavily on Tango, so should lead to some interesting results.

Today at @Google I/O @htcvive was announced as a partner in creating standalone #VR headsets for #Daydream https://t.co/P2q7pnUMB8 pic.twitter.com/hAAdXYMscE

— HTC VIVE (@htcvive) May 17, 2017

Standalone Daydream VR headsets are due to hit the shelves later in 2017.

• What is Google Daydream and what devices support it? Google’s Android VR platform explained

Android Go is Google’s latest attempt at optimising budget Android phones

Google has introduced a new type of Android.

It’s not like the Android OS you’d find on a high-end smartphone such as the Google Pixel. The important thing to realise here is that Android Go is basically a light version of Android O that’s meant for budget, entry-level phones with about 512MB to 1GB of memory (RAM). So, it’s designed for devices like the just-announced Moto C, which has a low-resolution 5-inch screen and 8GB of storage. 

Keep in mind Google is trying to get more Android devices into the hands of people in developing communities: “There are now more Android users in India than there are in the US,” said Sameer Samat, the VP of product management for Android and Google Play, while on stage at the Google I/O 2017 conference on Wednesday. “Every minute seven Brazilians come online for the first time.”

• Google Photos gets better at sharing, creates actual photo books
• Google Home can now make hands-free phone calls like Amazon Echo
• Google Home can now give you visual responses on phones and Chromecast

Low-end devices sometimes can’t handle heavy apps, but with Android Go, which is different from Google’s similar Android One initiative, a budget phone’s software will be optimised for low-performing processors, small amounts of memory, and minimal mobile data consumption. It’ll basically make apps lighter – and Google Play Store will serve up apps and games that work best on budget phones.

Android Go will come with a data management tool in the quick settings, so that device owners can easily see how much data they have left, and the Chrome browser will enable Android’s data-saver feature by default. YouTube Go will preview videos before loading a data-heavy video, and you’ll be able to select a lower-streaming quality and see how much data each option will eat up.

Google said the first Android Go will arrive in 2018. Check out Pocket-lint’s Google I/O guide to see what else Google has announced.

How to get Android O on your phone right now

Having just shown it off again at I/O 2017, Google has a public beta of the next version update of Android O available for Pixel and Nexus devices.

Google typically announces the Android preview during its Google I/O developer conference held annually in May. In 2017 – for the second year running – the developer preview was made available early so many could test Android O before launch. 

• Android O: What’s the story so far?

Here are two different routes you can take: the traditional developer route and the super-friendly Android Beta Program route. Read on to find out more.

Android O: What is a public beta?

A public beta is a “work in progress” build that is released prior to a consumer rollout of the final software. Google offers the beta to collect and incorporate user feedback.

The aim is really to tease out problems with specific devices and allow developers to update apps to support O’s new features or changes, if there are any.

Android O: Public beta supported devices

In the initial phases Google is offering Android O for:

• Pixel
• Pixel XL
• Nexus 5X
• Nexus 6P
• Nexus Player 
• Pixel C

So far there’s no mention of any other handsets. Unlike last year, Google hasn’t included any non-Nexus/Pixel phones. Saying that, we wouldn’t rule out seeing another phone or two being included, particularly on the budget end of the scale, to test Android Go, the company’s version of O designed for less powerful, affordable phones. 

Android O: How can I get the public beta?

Android Beta Program

Google wants to make it as easy as possible for you to try Android O on a device, so it’s offering the Android Beta Program again this year. It allows anyone enrolled to update their Android devices to the preview and receive over-the-air updates. It’s very much like Microsoft’s Windows Insider programme.

The same beta program was used for Android Nougat and is very simple, meaning you don’t have to get involved in flashing updates or anything complicated.

Here’s how to get started:

Visit android.com/beta to sign-up to the Android Beta Program.
Sign into your Google account when prompted.
Your eligible devices will be listed on the next page, click to enrol in the Beta Program.
Updates will arrive over the air direct to your device.

That’s it, it’s so simple. We’ve managed to download and install it on one of our test Pixel XL’s already. 

Once you’re enrolled, you’ll continue to be updated to every new version of the Android O beta automatically, over-the-air. 

If you don’t want those updates, or if you decide you no longer want the beta software, you can follow the steps above, but then click to “unenroll device”.

It’s important to note that if you’ve used the Android Beta Program before and enrolled your device for the Android Nougat program, you will need to re-enroll your phone. You won’t automatically get upgraded to Android O. Follow the steps above to make sure you keep getting beta software. 

Traditional system image

The more traditional way to get the Android O developer preview is to go the system image/manual flashing route. You can download images from Google and then flash them onto your device, but it will be a fresh install, with everything erased. Here’s the site where you can download them.

• Pixel
• Pixel XL
• Nexus 5X
• Nexus Player
• Pixel C

This page details how to flash while also providing step-by-step instructions that’ll get you going.

Keep in mind flashing a system image will wipe all the information off your device, so ensure you back up important data beforehand. Also, flashing additional Android O preview images will cause more data wipes, and if go this route, you will not get automatic OTA updates like you do with the Android Beta Program (as above).

What is Android Go and why does it matter?

Google’s I/O developer conference kicked off on 17 May with the company announcing several new features and functions across its range of products from Android O to Google Home.

Among the new announcements was Android Go, a new version of Android that has been designed for lower-end smartphones. This feature is all about what Android Go is, what it will offer and why it matters.

What is Android Go?

Android Go is a lighter version of Android. It is still predominantly Android as you know it but the new software has been optimised for smartphones with lower performing processors, smaller amounts of memory and less available mobile data.

Google wants to bring the power of Android to everyone, which not only means more affordable devices but software that has been tuned to these devices. This new software has therefore been designed for entry-level smartphones with between 512MB and 1GB of RAM, such as the new Moto C.

What will Android Go offer?

Android Go focuses on three things. The first is optimising the latest release of Android, which will start with Android O, to run smoothly on budget devices. The second is a rebuilt set of Google apps, such as Google Chrome and Gboard, that will use less memory, storage space and mobile data.

The third is a new version of the Google Play store that will look the same as the Play Store you would find on Android O and feature the entire app catalogue, but it will highlight apps that use less data, storage or memory in a separate section at the top called “Optimised for your device”.

Additionally, Android Go will offer a Data Management and Savings settings feature that will allow users to see exactly how much mobile data they have left based on their plan, as well as top up their data.

The Google apps will also be smarter, with things like the data saver feature within Chrome switched on by default in the devices running Android Go. YouTube has also designed a new app called YouTube Go that will allow users to see a preview of the video they are about to watch or download, as well as select the streaming quality they want to watch and find out exactly how much mobile data it will use.

How is Android Go different to Android O?

On the surface, it doesn’t sound like Android Go will be all that different to Android O. In fact, you are unlikely to be able to tell the difference unless you look at the focus areas of the new software configuration, such as the Play Store or the data-specific features within Google apps.

In Google’s brief demonstration, it looks like third-party apps may be called things like Facebook Lite or Skype Lite within the Google Play Store, but aside from that and the data management feature in settings, your 1GB of RAM (or less) smartphone will run as any other Android device would.

Based on our understanding, Android Go is Android but with a few tweaks to ensure budget devices offer a smoother and more optimised experience based on their hardware configurations and the data limitations of some users.

Why does Android Go matter?

As we mentioned above, Google has said it wants to bring the power of Android to everyone. In order to accomplish this and deliver a good experience to all Android devices rather than just those with the flagships, such as the Pixels and Galaxy S8s of this world, the Android software needs to meet the needs of the lower-end devices too.

Some budget handsets are less able to handle heavier duty apps due to their lower memory capacities and less powerful processors. Android Go however, means that those who buy the low-end Android handsets, whether that be in developing countries or those with a lower budget, are offered a better overall experience as the software understands and adapts to the limitations of the hardware.

Ultimately, the reason Android Go matters is because it should result in a better and great user experience for all Android users at the lower end of the smartphone market, rather than just a great experience for those buying the £700 devices.

When will Android Go arrive?

Google has said that all devices with 1GB of RAM or less will get the Android Go configuration, starting with Android O. It also said that moving forward, every Android release will have an Android Go configuration.

The software giant announced the first devices with Android Go will ship in 2018.