The new Android N preview is more stable and updates itself
Google surprised us all with an Android N developer preview two months before we landed at I/O, and updated it with new performance-enhancing features just a few weeks back. Now, as revealed during this morning’s I/O keynote, there’s a new update for you bold souls who crave bleeding edge software.
While Google refers to Preview 3 as an “incremental update” on its developer site, there’s still enough here to get excited about. Unlike the last two versions of the preview, Google says this third build is the first “beta-quality” candidate — in other words, you’ll run into fewer headaches if you try to use it as your daily driver on a Nexus 5X, 6P or other compatible devices. We haven’t played with the new N preview ourselves so we can’t confirm how much more stable it feels, but we’ll follow up with impressions as soon as we can.
Beyond that, this new update also brings with it a new software-updating scheme inspired by (surprisingly enough) Chromebooks. When an update is available, Android N can download the system image in the background and can automatically install it the next time you reboot your phone.
“There’s no ‘Android is upgrading’ [pop-up], no delays,” VP of Android Engineering Dave Burke told us. “It’s just a really nice, seamless way to do it.”
It’s a smart move; especially with respect to security updates like the ones Nexus devices get every month. When it comes to those more timely, crucial security patches, Android N lets you know the update will happen ahead of time and will then just install it upon reboot. Meanwhile, you’ll be alerted to “dessert” updates — the big ones with the delicious new names — in the new suggestions section in settings, where you can choose to install it now or apply it later.
If you’re interested in giving Preview 3 a shot on your phone, it’ll be available today.
For all the latest news and updates from Google I/0 2016 follow along here.
Android N gets a high-performance VR mode
Even the most stubborn fence-sitters have to admit it: Virtual reality is worming its way into our the fabric of our culture. Part of VR’s growth is because we can now just strap phones to our faces and see other worlds, but that typically requires lots of work from phone makers like Samsung and LG to get their VR hardware and software working just right. The software side of that equation might have just gotten way easier to figure out though, thanks to Google’s announcement of VR mode for Android N.
In a nutshell, think of VR mode as a special high-performance mode for your smartphone. As Google’s VP of Engineer for Android Dave Burke puts it, a phone that meets certain criteria and conforms to “lots of rules” can declare itself “VR-ready”. From there, apps like virtual reality games and YouTube can fire up VR mode to unlock extra power and — crucially — drive down the latency between the moment you move the phone mounted to your head and the moment you see your environment change on-screen. Too much latency means you don’t get the sort of persistent, “I’m actually somewhere else” feeling as you spin around with a phone on your face.
We’re told getting to this point required work on just about every level of Android N’s software stack. When VR mode is on, it changes how Android interprets information coming from its sensors. Graphics have to be drawn differently, too. Usually, Android uses a double graphics buffer where one set of images is drawn on the screen and then swapped with another set stored in memory. With VR mode on, though, apps can use a single buffer mode where images are replaced much faster, on a scan line-by-scan line basis.
Oh, and curiously enough, Burke also mentioned in a blog post that developers would have access to an “exclusive CPU core for VR apps” — we’re still trying to figure out how that works. Still, it’s hard to argue with results. To put things in perspective, Samsung and Oculus managed to get motion-to-photon latency to under 20 milliseconds with the Gear VR. Google’s work seems to have matched that ultra-low latency: the Nexus 6P with VR mode inside Google Cardboard also comes in under that 20 millisecond bar, compared to the 100 millisecond latency without VR mode.
There’s still a lot to dissect here, and we’ll update this story as we learn more.
For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2016, follow along here.
Google needs your help naming Android N
Nougat? Nerds? Necco wafers? Nonpareils? We’d argue none of these treats sound cool enough to grace the next version of Android, and it turns out Google is having a hard time picking too. That’s why, for the first time ever, the search giant wants to know what you think the “N” in Android N should stand for. Google launched a website to take your suggestions, and could pick a winner if someone out there cooks up something seriously inspired.
There’s no shortage of inspiration out there, but we’re not yet sure what the winner — or winners — will get for their hard work. (If it’s not first crack at some new Nexus hardware, Google really needs to up their game.) Anyway, just remember Google gets to choose a favorite — if there is one — so don’t bother stuffing the digital ballot box with some dessert-themed take on “Boaty McBoatface”.
For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2016, follow along here.
Google wants to take the pain out of app installs
If you use a smartphone, you’ve surely gone through this experience: Someone shares something with you, or you click a link somewhere, and before you know it you’re prompted to install an app. You’re in a generous mood, so you go through the whole process, log in to the app, and then you’re met with a welcome screen that isn’t even the content you originally wanted to access! Apps are great, but the install process is sometimes pretty painful.
Google’s taking its next step at solving this issue with Instant Apps, following up on the app streaming it launched late last year. As the name suggests, these are full-fledged Android apps that can be used on your phone without having to visit the Play Store. Just tapping on a URL will trigger a quick download that’s no bigger than a mobile web page, but gives you the full app experience. The install is temporary, but if you like what you see, there’s a link in the corner so you can download the full version.
“The experience of apps is great, but the challenge for developers and the frustration for users is getting into the app and using it for the first time is not as great as it could be,” says Michael Siliski, a project manager at Google. “The idea behind Instant Apps is instead of reducing the friction of getting into an app, how can we remove that friction entirely?”
The promise of Instant Apps was pretty clear in a quick demo I saw earlier this week. Tapping a URL linking to Buzzfeed’s “Tasty” video category prompted a quick download that brought me right into that section of the Buzzfeed Video app. After doing a search for a particular camera bag at B&H Photo, tapping the link downloaded the B&H app and delivered me right to that product’s page. From there, it was easy to add to my cart and buy it with Android Pay. In both cases, the app loaded just as fast as a mobile web page — a benchmark of importance and one of the biggest challenges for the team that built Instant Apps.
“It’s pretty important to us that this is an interactive-class experience,” says Ficus Kirkpatrick, Engineering Director for Instant Apps, “so apps are a few megabytes — something comparable to a mobile website. It really needs to be fast.” The other big technical challenge was around supporting multiple versions of Android (and the myriad of handsets out there running those different operating systems). Right now, Instant Apps work on phones running Android 4.4 Kit Kat or newer. Given that Kit Kat will be three years old this fall, that’s pretty solid support.
This feature won’t be implemented in existing apps automatically, though. “One of the key things we want is for developers to not have to write another [separate] app,” said Siliski. “For a developer, this is an update to your existing app.” And Kirkpatrick said you could enable Instant Apps with a day of work, but he acknowledged it could take a lot longer depending on the level of complexity in the app itself. Google says it has worked hard to make that process relatively painless for developers. “Making this evolved [app] model work with the same Android APIs that developers are used to using, supporting Android Studio, all that stuff is not trivial,” Kirkpatrick said.
Google envisions Instant Apps being used in a variety of ways that go beyond what we typically think of when installing apps. One good use of Instant Apps is to avoid installing apps for fleeting interactions, or for something you only need to do once. One of the demos I saw used a phone’s NFC to connect to a parking meter; a pay-to-park app launched, with the meter location already loaded. All you needed to do was put in how long you wanted to park for and pay.
It’s those types of apps — museum guides, parking meter apps, even the B&H photo app — that Google thinks Instant Apps can replace. They’re tools you download and use once a week, once a month, or maybe even once and never again. Kirkpatrick called those apps not “front page worthy” — Instant Apps seeks to remove the need to actually install them in the first place.
It’ll be a bit before users can give Instant Apps a shot for themselves, unfortunately. Google’s positioning this as an early developer preview. They’ve been working with “select partners” so far and will expand access to more developers as the year goes on. After that, consumers themselves will get to give them a shot — that should happen before 2016 is over. But if you’re tired of downloading, deleting and then re-downloading apps you don’t use frequently, Instant Apps is a feature worth waiting for.
For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2016, follow along here.
Android Auto will soon run on your phone just like any other app
If you’ve been itchin’ to take Android Auto for a spin, but don’t own a car that’s compatible with Google’s software, you’ll soon be in luck. The company announced at Google I/O that the in-car setup will soon run entirely on your phone while offering the same features as if it were connected to your dash. This means that you’ll still be able to use your voice to sort through calls, messages, music and navigation, keeping the distractions at a minimum.
Android Auto is getting some other new features, too. First, the ability to activate those handy voice controls by saying “OK Google” rather than having to push a button on the console first. Waze integration is also on the way for folks who would rather use that mapping application over Google’s flagship navigation software. The software will also beam the in-car interface to mobile devices in the same vehicle, so long as your ride is equipped with WiFi connectivity.
You’ll be seeing new apps from automakers as well. Google has opened up Android Auto to allow the manufacturers to make their own software for car-related tasks, with the first two coming from Honda and Hyundai. Those apps will allow you to access select features without leaving the Android Auto interface. We’re talking things like roadside assistance, monthly service reports and sending notifications to your phone if a valet takes your car outside a predefined area. If you’ll recall, Hyundai was the first first adopt Google’s automotive software last year, making it available in the 2015 Sonata sedan.
For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2016, follow along here.
New updates aim to make Android Pay a universal payment system
There’s more to today’s Android Pay announcements than just a long-awaited UK launch. Google doesn’t want people to just think of Android Pay as a way to pay for things in stores with phones, so it just pulled back the curtain on new and updated APIs to let developers — and the merchants they power — use Android Pay in more places and in different ways.
For example, buying stuff on the web can suck sometimes when you have you fill out the same address and payment method forms all the time. A new API called PaymentRequest aims to fix that. Built in partnership with the Chrome team, apps that use this API will effectively let you bypass all those forms and pay for your stuff with just a few taps. Meanwhile, an existing API called Save to Android Pay now lets developers and companies (among other things) enroll new customers in loyalty programs. People who want to get credit for their sundries — Walgreen’s is an early partner — can either sign-up through a link in a payment notification or just by tapping their phones to a store’s NFC reader.
Of course, pushing Android Pay in new ways requires a little help from the companies who want to accept it. Pali Bhat, Senior Director of product management at Google says the company is working with (currently unnamed) banks to build Android Pay directly into their apps. That could be an incredibly potent vector in getting people using Google’s mobile payments system — they’d be able to download their bank’s app as normal, and would be prompted to setup Android Pay upon launch.
Oh, and speaking of banks, there’s one big Pay partnership you should know bout. If you’re a Bank of America customer, you’ll be able to use your Android Pay-enabled phone to withdraw cash from certain ATMs. Bhat says the program is rolling out to hundreds of BoA ATMs across the country; the only bottleneck is how quickly Bank of America can or wants to install new contactless readers on their machines.
Yahoo Mail mobile apps get extra sharing and sync features
Yahoo continues to improve its Mail app for mobile devices. After adding support for Google Drive files and GIFs last month, the company is bringing more sharing and sync features to iOS and Android users. If you’re on Apple’s platform, Yahoo Mail now lets you show links in emails as previews, with a quick snapshot of information from any site. Additionally, you can start sharing pictures directly to Yahoo Mail, thanks to a new iOS share button for the app.
Android owners are getting a couple things to help them keep better track of contacts. The People Smart View tab, for example, allows you to see a list of folks you’ve been in touch with recently through Yahoo Mail. With this update, the Android apps also syncs your Yahoo and Android contacts, something that probably should’ve been there from the beginning.
And for those of you interested in testing features like these before the public, Yahoo Mail has opened up a beta program for Android — opt-in for that starts today.
Source: Yahoo
Everything’s ‘sweet’ on Android N naming site
During its I/O keynote, Google announced that it would accept user ideas before announcing the official name for the upcoming Android N. The obvious front runners are foods like Nutella and nougat that carry on the confectionery theme. Even if you offer jokes like “Never coming to your phone,” Google’s website still responds with “sweet.” In fact, that’s the response for any suggestion. It didn’t take long for people to notice that they could submit racist terms and the website would offer that same reply. Obviously Google doesn’t think Nazis are sweet, but its a painful oversight that’s already making the rounds on Twitter.
While the activity may be intended for laughs, it still allows you to give some awful suggestions. Of course, the company already said on stage it will select the final name and that the website is meant only “for entertainment purposes.” Back in March, it was a matter of hours before the internet turned Microsoft’s AI chatbot Tay into a racist and sexist Twitter account. It seems like Google didn’t learn much from that ordeal, even if it is vowing to not review any of the submissions for Android N.
Oh man, @google, you really didn’t think this one through. “Nazi” is also allowed! #io16 pic.twitter.com/xVNR8lCnqP
— Patrick Lucas Austin (@patbits) May 18, 2016
For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2016, follow along here.
Source: Google
The After Math: Google I/O 2016 Edition
Google unleashed its 2016 developers conference on Mountain View, CA this morning. The company debuted a bunch of new products including its answer to Amazon’s Alexa, dubbed Google Home; a new VR headset called Daydream (along with a new VR section for Play) and two new messaging apps, Allo and Duo. Google also showed off some of the new features we can expect in the upcoming Android N operating system, a full-blown overhaul of the Android Wear ecosystem, updates to Android Auto and some new tricks for Google Pay. Did I miss something? Yeah, probably. So check out our comprehensive coverage of the event here.
Nokia will return to mobile with Android phones and tablets
The Nokia brand will return to the smartphone market. Just as Microsoft announced it’s offloading Nokia’s old feature phone business to a Foxconn subsidiary and a mysterious Finnish company called HMD Global Oy, Nokia has revealed that HMD is also acquiring the relevant rights to use the Nokia name on smartphones and and tablets for the next ten years. That means we’ll start seeing “Nokia-branded” phones and tablets very soon. And they’ll be running Android.
We don’t know a lot about HMD yet, but Arto Nummela, currently a Microsoft mobile executive, will leave the company to be HMD’s CEO when the deal closes. Before joining Microsoft Nummela worked at Nokia for over a decade. Florian Seiche, another Microsoft mobile executive with a Nokia past, will join HMD as president. If the pair’s involvement is anything to go by, it seems that HMD will feature some faces familiar to those that followed Nokia in its heyday.
HMD says it’ll invest $500 million over the next three years to develop and promote products. This money will come both from investors and from profits from the newly-acquired feature phone business. Nokia’s involvement in the new devices will be very limited. It’ll take a place on HMD’s board, and set “mandatory brand requirements and performance related provisions.” That essentially means it’s going to make sure that HMD isn’t dragging its name through the mud by releasing awful devices.
Although FIH Mobile — the Foxconn subsidiary that bought a share of Nokia/Microsoft’s feature phone business — isn’t involved in this rights deal, it will be the manufacturer of the new HMD smartphones and tablets. It seems as though HMD will be selling and marketing the devices, while FIH will be doing the manufacturing. Of course, the pair will have access to Nokia’s vast arsenal of mobile patents through the agreement.
The various deals required to make all this happen are expected to close before the end of the year. There’s no firm timeline for when we’ll see Nokia-branded smartphones and tablets, and no information on what flavor of Android they’ll be running.
Source: Nokia
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