Google reveals Now on Tap, its new concierge for Android M
Google’s trying to make Now even more subservient to your needs, with its next version for Android M called Now on Tap. The new features are designed to instantly help you with extra info like store hours or movie reviews without leaving an app or web page. For instance if a friend texts you with a dinner invite at a new restaurant, you can ask Now on Tap for help instantly without leaving the conversation. It’ll also create reminders on the fly about your conversations and incorporate detailed Knowledge Graph information into the tool.
In another example, if a pal sends you an email expressing interest in a new movie (Ex Machina, sounds appropriate) you can instantly invoke Now by holding the “home” button to get ratings, purchase tickets or watch a preview. Finally, Google said that developers don’t need to do anything special to get Now on Tap to work with their app, as long its indexed by Google. Now on Tap is married with Android M, so expect to see it as soon as the OS arrives.
Don’t miss out on all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2015. Follow along at our events page.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Google
Google Photos offers unlimited storage for mobile and web
Google is launching a standalone, unlimited photo- and video-hosting service called Google Photos. This is a “home” and an organizational system for all of your selfies, videos and other pictures, Director of Google Photos Anil Sabharwal announced today at Google I/O. Google Photos is a free — and, again, unlimited — service, and it’s available right now on Android, iOS and the web.
Rumors of Google’s separate photo service hit the ‘net earlier in May and we got a peek at a new, non-Google+ Android Photos app just last week.
Developing …
Chrome Custom Tabs lets you use Chrome as your app browser
Google’s I/O 2015 keynote is happening right now and the company’s VP of Engineering, Dave Burke, has just announced a new feature for Android M: Chrome Custom Tabs.
A lot of apps use their own in-app internet browser to display content – or present a popup that lets you choose which browser to use – but Google wants to consolidate everything through its Chrome browser. On its new G4 flagship, LG’s close relationship with Google resulted in Chrome being the only browser and the Mountain View-based company wants to make Chrome the default browser for everyone.
Using the example of pinterest, Chrome Custom Tabs will allow you to load the Chrome browser on top of your app in a custom tab that has the same color as your app. The seamless experience doesn’t stop there as you can add buttons and also specify other content to go into Chrome’s overflow button. There are also options to prefetch content and you can also use Chrome’s existing passwords, autofill data and security to ensure a completely integrated experience.
Chrome Custom Tabs is available now on the dev channel and will be launching to consumers in Q3 later this year.
Google has made the I/O 2015 codelabs globally available
The Google I/O 2015 keynote event may have just begun, but here we have one of the first announcements, thanks to the Google Developers Twitter account.
We’ve made the #io15 codelabs app publicly available for all participants in person, and attendees worldwide. https://t.co/AHMHZ7g6bH
— Google Developers (@googledevs) May 28, 2015
Google has made all the I/O 2015 codelabs app available to everyone, regardless of whether you are attending the event or not. In case you are wondering what codelabs are exactly, they are guided tutorials that offer a hands-on coding experience. So if you are just starting off as an Android developer, it’s a great way to learn how to build an application. The codelabs cover a variety of topics ranging from Android Wear, Project Tango, the Google Compute Engine to GoogleAPI’s on iOS. Just click the source link below to get started. Remember that you can follow the rest of our Google I/O coverage right here.
Source: IO2015codelabs
Come comment on this article: Google has made the I/O 2015 codelabs globally available
Chromecast sales approach 20 million, people just love the Cast button
This afternoon at the I/O 2015 keynote, Google’s Sundar Pichai gave an update on Chromecast and its performance since launching two years ago.
Across the 17 million units sold, Chromecast owners have hit the Cast button 1.5 billion times. Why is that figure increasing rapidly? Because the Play Store is home to around 20,000 Cast-ready apps. Google made it clear that Chromecast is not going anywhere. Its Google Cast technology will be implemented in new ways through new form factors.
Check out our complete Google I/O 2015 coverage
Come comment on this article: Chromecast sales approach 20 million, people just love the Cast button
Watch the Google I/O keynote right here
Technology is pretty awesome. Google is prepared to take the stage in San Francisco for the I/O Conference keynote presentation, with executives ready to talk about the company’s latest wares — and you can watch it all from the comfort of your own screen. Even if you’re in San Francisco, we suggest beating the traffic and watching the presentation without moving an inch (except to grab your coffee, of course). The keynote begins at 12:30PM ET / 9:30AM PT, and you can watch it via the live stream below.
Filed under: Google
Live from Google’s 2015 I/O keynote!
The stage is set, the Moscone Center is tricked out with leopard print Androids, and Google I/O is just about to start. You know the drill here: The first order of business is an hours-long keynote address that’ll show us exactly what Google’s been working on behind closed doors these past few months and what we can expect to play with in the future. Android M? More insight into Android Pay? VR announcements? It seems like this year’s show is really going to have it all. We’ve got a little more time before the keynote kicks off, so hang tight, thumb through our I/O preview for as a quick refresher, and stay tuned for more shortly.
Don’t miss out on all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2015. Follow along at our events page.
Watch the Google I/O 2015 live stream right here!
Today, Google hosts its keynote for the annual I/O conference. There are a few things to expect, but Google will certainly surprise us. They always do. You can watch the keynote take place, live, with us here on Talk Android. Then we will have everything from I/O on the homepage as Google makes announcements.
Hit the break for the live stream!
Click here to view the embedded video.
[Day 1 live streaming sessions] [Day 2 live streaming sessions]
Check out our complete Google I/O 2015 coverage
Come comment on this article: Watch the Google I/O 2015 live stream right here!
Join us for the Google I/O keynote live stream and live blog
Head of Android Sundar Pichai will take stage during the keynote
Android fans, it’s that special time of the year! Google I/O 2015 is about to start and, like every year, it starts off with a bang. The stage of the Google I/O keynote is where the Google universe reveals its trajectory for the next year, and it all goes down in just two hours.
Our Josh Vergara is on the ground at Moscone Center in San Francisco, and he will bring you his impressions later today. Back at home, we’re gearing up for an avalanche of coverage as we bring you news as it happens.
If you want to watch the Google I/O keynote live, look no further, we have the embedded stream right here.
Google I/O 2015 live stream
https://events.google.com/io2015/embed?noFeed
Google I/O 2015 live blog
Our Joe Hindy will be following the Google I/O keynote and bring you updates live as they happen. Please join him in the AA IRC channel for live comments. The widget will go live shortly!
— live widget coming soon
When does it start?
Tune in for the Google I/O keynote live stream and live blog starting at 9:30AM Pacific time. Times in other zones:
- New York 12:30PM
- London 5:30PM
- Berlin 6:30PM
- Moscow: 7:30PM
- Beijing: 12:30AM May 29
- Tokyo: 1:30AM May 29
- Sydney 2:30AM May 29
What to expect
Android M is all but confirmed to be announced at Google I/O today, but that’s just one of many announcements coming soon. Rumor has it Google will show off a new Photos service, will overhaul the Android permissions system, and launch a new Android-based IoT operating system, code named Brillo. We expect updates for Android Wear and perhaps some new smartwatches; Android Auto and Android TV are due for updates as well. And then there are the cool projects that Google’s ATAP division is working on, including Project Ara, Project Tango, and more. Expect to see chief of Android Sundar Pichai take the stage, design guru Matias Duarte, and probably even Google’s CEO and co-founder Larry Page.
Check out Simon’s Google I/O preview for an idea of what else may be coming this lovely day.
All in all, it’s going to be a very exciting time, but the fun doesn’t end with the keynote. Will bring you live streams for all the key sessions and news as they break! Stay tuned for updates!
Goo.gl URLs can now deep link to Android and iOS apps
When it comes to sharing web links, the goo.gl URL shortening service is one of the best options out there. Now Google is improving the service further by making it possible for app developers to create links that will take users to specific places within their apps. Simply put, these deep links will automatically detect if a person clicking on them is an iOS or Android user, and it will then see if the correct app is installed on their device. If it is, it will open the app and take you to the specific page/section that the link is associated with. If the app isn’t installed, the link will default to the browser and a website instead.
To better highlight how this works, Google provided an example involving Maps: goo.gl/maps/xlWFj. Clicking on this link on a desktop will open your browser, but clicking on it through your Android device will bring you to the right area of the Google Maps app. Of course, developers will have to do a few things before these special links will work, such as participating in App Indexing for Android and iOS.
Here’s instructions straight from Google on how to setup app deep linking on goo.gl:
- Complete the necessary steps to participate in App Indexing for Android and iOS at g.co/AppIndexing. Note that goo.gl deep links are open to all iOS developers, unlike deep links from Search currently. After this step, existing goo.gl short links will start deep linking to your app.
- Optionally integrate the URL Shortener API with your app’s share flow, your email campaigns, etc. to programmatically generate links that will deep link directly back to your app.
- When opened, the link auto-detects the user’s platform and if they have Maps installed. If the user has the app installed, the short link opens the content directly in the Android or iOS Maps app. If the user doesn’t have the app installed or is on desktop, the short link opens the page on the Maps website.
What do you think of Google’s new deep linking option? Let us know in the comments. For even more details, you’ll want to head over to Google’s official blog post.
AIVAnet 