Continuous Android in Everything Is Google’s Goal

Google is expanding its Android operating system to a wide range of connected products and seeking to make the experience identical and continual across wearable devices, cars and homes, the company stressed Wednesday in the kickoff to I/O, its annual developers conference.

Executives with the Mountain View, Calif.-based internet giant took turns showing off the next version of Android, the company’s mobile operating system, along with smartwatches and in-car entertainment, systems during the keynote address. The major message to consumers was that Android would present a single environment through multiple screens: Notifications cleared on a smartwatch would be cleared from the smartphone, for instance.

“We want to create a seamless experience across all these devices,” Sundar Pichai, Google’s senior vice president in charge of Android and Chrome, said in Wednesday’s presentation.

Consistent interactions with a range of connected devices has become a major focus of consumer-facing tech companies, with Apple focusing on the concept, which it dubbed “Continuity,” in its own developers conference keynote earlier this month. As devices far beyond personal computers and smartphones connect to the internet, Silicon Valley tech companies are trying to control all aspects of the connected ecosystem and reduce pain points for consumers.

Google’s opportunity in the space is massive: Pichai said Wednesday that Android recently surpassed 1 billion active users for the first time. To try to take advantage, the company offers Android Wear for smartwatches and other wearable gear, Android Auto for the car, along with new Chromebook functionality.

ANDROID WEAR: Google showed off three smartwatches, from third-party manufacturers LG, Samsung and Motorola, during the keynote address, in which every presenter was wearing a smartwatch. Executives stressed the interaction between watches and smartphones, with users able to bypass the lock screen on their phone while wearing the watch and apps for the phone automatically porting to the watch. The watches all include the Google Now voice-activation system, allowing users to set up a reminder or start playing music on a smartphone by verbally telling the watch to accomplish that task.

ANDROID AUTO: Much like Apple’s entry into the automobile-entertainment system with CarPlay, Google has worked with car manufacturers to have Android features useful while driving placed in in-dash stereos and screens by automobile manufacturers. Google Maps and third-party music and audio apps will be included, and 25 car brands will ship Android Auto in the near future, with the first cars featuring the system being sold before the end of the year.

CHROMEBOOKS: Google’s stripped-down laptops, which Pichai noted take up all the top 10 spots for Amazon’s highest-rated laptops, will receive more of an Android feel. Similar to Apple’s “Continuity” offering, Chromebooks will interact with smartphones to ensure notifications appear on a user’s Chromebook and allow for telephone calls and text messages to be answered on the laptop. Also, Android apps will be available on a Chromebook, similar to the interaction between smartphones and smartwatches.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

– Native Office editing: Google Docs will allow users to edit Microsoft Office documents without converting them into different file formats.

– Android One: A new version of Android built with the less-affluent users in countries such as India in mind, Android One will be a Google-controlled operating system – making updates easier – that will be used on smartphones that cost less than $100 and have options popular in other countries.

– Android L: The update from KitKat, the latest version of Android, will have a three-dimensional look and new animations.

This article appeared in print in the June 26th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.