The 2015 Google I/O conference took place on May 28 and 29. Last year, Google showed off Android L, which later launched as Android 5.0 Lollipop, the new Material Design look for Android, Android apps on Chromebooks, the Google Fit health platform, and much more. So what's in store for this year?
Here are the three major announcements from Google I/O 2015 that will certainly excite you:
1. Google Photo
Remember back in 2004, Gmail came with 1 GB free storage offer, something much ahead of its competitors who were offering 2-4 MB at that time. Today you can see a similar move - Google Photos, a brand new app from Google, providing a private and safe home to store your photos. The big thing is you can backup and store UNLIMITED high-quality photos and videos for FREE! Apple, on the other hand, offers just 5GB of free storage, and for more storage, you need to pay a monthly charge.
The app
The even better news is you can have it on your phone right now. The app is live on the Play store, the web, and even the iTunes app store!
2. Internet of Things - Brillo and Weave
A brand new project Brillo (derived from Android) was also announced yesterday for the Internet of Things. Devices built over brillo can connect to each other, to phone, and to cloud using a common new communications API called Weave
With Brillo and Weave, you can now imagine connected devices providing greater automation in areas like
- your own home with AC, lighting system, and music system adjusting themselves as you wake up or enter the house with energy-saving advantages
- farmer's fields with tractors having sensors and cameras all working in sync to plow the land
- and even traffic management through vehicles with speed and object sensors, cameras
Any android device can recognize a brillo device and you can control them through your android phone or even watch.
3. M Developer Preview
A sneak peek to M Developer Preview was provided:
- App Permissions - with Android M, you will have the ability to change permissions that you grant to an app but could not revoke later
- Web experience - Chrome custom tabs are a more powerful way how apps will link to the web in a seamless way and how app links automatically open in an app authorized for them
- The doze mode introduction will save power that will detect device activity and put it to a deep sleep while still allowing alarms and chat notifications
- In response to Apple Pay, Android has come with its own mobile payments solution - Android Pay that will make use of fingerprint support - fingerprint will be authorized, the device will make an NFC exchange with a payment terminal, and payments will be made. Mobile payments this way will be super easy and fast.
Android Wear
It was made public that 4000+ apps for android wear have been created since the launch of Android Wear watches. You can use wrist gestures to see notifications and draw things that get recognized as emoji which you can send to your friends
Virtual Reality
Expeditions, JUMP, and GoPro
There was a great announcement from google for travelers and expeditions with the introduction of a new 3D - VR platform called JUMP. GoPro with its partnership with Google has built a new device that can capture 360-degree videos through an array of 16 cameras. JUMP videos will be supported by YouTube.
Watch one of the 360-degree videos on YouTube created by GoPro:
Expeditions is a new platform that is supposed to be a new chapter in educating children. The teacher can now take students to a VR expedition giving them a first-hand understanding of the subject. They need to distribute to students a Google Cardboard device, and it will act like a binocular to the place that you need to go to.
Project Loon
Project Loon with its tag line "(Bal)Loon for all" aims at connectivity to rural areas through balloons in space (up in the stratosphere). It was talked about tests being done for scaling up this high ambition project.
With affordable devices like AndroidOne and better connectivity, we can think of a future where we can sooner get in touch with people affected in a disaster, can educate children in the remote part of the world, or provide vocational training without having people to relocate themselves
