The Google I/O companion app for Android often takes advantage of the latest design stylings and OS features. It demoed Android Q’s gesture navigation and dark theme this year, with the company today releasing the I/O 2019 source code.
In addition to a slew of user-facing Assistant features at I/O 2019, another way Google is improving the experience of using Google Home and Nest Displays is through the Local Home SDK. This new local technology will deliver faster commands to your smart home accessories.
For the past few years, Google seems to have tried to chase the sun a little with the Pixel line. That isn’t a bad thing by any stretch as, despite a few stumbles here and there, the Pixel line has become an exceptional Android alternative to the iPhone. Which brings us to the release of the Pixel 3a and 3a XL, a phone targeted at a slightly different subset of the market.
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In the second beta release of Android Q, Google debuted and put some emphasis on a new notification feature called Bubbles. Interestingly, though, Google has confirmed that Bubble’s won’t be a user-facing feature in Android Q, instead being in the developer options.
Back at I/O 2018, Google teased the seriously impressive Google Photos feature Colorize, which has the ability to add color to black and white photos.
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Today kicked off Google I/O 2019, the company’s annual developer conference and the initial keynote was stuffed to the brim with big news. Despite being under 2 hours long, Sundar Pichai and Co managed to pack a ton of big announcements into the day. If you missed what’s new, here’s everything the company announced.
Android Q was a big focus of Google I/O 2019’s opening keynote, but there has been a ton of other news that has come out of the rest of the conference. In case you missed anything, here are some assorted Android Q tidbits we’ve found throughout the week.
Every year at Google I/O, the community is treated to a “Fireside Chat” where developers can directly ask questions to the Android team and have them answered clearly and honestly. This year, the Android Fireside Chat closed out I/O 2019 and offered candid insight on the future of Wear OS, Fuchsia, and foldable devices.
The news cycle this week has been absolutely dominated by Google I/O 2019 news, and we’re still not done covering everything the annual developer conference delivered. If you missed the I/O 2019 keynote on Tuesday, though, here’s where you can rewatch the entire presentation.
At a fireside chat on the last day of I/O 2019, Hiroshi Lockheimer talked about Fuchsia publicly in a high-level manner for the first time. It comes as Google quietly acknowledged the operating earlier this week at the developer conference. The Google SVP of Android, Chrome/OS, and Play described it as one of Google’s experiments around new concepts for operating systems.
Google at last year’s I/O previewed AR navigation in Google Maps. Over the past few months, the feature was rolled out to Local Guides users and this week to Pixel users. At an I/O 2019 session, Google addressed the absence of the cute AR navigating character.
One major sore point for developers on the Google Play Store is the way in which the current ‘star rating’ system works. This year at I/O 2019, Google confirmed that there was a serious overhaul to the rating system heading to the Play Store.
While the Google Play Store might be the biggest in terms of downloads, it suffers due to the lack of monetization when compared to Apple’s App Store. Google has announced at I/O 2019 that users will soon be able to make Google Play Store purchases with cash — yes, the physical stuff.
The first Google Assistant headphones arrived in 2017 with the Bose QuietComfort 35 II and Pixel Buds later that year. Several headphones from Sony and JBL have launched since then, while Google introduced new features like real-time translation. Qualcomm today announced Assistant and Fast Pair support in its Smart Headset chips that will make it easier for device makers to create Google-compatible headsets.
After an amazing run of secrecy (not), we have the final official specs for the Google Pixel 3a and Google Pixel 3a XL following Google’s announcement of the devices on stage at Google I/O 2019. The younger siblings to the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will look to capitalize on the same software prowess and support that makes the Pixels a frequent recommendation among Android fans while coming in at a more appealing price point for the average consumer.
The camera on Google’s Pixel smartphones are arguably the best you can buy, and software just keeps making them better. Today, Google has revealed that it’s adding a new “Timelapse” mode to the Pixel camera.
Android TV wasn’t even mentioned in the Google I/O keynote this year, but that doesn’t mean we’re not getting news about the platform. In a further session, Google revealed some new numbers regarding Android TV, as well as details about the Q update.
As part of the Android Q update, Google has added a slew of brand new non-binary or gender fluid emoji that can be used right now exclusively on Pixel devices.
Just this month an interview revealed some big new stats for Android TV, and also teased a revamp for the Play Store. Today at Google I/O, the company officially showed off the new interface and it’s a huge improvement.
At I/O 2019, Google announced that moving forward its smart home products would be branded under “Nest.” The Home Hub became the Nest Hub, while the first product from this initiative is the Nest Hub Max. Meanwhile, Google confirmed that Home speakers will get Nest branding in the future, while Nest Accounts will be migrated to Google Accounts to address recent security issues.
At Google I/O, some were looking forward to the potential for Google to announce Fuchsia as their next operating system for devices of all kinds. That admittedly outlandish dream has now been dashed, but not completely. Despite not being featured on the main stage, Google has publicly acknowledged Fuchsia OS in the middle of a Google I/O announcement.
A main focus point of I/O 2019 was enhanced accessibility options and controls, with Live Relay and Live captions being stand out inclusions that require no internet connection to work.
Updates have long been one of Google’s biggest problems for Android, and they’ve been mocked relentlessly for it too. Project Treble was the company’s last big attempt to fix Android updates, and now Android Q is introducing “Project Mainline.”
We spend way too much time on our devices and while Digital Wellbeing does help, the new ‘Focus Mode’ should help eliminate our most distracting mobile apps to help us stay on track.