My late response to Google I/O

Having waited for the Google I/O hype to die down a bit, these are my feelings on the announcements

You’re probably shocked by the fact I’ve not yet written a massively long article on the Google I/O yet considering how much I complained on Twitter that i was working when it was on and that consequently I’d end up missing it. However, my reasoning for this is that I cannot get my hands on a developer edition of Android L, I have not got an Android Wear Smartwatch and I barely paid attention during the Android Auto part. Therefore, I shall focus on my two favourite and in my opinion, the two most exciting aspects of the I/O, Android Wear and Android L, I will touch on the other two hardware/software announcements also though.

However, I feel that as an Android user and a slave to the mistress that is popular technology news, I feel that I should express my opinions on each of the matters. This article is assuming that the majority of you will already know the news, that you will already know the important parts and interesting features, so I will merely express my opinions and ideas on each of them and you can choose to discuss or merely take in such ideas.

Android Wear

• For me, Android Wear was the most revolutionary thing to come out of Google I/O as it showed the next generation of smart watches in terms of interface, design and innovation
• It is a basic watch interface that allows for very intelligent ideas. Simple cards allow you to just read notifications, however it has Google Now properties allowing you to see things you may not even have remembered you needed
• The Moto 360 could really be the first mainstream smartwatch to hit big
• The ability to use it to unlock your phone/chromebook is a very clever idea that just makes sense
• It’s interface and gestures are clever and intuitive and I believe would take merely a minute of using the device to get used to
• The support for the software is already absolutely flooding in despite the watches only just having been released

In summary, I personally feel that Android Wear is going to go a long way to making smart watches the mainstream watch for techies and maybe even the majority of high-end smartphone owners. I say high-end due to the fact these watches cost minimum £150 at the moment in the UK which is a lot for a watch (unless you’re used to buying Armani and Rolex all the time). However, I think these watches will either absolutely soar or will absolutely flop, I also think the introduction of an iWatch will enhance the idea as every piece of hardware Apple brings out becomes mainstream at the moment.

Android ‘L’

• I personally think this is the best update for Android to date
• The lock screen notifications is something I’ve wanted and attempted to replicate on Android for over two years now with little success
• I like that they’ve not tried to copy iOS 100% and come up with their own way of handling these notifications
• The design of Material excites me also as I feel for years, Android has lagged behind iOS due to its lack of animations or fluidity something which now I think will be rectified
• The multitasking doesn’t seem as fast to me, it may add a second or two to find the app you want. In addition, I often have 10s of tabs open in chrome which could cause a lot of confusion in this mode
• The new notification shade screams futuristic to me with it’s transparent background and flat design and colours, it’s beautiful and looks to be more useful too
• Not 100% keen on the change of the navigational buttons, but they are more suiting to the design change in Android ‘L’

Android TV

• I have quite a simple view on this matter: if Google can get this involved on as many TVs as possible, not make you charge too much more than a “dumb-tv” then it will take off, if not, it will be like smart tvs now, only certain people cans see the point
• Very nice interface that is improved in usability with the ability to control it using your phone/tablet
• The addition of search with Voice really is nice as Google’s voice recognition is by far the best in my opinion and will allow for improved and alternative ways to navigate
• I believe this is another interface that would benefit from being able to control everything via voice “OK Google TV, search Netflix for Doctor Who”, “OK Google TV, continue my last TV series on Hulu” “OK Google TV, how old is Brad Pitt?... Show me films that he’s appeared in... Play World War Z” *it opens up the relevant app to play the movie (probably Netflix)
• If Google can involve a complex voice system like this that feels natural and where everything you throw at it works, it will sell.. lots

Android Auto

• I paid little attention to this section of the I/O as it didn’t appeal to me
• I don’t think that android or iOS in cars will ever become massively mainstream as I don’t think people are bothered about other parts of their sat-nav
• I think the primary rule for these would be the ability to open and perform all actions by voice to avoid having to interact or look at the screen, similar to my views on Android TV. If they can make the voice commands feel natural and powerful, people will admire it and will want to be able to do it. On top of this, the novelty won’t be something that runs out, it will become incredibly useful instead of just being a gimmick. Similar to how Moto X’s touchless controls have become more than just a gimmick

Now there was mention of Android One which I paid little attention to as I skipped that bit by accident and then merely skimmed over the news about it post-show. However, from my understanding it will spread the use of Android to lesser-wealth countries such as India, allowing them to produce phones with Android 4.4 and above on them with impressive specs for very little money. I was confused as to why this is lesser-wealth countries only and not in the popular markets too, but maybe I missed something.

I was excited to watch Google I/O and was excited after having it watched it also. It excited me by showing me that Google is really looking to bring an incredible polish to Android that it’s been slowly incrementing in it’s latest updates and it’s built to an Android that runs at 60fps all the time with beautiful flowing animations and a modern-design interface. This to me was the most exciting thing to come out of this year’s I/O.

However, I feel in terms of the evolution of the market of ‘smart’ devices, the introduction of Wear has really forced the smartwatch market forward in terms of design, usability, functionality and the general idea of what a smartwatch can be. It doesn’t have to have ugly, black and white pixels on the screen anymore.

What did you think of Google I/O? What was your most exciting announcement as a nerd or just as a general consumer? Do you think Google is missing anything?