Google I/O Event 2015

Hey Guys,

Google’s I/O Keynote has been aired.

Here is the Video of the conference so you can experience what’s new coming from Google.

This video has Developer segments but it still has a lot of new things you will love (If you are a Google User).

We have our Key Points below for your reading pleasure that will highlight some of the new/improved things at Google.

I/O 2015 Highlights

Android M

The new OS update, for now dubbed “Android M” is the next big release from Google.

M will be bringing so new features and improvements. Lets highlight some now.

Android Pay

To respond to Apple Pay, Google have created a new way of paying that doesn’t require demand for the app to pay. This means you can have non-app payments.

Adding your cards to the device, when doing payments at Tap Terminals in a shop, the feature creates a “Virtual” Account Number to their terminal so they don’t get your true information but still pay as normal.

Fingerprint

Google have expanded the support of Fingerprint scanning for security so more apps and features can use the scanner, including Android Pay.

Doze

This new feature allows your devices to save power even further. I will monitor the times you dont pick up the device and bring it into a very low energy state so when you are ready to use the device, you can know it will not need charging. Doze will keep important things like Alarms and Calls active during Doze.

Other

Some quick point outs. Google have improved text selection and fixed the Volume Controls as it has been made well aware of the countless hate that Lollipop has for its controls.

Android Wear

Google have been making many improvements to their wearable devices. One key note was they have copied from Nokia & Microsoft, which is the Glance Feature seen on Lumia Windows Phones.

Now your watch will be able to show time and other information in the locked screen using low contrast images like you see in Glance.

For a very quick snippet of what Glance is on Lumia and see where Google have mimicked, watch this quick Windows Phone Denim Update Demo.

Google Now

Google has also attempted to make their own superior assistance feature with Google “Now On Tap” to battle Windows Cortana.

This new feature can identify context depending on the particular context you are viewing to give you information on the go.

One example in the conference was when she had an article about Hugh Lawrie moving to a TV Show called Veep, you could tap on Hugh’s name alone and the context knew you were maybe wanting info on who Hugh Lawrie is, a pop up with Google search like content appeared with everything Hugh Lawrie.

This is an awesome feature but not in any way a winner of Cortana as this makes info easy to view, it defeats the purpose of what Cortana and Google/Apple Voice Assistants all about.

Google Photos

Google+ has had speculations that it hasn’t been doing well with users and now Google have taken one aspect of Google+ and made it into its own feature.

They have optimized your Photos for quicker viewing and finding of the moments you want to share by using various features including the Google Now Context Reader. It will allow filtering of events and faces you search for. For sharing, Google again has taken on concepts of Nokia and Microsoft and built their own taste of “Storyteller”. Like Lumia Storyteller, it will create visuals that highlight the best aspects of the event.

One new feature to destroy Apple & Microsoft, unlike the 2 competitors giving dedicated, limited storage to Photos and Videos, Google decided to allow Unlimited storage on the cloud that isn’t entirely compressed down either. They allow 16MP images and 1080p video to be stored with no limit.

Wrap Up

The Keynote goes through Developer improvements and features that splice consumer features and improvements you might wanna look at. Do watch the video if you want to see every aspect that Google has dipped their finger in.

One thing they have done is improved their services like Search and YouTube to be optimized for lower graded devices and those who don’t have good internet to allow many who could not use these services, have the chance too. This includes the ability to have many aspects like maps etc to be loaded offline for viewing without internet.

Finally, you will see that Google have made sure that their services are with the popular mobile devices, making sure apps and features are present on Apple Mobile devices, leaving out Microsoft. This same model is what Microsoft have been doing with their services like email, Calendar and Office to Google and Apple devices.

The battle intensifies as Apple, Google & Microsoft begin to bring Hardware and Software features to flex their superiority to the consumer. Let’s see how to plays out.

Let us know what you think about what came out of the I/O 15 conference in the comments section below.