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The first public Android 11 beta will be available on June 3rd
Google will run through some Android 11 features in a keynote on that day.
With Android Q, Google is pushing for more elegant, standardized gestures
At last year's developer conference, Google gave us our first taste of Android Pie's gesture-based navigation system. It was, uh, pretty rough: the classic, three-button navigation scheme was replaced with a back button, a "pill" and a handful of swipe gestures that, to me at least, never felt particularly elegant or natural. Thankfully, Allen Huang, Google's product manager for Android's system interface, explained it was always meant to be a transitional step and never meant for it to last "in its current form" for more than a year.
Google Maps' AR walking directions arrive on Pixel devices today
After first showing off augmented reality directions last year, Google is finally starting to roll out the feature for Google Maps. Starting today, Pixel device owners will be able to view walking directions in AR, with arrows appearing in real world environments to show them which direction to go. The company called the feature an "early preview" at Google I/O and didn't provide any details as to when it will arrive on other devices.
Google unveils the Nest Hub Max smart display
When we saw a leak of a device called the Google Nest Hub Max in March, we thought it was a little unusual. Why would a Google Hub device have the Nest branding on it? Now, we know why. At Google I/O, the company announced that it is finally folding its Home brand of products into Nest, and the first product from this Home-Nest team is, indeed, the Google Nest Hub Max.
Android phones are getting an Assistant-powered driving mode
Google Assistant is about to become a much more helpful passenger while you're on the road. The assistant is getting a new "driving mode" with voice commands that should make it easier to interact with your device and access the information you need without ever taking your hands off the wheel. The new feature, announced during Google I/O, will be made available to all Android phones with Google Assistant later this summer.
Google Pixel 3a XL spotted at Best Buy ahead of launch
Google's Pixel 3a XL has been spotted at a Springfield, Ohio Best Buy, removing any remaining mystery about what the search giant is about to announce. The handset was seen in its packaging by an Android Police tipster in plain view (but under glass) in both of the previously leaked colors, "Purple-ish" and "Just Black." The sighting all but confirms the imminent launch and availability of the device, expected to happen on May 7th at Google's I/O event.
Here’s what you won’t find in the Android P beta
Developers and enthusiasts have had access to a very early version of Android P for a while now, but Google has made it more easily accessible to the brave with the launch of its public Android P Beta. At this point, you can get it up and running on 11 devices, but a considerable chunk of the features Google talked up during its keynote aren't actually there yet. Bummer. The broad strokes are well understood at this point, but (thankfully) we got to play with a slightly more feature-complete version of Android P inside Google's sandbox demo space. We'll continue to play with the publicly available Android P Beta, so expect a deeper dive soon, but one thing is clear after playing with a more-complete version: Android P is only going to get more capable in time.
Google Lens hands-on: Copy-and-paste the real world to your phone
Google may have teased us with exciting new AR features for the Maps app, but it's not forgetting to make its Lens camera more useful, either. Since its launch last year, Lens has rolled out to iOS and gained a few skills, like identifying cat and dog breeds. At its I/O developer conference today, Google announced three new features for Lens -- Smart Text Selection, Style Match and Real-time results. After checking it out here at the show, I'm most intrigued by the text-recognition tools, which actually seem useful.
Google is weaving itself into the fabric of our lives
This is how Google takes over the world. It won't be with the inception of an all-powerful artificial intelligence application, via the advent of self-driving cars, or through Assistant's steady creep into our everyday lives, though Google will certainly use these tools to dictate our decisions, possibly before we've even made them ourselves. No, Google's plans for world domination are much more subtle than that. It all starts with the beer emoji.
Google's 4K Android TV dongle is real -- but it's for developers
A Google-branded TV dongle spotted floating through the FCC is real, but the bad news is you probably won't be able to get one right now. The company just announced during its I/O developer event that this device is the ADT-2, intended to help developers working on apps for Android TV (a sign-up sheet is here, expect priority if you have an Android dev account, and to get one free if you're at the event). The platform is now supported by over 100 partners, including TV manufacturers, home theater devices and, increasingly, pay-TV set-top-boxes.
Android P introduces iPhone X-like navigation swipes and gestures
First it was the notch, but now Google is taking a more functional cue from Apple's iPhone X: a swipe-based navigation system. (Which, naturally, has its roots elsewhere, long before last year.) As rumored, the Android home 'dot' has morphed into something a little longer and a little more useful. Google says the change is a response to phones growing taller and the issues that creates for one-handed smartphone steering.
Watch Google's I/O 2018 keynote right here at 1PM ET
Google's I/O developer conference gets under way at 1PM ET today, with CEO Sundar Pichai delivering the keynote. Google is expected to reveal more about the future of Android, including a possible release date (and typically candy-flavored name) for Android P, along with information on Auto and TV. We're also anticipating a Google News revamp and details on what's next for Assistant, Wear OS and Chrome OS, among others. If we're lucky and Google decides to really go nuts, we might hear about the secretive Fuchsia OS.
What to expect at Google I/O 2018
It's somehow already May, which means Google's I/O developer conference is right around the corner: next week, in fact. The show is once again being held in scenic Mountain View, California, and with its keynotes, sessions and musical acts, I/O feels like a developer conference with just a hint of Coachella. Personally, we're going for the hard news, and we expect a lot of it, even despite a recent, massive Google news dump. In anticipation of all that action, here's a quick primer on what we know Google has in store for I/O, along with a few things we're likely to see once the show kicks off on Tuesday.
Google teases I/O 2018 with treasure maps and cryptic clues (updated)
As it does every year, Google is sending users on a geeky goose chase to learn details about its upcoming I/O 2018 Developer's conference. The first clue, posted on Twitter, is a bunch of binary code that (spoiler) reveals a website address, google.com/io. That leads you to a splash screen and Google Maps, where you're positioned in front of a Google office building ready to enter into a reception area. Update: Well, the mystery didn't last long. The conference will run May 8th-10th. In Mountain View, naturally.
Soon you'll be able to pay friends by saying 'Ok Google'
Google will make it harder for that friend in your group to make excuses when chipping in for food. The tech titan's voice assistant will be able send personal payments for you in the coming months, just like its rival Siri can, so long you're in the US. Simply tell it to "Send John $10 for pizza" or something similar and authenticate the transaction with your fingerprint or password to send cash. Your recipient will then receive an email about your payment. The big G recently tweaked its API to make any card associated with your account available on all its apps and on third-party applications that use Google Payments. That's why all you need to do to be able send cash through Assistant is to link a debit card to your system.
Android Go could help make Android O a runaway success
Android O might not seem like the most thrilling software update at first, but it just might be one of the most important. Google has been on a quest to capture and delight billions of new Android users for years with various initiatives. So far, scaling hasn't been a problem -- there are now 2 billion monthly active devices, and with Android Go, Google's hell-bent on picking up even more in developing and underserved markets.
Catch up on Google's plans for VR in under 3 minutes
During day two of Google I/O 2017, the company detailed its plans for both AR and VR. If you didn't catch our live coverage earlier today, don't worry: We've cut down the half-hour talk into a much shorter clip. You can catch up on all the news about Daydream Euphrates, YouTube VR, Google Cast and much more in under three minutes. For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2017, follow along here.
Watch Google's I/O 2017 keynote in 16 minutes
If you missed out on Google's I/O 2017 keynote earlier today, don't fret. We've cut down all of the noteworthy news on Google Lens, AI, Google Assistant, Google Home, Daydream, Android O and more into a roughly 15-minute clip. Just sit back, relax and catch up on all of the news in way less time than we spend taking in the two-hour presentation this afternoon. For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2017, follow along here.
Google Lens resurfaces questions about AI and human identity
Today at the company's annual developer conference, Google CEO Sundar Pichai uttered a phrase that will no doubt be repeated in corporate boardrooms across the world for the foreseeable future: "AI first." It wasn't the first we've heard of the formerly "mobile-first" company's focus on artificial intelligence, but Google I/O 2017 marked the first time we saw many of the tools that will back up that new catchphrase.
Google is building AR and VR that knows where you are
Google made plenty of VR- and AR-related announcements at I/O, its annual developer conference today. Not only will Samsung's Galaxy S8 and LG's upcoming flagship be Daydream-compatible, but the company also announced that it's working on standalone Daydream VR headsets. Enabling the latter is a unique technology called WorldSense, a new set of positional tracking tools that doesn't require any cameras or complicated setup. This sets the Daydream headsets apart from the competition. The current HTC Vive, for example, needs external room sensors; Google's upcoming headsets wouldn't.
