google io 2019
Latest
How Android Q supports 5G apps and why you should care
When Francesco Grilli and his peers were working on the 4G standard, they had a few ideas as to what the popular use cases might be. Video calls over the internet, perhaps, or rich messaging content, they thought. "In the end, none of that really happened on a larger scale," Grilli said. "Other stuff we were thinking about didn't materialize." As vice president of product management at Qualcomm Technologies, Grilli's job largely revolves around imagining how people would use advanced networks.
The new Android Q beta is a mostly cosmetic update
The Android Q beta 3 is here, and like the first public beta of this OS, there's not much to get excited about. This beta doesn't offer the meatiest update, but it is our first look at some of the user-facing features coming to Android Q. Things like Dark Mode and full gesture navigation are here, but more exciting highlights like Live Caption and Focus Mode are both missing. You can try the beta yourself if you're not afraid of potentially buggy software, and if you own one of the 21 handsets that will work with it. That's double the number of devices that supported the beta last year.
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 improved Android Auto by making it act more like your phone
Every year, Android gets a chance to reinvent itself on smartphones with new features and new design flourishes. The same can't be said of Android Auto, Google's phone-powered in-car interface: It's tremendously helpful for drivers, and its feature set has grown over the years, but the UI hasn't changed since it debuted in 2014.
Here's all the important stuff Google announced at I/O 2019
A better, faster, stronger Google is in store for 2019. During its I/O developer conference on Tuesday, the company unveiled dozens of updates to every corner of the Google ecosystem; from search and Google Assistant to the next generation of Android. In the keynote, Google CEO Sundar Pinchai said the company's mission is shifting from a company that "helps you find answers" to one that "helps you get things done." Whether it's hailing a Lyft, translating foreign languages or transcribing video in real-time, the theme today was how Google can help users perform more tasks than ever before.
Google Nest Hub Max hands-on: A bigger, smarter display
I was surprised by how much I liked last year's Google Home Hub. The 7-inch smart display won me over with its beautiful screen and adorable design. It was also popular with other reviewers, who praised its clever Assistant features, affordable price and Photos integration. This year, Google has a bigger, more powerful model: the Nest Hub Max. Unveiled at the company's I/O developer conference today, the Hub Max is a 10-inch display that looks like a stretched-out Home Hub. But there are a few other differences besides the size that make it more useful than the smaller version.
Google's privacy push adds Incognito Mode for Maps and Search
Among the new developments announced at Google I/O 2019, CEO Sundar Pichai revealed tweaks that will impact data retention and privacy. Filters that auto-delete web & app activity will become available starting today with support for auto deleting your location history "in the coming weeks," and he also announced extensions for the Incognito Mode you're familiar with from Chrome. Google rolled out a version for YouTube last year, and soon, it's coming to Google Maps too. After that, it's coming to Google Search "this year." If course, Incognito Mode doesn't mean all tracking is disabled, but just like Chrome, that activity shouldn't show up linked to your profile. And as Google continues to expand the use of machine learning and accumulate more data about us, the company is as concerned as ever about making sure users feel like they're in control of it. One final tweak will make your Google Account (and associated privacy settings) easily accessible from within its apps under your profile photo.
