prototype byBlair Hanley Frank
This year , Google took a different approach to itsGoogle I / Odevelopers group discussion . First of all , it was mostly outdoors , at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View , California . ( Fun fact about Shoreline : While now it ’s literally in Google ’s backyard , Apple co - father Steve Wozniak was an original pardner in launch the concert venue with legendary promoter Bill Graham , and Woz ’s name still adorn one of the boxes that the press sat in during the keynote . ) And while previous Google I / O keynotes have featured moonshots like Google Glass , this year ’s tonic was passably down - to - earth . No ego - drive cable car or alien - reckon article of clothing , just Modern versions of Android and Android Wear , plus some cross - platform apps and a articulation - activated gimmick for the home . In fact , a lot of the announcements should even be interesting to Apple fans , from fresh apps to a huge choice of smartwatches . Here ’s what you should like about , and when you may expect it all to launch .
simulacrum byGoogle
Even if you do n’t have an Android gimmick , aGoogle Homedevice could go into your life — specially if Apple does n’t roll out its own answer to the Amazon Echo anytime before long . The Google Home is a Wi - Fi and Bluetooth speaker that can stream music from cloud services like Spotify and Pandora , and send sound recording to other mold - enable speakers around your house . It also hasGoogle Assistantfor voice queries — you’re able to perform searches , add things to your shopping inclination , and command smart menage products like the Nest . Like the Echo , Google Home will eventually form with other services , letting you say a car or ship someone flowers , but those wo n’t be uncommitted right away . Google Home should launch sometime this yr , with the price yet to be announced .
Image byGoogle / IDGNS
Google ’s new schmoose app , Allo , will establish for iOS and Android this summer . The app will suggest response to incoming texts , and over time conform them to include your preferred words and emojis—“yes ” could become “ yeah hound ” or “ yas queen ” or just ? . It sound a lilliputian like Apple ’s predictiveQuickTypekeyboard , crossed with the way autocorrect will proffer to modify “ haha ” to “ HAHAHAHAHA ” if that ’s the agency you tend to type it . Of course , points out Brian Feldman atNew York Magazine , if Google can take how we peach to our friends , it can also start dish up us sew versions of advertising that soundawfullyfamiliar .
iOS has FaceTime for TV calling , but you may only call iPhones , iPads , and Macs . Google ’s newDuoapp will launch this summertime on iOS and Android , letting you video chat more seamlessly with your unripe - house of cards friend . Since Google knows some people waffle to nibble up picture birdcall , Duo show a live video prevue when a call is incoming .
SinceAndroid Wear smartwatches are compatible with iOS , iPhone users do n’t have to subside for the two - sizes - fit - all Apple Watch . Android Wear watchescome in various sizes , shapes , and with more available features like GPS and LTE.Android Wear 2.0brings advance like native apps , reflex exercise catching , and the ability to customize any watch case with “ complications ” showing data from third - company apps . For communication , users get a fresh keyboard ( yes , a keyboard for a smartwatch , although it utilize a swipe motion rather than tap ) , handwriting identification , and prognostic responses . Android Wear 2.0 is in beta now — Greenbot’sFlorence Ion got hired man - on timeat the conference — and launch to consumer later this year .
Google is taking Cardboard up a notch — Daydreamis aVR platformconsisting of muscular “ Daydream ready ” Android phones , and a cite headset and controller . Inside the headset , users will see Daydream Home , a 3D environment that pretend as an app storage and home screen for VR apps and subject from YouTube , HBO , Electronic Arts , Ubisoft , and more .
None of this will work with iOS or iPhones , but Daydream shows how badly Google is taking mobile VR with Android N , unite theSamsung Gear VRandHTC Vibein taking on the desktop - class VR experience of theOculus Rift . So far , as Apple fans , we ’re stick withGoogle Cardboard - grade experiences , butApple has express interestin VR , and Daydream is a tantalizing glimpse atwhat Apple could be solve on .
The TPU is n’t an app , it ’s hardware — atensor processing social unit , particularly design for Google ’s datum midpoint . TPUs power the AlphaGo computer that beat Go genius Lee Sedol , and they are an orderliness of order of magnitude considerably than GPUs and C.P.U. for political machine learning . “ This is roughly equivalent to tight - forwarding technology about seven class into the time to come ( three generations of Moore ’s Law ) , ” Google tell in ablog post . Do n’t expect to see them appear in your smartphone or computing machine , but they ’re already being used to power Google services like Street View — and projects like Google ’s ego - driving machine ( not to mention Apple ’s ) are going to take a batch of processing power too .
