10 pointers towards Google's future

Its copy of Siri is better than Siri

Apple may have launched its voice-activated assistant first, but Google’s voice recognition is coming to search and it seems much slicker. Simply say “OK Google” then ask a question (on either web or your mobile device) and you’ll get a spoken response. It’s more conversational and more context-based than Siri, at least from the demo. This will be invaluable for Google Glass and any smart watch the company brings out.

It’s making messaging cross-platform

Gmail Chat and Google+ Chat are now united under Hangouts, a universal IM service that’ll work on Chrome, Android and iOS. It’ll support group conversations and notifications will be synced in the cloud to avoid annoying pile-ups.

It’s making games cross-platform

Say you own an Android phone and an iPad. Thanks to Google Play games services you’ll soon be able to play a single game across both devices, starting the game on one and carrying on from your save point on the other. It’s a neat trick to pull cross-platform, we say. Games services will also allow achievements, multiplayer matchmaking and more – a bit like iOS’ Game Center or Xbox Live.

Maps are getting personal...

Google Maps is getting a major overhaul in the coming weeks, and will soon use your search history and location to tailor results. Maps will be more personalised and feature landmarks more specific to the particular user, as well as using your Google+ contacts’ opinions to help you decide, say, where you’re going to eat your dinner.

…And so is the Google Play Store

Apple and Amazon already offer recommendations, and now the Google Play Store will too, suggesting apps and the like based on the things you’ve downloaded before. About time.

It wants to compete with Spotify

Google Play Music All Access (now there’s a mouthful) was announced and immediately launched in the US, costing $9.99 a month and featuring millions of tracks to stream. It’ll integrate with Google+ to bring you recommendations based on what your friends are listening to, features a never-ending radio mode based and is highly personalised. It sounds a lot like Spotify to us, so we can’t wait to give it a try and see if it offers users a compelling reason to switch loyalties. There’s no word on a UK release other than “soon”.

It wants to educate your kids

Like Apple, Google is moving into the world of education and learning. Not only through an initiative to get Android tablets into schools all across the world, but through Google Play For Education, a new store with content sorted by subject, school year and so on. With every primary school student having their own Google account, teachers will be able to push downloads to hundreds of kids at the click of a mouse.

Nothing about any new devices

Google purposefully kept the focus on software and services at this year’s I/O and revealed next to nothing about hardware (the only real hardware announcement was that an existing product, the Samsung Galaxy S4, will be sold unlocked and carrying the “pure” version of Android Jelly Bean through Google Play). Why? Probably to remind the world that it is first and foremost a software company and to prevent I/O becoming a WWDC-style annual tech-fest. Google will use individual events to announce physical products.

It wants less negativity in the tech industry

CEO Larry Page spoke passionately about the ways in which tech has and will continue to improve people’s lives and the world in general, and complained of there being too much negativity in the industry – possibly a reference to all the suing and sniping going on between the major companies. “Why can’t we all just get along and celebrate each other’s achievements and breakthroughs?” he seemed to be saying. Maybe because you’re all huge corporations trying to make lots of money at each other’s expense? Just an idea. We dunno.

It wants to give you more time to enjoy your life

Page also talked a little bit about Google’s famous self-driving car, saying it would change people’s lives by giving them more time to do stuff instead of driving. So basically you can jump in the car, have it drive you to work and spend the 50 minutes or so that takes doing something productive or fun.

This article originally appeared at Stuff.tv