Google I/O 2015 is underway right now and you can follow all the live action over on our live blog page. The first part of the keynote is focusing on updates to Android M. Here's what's been announced so far:
Google I/O 2015 at a glance:
- Jump VR
- Google Cardboard 2.0
- Google Play parental controls
- New Google Maps features
- Photos app
- Google Now
- IoT: Brillo and Weave
- Android Wear
- Greater control over app permissions
- Android Pay
- App streamlining
- Improved charging and power management
Google Jump
Google also announced Jump, a new method of capturing VR footage. A 16 camera array, Jump captures 16 simultaneous feeds of high-definition content, using shared camera settings and frame levels to synchronise each separate feed. It’s then up to the Jump's software to join the feeds together, benefitting from computational photography and computer vision to create a stereoscopic image - and iron out the seams. Thanks to 3D depth alignment, Google Jump also doesn’t suffer from the same joints as other composite 3D footage.
A heftier announcement is that Cardboard SDK will now support both Android and iOS, meaning you can use Apple phones with a Cardboard setup.
Bavor then went on to reveal Expeditions, a VR tool for the classroom allowing teachers to take students on virtual reality field trips. I’d imagine this could be an incredible tool for immersive teaching of history or science.
Google Play parental controls
Having built Google Play into an app store to rival that of Apple’s, Google was more than happy to boast about its 1 billion daily active users and 50 billion installs of applications over the next 12 months. Play is now growing twice as fast in developing nations such as India.
But there’s still a section of Android users that aren’t properly addressed. In the US a third of Android users are families with young children, and so Play has decided to launch a family friendly initiative to point out the apps made for families.
When searching for an app a little green star with a smiley face will show it’s safe for families. There will also be an entirely new “designed for families” section of the Play Store, allowing families to safely browse and download apps their children will love. Let’s just hope it’s isn’t open to the same abuses that YouTube’s Kids section has been exposed to.
Google is working to make Maps better offline
Google is “investing in creating a better experience for the next billion users” with a better offline experience for Maps.
Following a brief mention of the public transport Transit function being brought to an increasing number of places, Jen Fitzpatrick spoke about how Google maps is bringing more features offline.
In Airplane mode, without any internet connection, you’ll still be able to search for places. Impressively, you’ll also be able to view reviews and opening hours for places when offline as well.
The biggest cheer from the audience came with the announcement that turn-by-turn audio directions will also be available offline. This looks to be a very useful set of feature, especially when travelling abroad and navigating cities without an internet connection.
Google will start to bring Maps Offline later in the year.
Google Photos
Having initially been a part of Google Plus, Google Photos has been spun out into its own app and it’s looking mightily impressive.
Developed to work intuitively and continue on Google’s theme of creating a seamless user experience, Photos lets you store your images and videos securely, whilst assisting you in creating scrapbook memories and share them seamlessly with friends and family.
All your photos and videos are stored up on Google Drive and, from the demo on stage at I/O, you can navigate through these cloud-stored images seamlessly. Images are grouped by date and you can easily zoom in and out with Photos automatically sorting pictures into Day, Week, Month and Year categories. If you’d rather have your photos stored in a more personal way, you can have it automatically group them by people and places, with Google magically identifying where an image was taken and who’s in it. Somehow Photos is also capable of recognising individuals over time as you won’t need to tag people or places in pictures.
From anywhere in your timeline, a quick swipe to the left, Photos can suggest ways to creatively save your pictures into albums, GIFs and videos with music. Of course, you don’t have to take Photo Assistant up on the offer, but it’s a nice way to quickly create memorable albums.
Multi photo selection has also improved: you now only need to press, hold and then drag to select multiple photos. Plus, users now have a new “no strings attached” way of sharing those photos via a browser link that can be clicked by anyone on any platform.
The best bit, though? Google Photos, from today, delivers unlimited photo backup for Android users, and even videos with a resolution of up to 1080p.
Google Now... Now on Tap
Google also showcased some dramatic improvements to the Google Now system in Android M. Dubbed Now on Tap, the new functionality is designed to assist you “in the moment” - and it now extends to apps. By using what Google is calling “Natural language understanding” Now on Tap is able to intelligently pull relevant information based on simple speech commands, and the context of your situation.
When listening to music, Now on Tap answers your questions about a track that's playing in Google Music. If you're texting a friend about going to dinner it can understand your conversation and give you extra information as you go - links to reviews about your restaurant, for instance.
Although currently in the pilot stage with over 100 partners on board, a new-improved Google Now with Now on Tap functionality will be included in Android M.
Next: new IoT operating system
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