Google I/O, the company’s premier developer conference is scheduled for end of June in San Francisco and the company has announced the schedule for the event, which gives us an indication of what we might be announced at the event.
The main event will of course be the Keynote, where Google will make most of the major announcements, which will also impact consumers and not just developers. The highlight for developers will be the sessions and activities planned for the new announcements, APIs and developer tools. This year’s I/O might be lighter on announcements than last year’s as the Keynote lasts two hours, an hour shorter than 2013. Let’s take a look at what we can expect at the event.
Android
Needless to say, there will be a lot of Android-related announcements. Android has become a lynchpin for Google’s services and it will once again be the focal point for consumers and users.
ART Runtime has a full session, indicating that the big switch from Dalvik runtime may not be all that far away. ART was brought on board with Android KitKat as an option with Dalvik. It’s been said that ART will completely replace Dalvik in the future. Considering that most rumours are talking about a major Android UI revamp, this I/O may see the end of Dalvik and a shift to ART as default.
Where apps are concerned, Google has planned activities and sessions around UI and UX design, improving camera software performance and possibly a new camera API, game design, app monetisation and the likes. Android design is expected to change, so a lot of the sessions will delve into redesigning apps to match the new look.
It’s hard to say at this point, whether Google will release a new version of Android at I/O. Android 4.4.3 has been in the pipeline for months, and it may officially get an introduction, or Google may skip it altogether, if indeed Android 5.0 comes at I/O.
As far as devices are concerned, we may be officially introduced to the so-called Android Silver programme and may hear about the end of the Nexus line. Though I/O has never been big on hardware unveiling.
Android Wear and Google Glass
This year, we will see more time spent on Android Wear and Google Glass, as well. Both are vital cogs in the Android ecosystem. Google has planned sessions dedicated to Glass. Developers and enthusiasts will be able to learn all about app design for the wearable, to Glass hacking, where we might see what potential the device has for after-market ROMs, when it hits retail later this year or early next year.
There’s a dedicated session to wearable computing with Google, which might show broader support for some of its key services on wearables. In addition, Android Wear developers will also be sharing their experiences about making apps for the platform. We could see some major apps announced for Android Wear during I/O.
Google+ missing
There’s a lot of focus on Google Play services and there are sessions dedicated to Google Identity such as Grow your app with Google identity – engaging users wherever they are.” Keen Google followers may notice the session was titled, “Grow Your Audience with Google+” last year. So is Google+ really about to be killed off? There have been rumours ever since the departure of Vic Gundotra from Google, and we may finally know the answer at I/O. There are so many elements of Google + that are crucial to the ecosystem, such as the Hangouts integration, Google+ photos backup and of course working as the face your Google account.
Chrome
Google has planned a sandbox session called, “Cast-Enable Your Application,” so there will be greater focus on Chromecast, rather than any Android TV product. We have already seen a glimpse of Android TV, but there’s no direct mention of it in the schedule.
There are multiple Chrome OS and Chrome broswer sessions planned, with focus on building Chrome apps, making cross-platform plays and developing using some of Google’s new tools for the Web platform. Chrome OS will be a big focus for Google as it looks to swiftly gain market share at the expense of Windows PCs. We may see newer functionality for the OS, and perhaps even a few powerful out-oft-the-browser apps which can give Chrome OS a much-needed productivity boost.
So that’s an overview of what we might see at Google I/O this year. Do note that these are just broad strokes and Google’s announcements could change completely. In any case, we will be covering all of Google I/O when it kick starts on June 25. So stay tuned for more.
0 comments:
Post a Comment