Tag: Google I/O 2016

Google has released the first schedule for this year’s Google I/O event in Mountain View and it is evident that Android and Google Assistant are going to be the headliners.  The schedule has multiple Android and Assistant events over the three-day conference with everything from advanced coding sessions to general information sessions.

Some of the events slated for I/O include:

• 10 tips for building better actions (Google Assistant)
• An introduction to developing Actions for the Google Assistant
• Build an AR app with the Poly Toolkit for Unity (Android)

• What’s new in Android Wear

That’s just a few of the dozens of sessions on tap.

During Google I/O last week, Googler Stephan Somogyi presented the 3rd Annual Google Security Update.  The update covered a lot of ground for a 37 minute presentation but one of the key messages around Android was how device fingerprint scanners have dramatically improved device security.  How?  Simply by having people setup the lock screen and use their fingerprint as the key to getting into their device.  With the introduction of these scanners on the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X, Stephan reported that now 90% of Nexus owners have enabled the lock screen.  That is up from just 50% the previous year.

As expected, Google announced yesterday at I/O that the 3rd Developer Preview of Android N is now available for those registered in the beta program.  What is more interesting is that the company was quite clear that they believe this build is stable enough for general consumption on your every day devices.  It is a significant difference from the language used in the first two previews which was very clear in their “developer only” messaging.  While I would still caution those who don’t want to put up with odd behaviors or diminished battery life from download it, if you have an eligible device, you can get it through the Android Beta program site.

There were a huge number of announcements yesterday at Google I/O but two of them that are sparking a lot of interest are Google Allo and Duo.  Allo is the new messaging app from the company that brings a significant amount of personalization and leverages Google’s machine learning on the back end to allow you to get quick replies that are more personal to you.  Duo is the company’s new one-on-one video app that allows you to make video calls seamlessly with other people, even if they are on iOS.  While both apps aren’t expected for a few months, you can add both of them to your wishlist in the Google Play Store today.

For those who are attending Google I/O 2016 in person or remotely, the official app for the developer event is now in the Google Play Store.  The app gives you the ability to see all of the sessions that are available and setup your schedule of those that you want to attend.  Even better, if you aren’t one of the lucky attendees in person, you can live stream the events remotely and can add those events to your Google calendar so you can tune in.

Oh, and a lot of those are going to be in VR. 🙂