In the world of smartphone OS, Christmas comes twice a year, the first one of course is Apple’s Developer Con, and the second (and probably more well attended) Google I/O. In the words of Google, “Google I/O is for developers, the creative coders who are creating what’s next. Each year we explore the latest in tech, mobile and beyond.” Quite simple, isn’t it? Much like the operating system that Google calls its own. Google I/O 2015 concluded recently and this year’s conclave focussed on the Android OS’ latest iteration, christened Android M.
The most eagerly anticipated iteration of the world’s most widely used smartphone OS, Android M was launched (developer’s preview) at the conclave. Speaking at the occasion, Google’s senior VP of Products, Sundar Pichai said, “We have gone back to basics with this new version of Android.” While the secret to Android’s success has been its simplicity of use and adoption by handset makers across the board, Android M has several new tweaks up its sleeve, which promise to make using the OS even simpler and that much more immersive.
While the current iteration of Android ‘L’ or Lollipop, introduced users to a new design language and visual aesthetic, it also caused a few niggles in terms of battery life and other snags. Android M in a way seeks to bring some much needed stability and introduce a new level of usability and simplicity, which is set to become the standard for a long time to come. Android M’s main features are listed below.
App permissions overhaul: Android M seeks to give users greater control over the information apps can access, thus addressing the issue of privacy and is a step towards ensuring greater user control. What this means is that if an app needs to access your microphone, in order to record, say a voice message, Android M will prompt you to give it conditional access on a one time basis. According to Google VP of Engineering, David Burke, “You don’t have to agree to permissions that don’t make sense to you.” He further added that the user could modify any permissions an app has access to at a later stage, from the Settings tab. In the existing Android platform, this facility doesn’t exist yet, and with M, it is going to be all about giving the end user complete control over their Android experience.
Enhanced web experience: Google is one of the world’s foremost tech companies and has been studying trends in the way web content is consumed. This helps it provide users a better experience when interacting with websites and apps. Since developers are the ones coding the apps for end users, their web experience obviously influences their end design. In order to facilitate a smoother experience for the app developers, Google has introduced the Chrome Custom Tabs for developers. According to Burke, “this is a new feature that gives developers the power to harness all of Chrome’s capabilities, while keeping control of the individual app’s look and feel.”
Standardised fingerprint support: Quite a few Android phones run a fingerprint scanner, either for unlocking the device or some basic functions. Google plans to standardise support for fingerprint scanners across devices running Android M, in order to enable users to use their fingerprint scanners for making secure transactions online, verify identity and several other nifty features.
Android Pay: One of the most path breaking features on the Android M OS, will be Android Pay, Google’s new mobile payments system, designed to make shopping easier and cashless. Designed to compete with Apple Pay, Android Pay will initially be available in the States, but expect this one to come to our shores soon enough.
Doze mode: Battery life has always been a week bit of an issue with Android users. M seeks to alleviate the problem of a drained battery with some major upgrades. A new ‘Doze’ mode is part of Android M’s juice saving endeavours. Using motion sensors, the OS will recognise when the device haven’t been used for a while, whether a user is in the room, or is asleep and automatically reduce battery consumption through, reduced background processes. In a test of two phones each running Android L and Android M, the latter gave nearly two times longer standby time in comparison to the former.
Some of Android M’s other significant improvements, discussed at Google I/O include:
Google I/O was attended by developers from the world over and was addressed by some of Google’s leading lights including Sunil Pichai, who also delivered the keynote. In addition to a packed house at the Mountain View Campus, I/O was watched by an incredible 2 million people on livestream. In a rousing statement of intent, Pichai declared the ‘current moment’, an incredible moment to live in and added that the mobile revolution, that has been talked of for a while is now, ‘here to stay’. With a staggering 600 million handsets sold the world over in the one year since I/O 2014, he reiterated that anyone who ignored the power of the mobile had to do so on their own peril.
From Android M to the future of mobile and everything in between, you can watch the Google I/O keynote at: https://events.google.com/io2015/
