Google I/O 2016: Google Allo, Duo, Assistant, Android Wear 2.0 and much more

Every year, Google I/O brings new nifty products and improved performances from existing Google tools and services. This year was no different with Google I/O 2016. For the uninitiated, Google I/O 2016, the annual developer conference where the search giant showcases its next-gen technology, has commenced. The keynote address took place a few hours ago with Google announcing new products like the Google Assistant, Google Home speaker, new apps for chatting, video messaging App.

If you have missed on what was announced at Google’s annual event, here’s a quick recap.

Daydream

Daydream is Google’s newly introduced mobile VR platform. Google said that Daydream will be incorporated in Android N. Nobody dismisses VR as being the future technology in handheld space but Google is taking it pretty seriously with virtual reality natively incorporated in Android ecosystem. There are three main aspects to Daydream – correct smartphone specifications, correct headsets and the compatible apps.

Allo

Allo is a new messaging app introduced by Google.  Allo will have the Google Assistant built-in to converge digital assistant technology with messaging platform. Google is bringing Allo to iPhones as well as Android smartphones.

Allo which means ‘hello’ in French will be the smartest messenger in the market. It will let users chat with one another alongside is deeply integrated with Google Assistant, or Google’s alternative to bots. Allo comes with some interesting features like Whisper Shout and more that lets you add more emotion to your chats. Chats on Allo can also be encrypted and like the incognito mode on Google’s Chrome browser you also get an incognito mode in chat with end-to end encryption.

Duo

Google is also bringing a new App in the video messaging space to take on likes of Skype, Viber etc. Google announced a new video messaging app called Duo. Duo comes with an interesting feature called ‘Knock Knock’ that lets you preview what’s happening at the callers end, before you receive the video call. So when a call is ringing, you can actually see what’s happening on the other end before you place the call and it seems surprisingly natural.

https://youtu.be/CIeMysX76pM

Android N

We all knew about Google new operating system for Android called Android N. Google has explained what Android N is all about. To begin with, Android N will support the Vulkan graphics API for mobile, which helps to optimise the GPU component of your chipset to give a better gaming performance. It will come with Just in Time compiler to ensure a 75 percent boost in app installations and 50 percent reduction in compilation code.

Google will also give a pump up to different productivity features such as Recents menu. Recents menu has been updated to view the last seven opened apps, Clear All button, Quick Switch to access your last used app by double tapping the recents screen and so on. Google has promised that Android N will be most secure system and provide native support for VR. Read more here.

Android Instant apps

The new Android Instant apps lets you access apps from anywhere without installing. It will let you run Android apps as seamlessly as loading a webpage. And, it is compatible all the way back to Jelly Bean.

Google Home

Google Home is meant to provide competition to the widely acclaimed Amazon Echo. Google Home is small device that works like the Amazon Echo and is powered by the Google Assistant. The Google Home will be a control centre for your home and your voice will be the remote control. Set alarms, manage to do list, connect smart home, home networking syncing, Nest devices and so on. Further in the future it will be able to control stuff outside your homes – opening garage doors, ordering flowers, etc.

Google Assistant

Google Assistant seeks to combining the power of search and machine learning and bring the results to the customers. All in all, Google Assistant is a future of Google Now.

You can put out a query and get an answer followed by more questions as Google picks up a conversation and keeps returning the correct or relevant answers. The service is already integrated in Google’s new smart messaging app conversational Allo to act as a chat bot picking up words from your conversations and giving suggestions, say maybe a coffee shop or the nearest movie hall where your favourite movie is being played.

Android Wear 2.0