Google I/O 2016 was a rousing success today. It shows that Google is committed to Android and a number of other products and services, and that the company is not even close to running out of ideas. Here's the biggest things they announced today. Some of them were expected, while a few were a surprise. Let us know what you think of them in the thread:
- Google Assistant - This is the enhanced version of Google Now, and it is taking things to a spooky new level of AI. We are very excited about this work that Google has done.
- Google Allo - Google's Allo is their new messenger service and it includes a number of slick new features like
- a whisper/shout feature, smart replies (canned responses), bot support, GIF chat, and incognito mode.
- Google Duo - This is basically a companion app for Google Allo that is designed for video calling. It can switch seamlessly between cellular and W-Fi and it can manage video and audio in real-time to adjust quality on the fly. It also has a cool feature called Knock Knock that lets users see the incoming video feed before answering.
- Google Home - This is basically Google's competitor to the Amazon Echo. It will be able to interact with other media devices, so it could have an advantage over the Echo. We will just have to see how well it is adopted.
- Google Daydream - This is Google's deeper dive into the burgeoning Virtual Reality market. It looks pretty slick, but we will have to see if makes headway against HTC, Samsung, Microsoft and Oculus Rift.
- Android N - Of course, you knew this was one of the big announcements of the event. We have shared some of the details on the next version of Android here: Android N Still Doesn't Have a Name, but it Has Several Improvements.
- Android Wear 2.0 - This wasn't really a surprise either, but at least they are making strides on improving the mobile wear software. The coolest news is that it will be able to function independently of your smartphone.
- Instant Apps - Instant Apps will let users start using apps instantly directly from the Google Play Store without even downloading it. Nifty.
