Android M's Stand-Out Features

[dgstorm]

Of course, it wouldn't be Google I/O without info on the newest Android OS. This time around Android M is on the pedestal as the folks at Google showed off its fresh new innovations. Here's a breakdown highlight of its most impressive changes in a quote from BGR,

Google Now on Tap: Google Now has always been a fantastic feature that gives you important contextual information before you even think to ask for it. Google taking it to the next level with Google Now on Tap, a new update that will offer you even more contextual information than ever before.

How good is Now on Tap? If you’re playing a song by Rihanna and you ask “What’s her full name?”, Google will be able to tell you that it’s “Robyn Rihanna Fenty.” Or if you’re driving a rental car, Google might let you know about nearby gas stations when you’re close to the end of your trip so you don’t drop it off with an empty tank.

Granular app permissions: Have you ever gone to download a cheap Flappy Bird knockoff and been horrified that it wants access to your contacts list, camera and microphone? Well Google’s aiming to put a stop to shady app permissions requests with a new system that will let you grant permissions for apps individually instead of giving them to you as an all-or-nothing proposition in the Google Play Store.

So let’s say you’re playing your Flappy Bird knockoff and the app wants access to your microphone to enable a certain feature you’re trying to use. Now it will ask you for permission to do so and you can deny its request while still being able to play the game as you were before.

Support for fingerprint scanning: Many Android phones already have fingerprint scanners installed but now Google is adding universal support for fingerprint scanning across its entire platform. This likely means we should expect fingerprint scanners to be features in all major flagship Android phones going forward, which should certainly help Google push our next exciting feature…

Android Pay: Yes, Google tried the digital wallet once before with Google Wallet but that never really caught on. Now with the addition of fingerprint scanner support in Android M, Google is giving it another shot with Android Pay. Google says that 700,000 retail locations will support Android Pay when it releases this fall, although whether mobile payments will really ever catch on is still an open question.

Doze: Finally, this feature is designed to combat the ever-present problem of battery drain on Android devices. Doze will use your device’s sensors to tell when you haven’t been using it for a while and it will shut off all your phone’s background activity until you pick it up again. At the very least this should significantly increase the standby battery life of your device even if it doesn’t do much to improve your device’s battery consumption during actual use.

What do you guys think of Android M's biggest changes?

 

[bkdodger]

Doze mode... Dark menus... app data saved..

Android M Feature Settings Now Have Dark Light and Automatic Themes Droid Life

Google May Have Left The Best Android M Feature Out Of The Keynote Automatic App Data Backup And Restore

Tapped by NexusSix

 

[mountainbikermark]

Doze mode... Dark menus... app data saved..

Android M Feature Settings Now Have Dark Light and Automatic Themes Droid Life

Google May Have Left The Best Android M Feature Out Of The Keynote Automatic App Data Backup And Restore

Tapped by NexusSix

Dark stock themes on an amoled screen. Now there's an idea that'll save battery. Who'd have thunk it.

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[pc747]

Between auto backup, app data backup, and themes Google is making root unnecessary, unless you want to flash a rom. Don't get me wrong I'll still root just cause but the reality is it would be just cause.

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

Very interested in Doze. Will be interested to see if it works.

Not that jazzed about the others, though I have started logging into my work laptop via finger print and it's very convenient.

 

[Jeffrey]

Now On Tap is awesome.. Check the vid...

 

[FoxKat]

Now On Tap is awesome.. Check the vid...

Awesome is an understatement. That just blows me away, and put apple and Siri to shame.

 

[popcenator]

That's pretty freakin' awesome. Gotsta me into a Nexus again.

on the move..

 

[pc747]

Smart Lock Passwords Is Now Going Live On Pre-Android M Devices Web Interface Is Active Too

smart lock is going live to devices now, even those on lollipop.

 

[pc747]

Now On Tap is awesome.. Check the vid...

Piggybacking your post with a video piece done by the verge with google.

 

[FoxKat]

Again, this is one of the single greatest advances I have seen yet with Google and the Android operating system. It takes using the phone and utilizing the massive amount of data that's available essentially infinite, across the web to an exponentially higher level. By bringing it in, with its specific context right to the screen without having to say oh let me go search for that. It completely removes the need to leave the app and go to your browser or your search window and try to find it. Furthermore it alleviates the drudgery of flushing through page after page of links that may or may not be relevant. This in fact does that for you and does it completely behind the scenes, seamlessly, and essentially right in front of your eyes where you need it at that very moment. That in itself is a HUGE leap forward.

I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but I wonder if this works while in a phone call. There are plenty of times when I'm on a call and I need to gain access to get contact information or information about a subject matter or location, whatever the case may be. Even needing to pull up let's say a document that was sent to me in an email. If this works within phone calls and I could just say "Okay Google pull up the PDF document for Mr Wright purchase" and have it pop up on my screen, that would be such an incredibly powerful tool for business. Perhaps even more appropriate would be Okay Google forward the email from Mr Wright's purchase which contains the agreement of sale to the title agent Suzy Smith".

I believe that the true personal assistant is far closer as an electronic device as opposed to a human assistant than we realize.