Android M and Google I/O – Round Up

This is all you need to know about Google I/O 2015, from Day One. Android M was announced, along with some updated Google Now Features (which I guess fall under Android M but hey…).

So lets talk about Android M, Google’s latest iteration of their free mobile operating system. Right now it is just a developer version, but  will be rolling out over the course of likely the next year or two… On that note, Android Lollipop install base is incredibly small, with many devices still only just getting a kitkat update. A perfect example of that is that my personal Moto G, a supposed stock Android phone, only got the update to Lollipop in January (there or thereabouts) – a full 6 months + after Lollipop was released in full.

So anyway, the point. 6 new key features, plus a bit of Google Now awesomeness. I’ll round up the benefits point by point, but if you want more detail or just want to here it from the source, check out the video at the bottom of this article from the berge, which should tell you all you need to know!

First things first, they have revised App Permissions, something I didn’t really think was broken, but the fixes they have done are pretty awesome. Currently, in android Lollipop, when you install an app, it gives you a stupidly long list of permissions you have to agree to otherwise the app won’t install. In M, the permissions are granted piece by piece, as an when they are needed – and don’t affect installation of the app – just its use. So, say you want to send a voice message on WhatsApp, the first time you hit the record button, you’ll get a popup to say ‘Do you want to grant permissions to this app?’ and you can allow or deny. You can also very easily remove specific permissions for specific apps by simply going to the settings menu and turning them on or off.

Next up is a more subtle revision, of a more developer nature. Chrome now has a ‘custom tab’ option, which allows applications to effectively have custom web browsers built in, while still having the benefit of being signed in to all your stuff, having autofill and saved passwords work and having all the other cool Chrome features – with tighter integration and faster, more responsive use. Not too much to say on that one.

This one is again a bit more of a developer option, with a cool benefit for the end user. Android M allows developers, like Twitter in this example, to get android to auto-choose what program you should open a link in, instead of giving you that ‘Which one of these 30 applications do you want to open this in’ popup. Personally I think this is pretty cool, but again a more developer feature.

While this is pretty big, I must say I’m not surprised – but happy at the same time. Android Pay (much like apple pay) uses NFC to make contactless payments for your every-day goods. While there haven’t been a billion details announced, it looks to be very simple and intuitive, you get notifications every time you pay, you don’t need the app open to pay – just unlock the phone, and it is pretty secure. From what I understand, this works just like a Visa contactless card, so doesn’t require any special treatment like Apple pay does – something I am very happy about! The speaker mentioned security, and a bit about how it works, and I must say I’m impressed. Google automatically (in a fraction of a second) verifies the seller and customer and the transaction, it then generates a bank account number where they pass the cash through, so the seller never sees your real account info, then removes the funds from your account and, using the generated account number, pays the seller. I know that isn’t really that cool but man I think that’s awesome! You can also use multiple cards and accounts as far as I know, and those too are pretty secure.

Something he tagged on the end of Android Pay, is their full fingerprint sensor support built into the OS. Again this isn’t much of a talking point, other than it is a really nice feature for anyone with a fingerprint sensor.

 

Finally, he talked a little about the charging capabilities. With USB-C fast approaching consumer devices, Android M is ‘prepared’, with the ability to not only charge at stupid fast (but intelligently controlled) speeds, but can also be used to power other things, meaning if your phone is fully charged but your bluetooth speakers need a jolt, you can power them from your phone! Cool, but slightly impractical considering battery life of phones currently! Nonetheless a nice touch.

One last bit about Google Now, then I’m done. I promise! Google Now has basically become what it should have been a while ago, with the ability to voice search anything from inside any app, or anywhere on the phone with a single touch or ‘OK Google’ command. This is nice, even if a tad creepy, and means that you don’t have to go to the home screen, just to search something in reference to an email of web page you were on. Speaking of email content, if you double-tap the home button in stock Android M, Google now will scan the page for context, and try and answer your question or query with reference to the page you are on. This is great if you have an email inviting you to dinner, and you want to know more about the restaurant, how to get to it or even just set a reminder to go the the dinner later on. This doesn’t just work in email, and app that has been indexed by Google works, and I believe that list is rather quickly growing (so no real worries there for any mainstream apps). I personally really like it, and am excited to try it out and see what it is like!

So there is your round up, hopefully you have learned enough about Android M to keep your beak wet, and obviously stay tuned to techteamgb.co.uk for updates as and when they are available! Let me know what you think of the new update, and whether or not you think you might get the update before this time next year!

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