Date: April 03, 2024
Google is hosting its annual I/O developer conference for the fourth year in a row. All the tech lovers around the world tried to get a sneak peek of the event. Few got lucky who were able to get tickets for the conference. However, many people aren’t able to watch the keynotes. We have decided to provide you with some crucial highlights from the ongoing Google I/O 2019 conference.
By the way, did you know? Google made this year's conference a “No Parking Event” in order to reduce traffic congestion. Well, keep on reading for more insights about the event.
Here are our best picks from the Google I/O keynotes.
At the ongoing Google I/O 2019 event, the tech giant launched the latest series of its Pixel smartphones, Google Pixel 3a, and Pixel 3A XL. However, we already had the little idea of what will be the specs and price of the Google Pixel 3a, thanks to the earlier Pixel 3a series of Leaks and Flipkart launch teaser.
#Pixel3a has arrived and its camera is worth all the hype and all the captures. And the best feature? Get all this for only $399. pic.twitter.com/nuzzym3Q5k — Made by Google (@madebygoogle) May 7, 2019
The Pixel 3a series will be available from May 15. It is set to compete with the likes of Apple, OnePlus, and Samsung in the rapidly growing premium smartphone category.
On day 1 of the Google I/O conference, company’s CEO Sundar Pichai said,
“Building for everyone” is the principal philosophy for Google.
Price of Pixel 3a series: The cost of Pixel 3a is $399 and the Pixel 3A XL cost is $479.
The Pixel 3a and Pixel 3A XL is a company’s effort to tackle the problem of declining sales of their smartphones as people are not willing to cash out $1000 on smartphones each year.
Google’s Live caption will prove to be a boon for deaf and hard of hearing people. I would say not only deaf people, even the movie watchers will also like this feature at the time of watching low-voiced movies on their smartphones.
"It feels like such a simple feature, but it has such an impact on me." In collaboration with the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community, we built Live Caption to automatically caption media playing on your phone. #io19 pic.twitter.com/gSwiZFHqNX — Google (@Google) May 9, 2019
Live captions will enable you to get a real-time transcription from any video in all apps and even the live ones. Live captions use a local machine learning technology rather than a cloud storage and you won’t even require an internet connection to it.
To use it, you need to go to the Android's accessibility settings, then a new button will display below the system volume slider. By tapping on it, a black box button will appear on-screen and will start showing you captions.
Google Assistant is one of the most interesting products that Google proudly shows off. And to no one’s surprise, Google Assistant was one of the main highlights of Google I/O Keynotes.
Google announced at the I/O conference 2019 that its Google Assistant can now run locally on phones. It will be 10 times faster as from now on, it can do tasks with zero latency. It got a major speed boost. In the demo, it was impressive to view Google Assistant doing various functions without any lag or slowdowns.
Previously, it needed to go through 100 GB of data to understand the tasks assigned by the user. After today’s announcement, the data has been shrunk to 500MB.
#HeyGoogle, let's drive: Coming this summer on @android phones, the Google Assistant’s new driving mode features a thoughtfully designed dashboard with personalized suggestions for navigation, messaging, calling and media. #io19 pic.twitter.com/epJoJdqhX5 — Google (@Google) May 7, 2019
By just saying “Let’s Drive”, Google Assistant will put you into the driving mode and will show you navigation shortcuts.
Google has launched a new version Flutter, v1.5 in the ongoing Google I/O conference. In the new version of Flutter, Google’s mobile framework has officially become the multi-platform UI framework and adds the support for web, mobile, desktop, and embedded devices also. Flutter’s aim has been expanded to create “the best framework for developing beautiful experiences for any screen.”
Flutter team elaborate in the Google I/O conference,
“This was triggered both by internal teams within Google who are increasingly relying on Flutter, as well as the latent potential of the Dart platform for delivering portable experiences.”
Flutter for Web
Google displays a technical preview of the 'flutter for the web’ showcasing its design to create “highly interactive, graphically rich content.” It is expected that the team will instantly build the code, with a particular focus on performance, and harmonizing the codebase with the rest of the Flutter project.”
Flutter for embedded devices
Google finally offered Flutter for embedded devices. The Flutter team released samples displaying FLutter running on smaller-scale devices like the Rasberry Pi. An embedded API for Flutter is also provided by Google Automotive, Google Home, and others.
From now on, Android Q beta 3 can be downloaded on your device. The latest Android Q beta version now features Dark Theme for each Android app. In the previous Android Q beta version, there was no option for turning it on/off.
What’s new with #AndroidQ? Read up on the latest: https://t.co/6PtejHxD55 #io19 pic.twitter.com/YBBzcoATq8 — Android (@Android) May 7, 2019
Manual selection of inverted app colors or it can be opened via battery saver mode.
The dark theme is true black instead of dark gray and will help in reducing battery usage.
New feature Focus mode has been added that will enable you to choose specific apps that you wish to ignore during a period of time.
A new account liking feature has also been added to connect parent accounts with kids. This new feature will help the parents in setting up the restrictions for apps.
Added Support for 5G natively.
In the newer version, Smart Reply will also start being featured on third-party chat apps. You can also expect the suggestions to pop out from Google Maps when you get a message about commuting or address.
At the Google I/O 2019, Google indicated to bring podcasts into the search results directly. The news about this was first surfaced a few months ago but now it is finally set to roll out and you can personally be able to see it yourself in the Google search results.
Google Podcast, Head of Product, Zack Reneau-Wedeen, stated,
“Rolling out this week, you’ll be able to search for and play podcasts directly on Google Search across Android, iOS, and desktop browsers, a step toward making audio a first-class citizen across Google.”
Rolling out this week you'll be able to search for and play podcasts directly in Google Search across Android, iOS, and desktop browsers, a step toward making audio a first-class citizen across Google. pic.twitter.com/29ohC7W9z8 — Zack Reneau-Wedeen (@ZackRW) May 9, 2019
Searching for a podcast on Google will show you a pile of “Recent episodes.” By selecting any will send the users to podcast.google.com. If you will play these podcasts, it will display you with play/pause controls and playback speed also. There is also a sleep timer in the podcast feature but it is only available on the mobile version.
Kotlin programming language has been used by Android for two years already. In past years Java was the most influential but due to the increase in Kotlin’s popularity, Java is no longer the king in the Android development.
In the Google I/O conference, the company announced that Kotlin is the preferred language for developing Android-based apps.
Chief advocate for Android, Chet Haase, stated,
“With that, it makes sense for Google to increase its Kotlin support. We’re announcing that the next big step that we’re taking is that we’re going Kotlin-first.”
Currently, Kotlin is used by more than 50 percent of Android Developers and according to a recent survey, it is in the 4th position of the most loved programming language.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai lays his emphasis on 'Privacy is Present’ at the ongoing I/O 2019 conference. Google Maps was facing criticism for tracking the user’s navigation data even when the user is not opening Google Maps. And in order to reduce location and search tracking, Google Maps will soon add Incognito mode.
Google Maps meets AR. Rolling out to Pixel phones, starting today. #io19 pic.twitter.com/rDBxvbZyF8 — Google Maps (@googlemaps) May 7, 2019
The new Incognito feature will be available for both the web and on the app. It was rolled out after Google declared that it would add an Auto-Delete feature.
The AR feature will help users understand Google Maps better. It will provide more visual cues to prevent users from getting lost. The directions can be viewed in a camera view and will place arrows in physical space.
In the Google I/O conference 2019, the Google Lens gets a major update adding AR mode. Now, Google announced Google Lens can search an exact dish on the menu and add photos of that dish based on Google Maps information to give you an idea of how it looks in reality.
And with this new upgrade, if the camera is on a bill receipt of the food then the calculator will pop out and will help you in splitting the bill and adding a tip for the waiter.
Google has announced a new change to the Chrome that will aid in loading image-heavy websites faster. However, the new addition is currently available in the trial version of the Chrome, Chrome Canary.
Chrome Product Manager, Tal Oppenheimer said at a Google I/O 2019 conference:
“Modern websites are more visual than ever, using lots of beautiful high-resolution imagery. But loading all those images at once can slow down the browser, and can waste the user’s data by loading unnecessary images that the user never actually sees.And it can be hard to get the quality experience you want for your business. So we wanted to make it incredibly simple to have a great image loading experience on your site.”
You can try this out after inserting the new loading attributes into the image tags and the rest of Chrome will be handled by including factors such as the connection speed of users.
Google has announced it is opening up its Smart Display for developers to create games. But it is yet to be open to third-party app developers and is currently available for full access to Google’s first-party services. Developers can currently develop Google Assistant enabled features for these displays, starting initially with games.
Introducing #nesthubmax, the ultimate smart display built with a screen that’s big enough for everything from video chats to YouTube streaming. #io19 pic.twitter.com/iJe4CNeZND — Made by Google (@madebygoogle) May 7, 2019
For this upgrade, Google is launching a new API, Interactive Canvas, that will enable the developers to develop full-screen moments.
Here are the details from this year's Google I/O conference for developers and tech enthusiasts.
Google I/O Dates: May 7 to May 9, 2019
Google I/O Venue: Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
This year's Google I/O event will be taking place in the same location as last year. Google I/O 2019 is a 3-day event which will be starting on the 7th of May and will be ending on the 9th of May, 2019. The conference will kick off at 10 a.m. in the Pacific Times.
Glad the transmission was received:) See you at Shoreline Amphitheatre May 7-9 for this year's I/O! #io19 pic.twitter.com/CXWpQR4Eza — Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) January 25, 2019
Here is the detailed Google I/O schedule. With the help of the Google conference schedule, one can bookmark these events and attendees are advised to reserve seats and rate sessions.
Let’s take a brief look at the expected Google I/O announcements. It is likely that Google's I/O announcements will include the release of its most awaiting Pixel 3a series, Pixel Watch, Android Q, Android Assistant, Fuchsia Os, and Google Coral.
The Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL have been on everyone’s attention for a few past months. Chain of rumors about a less expensive Pixel device began in 2018. According to the sources, the Pixel 3a series will launch on the opening day of this Google event.
Recently, Flipkart also released a Pixel 3a series launch teaser on its website indicating the release dates of the Pixel 3a series. The Pixel 3a price is supposed to be around $399 and the 3a XL will cost $479.
For the past year, Google has been denying any plans to launch a smartwatch to compete against leading brands like Samsung and Apple. But it seems like things have changed in 2019 as the company recently closed a deal worth $40 million for buying the smartwatch technology from the well-known name Fossil.
Even though we know that Google's I/O event is not focused on product launches, we can surely expect some announcements being made regarding this context or any updates regarding their Wear OS.
What Android Pie? Now, let's move on to the next one, i.e., the latest Android operating system version update: Android Q. There's no denying the fact that Android Q will remain the center of attraction in this year's Google I/O conference as it will be the 10th Android OS.
One of the most famous ones among them is Dark Mode, which is said to provide an easy-on-the-eye viewing experience and will also be saving the battery of the mobile device.
Another upcoming Google product that is going to announce at this year Google conference is Nest Hub Max. A month ago, Google leaked an image of new Nest Product. The new product of Nest series has been named as Nest Hub Max.
The expected specs of Nest Hub Max will include 10.1-inch LCD display, Amlogic T931 SoC, 1280×800 at 150ppi resolution, 12MP Sony IMX277 “Nest” camera, 2GB of RAM and Stereo speakers.
The Nest Hub Max is expected to cost at $150. It could come with security features that are better than camera-less Home Hub. It is going to be a complete package. We have this much information only about Nest Hub Max, the other revelations will be announced at Google I/O conference.
At this year Google conference, we are expected to see another demo of Google Stadia. In March 2019, Google disclosed its cloud gaming service ‘Stadia’ that is set to compete with Apple Arcade. The company has not revealed much about its gaming service but one game that is expected to come for sure at Google’s gaming platform is Bethesda’s majorly anticipated shooter Doom Eternal. Initially, Stadia will launch in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Europe only.
As we have already witnessed in the CES 2019 Las Vegas, Google really cherishes its voice-powered assistant and is constantly looking for new ways to make it better and more efficient.
Our guess is that a variety of few features and updates will be added to the Google Assistant this year.
We can say that Fushsia OS is more like an attempt made by the company in order to unite the entire set of tech provided by them in a single operating system.
Apart from this, there are a ton of rumors about the Fuchsia OS but none of it can be stated as confirmed yet.
Last but not least, we have Google Coral in our list! A set of new AI hardware tools by Google are known as Coral. It can also be referred to as a secretive device that was recently surfaced.
Some details regarding this device are as follows:
6GB RM
Android 10.0 version, i.e., Android Q
Snapdragon 855.
A frequency of 1.78 GHz
If you are not able to get the ticket for this year’s Google conference then don’t get upset. The two keynotes and all sessions will be live streamed on Google I/O event official website’s main page.
In case you miss the online session of the Google conference then you can watch the recordings of it on the Google Developers Youtube channel.
So these were all the updates that you need to be aware of that this year’s Google I/O Developer Conference. In addition to this, we will cover all the major Google I/O highlights.
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Arpit is a dreamer, wanderer, and a tech nerd who loves to jot down tech musings and updates. With a logician mind, he is always chasing sunrises and tech advancements while secretly preparing for the robot uprising.
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