What to expect from Google's goodie bag at I/O 2018?

It’s May of 2018, which means it’s only a few days from now until we see Google open its box of techie goodies before the world. Like every year, Google is expected to announce a considerable number of improvements to existing services and announce a bunch of new products that will be rolled out over the course of the coming year. Amongst all of them, some of the major ones are expected to be a new Developer Preview of Android P, Android Things, Android TV dongle and a lot more. Going through Google's schedule for I/O 2018, we predict some of the stugg that Google will thorw at us in a few days.

Android P:

Google released the first Developer Preview of Android P a few weeks ago, which already showcased a set of new features that Android P could bring to consumers later this year. As with Google’s tradition, we might expect the second Developer Preview of Android P at the I/O 2018. We already know that Android P will bring support for display notches as well as a revamped UI in the notification centre and Settings page. However, the upcoming preview could introduce the rumoured Material Design 2, which is expected to refine the existing design guidelines. Google is expected to release the updated design guidelines for developers to update their apps by the time the final build is released to the public.

Apart from a new design language, Android P is also expected to get gesture navigation and the next preview could give us a glimpse. Google accidentally leaked out a screenshot of how the gesture navigation on Android would like — a conventional looking back button and a pill-shaped bar to access the Recents window and the Home button function.

Additionally, Google might officially announce the Slices API for Android. The new API was released in the Developer Preview 1 and is basically meant to display an app’s content outside the app and in Assistant’s result page.

The last thing might be too much to demand but there’s a chance that Google might reveal the name of Android P. Will it be Android Popsicle or Android Peppermint? We can only guess.

Android TV dongle:

After Amazon released its Fire TV Stick, Google has found itself in a fix. Google has a robust smart operating system in the form of Android TV, which is presently available only with expensive smart TVs. In order to capture the market in this segment, it seems that Google is planning a Chromecast-like dongle device that runs Android TV out-of-the-box. An FCC document suggested the existence of a Google-branded dongle device with a remote. If this is what Google is planning, then the Amazon Fire TV stick could find a serious competition. An Android TV dongle would reach more consumers, who want a smart TV experience in their existing TV sets.

Android Things:

Internet-of-Things (IoT) is the latest buzzword and every manufacturer is set to make a mark in this field. Google wants to do it too with its Android OS and therefore has been releasing Android Things developer previews since its announcement in 2016. With Android Things, Google promised a secure IoT ecosystem using the power of Android. Google would be controlling all the updates and would deny manufacturers to modify the software in any way so as to ensure faster update rollout cycles.

Flutter SDK:

The Flutter SDK has been one of Google’s priorities from the past few years. The Flutter SDK offers a powerful app engine that allows app developers to write apps for both Android and iOS platforms. Flutter apps also have to abide by certain UI guidelines across both Android and iOS. At the I/O 2018, Google is expected to release the first Beta so as to allow developers to start writing codes and provide feedback to Google. However, Flutter is also the basis of Fuchsia — Google’s upcoming new OS for tablets and smartphones built up from scratch. Therefore, by releasing a Beta version, Google could accelerate work on Fuchsia and by the time it becomes market-ready, Google will have a robust set of applications made for the new OS.

Android Automotive:

Last year, Google showcased a demo of a version of Android that could become the core OS of a car. This year, Google could show off the next evolution of Android Auto, which is expected to make cars smart. Google could be announcing a partnership with select players in the automotive field and work with them to make Android control most of the car’s functions. However, last year’s demo showed that such a  smart OS would be limited to controlling only the creature comforts and other multimedia elements inside the car — it wouldn’t deal with crucial controls such as engine and brakes.

Google Photos:

Google would also take to the stage to announce some new features for Google Photos. Google mentions a session on the I/O page that says “What’s new in Google Photos”. We don’t know what Google will bring out this year in Photos, but it will be surely involving smarter AI algorithms for sure.

Keep an eye out for all the news related to Google’s I/O 2018 event.

(source)

(Also published on Deccan Chronicle)