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June 10, 2015
Foundation Capital
Google has set out to capture the next billion customers under the leadership of SVP Sundar Pichai, the driving force behind Google’s just announced new products at Google I/O. His strategy is to capture the colossal opportunity of the Android market: eight out of ten phones purchased last year were Androids. His mission is to simply “use technology to solve big problems, solve them for everyone and do it at scale.” Google is taking massive action to court the device market by creating, improving and designing apps for Android.. This means big opportunities for developers. Personally, what was most exciting to me was Google’s special mention of Appurify, the company I co-founded. Google launched Cloud Test Labs service, which is built upon Appurify‘s technology.
Last year Google provided $131 billion of economic activity for 1.5 billion businesses, website publishers and nonprofits. When they capture the next billion they can conceivably double their revenue stream, but getting there requires an Android solution. Google has planned many cool, innovative products to capture this market.
Here are my top 10 game-changing releases from the conference.
1. Android M: the latest version.
Since Google is putting its resources into capturing the Android market, it vastly improved Android M. Thousands of bugs have been squashed, and the newer version has been polished and upgraded. Google aims to make the Android experience better. By simplifying this version, Google is winning the battle to drive users to its OS.
2. App permissions: Google simplifies access to apps.
Google has streamlined permissions, making it easier to navigate around the apps in Android and making working within apps seamless. Permissions are now more intuitive, giving the user the option to allow or deny the app within the app, so you don’t have to accept all the permissions at one time.
3. Keep your credit cards private: Android Pay easily performs payments.
Their new payments app is simple and straightforward and makes it easy to purchase with a swipe and a click on your phone. Currently there are 700 stores across the US that accept contactless payments like Android Pay. Android Pay uses fingerprints to authenticate so that no one has to see your credit card when you make your purchase.
4. Special announcement: Cloud Test Labs, an in-house Android app testing service.
Built upon the technology of Appurify, the company I cofounded, Cloud Test Labs will allow developers to “walk through” their apps on selected devices, and if they run into any crashes, they’ll get a video of the app before the crash and a crash log to help them debug things. Google says the service will help catch layout issues and show-stopping bugs and allow developers to spot bugs with low-RAM devices.
5. Working in an app and need to add a link quickly? Look to linking to perform a seamless integration.
You can now add a link to the web directly within an app. Or perhaps someone emails you a link to Twitter. You can now jump right to it rather than having to choose between Twitter and your browser each time.
6. Have tons of pictures? Google Photos will painlessly organize your photos.
With Google Photos you can quickly and easily access your photos. Let’s say that you are searching for a photo of your daughter’s graduation or your mother’s birthday. You can tap search, type the name, and instantly your photo pops up. It makes finding the photos that matter most to you as easy as a Google search, has no fee and comes with unlimited storage.
Google Photos is organized into people, places, and things and you can go back as far as when your child was born. It can pull up photos by geotracking and site recognition, so it can easily search for photos of your trip to Paris, for example. The app can share quickly with a tap or move your photo to the clipboard for sharing later. Another great feature is that you can tap and hold to collect photos into a collage, so it is simple to organize any trip, party or event. It automatically backs up from phone, tablet, computer and camera memory cards.
7. Need quick answers to questions? Google Now on Tap is the solution.
Want to schedule Uber for your flight home? Need to research your favorite band while you are on the phone? Just tap the info on–screen, and Now on Tap shares info cards without the hassle of cutting and pasting between apps.
8. Brillo is Google’s new operating system for the Internet of Things (IoT).
Brillo can create a “smart” home, taking traditional devices in the home to make the user experience richer. Imagine coming home, controlling the lighting, temperature and music with the touch of your phone. Brillo is derived from Android, the hardware abstraction layer that can run on physical devices with a minimum footprint. Brillo, uses Weave, the communication software that enables devices to talk to each other, the phone and the cloud. More household items will become “smart,” giving the consumer more control.
9. Expeditions: virtually travel to foreign countries and exotic locations.
The Expeditions program allows teachers to take their students on virtual field trips, visiting exciting destinations like the Sistine Chapel or the Louvre Museum. Teachers with the Expeditions program are equipped with Google Cardboard and a classroom-enabled Android tablet that is in sync with phones provided for each student. When the teacher picks a city or a location, the entire class visits together through Google’s Cardboard smartphone VR initiative. The teacher can immerse each student in a rich travel experience without ever leaving the room.
10. More Cool Features: Doze and Google Cardboard SDK.
The new Doze power-saving feature will know whether your device is in your hand. If it’s not, your device will go into a deeper powered-down state, saving the battery. Google Cardboard SDK is Google’s virtual reality program, which is incredibly accessible. All you need is the YouTube app, your smartphone and Google’s easy-to-construct cardboard phone case.
These new Android features are Google’s core strategy to capture the smartphone market and achieve the next billion users online. Google’s strategy, which creates golden opportunities for developers to design new apps for Android, has placed Google ahead of Apple and Windows Mobile, while Brillo is going to create a new industry on a massive scale for developers to build IoT enabled products. Google’s SVP Sundar Pichai stated he is targeting the next billion mobile users. At the rate they are churning out new Android features, he is blazing the trail for Google to reach those next billion and beyond.