What to Expect at Google I/O

 What to Expect at Google I/O

 

Google has a lot to do. Since its last developer conference, wearables have taken off, web-driven home automation became a real thing, in-car apps are taking shape, tablets have changed, and a full-on price war for cloud services has begun.
The company has certainly made some moves in these areas, but it's saved plenty of big announcements for Google I/O, which kicks off at 9 a.m. Pacific on Wednesday with the conference keynote in San Francisco. Mashable will be there, reporting from the conference live.

 

If it follows a similar script of previous years, we'll hear from most of the consumer-facing services of Google, from Android phones to Maps, but in the past year Google has expanded its products considerably. It acquired Nest Labs, the maker of the popular connected thermostat, and it announced initiatives to bring Android apps to cars and wearables.
And that's just for starters. Google is dabbling into advanced mobile technology with its Ara and Tango projects. It also made its famous (or infamous, depending on who you're asking) smart glasses, Google Glass, available to all, even though the product is still technically in "beta."
What Google's been up to — and not up to — gives us a pretty good sense of what it's planning to reveal at its big show. Here's what's probably in store for Google I/O 2014.

 

Android Wear

Google announced Android Wear back in March in an effort to both tease some cool products and bring some order to the chaos of wearables, and smart watches in particular. Smart watches function mainly as notification and communication hubs, and with Google spelling out some standards, devs won't need to do much heaving lifting in porting their apps to this exciting — and confusing — new category.

Motorola's Moto 360 smartwatch, which runs Android Wear.

IMAGE: MOTOROLA

We'll also finally get our first taste of Android Wear in real life. When Google revealed it, the platform wasn't nearly as exciting as its flagship device, the Moto 360. Motorola's smartwatch was notable for being the first with a round face, but no one outside of the company has tried it out.
That should change at I/O, and the Moto 360 will finally get a proper debut alongside other Android Wear devices such as the LG G Watch. There's also a possibility that Samsung, one of the most active smartwatch brands, will add an Android Wear device to its growing wearable wardrobe.

 

New Android

The rise of new technologies like wearables and home automation means mobile software needs to advance to keep up. With that in mind, Google is expected to announce the next version of Android at Google I/O, either version 4.5 or 5.0.
We're not sure what sweet treat the successor to KitKat will be called, but rumors say it'll be "Lollipop."
The next Android is expected to bring support to 64-bit processing, finally matching what Apple did last fall with iOS 7 and its 64-bit A7 chip. Processors with 64-bit capability are still more of a future-proofing feature than something practically useful at this point, but it will unlock the doors for manufacturers to start planning devices with more than 4GB of RAM. It'll also mean developers will be able to begin revamping apps to take advantage of 64-bit architectures, potentially making some of them faster and more efficient.
Security is always a big concern on Android, since most mobile malware tends to target it. Google may follow Facebook's lead and allow users to selectively approve which phone features an app can access, rather than an all-or-nothing affair. Extending the Chrome password keychain to apps logins — as Lastpass does now — would be a great convenience, too.
Finally, you can bet on some design tweaks in the next Android. While the overall look is already fairly "flat" — the trend in UI design today — Google will likely clean up a few of the uglier features, like the status bar at the top of the device, which often gets overcrowded with meaningless icons.

 

Android TV

It's rumored Google will re-launch its ill-conceived Google TV platform as Android TV. This makes sense from a branding perspective, although it's still a little baffling why Google is still focusing on this particular smart TV platform after its well-received Chromecast device.
Android TV will theoretically offer developers an easy way to create apps for smart televisions. Presumably those apps will be controlled by an Android smartphone or tablet, although there will need to be a way for the apps to work on their own, too — likely the reason Google thinks it still needs something separate from Chromecast.
A Wall Street Journal report revealed late Tuesday that Google will unveil a new television set-top box at I/O. The company will showcase at least one small set-top box that is similar to products such as the Roku, Amazon's Fire TV, and the Apple TV, WSJ said, citing people who have seen the device, which will have another company's brand.

 

New Nexus Tablet

It's been a year since the second Nexus 7 arrived, and it's due for a complete refresh. All rumors point to a new small-screen Nexus tablet — the only thing in question is how big will it be? Most reports say it'll be an 8-inch device, but those have recently been usurped by talk (and leaked images) of an 8.9-inch Nexus 9.

An alleged leaked picture of the Nexus 9 tablet.

IMAGE: ANDROID POLICE

Which will it be? Maybe both: The Nexus 8 could debut at I/O, and the Nexus 9 could come later, though having two tablets so close in size feels more Samsung than Google. In either case, the coming Nexus tablets could be the last to carry the brand; Google is rumored to be considering renaming the program "Android Silver," with a modified mission, which could also be announced at I/O.
Asus made the last two Nexus 7 tablets, so it makes sense Google would turn to them for the Nexus 8. But there are also rumors that HTC is making it, but that might be the Nexus 9 (if it exists). Since the Nexus devices are meant to showcase what the latest versions of Android can do, there's a lot of credibility in the rumor the tablet will pack a 64-bit Nvidia Tegra K1 chip. But we've heard Intel be involved, too.

Glass, Tango and Ara

Google is developing some exciting platforms in Glass, the Tango device with advanced computer vision, and Project Ara, an ambitious initiative to make smartphones modular — and cheap. Each of these programs will get some buzz at I/O, but since they each hold their own developer events, Google will likely be light on specifics.

Glass could be the exception, since Google had previously promised the consumer version of the product would be available in 2014. We'll probably hear more about how Glass fits into Google's vision of wearable technology, especially opposite the launch of Android Wear. The official announcement of the retail version remains a longshot.

Home Automation, Android in the Car

Google's acquisition of Nest Labs is a done deal, and the company isn't wasting any time in pushing forward the connected-home vision that began with a cool-looking thermostat. On the eve of I/O, Nest opened its thermostat to developers, and it's holding sessions on the conference about exactly how to create apps that work with the device.

Google's Nest thermostat will be able to work with fitness trackers, garage doors, cars and dishwashers.

It might be a little early for Google to announce something as all-encompassing as and Android equivalent of Apple's HomeKit, but you can bet it's in the works. But there's another initiative that we've been waiting for more detail on: Android in the Car. While Google announced the program back in January, it hasn't followed up. With Apple CarPlay arriving soon, now would be an excellent time to show developers how to port their apps to in-vehicle experiences.

 

No Google+

Most Google web services are best in class, but its social network is still a punch line. Google+is certainly more than a place to connect and share things — it's how the company refers to Google services enhanced with person context. However, most people see it as a lamer, nerdier Facebook, and it's telling that there's no mention of Google+ in the I/O schedule.
Google+ may be in for a rebranding. The social stream is active with a relatively small group oftech-savvy users, and while it's probably not going anywhere, the "+" branding may start to appear less and less on Google's other services. That's actually starting to happen already. Most likely, Google simply won't talk much about its struggling social network, apart from maybe its (truly excellent) photo features.

 

Summer starts now

Google I/O marks the last of the major developer conferences. In poker, this is what's called "good position" — Google gets to see what bets Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and others have made before it plays its hand.
In truth, Google has been planning most of its I/O announcements for months, so there won't be a lot of "pivoting" based on what others have done. Still, if the company's been paying attention, it will be ahead of the trends that led to head-turning developments like Apple's "kits" and Amazon's unlimited Fire phone photo uploads.
There are a lot of ideas, technologies and products in the tech world that didn't exist a year ago. Some will succeed, while others will be forgotten. We'll soon find out if Google has bet on the right ones.

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