Here’s everything you need to know about Google’s new smartphone OS Android M

You might be wondering that the Android Lollipop released by Google last year is yet to catch the heat in the market, and it seems to be pretty soon that the Android M has been released. Google has finally made its official by announcing the Android M at the Google I/O Developer conference and it seems that with the new OS, Google would be largely focused on enhancing the user experience of the handset further. Google this time seems to be working a bit more on the code structure of the OS thereby bringing in all the features to its users. So let’s check out what the new OS Android M has to offer.

No more annoying app permissions!

Unlike its previous OS the Android Lollipop, which was a major design overhaul over it’s the then previous one (Android KitKat), Android M is majorly focused on improving the user experience. At the start of the event, Google first declared about the important changes to the app permission that seem to be pretty annoying. The developer preview of Android M, which would be available as Android Lollipop, users can see that they need to respond less often to the app permissions.

This means that suppose you are using WhatsApp and want to send voice message, you just need to grant the permission once, and after which you would never be asked to make use of microphone in apps again. This would apply to all the categories of permissions that have been simplifiedto be more comprehendable for things like “Camera” and “Location”.

However, in case you want to revoke this permission back, you will surely be able to do it through Settings Menu, that allows you to control that whether all the apps or few select only have the access to such permission.

Google Now gets even better

One of the biggest improvements in Android M actually have to do with Google Now — the search giant’s digital assistant. The service is arguably already best-in-class, but thankfully, Google isn’t being complacent.

Google’s digital assistance Android Now is getting an update with its new Os Android M. Even though the service is pretty fine and seamless, Google seems not to have got into complacency and has worked to add new features to the platform. Newly introduced ‘Now on tap’ service will help you understand your context in a much better way than earlier. This will help the Android Now to work even more smartly for e.g. a new message received on Viber that suggests you to go to the restaurant or any such reminder for that sake, will now be followed by Google Now. Just a Home button tap would summon this service which would set a reminder for dry cleaning and would also search for reviews of restaurants and apps that would help you reserve a table in the restaurant.

Such a functionality has been implemented to other platforms as well! For example if you are listening to a music track and you activate the Google Now feature asking for the artist behind the track, Google Now will automatically know whom you are referring to! Another example would be the Google Chrome where if you just highlight the name of the movie star and long-press the Home button to summon Google Now, it would serve all kind of information about him/her.

Android Pay with the native fingerprint scanning support

Well, it seems that Google doesn’t want to be left behind and so to put the competition straight with Samsung Pay and majorly with Apple Pay, Google along with the Android M brings its own wireless payment system called as the Android Pay. The Android Pay will be the extended version of the Google Wallet that would allow for the mobile payments in stores. Android Pay like the Apple Way, is to use the NFC mode with communication to the terminals.

In addition to this, Android M also includes native support for fingerprint scanners, which means that the handset manufacturers no need to make an extra effort to bake a new support. This feature is getting coupled with the Android Pay which is likely to give a boost to the Google’s new mobile payment system.

 ‘Dozing’ a special mode to increase the power efficiency

The battery life for the premium handsets has always been a matter of concern for the users. Manufacturers are constantly working on how to improve the battery life of their devices. The latest Google OS Android M is designed to focus on this aspect and have introduced a special ‘dozing’ mode that would activate various sensors of your device that would determine that you handset is not being used and would enter into the sleep mode. Don’t worry, as even ‘dozing’ being active, it wont stop the notifications and alarms from reaching to your.

With this, Android M would increase the standby time to 2x than that seen on the Android Lollipop. Moreover additional good information is that Google is extending the support for Type C charging ports public.

Direct Share

The gist of the Android experience has always been in easy way of sharing content however this feature needed some serious improvement in case there is a lot many information to be shared or lot many apps. Google seem to have worked on this matter and with its new Android M has also incorporated some smarter suggestions for sharing of content every time. This means that if you share most of the content with a particular friend of yours, Google will put that friend on the first priority as you are likely to share the content in future.

Google is still said to be working on this area and coming out with some very smart idea so that they can be implemented before it is released to its users.

Category wise volume control

One of the other great features of Android M includes the category wise volume control. This means that you can set different volumes for music, alarms, ringtone and similarly to other platforms. This means that there would be a sliding volume bar for all such groups allowing you to set the volume controls as per your need.

Here’s everything you need to know about Google’s new smartphone OS Android M

Android M to focus on better battery life and less RAM usage

This will later, we have the Google I/O event and much talks for the upcoming Android M have already started building up. Well, however, we don’t expect Google to roll-out the update soon but any announcement regarding it would mean a update soon in the coming few months.

Now we have got some fairly reasonable rumors for the upcoming OS. The team at Android Police have shown that Google is focusing much of the “power efficiency” with the upcoming OS. Moreover, the reports show that the company is aimed to reduce the RAM usage during situations like when the screen is turned off or reducing the location checkings.

This reminds of the famous Stamina ode in the Xperia handsets that has managed to successfully reduce the battery life of the handset. It’s just a matter of short time when we would get you with some very official details regarding Android M. Till then stay tuned.

 

Android M to focus on better battery life and less RAM usage

Screenshots of the Google’s upcoming Photo app leak

Well, its just this Friday on the 28^th May when the Google I/O event is to kickstart and many things are surely expected. One of the major thing is the introduction to the new Android M OS and its possible features. This time we have arrived with the screenshots of what is said to be a new stand-along photo app from the search giant. Google is currently planning to separate the Photos from the Google+ platform.

The screenshots show that the images can be backed up automatically and can be retrieved by day or month. One other option includes showing up your pictures in a staggered grid similar to the one in Google+ photo albums. The Other feature includes an Assistant which can create stories, animation, movies and collages from your photos. It can also store some of the photos which would allow users to free some memory. This will be an replacement to the Auto Awesome feature which is limited to creation of movies, GIFs and collages.

Additionally this Google Photos platform will also allow users to search images based on some specific people, objects and animals. Moreover, sharing of the images will be very simpler and easier just like sharing links via SMS or other social media sharing. This will create a custom album where you can select sharing of pictures or albums with the people you want to share. We would like you to go through all the screenshots below.

source: AndroidPolice (1), (2)

via Engadget

Screenshots of the Google’s upcoming Photo app leak

Moto 360 will have an ambient light sensor which other Android Wear devices lack

Motorola’s upcoming Android Wear smartwatch, the Moto 360  is supposed to be launched late this summer. It is the only smartwatch to have a round watch face and according to a video released by TechCrunch, it will have an ambient light sensor in the little black bar at the bottom along with the display drivers.

No other Android Wear device has this ambient light display which will adjust the brightness of the display automatically according to the surrounding lighting conditions. This would save some battery usage of the device. Both the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live do not have such an ambient light sensor and the users have to adjust the brightness manually.

The Moto 360 was showcased in the Google’s I/O last month and it was known that the black bar at the bottom of the smartwatch contains display drivers. However, little else about the watch is known apart from the fact that it could be charged wirelessly.

It turns out that Darrell Etherington of TechCrunch had a chat about the Moto 360 with Motorola’s Cathay Bi at the I/O itself where she showed the working of the device and told him about the presence of the ambient light sensor in the smartwatch (at the1.55 mark in the video). You can watch the video below:

At the moment, the Motorola Moto 360 seems to be a little more advanced as compared to its other Android Wear counterparts and is expected to provide a tough competition to them.

Moto 360 will have an ambient light sensor which other Android Wear devices lack

Google Android Wear: No custom skins allowed

One of the biggest complaints throughout Android’s history has been the changeability of the user interface depending on what manufacturer you choose. There have been fairly large variations between stock Android, TouchWiz, Sense, and others making Android platform fragmented when it comes to personalized OEM user experiences . This is set to change with Android TV, Auto and Wear. Google is actively preventing OEM partners from adding customized elements on the devices recently announced at Google I/O.

Google engineering director of Android & Nexus, David Burke spoke with Ars Technica to confirm that “the UI is more part of the product in this case. We want to just have a very consistent user experience, so if you have one TV in one room and another TV in another room and they both say Android TV, we want them to work the same and look the same.”

Some customization will be permitted; they’ll be able to add custom apps, services, and other small touches, but changing up the overall look and feel is expressly forbidden. On one side this would mean the end of personalized “skins” for hardware to differentiate between the OEMs, but on the rear side of the coin we’re looking at a more consistent Google experience between brands, making it easier to experiment with multiple products.

When it comes to Android Wear and Android Auto, those are more extensions of your smartphone than standalone platforms of their own. And, Google wants to have a seamless upgrade experience for Android TV, similar to what it has created with Chrome. To do that requires the software be completely under Google’s control with no manufacturer customizations.

Both the Gear Live and the G Watch are running the exact same version number and build number of Android. So it looks like Google is going to be able to manage the updates ‘automatic and seamless’ for these devices in a way that it hasn’t been able to on phones and tablets.

 

 

Google Android Wear: No custom skins allowed

Google Cardboard offers Weird respond To Virtual Reality

At the end of Google’s I/O keynote, the company casually said it would be handing out pieces of cardboard to attendees, asking that folks use the #cardboard hashtag to document their experiences.It wasn’t a late April Fools joke from Google, especially after spending more than two hours not doing much onstage.

Instead of spending $2 billion for its own virtual reality technology, Google is taking an absolutely “simple, fun and inexpensive” approach for people to experience VR. “That’s the goal of the Google Cardboard project.” This is probably the most unusual product we’ve ever seen from Google—and there have been some damn weird ones. Maybe that is why Google neglected to mention Glass onstage at I/O keynote?

Google Cardboard is a transformation into an awesome virtual reality headset. Along with the headset, Google launched an Cardboard Android app with a variety of demo applications.It includes Google Earth flyover, a VR-enabled Street View demo,360-degree video viewer where users can drive through Paris and Tour Guide, , where users take a virtual tour of Versailles. But the main idea is for developers to write their own VR apps using the accompanying software VR Toolkit, which was also released in the I/O conference.

Google Cardboard app is a 188MB file that works on any phone running Android 4.1 or later. The app and headset are fully compatible with Google Nexus 4 and 5, Motorola’s Moto X, Samsung Galaxy S4 and S5 and the Galaxy Nexus.With the app installed, you can place the phone inside Cardboard, close it up using the attached Velcro tabs, and an NFC tag inside the box automatically launches the app.

Google has posted instructions for building cardboard of your own.”We’re keeping the hardware and software open to encourage community participation and compatibility with VR content available elsewhere,” Google’s VR Toolkit developer page explains

Q: Can we use a pizza box for the cardboard?

A: Yes. Make sure you order an extra large.

You can also use a diaper box, a package from Amazon, a large-sized cereal box and maybe even an iMac box. Just check your apartment complex’s dumpster for the best and weirdest selection.

 

Google Cardboard offers Weird respond To Virtual Reality

PayPal to bring its official app to Android Wear devices

Online money transfer service PayPal has just announced that it is planning out to bring its official app on Android Wear devices. This announcement came after Google unveiled its wearable device OS Android Wear at the Google I/O last week followed up with the launch of LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live. For the time being, the app would be rolled out through PayPal’s beta channel but would be ready by July 7 that is the official public release date for Android Wear.

PayPal is considered to be the first to venture into such services. The company has earlier been in this segments when it launched few dedicated apps for Samsung Gear 2 and Gear Fit. It seems that the wearable device OS from Google is soon to spread among major corporations like PayPal and others each of them having dedicated apps to solve their purpose in shortest possible time.

The above screenshot shows that PayPal on Android Wear will have swipable slides, just similar to the apps like Google Hangouts that were demoed earlier. With just a scroll or swipe to the right, user can receive messages on payments received or transactions made and much more.

 

PayPal to bring its official app to Android Wear devices

Android One Smartphone Program by Google

Google I/O function has started the program with the news of Android One that is a new company. Now a day, Smartphone program has been struggling a lot to provide good set of features to the android phone.

Android One Smartphone program has introduced the first Smartphone from Micromax that is the company of India. This Android One Smartphone has all the common and important features for the users including microSD card, Dual SIM, low price and FM Radio.

The new Android One Smartphone of Micromax will have 4.5 inch display that costs under $100 according to the report of Pichai. However, no other features specially display resolution was reported during the introduction. But, the price will be lower than the new Motorola Moto E Smartphone.

Android One Smartphone group has one big plus for all the users that the Smartphones will have the latest Android release OS and other updates.

However, Karbonn and Spice will be the next member of the Android One Smartphone program according to the Sundar Pichai during Google I/O event.

Android One Smartphone Program by Google

Samsung Gear Live, Samsung"s First Android Wear Based Smartwatch Announced

Earlier this week, there were rumors that Samsung could unwrap or announce its first smartwatch based on the Android Wear operating system at the Google I/O conference, which they did.

The smartwatch was announced Wednesday and was available to pre-order at Google Play Store the same day and it run Google’s Android Wear operating system. Android Wear is an operating system by Google crafted specifically for smartwatches and other wearbles and was first unveiled in March this year.

Samsung is one of the first gadget manufactures to introduce a smartwatch based on the operating system. Even though there had been no official statements from Samsung about the release or announcement of the smartwatch or it’s specs before the opening of the conference, it was expected to have very much similar features with that of the previous Samsung wearables.

Now that the specs has been released, we know what features and functionalists are that come with the gadget.

Some of the features that come with the smartwatch include Google Voice, Hangouts and other Google services other than Google Now, which is the main feature of this phone. In addition to that, the wearable also comes by default with other features including Heart Rate Monitor, SMS and Email notification feature, and others.

To review the its performances, the gadget has 1.2 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM and 4GB internal memory storage. It has a display size of 1.63″ and weighs 59 grams.

Samsung’s first version of smartwatch was the Galaxy Gear and run Android operating system. But it consumed too much battery. Therefore, Samsung switched from Android to it’s own operating system called the Tizen on it’s subsequent releases of smartwatches i.e. the Gear 2 Neo and the Gear Fit.

A few weeks before the opening of the conference, LG and Motorolla were also companies that were expected to reveal their first smartwatches based on the Android Wear operating system at the conference, which they did. G Watch and Moto 360 were the new Android Wear based smartwatches by LG and Motorolla respectively.

Google I/O is a two days’ developer conference in San Fransisco. Starting from the year 2008, it has been held annually and this year’s conference was held from June 25th to June 26th.

Samsung Gear Live, Samsung"s First Android Wear Based Smartwatch Announced

LG G Watch Full Specs Officially Released, Available for Pre-Order at $229

Google’s Android Wear is specifically designed for wearables. The LG G Watch is one of the first smartwatches to be powered by Android Wear. Samsung Gear Live being the other. The LG G Watch has appeared in Google’s I/O conference and LG has officially confirmed it. After various teasers and leaks in the past few weeks, The South Korean electronics giant LG’s G Watch is finally here.

Here are all the available official details for the LG G Watch such as its specifications, pricing and availability:

LG G Watch specifications:

Display: 1.65-inch LCD IPS with 280×280 resolution “Always-on”

Processor: 1.2GHz Qualcomm®Snapdragon™ 400

Memory: 512MB RAM; 4GB internal storage

Battery: 400 mAh

Operating System: Android Wear (compatible with any smartphone running Android 4.3 and above)

Size: 37.9 x 46.5 x 9.95mm

Weight: 63 grams

Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0

Ports and Connectors: Micro USB on Charging Cradle

Sensors: 9-Axis (Accelerometer/ Gyro / Compass)

Misc: Water and Dust Resistant (IP67); Ok Google; 22mm (0.86 inch) changeable Watch Strap

Available colors: Black Titan & White Gold

LG G Watch Pricing and Availability:

The LG G Watch is available for pre-order at the Google Play Store and is priced at $229. The site says that the device will be “Dispatched from warehouse by 8 July”.

The G Watch will be available for pre-order in 12 countries including US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, South Korea and Japan. It will be available “soon” in 27 markets including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Russia, Brazil and Mexico.

You can watch the G Watch video here:

LG G Watch Full Specs Officially Released, Available for Pre-Order at $229

Google Fit: Android"s New Health and Fitness Tracking Service

GOOGLE FIT revealed during the Google I/O press conference is Android’s answer to Apple’s Healthkit platform.It will be a platform through which Android and Google customers can track and manage their healthcare and fitness data across multiple applications and devices including the newly-announced Samsung Gear Live smartwatch.

Some of the initial partners supporting Google Fit include Adidas, Basis, Nike, RunKeeper, Noom, Runtastic, and Withings, meaning the software will work with the likes of the Fuelband. The problem with all this smart fitness stuff is that the data always resides in individual silos. RunKeeper has your running data, Nike Fuel has another motion data, your weightlifting statistics are stuck in Fitocracy, your weight is tracked by Withings.Google will try to sync all together adequately with Google Fit.

Google will release an SDK in the coming weeks so developers can integrate Google Fit into their Android apps. As an example, Google explained a fitness app from Noom (a company that makes a number of individual fitness apps for weight loss, step counting, and carido training). It presented an integrated view of meals logged, steps taken, and even weight data from a Withings scale. The point is this: With your explicit permission, your fitness apps can share data with each other, giving you a more detailed view of your health and activity.

However, Google has been keen to point out that the user will be given full control over what apps can see fitness data, and will be able to delete data at any time.There’s no word on official availability of Google Fit,but it is likely to debut alongside Android L in the autumn.

 

Google Fit: Android"s New Health and Fitness Tracking Service

Android L and Samsung KNOX together will help separate work and personal data

At the Google I/O event, the Mountain View based search giant unveiled its next version of Android OS namely Android L and this new version is designed taking care of the corporate needs of several entrepreneurs and even other people. In an announcement, Google confirmed that this new Android L version will take care of every needs of people helping them to use the same device for personal and use thereby segmenting the data for both of them.

However, in order to achieve this mark, Google has joined hands with Samsung where the Korean giant’s Knox security system is said to be playing major role in running the core part of Android. This will be a standard feature of Android L that will enable user keeping the personal and work data differently. This will also allow developers and Samsung Knox Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to approach to large masses of people out of the Samsung camp. Senior Vice President of KNOX Business Group at Samsung Electronics, Injong Rhee said “We are delighted with the opportunity to work with Google to help build Android’s enterprise eco-system and establish Android device as the leading choice for businesses. This represents an amazing transformation in workforce mobility.”

In addition to segmentation of data, Google will also allow companies to purchase its apps in bulk and assign them to its employees in bulk too. This feature has been brought in Android L, however Sundar Pichai is keen to bring it to earlier Android versions as well.

Android L and Samsung KNOX together will help separate work and personal data

Samsung"s First Android Wear-Based Smartwatch Could be Announced at Google I/O

According to some reports, Samsung is expected to unwrap its first smartwatch based on the Android Wear operating system at the Google I/O conference this week. Android Wear is an operating system by Google crafted specifically for smartwatches and other wearbles and was first unveiled in March this year.

Samsung is reported to be one of the first gadget manufactures to introduce a smartwatch based on the operating system. Even though there have been no official statements from Samsung about the release or announcement of the smartwatch or it’s specs, it is expected to have very much similar features with that of the previous Samsung wearables.

According to a report on CNET, “Samsung has been working on an Android Wear smartwatch that uses Samsung’s own chips, as well as another model built off of processors from Qualcomm, one person said. It’s unclear which version Samsung will show at Google I/O. Android Wear is Google’s operating system for smartwatches and other wearable devices.”

Samsung’s first version of smartwatch was the Galaxy Gear and run Android operating system. But it consumed too much battery. Therefore, Samsung switched from Android to it’s own operating system called the Tizen on it’s subsequent releases of smartwatches i.e. the Gear 2 Neo and the Gear Fit.

According to reports, LG and Motorolla are also companies that are expected to reveal their first smartwatches based on the Android Wear operating system at the conference.

Google I/O is a two days’ developer conference in San Fransisco. Starting from the year 2008, it has been held annually and this year’s conference will be held from June 25th to June 26th.

Samsung"s First Android Wear-Based Smartwatch Could be Announced at Google I/O

Google releases Android Wear introduction video ahead of I/O 2014

The Google Developers YouTube channel published a video that gives the audience a quick introduction to Android Wear. The video is narrated by Timothy Jordan, a developer advocate at Google. It is designed to introduce developers to Android Wear, the interface and the interactions that the devices will support.

Android Wear is going to be a important part of this year’s Google I/O apart from Google Glass. Timothy Jordan explains what separates Android Wear from Android on a smartphone experience.The UI of Android Wear is better, as it is centered around context and this helps users have all related information at a glance.

It also discusses about its voice-controlled features as well as how notifications from a smartphone can be directed to a device running Android Wear. A really cool things that developers will appreciate is that Android Wear notifications work without the need to write additional code. All in all, the five minute video is mainly focused on developers. There’s even a tease of the upcoming Android Wear App SDK which is sure to be announced at I/O.

If you’re an Android enthusiastic, you may have a quick look into the future of wearable device from Google in this video.

Google releases Android Wear introduction video ahead of I/O 2014

Android L could be announced later today at the Google I/O, launch in later 2014

Just after we spotted the leaked screenshots of “Android L” there is another big news coming our way giving some strong credence to the leak. Head of Google’s Android and Chrome division, Sundar Pichai, in his latest interview to Bloomberg Businessweek, said that the company could show off the next version of Android at the Google I/O that is scheduled today. Pichai said “I want the world to understand what we are doing sooner,” and announced that the OS can be launched ahead this fall.

This could mean a good feast for developers of the OS to work for a good amount of time on their apps before the commercial release of the OS. Looking towards the over active Android development community, it is quite possible that the ROMs leak out even before the official release.

Earlier today we saw a screenshot from what seemed like Android L, which looks more likely now with this revelation coming from the man himself. Google might also be looking to discuss a new Android TV and obviously the future of Android Wear during tomorrow’s keynote address.

We are certainly going to have some big news out there in the next 24 hrs as the Google I/O event would commence and progress. Apart from just the new Android version, an Android TV has also been earlier touted for release at the Google I/O.

Android L could be announced later today at the Google I/O, launch in later 2014

Android L update have appeared in leaked screenshots

Just days ahead of the start of Google I/O, some leaked screenshots are revealing the next major version of Android. Reddit user Doopl has come across two screenshots of what appears to be the “L” release or 4.5 version of Android. The screenshots were found in Chromium Issue Tracker, which were removed immediately after exposure.

The images show a Google login dialog box that looks entirely different than what you’ll currently see on an Android 4.4 device.There’s also an “L” in the status bar on the screenshots. You may recall that when KitKat was leaked early-on, there was a “K” in the notification bar, indicative of what was initially believed to be key Lime Pie. The placeholder letter appears when the device is plugged into a computer with USB debugging enabled.

Another small detail in the leaked images is the bell in the notification bar. This is believed to be a “silence all things” type of mode, similar to the Do Not Disturb feature available on iOS. The status bar on these images is also totally transparent and no longer has the slight gradient that KitKat has.

While we won’t know for sure if this is the “L” version of Android until Google actually announces the thing, there’s certainly some evidence to suggest that this is the real deal. We’ve heard that Google is prepping a design overhaul for Android, and it’d make sense for that design to be in testing over in Mountain View. It’s also worth pointing out that these screenshots come from a device with a screen resolution of 1280×768, which just so happens to match up with the Nexus 4.

We aren’t expecting Google to discuss Android L at Google I/O, since there hasn’t been a whole lot of information on the release yet, but it’s possible the company might surprise us. Instead, we think we’ll hear Google talk about plenty of other topics, including Android Wear, Google Glass, Android TV and much more.

Android L update have appeared in leaked screenshots