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Apple and Google Latest Technological Innovations: See Google I/O and Apple WWDC Outcomes

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Vlad Dm
Apple and Google Latest Technological Innovations: See Google I/O and Apple WWDC Outcomes

Nougat is no longer the sweet of the year: Android O is coming

We are going to start with the traditional announcement at Google I/O keynote: the new version of Android OS - Android 8.0 or "O", the name that's still kept secret. Good news for Android developers! Most of the features that are now available in the new Android O do not require them to write additional code. Perfectly fitting APIs are ready for integration into mobile applications. However, beware of some behavioral changes that you should take into account before adapting them to your app.
 
Android O new features
What's new in Android O?
 
Let's take a closer look at new features we are about to experience in Android O (beta version is already available).
 
Picture-in-picture
The "picture-in-picture" mode allows user to watch videos in separate windows of other apps. This long-awaited feature that is already available in iOS, makes it possible to use two apps at the same time.
 
Autofill
Autofill is another interesting feature. It was designed to help users allocate phone numbers, addresses and company names. With the help of auto-saving technology, the system will offer logins and passwords from Chrome for a particular application. So, after saving the data from a Twitter account in the browser, you can get it in the application itself.
 
Notifications
Shortcuts to application icons in the new Android will show notifications the same way as iOS does. The user will be able to open a menu with alerts with a long press and, if necessary, respond or remove them. Users have the opportunity to configure notifications in more detail. In particular, they can be delayed from 15 minutes to an hour. Many apps already support this function, but the official Android support makes it easier for developers since this function will work on all devices.
 
According to Google, the following functions are designed to increase the app's performance and user interactions.
 
Project Treble
Project Treble, which wasn't officially presented on I/O, but was announced a few days earlier. The project is focused on how Google can accelerate the update of Android OS on different devices. Project Treble separates the vendor-specific implementation of Android OS updates by adding a layer between them.
If this project succeeds, it will be a great relief for developers who now have to support users with devices running on older versions of Android.
 
TensorFlow Lite
TensorFlow Lite is one of the most popular AI libraries on GitHub and its lite version is optimized for apps. This library helps to use the hardware acceleration of neural computing on phones.
TensorFlow Lite
Play Console Optimizations. Developers can scan applications to pinpoint the main problems that cause battery consumption, glitches and a slow user interface.

Kotlin - a new programming language for Android

Android has received support for the programming language Kotlin, created by the Russian company JetBrains. Kotlin turned out to be an excellent language that will simplify the coding for Android apps and may create serious competition for Java.

Android Go - a lite version of the Android O for inexpensive smartphones

In addition, Google has announced a "light" version of its operating system - Android Go. It will optimize performance on low-end smartphones and reduce the traffic consumption. Apps that are optimized for low-power devices will be displayed on Google Play in a separate collection.
Android Go opens up new opportunities for developers. Google is promising to release tools and instruction for developers to start writing mobile apps that will be optimized for Android Go.

Google Assistant for iPhone

Google is also working really hard on speech recognition functions. That's why they created Google Assistant and presented it at last year's conference. This feature is aimed at making users' interaction with the application easier. Now they don't need to enter long search queries, they can simply say what they want and the app will show the relevant result. The best thing is that Apple products owners can take advantage of Google Assistant for iPhone.
 
Google Voice Assistant for iOS
Google Assistant for iPhone
 
Google Voice Assistant SDK is freely available and can be used directly in Android apps. In addition, Google Assistant will also be available on iOS and Android TV.
 

Google Lens

This Google latest technological innovation, in contrast to speech recognition, is aimed at recognizing images using the phone's camera. For example, you point your camera at a flower, and the virtual assistant tells you its name. Point the camera directly at the cafe sign and you'll see detailed information about it.
 
Google Lens
App with Google Lens

VR and VPS

Google's VR subdivision continues working on its VR-platform Daydream. The Daydream View headset is still only supported by a few smartphone models, but in the fall of 2017 the list will be replenished with Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus.
Google also announced that the independent headsets for Daydream will be produced by HTC and Lenovo. It is expected that their devices will appear on the market before the end of the year.
 
In the field of augmented reality, Google introduced VPS. So, what is a VPS? Visual Positioning Service (VPS) is Google new technology of positioning. The solution will allow you to orientate yourself not with the help of satellites, like GPS does, but by using of objects surrounding the user.
 
What is a VPS?
Visual Positioning Service from Google

What's new at Apple's WWDC read at full article Apple and Google Latest Technological Innovations

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