Google I/O: Beyond the name, our favourite mysteries in Android M

It’s that time of the year, when Google goes on a blitzkreig of announcements for its Android operating system, the favourite toys it creates for geeks and the popular topics it invents for the media and bloggers in general. From speculating the next iteration of Android, to the push for Indian names, there’s quite a list of favourite features and announcements we’re eagerly awaiting for Android M. It’s time to move beyond the name, we’d rather focus on the substance. Battery and RAM Android device updates in the recent past have highlighted battery issues that have only been rectified in subsequent updates.

It has been reported that Google has asked the Android team to  focus on battery drain and RAM utilisation for effective garbage collection to ensure a smooth user experience. We hope this results in an optimised behaviour in the next version of Android. Fingerprint authentication The Apple 5S made the world go gaga with the fingerprint sensor that was embedded in the Home button. Soon the Samsung Galaxy S5 had provision to authenticate via fingerprints. It’s time for Google to officially bring it under the gamut of the Android ecosystem and pave way for a seamless authentication system.

Even though companies like Samsung and Motorola have ventured into this technology, a Google-standardised API would further strengthen the Android ecosystem as many Google apps would support it. According to reports, a user on Chrome could potentially sign in to a website via fingerprint authentication on their smartphone. Privacy In a stiff battle between Android and iOS, the one parameter that sets them apart is the security vulnerabilities that have been reported in Android.

To gain an edge over iOS, this is one area that Google needs to overcome. We believe this would be topping the list of priorities for Google. Home Automation A lot’s been spoken of Internet of Things. Besides being a fancy word, there’s currently a long way to go before it goes mainstream. For every connected device, there would be the need for a flavour of Android to power it. [caption id=“attachment_225750” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who gave a big push to Glass. Image: Reuters[/caption] Virtual Reality Well for most practical purposes, the Google Glass is done. Not exactly complete, but routed. Unless it is revived by Google. “It’s less clear what that would look like. Google could surprise us with an entirely new virtual reality headset, or even a revived, VR version of Google Glass. The company said in January it was closing the Explorer program for Glass to focus on developing a new version of the products,” reports PCWorld. Android Wear Similar to the fingerprint sensor, and the subsequent release of the Apple Watch, there now needs to be a concious focus on wearables. Android Wear ought to evolve into a conscious focus with a ramped up SDK and apps that exploit accessories to go with Android devices. [caption id=“attachment_220056” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Google’s vision for a smartwatch shown on a device render for the Moto 360[/caption] Hopefully Android M would be able bring these extended categories such as fitness tracking under one product. Notifications Android notifications have improved with each iteration. We expect better integration of notifications for third-party apps in Android.

Uninstalling apps Tap. Uninstall. Done. We hope Google eases it out for Android users to uninstall apps on their devices. Shouldn’t be too difficult, but for a company that focuses and heavily emphasises on design philosophies and UX, this would go a long way in enhancing customer experience.