Microsoft BUILD and Apple WWDC are over and done with, and as ever, it's Google’s turn to wow us with some exciting new announcements and developments. With a new version of Android in the works along with news pertaining to Android Wear, Glass and the many other weird and wonderful side-projects that Google has going, the I/O 2014 keynote promises to be one of the more eventful show-pieces we've seen from the search giant in recent years. Below, we talk through what's next.
We may be on the eve of Google I/O, but that doesn't mean that the company is going to hold news back for its big opening keynote. Hot on the heels of the news that Glass is now available for order in the UK, Google has also announced that new units will ship with extra RAM and a larger battery, two changes that have apparently come about as part of the public beta the company has been running for quite a while now.
With Google I/O right in front of our face, speculation is understandably rife as to what the search and Android giant will have to say. New versions of Android are usually on the agenda at Google's big developer outing, and we see no huge reason why this year's event would be any different. With that in mind, the next version of Android could be just around the corner, and with the next letter in the alphabet-based naming convention used for Android being 'L,' we may have our first real look at what it is going to look like.
Having spent the best part of a year developing its head-mounted technology in the United States, Google has just rolled out the Explorer Edition of Glass to interested parties in the United Kingdom. At a price of £1000, it works out at roughly the same cost as the U.S. version, and although Google alluded to a wider roll-out across more countries in its announcement post on G+, the UK is the currently the only group of countries officially outlined as beneficiaries of Glass.
The Google Play Store is the focal point of most Android users' digital world; the go-to portal for apps, games, movies, books, music, and other such wondrous content. But even though Google's stringent moderation system ensures that infiltration by malicious software is kept to a minimum, there appears to a fundamental flaw in the Play Store's infrastructure that leaves users potentially vulnerable to having their passwords and personal credentials logged without explicit consent.
With Microsoft's BUILD and Apple's WWDC now done and dusted, Google will be the last of the Big Three to run its annual developer event when I/O kicks off in San Francisco next week, and following on from the recent announcement of its smartwatch-flavored Android Wear software, the search giant's emphasis on the emerging wearables market will likely be atop the agenda. In advance of arguably the biggest date in the company's calendar for this year, an introduction clip of Android Wear has just been released, offering even more of an insight into what smartwatch owners can expect from this extension of the company's traditional mobile software.
Wearable technology is fast becoming the next big battleground for the big tech companies of the world, but a key part of that expansion beyond the smartphone is likely to be health, and Google is reportedly taking steps to make sure it isn't left behind.
Google's chocolatey KitKat 4.4.x flavor of Android is seen by many as a rather incremental bump on 4.3 Jelly Bean, and as such, there's a real sense of anticipation surrounding what's next from the search giant's flagship mobile OS. According to reports and leaks, the next version is currently being referred to simply as "L" at its current developmental stage, and as per some more recent coverage, the so-called "Quantum Paper" movement underpinning the entire process will seek to bring uniformity to Google software in general - irrespective of device or platform.
Want to download and install the latest Android 4.4.3 on your GPE Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One M8 and HTC One M7? We have got direct download links for you right here.
After the 2012 release of the acclaimed Nexus 7 tablet, Google and ASUS came through with an improved, more powerful and refreshed model last year in the form of the Nexus 7 (2013), and this time around, we're expecting the search giant to upgrade its famed line-up once more. With the I/O developers conference almost upon us, the Nexus 8 slate will probably (still skeptical) be showcased as Google's main hardware announcement, and now, we have what appears to be a legitimate leak of the device in photos.
