Counting down to Google I/O 2018

Google I/O is just around the corner.  Developers and Android users around the world are gearing up to see what’s in store for the coming year.  Theories about what the annual conference will entail are floating about, and Google’s recently updated its event schedule.  With last years discussions about AI, VR, and Android O things are sure to be interesting.

So what’s on the agenda for this year?

Android P

We’ve talked about Android P before here at RootJunky.com, and it’s sure to be discussed in a little more detail at the conference.  P (currently Pistachio Ice Cream) was first released as a developer preview at the beginning of March.  It’s featured things such as an improved notification system, notch support, and triangulated position with Wi-Fi for incredibly accurate positioning.  It’s expected that Google will launch a beta program for any interested users soon (and maybe give a few more hints to the upcoming name).

AI

Artificial Intelligence was all the rage at last year’s conference with Google Lens allowing users to scan real life objects and receive information.  Couple this with Google Assistant and Google Home improvements, and AI seems to be at the forefront of every new technological movement. 

Google Assistant appears quite a few times in the current schedule, so it’s sure to be a big discussion topic.  Assistant is already loaded with tons of features, but it would be silly to leave it as is.  One session is titled “Design Actions for the Google Assistant: beyond smart speakers, to phones and smart displays”.

Assistant could be expanding past voice interactions and into visual cues.  Along with the fact that improvements involve allowing 3^rd party app integration, there could be some seriously cool possibilities if the creativity door is open for developers to allow their apps to prompt the Assistant to take action.  Notice how vague I’m being?  It’s because of how open ended these features really could get if the connection is bridged.

AR/VR

In February Google officially released v1.0 of ARCore, the mixed reality development platform, allowing developers to easily integrate Augmented Reality into their apps (way more exciting than I just made it sound).  Our tutorial series shows how to integrate AR into your first app, but ARCore’s potential goes much deeper than what we cover.  I wouldn’t be surprised if plans to improve this platform and potentially incorporate it with Google Lens are underway.

Looking over the current schedule, tons of other topics will be covered in the upcoming conference.  I’ll be one of the many that don’t attend but tune into what I can online.  I’d highly suggest you do the same to stay on top of what’s new in the development world.  Or if you’d prefer, we’re sure to highlight the big parts here.  Stay tuned!