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Android P’s ‘actions’ and ‘slices’ are a whole new way to use mobile apps

Android P’s ‘actions’ and ‘slices’ are a whole new way to use mobile apps

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With Android P, Google is taking an ambitious approach to its user interface design with two new concepts it’s introducing to developers today: “Actions” and “Slices.” Described in detail onstage at the company’s I/O developer conference keynote this morning, Actions and Slices are ways for third-party app features and even visual design to permeate parts of the Android OS, most notably in search and within Google Assistant.

Actions are like shortcuts or recipes, similar to the action terminology Google created for Assistant (or an Alexa Skill created by Amazon), that let a user quickly access a deeper function of an app with the touch of a button or a voice command. Some examples here could be calling a Lyft ride home or reordering your favorite meal from a take-out restaurant. Google says Actions can be created for any third-party app, and they’ll live in Android P’s search bar, in the Play Store, within Assistant, and in a customizable fashion on your home screen.

Image: Google

Slices, on the other hand, are UI designs from third-party apps that will exist, for now, only within the Android P search bar when you go looking for an action like that Lyft ride home. In this case, Android will surface the Lyft icon and the design of the actual app, and not just a mediation of it by way of the OS.

In essence, Google is letting third-party apps exist in full momentarily from within search, which is quickly becoming Android’s most critical tool. That way, you don’t need to constantly switch between apps, get lost in social feeds, or otherwise perform four or five actions when just one or two will do. This is all part of Google’s overall philosophy for Android P: that less is more. By letting apps talk more directly with the OS, Google hopes Android will be more useful, more efficient, and less taxing on its users, and Actions and Slices are two core features aimed at achieving those goals.

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