The Verge - Google I/O 2014: everything you need to knowhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52801/VER_Logomark_32x32..png2014-06-27T14:56:41-04:00http://www.theverge.com/rss/stream/56061712014-06-27T14:56:41-04:002014-06-27T14:56:41-04:00Material world: how Google discovered what software is made of
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<p>The next era of Google design is about software as substance</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/27/5849272/material-world-how-google-discovered-what-software-is-made-ofDieter Bohn2014-06-26T16:18:10-04:002014-06-26T16:18:10-04:00Google's ATAP group is a 'band of pirates' making the future
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<p>The Advanced Technologies and Products group within Google is the kind of place where the smartest people on the planet might want to make their careers, but ATAP won't let them. Instead, it follows Regina Dugan's DARPA model of innovation: tiny teams pick ridiculously ambitious goals and then try to achieve them in two years — and achieve them at a real, meaningful scale.</p>
<p>Three teams from ATAP presented their progress here at the Google I/O Developer conference. We saw Project Tango, which is making <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/26/5846012/googles-insane-all-seeing-project-tango-tablet-is-coming-to-consumers">wild 3D-sensing, spatially-aware tablets</a>. We also got an update on Project Ara, which is moving forward with <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/26/5845930/google-turns-on-its-crazy-modular-phone-in-public-for-the-first-time">modular smartphones</a>. Finally, we saw a beautiful, touching video based on animations from Glen Keane, who has previously worked on...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/26/5846596/googles-atap-group-are-pirates-who-are-making-the-futureDieter Bohn2014-06-26T15:50:53-04:002014-06-26T15:50:53-04:00Android TV is Google's best chance yet to own your living room
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<p>Google wants Android on every device you use — <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/25/5843146/google-io-2014-highlight-reel">on your wrist, in your car, on your TV</a>. The long-rumored <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/25/5839556/google-reboots-its-living-room-efforts-with-Android-TV">launch of Android TV</a> at Google I/O is one of the most notable facets of that strategy: instead of the old, overly complex Google TV product that failed to gain adoption, Android TV is based on the exact software that’ll <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/25/5841302/google-announces-the-next-android%20">soon roll out to millions of phones and tablets</a>. And while Google failed in the living room for years, the company is taking what it learned with Chromecast, Google Play, and Android to finally build a true competitor to Apple TV and Roku.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most important lesson Google learned came from the extreme simplicity of Chromecast. Compared to the overly complex Google TV, Chromecast is a paragon of minimalism:...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/26/5846506/android-tv-googles-best-chance-yet-to-own-your-living-roomNathan Ingraham2014-06-26T12:46:44-04:002014-06-26T12:46:44-04:00You can now watch Google's entire two-and-a-half-hour I/O keynote
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<p>We've already gone over the <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/25/5842050/the-most-important-things-google-announced-at-i-o">most important announcements</a> from yesterday's <a href="http://www.theverge.com/label/google-io">Google I/O</a> keynote, but if you're after the small details, the entire presentation can now be streamed on demand. Google broadcasted the event live as it happened, but if you missed out, this is your chance to hear all about Material Design and the visual changes it's bringing to Android L. And of course there's plenty of time devoted to Android Wear, Android Auto, and Android TV too. The whole thing clocks in at over two and a half hours, so it may prove a bit much for one sitting. At the very least you can safely skip the video's first 17 minutes; the keynote gets underway at around the 18:35 mark.</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/26/5845996/watch-google-io-2014-keynote-on-demandChris Welch2014-06-26T12:42:28-04:002014-06-26T12:42:28-04:00Google turns on its crazy modular phone in public for the first time
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<p>Speaking today at Google I/O, the technical lead for Project Ara, Paul Eremenko, showed off the progress his team has made since we saw the very early first <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/15/5615880/building-blocks-how-project-ara-is-reinventing-the-smartphone">prototypes this past April</a>. He showed off a functional, form-factor prototype. Which is a nerdy way of saying that for the first time publicly, we saw a modular Ara phone power on. It took its sweet time, but after several rounds of supportive applause from the audience, it booted. And froze. But over the course of the session, the team kept at it to get it past the boot screen (though to no avail). So not the most successful demonstration, but enough to show progress.</p>
<p>Eremenko also announced a challenge for developers. A $100,000 prize for a working module that lets a phone do...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/26/5845930/google-turns-on-its-crazy-modular-phone-in-public-for-the-first-timeDieter Bohn2014-06-26T12:39:05-04:002014-06-26T12:39:05-04:00Google's insane all-seeing Project Tango tablet is coming to consumers next year
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<p>The day after Google gave its developers a vision for the immediate future, Regina Dugan and the ATAP team — "a small band of pirates trying to do cool shit," as she calls them — have taken the stage to talk about a few slightly more ambitious things. One is <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/20/5430784/project-tango-google-prototype-smartphone-announced">Project Tango</a>, the tablets and smartphones equipped with incredible cameras that allow them to <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/25/5445258/this-is-googles-project-tango">see the world in 3D</a>. We've seen it before in prototype form, but the team announced on Thursday that next year, it's partnering with LG to build a consumer tablet that will go on sale next year.</p>
<p>The announcement came after a handful of demos that make clear how much potential Project Tango really has. "Imagine if the directions to your destination didn’t stop at the front door, but to...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/26/5846012/googles-insane-all-seeing-project-tango-tablet-is-coming-to-consumersDavid Pierce2014-06-26T11:45:07-04:002014-06-26T11:45:07-04:00iPhone or Android: it's time to choose your religion
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<p>It’s impossible for Google or Apple to introduce a new feature, let alone a whole new revision, to their mobile operating systems without it instantly being compared to the other’s alternative. The sparks that inflame heated discussions about who’s got the better notifications or smarter multitasking come right from the top of both companies. While unveiling <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/25/5841302/google-announces-the-next-android">Android L</a> yesterday, Google’s Sundar Pichai took <a href="http://d35lb3dl296zwu.cloudfront.net/uploads/photo/image/17433/DSC_3509.jpg">a subtle dig</a> at Apple’s new <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/2/5772600/ios-8-features-and-release-date">iOS 8</a> by saying that custom keyboards and widgets "happened in Android four to five years ago." Three weeks earlier, Apple CEO Tim Cook was more direct in his critique:</p>
<blockquote>Many of [our new] customers were switchers from Android. They had bought an Android phone — by mistake — and then had sought a better...</blockquote>
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https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/26/5845138/choose-your-religion-iphone-or-androidVlad Savov2014-06-26T11:21:52-04:002014-06-26T11:21:52-04:00With Android One, Google is poised to own the entire world
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<p>In the developed world, smartphones are ubiquitous. They’re so common, many device makers have given up on selling non-smartphones entirely. But that’s not the case in the developing world, where consumers are still in transition. This market opportunity has often been referred to as "the next billion," and many companies have made it their priority to focus on it. Research firm <a href="http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prIN24908614">IDC reports</a> that in India, smartphone sales have exploded 186 percent in growth in just the last year, with 78 percent of sales coming from devices priced below $200.</p>
<p>Nokia has made the next billion a big part of its business for years, first with the Asha line of phones, and now with its Android-powered <a href="http://company.nokia.com/en/news/press-releases/2014/02/24/nokia-connects-the-next-billion-with-affordable-smartphones">Nokia X series</a>. Nokia’s new parent, Microsoft, has also...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/26/5845562/android-one-google-the-next-billionDan Seifert