I Went to Google I/O and All I Got Was This T-Shirt

Reading Time: 11 minutes.

… and this Bugdroid, and a lanyard, and lots of stickers, and an Android Things development kit, and a Google Home Mini… oh, and a ton of information.

Ok, so Google I/O was incredibly eventful and exciting. I wasn’t there as a journalist, I was there as an engineer. Still, I took notes, and I experienced everything through the dual lenses of an engineer who also writes in her spare time. This was my first Google I/O, and the largest tech conference I’ve ever been to. It was also my second time in SoCal. As I watch a storm roll through NYC for the second time in 4 days, I miss it so much. My time at Google IO was, at times, fun and informative, and, at other times, frustrating. But, I learned a lot, if not as much low-level details as I wanted, and, fortunately, I can share some of the big items with you.

 

Android P

Google has made the developer preview of Android P available for some time, but it was at I/O that Google showed what it will be truly capable of doing, releasing features that will be in the final version. They didn’t do one thing though: name it! However, they did show us something unique. Google’s working hard to bring machine learning to your pocket to make using your devices easier than ever. However, they’re also working to help you use your devices less. Google focused on three improvements for Android P: intelligence, simplicity, and digital well-being.

Intelligence

One of the first intelligent improvements Google showed off was an adaptive battery. This changes the clock speed and other settings of your phone based on predicting whether or not you’d need it. The phone can make decisions like “Does the app they’re using ever use the full power of this processor?” If not, it can slow the processor down. In Google’s settings, this option alone gave users an extra 30% battery life.

Google is also putting the functionality of your apps within the context of search. Say you go to your search bar on your home screen and type in “John Legend.” Not only will you get links to his Wikipedia page and news articles, but your favorite third party music app could also show search results for John Legend, allowing you to play his latest album or a custom station based off of his music. This is taking parts of apps out of the context of the app itself, into the OS, seamlessly. It’s Android P realizing that you want to do something, not just search something.

Simplicity

Android has had a few buttons on the bottom of their devices for years. There’s the back button, the home button, and a multitasking button. Android works like a stack, a series of app views placed on top of each other. At the bottom of that stack is your Android Launcher, your home screen. So, say you go from Twitter to Firefox by clicking on a link. The back button can take you from Firefox back to Twitter, then back to your home screen. It’s nice, it’s simple, and it’s three buttons where Apple needs none. Of course, Apple’s solution isn’t as elegant as Android’s, but it’s capable of doing many navigation features with gestures. Now Android can too.

Navigation Gestures

A new pill-shaped home button will sit at the bottom of Android P phones, and it’ll be a gesture-based navigation space. This will sound familiar to iOS users, however, the gestures are different. Tapping on the bar will work like a standard Android home button. Swiping back and forth can slide between open apps, so it removes the need for the multitasking button. Also, a back button does appear in apps that use it. Google’s still tweaking this, and the released version may be completely different, but Google’s definitely trying out something new here. Gestures make space for more screen space, so users are going to love this (after they adjust).

Volume Controls

I opened my music app today before putting in my headphones. I didn’t think it was a big deal, my volume was muted. Well, I was wrong. The volume buttons control the ringer by default on Android Oreo, not the media. So, I had to quickly adjust the volume in the control panel. Android P will change that. Not only can visual volume controls be brought up by swiping from the side of the phone where the volume buttons are, but the buttons also adjust the media volume by default. No more blaring music in the office or train!

And More!

Google did a number of other small improvements like this. Power button controls for restarting or locking the screen come out from the side, there’s a new rotate button so you can lock your screen rotation but still rotate on demand, and other little tweaks that make Android P the most fluid-feeling version of Android yet.

Digital Well-Being

If you’re like me, you spend way too much time on electronics. I have glasses just for looking at device screens, and I wear them for most of my day. Google’s push towards helping limit screen time is a great thing. According to Google, 70% of people agree: they want help freeing themselves from their devices.

To help you, Google’s doing a few things. They have a new dashboard, which helps you understand where you’re spending time on your phone. Realize you’re on Twitter too much? Maybe hide the app in a folder so it’s not an impulse tap. This can track within apps as well, so it can tell you how often you do a particular activity within an app as well. These things can help you avoid doing activities that may be keeping you glued to your phone.

Google has also introduced a “Wind Down Mode.” With this, you set your bedtime, and your phone will gradually adjust to help you get into bed and fall asleep. It does this not just by shifting the colors, as the iPhone does, but by going full-grayscale. Not only is this easier on your eyes, but it also is less engaging. You’re less likely to tap on an app with a gray app notification reminder than a colorful one. By making your phone less engaging, you’re more likely to be able to disconnect and go to bed. It’ll also automatically enable do not disturb, so you won’t get notifications that’ll make you want to pick your phone back up.

Google Assistant

Google’s most famous announcement from IO 2018 has got to be updates to Google Assistant. The new voices sound natural, just like a person talking. In fact, one of the voices was generated from voice samples provided by John Legend. Imagine all the voice actors who could provide fun voices now! But that’s not what got the attention of even non-techies. That was Google’s new Duplex. Google Duplex makes your Google Assistant feel like a real assistant.

Let’s say you want to make a reservation for a restaurant between 7PM and 9PM. Tell your Google Assistant “Schedule a reservation for two at Restaurant between 7 and 9 tonight.” Your Google Assistant will try to make the reservation through an online tool the restaurant may have. If the restaurant doesn’t have an online tool, your assistant will call the restaurant. It’ll then talk to whoever picks up the phone and, using a very natural sounding voice, make a reservation for you. It’ll then enter that reservation in your calendar and send you a notification about when your reservation is. This will work for a number of services that require appointments, such as hair salons. Check it out in action below.

The only thing that would be funnier is if Google releases an assistant that can take reservations. Then there would just be two robots talking to each other without any human intervention. What could go wrong?

Google Lens, Maps, Machine Learning, and Augmented Reality

The biggest theme from I/O 2018 wasn’t Android P or other consumer facing items. I/O is more for developers, we’re there to learn what Google’s offering us to use in our apps and services. The thing that constantly came up was machine learning. Nearly every session I went to mentioned it, and Google spoke about AI for a majority of the keynote as well. Not that I’m complaining. Google has been collecting a mountain of data, and they’re finally using it for something other than selling targeted ad space to corporations. Best of all, they’re putting that power in our hands now.

Augmented Reality (AR) for Your Phone: Google Lens

Google Lens and Google Maps will be the first places consumers will likely notice machine learning and augmented reality at work. They’ve been around for years, but will be getting AR improvements. Google Lens will be able to search for items, help you find places to buy products just by pointing your phone at it, and create some cool interactive scenes. Perhaps the coolest thing I saw was copy/paste working on real life objects. In a demo, I saw someone highlight text from a book and copy it to their clipboard in real time. It was pretty cool.

Google Maps

Google Maps will be using machine learning and augmented reality to give you better directions. Your phone will tell you the names of landmarks around you, businesses, and can even overlay directions over top of your camera view. One thing Google’s working on is a little guide that you can follow. In the example, it was a cute fox. I suppose as long as it’s not a white rabbit, we should be safe. Just be careful about what you eat or drink if you follow a rabbit down a rabbit hole.

Google Maps will also use machine learning to figure out the best restaurants to send you to. Sure, you can look for “5 star” restaurants, but Google knows where you’ve been and what you like to eat. Are you like me? Do you get sushi 2-3 times a week? Then Google will know to suggest the best sushi restaurants around you first.

ML Kit

ML Kit is Google’s new toolkit for engineers to make applications and services that use machine learning quickly. Normal machine learning involves piling data through an algorithm to make predictions. It can take a long time for your model to “learn” to predict expected behavior or results. That’s why Google did it for us. With ML Kit, developers can quickly add machine learning tools to their apps, like face detection, optical character recognition (turning text in a photo to digitized text), landmark detection, photo recognition, and more. These tools, powered by Google’s own AI, will make adding machine learning tools to an application a snap. We can definitely expect to see more Android developers taking advantage of this amazing toolkit.

Google News

In the time since Google announced this, I’ve started using Google News. I may have to keep using it before I can make an assessment as to whether or not it actually works well as a primary source of news, but, on paper, it seems to be the best way to not only get reliable news, but also get a range of perspectives on that news. Google News might help us break the fake news bubble, which contributed to our current political disaster. It uses machine learning to find news stories across the net that you’ll be interested in, and makes sure you get the full picture, including different opinions. As long as those opinions are from reliable sources, that is.

Breaking Your Bubble

One thing we’ve been talking about in social circles is the idea of an ideological bubble. Living and working in NYC, one could forget that, outside of our mostly liberal bubble, there lurks racism, homophobia, and religious persecution. NYC is the realization of the American dream: a melting pot of cultures, religions, and languages, unlike anywhere else in the U.S. Therefore, we sometimes forget about the rest of the U.S., and how it still isn’t friendly to everyone. Leading up to the 2016 election, not a single person in NYC doubted that Hillary Clinton would be our next president. Smart, capable, driven, progressive, fair, and tough. How could anyone not vote for this inspiring woman?

Most of my friends and coworkers were utterly shocked, but perhaps if they had been reading news outside of their normal circles, keeping acquaintances outside of New York, they would have seen it coming too. I came from rural Pennsylvania, “Pennsyltucky,” where I saw the vitriol against LGBTQ people, minorities, and Muslims first hand. Living in NYC, I try to find a balance between keeping toxicity out of my life, while still trying to listen to the other side. It isn’t easy, especially when so many conservatives are sharing fake news. But Google News fights these bubbles on two fronts: with reliable sources, and “Full Coverage.”

Full Coverage is the name Google gives to its new algorithm to find the same news story across sources. You might see a story on your feed from a source you typically read from or are more likely to enjoy, and, upon tapping full coverage, you’ll get more information from other sources. It’ll help you find more stories that you may not have otherwise read. Some of them will be from sources that you don’t typically read, like a sports new story that corresponds to something you’re reading, while others may be opposing viewpoints. Either way, you’ll get an experience that helps you become more informed, both of the facts, and on other people’s opinions.

Fighting Fake News

Fake news from sources like Breitbart, InfoWars, The Blaze, RedState, the National Enquirer, Patribotics, Occupy Democrats, and others won’t end up on Google News. In fact, from the chart above, you’ll find few items from the bottom block, the least factual and most partisan news. You’ll still see some things from a few tabloids or fake news sources like Fox News, the Daily Mail, and partisan sources that don’t always tell the full story like The Huffington Post, but most of your news will come from reliable sources.

Google does this using machine learning, of course. It’ll find sites that have been curated by humans for being factual, as well as for news sources that back up their reporting with fact checks and multiple sources, and actual photographs. Google wasn’t specific about how they’re eliminating the worst fake news, however, it seems as though they may use third party services, as Facebook as begun doing, to help sort out fake news and media bias.

Supporting News Sources

When Google was announcing Google News at Google I/O, I perked up at this objective. Google wanted to help users support their favorite news sources! This is huge, as the journalism industry is dying. People expect their news to be free, and, as a result, they’re getting more small blogs (like this one), which can’t always be independently verified for honesty (but you have my word!). Even reputable sources have been forced into “both sides” journalism, that is, presenting the arguments without researching the facts in an attempt to remain “impartial.” This kind of reporting hurts scientific discussion, as well as vulnerable minorities.

News sources can’t be supported by ads, and people are reluctant to pay for their news. Furthermore, Google’s news efforts until now have included Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), which strip ads from news stories, leading to lower revenues for blogs. They also forced content publishers to use AMP if we want our stories to show in Google results, so we’ve been forced into a self-destructive pattern. We need more views on our ads, but Google’s stripping our ads to trade us for views. Did Google finally have a solution?

Unfortunately, no, they don’t. Google News will help you support news sources by allowing you to subscribe to paid journalism in-app, and show you stories from your subscribed sources, but it won’t help publishers any other way. The exposure in Google News may help publishers get more subscribers, however, since Google’s still scraping ads, “the little guy” is still out of luck. Google hasn’t even added ways to “tip” journalists. Sites that rely on donations, like The Guardian and—frankly—Leaf and Core, won’t be able to make money at all through Google News.

Comparing to Existing News Aggregators

This warrants a longer review process, but upon first glance, I’ve enjoyed Google News. Flipboard has been my primary news aggregator on mobile, with RSS feeds serving me on my desktop, but Google News could replace it. I especially like Google’s focus on providing the whole story, and making news stories personal. Local news shows up in Google News, which can be harder to get in Flipboard or Apple News. I’ll need to play with it more, but, despite the fact that it still doesn’t solve our issue of actually paying journalists for their work, it does help give users a “big picture” version of the news, and that’s definitely something we need right now.

Developer Tools

I’ll gloss over these because, while they’re very interesting to me, I’m sure many of you aren’t interested in a summary of Android Studio, Android Jetpack, Nitrogen, Android X, App Bundles, App Slices, or any of the other new tools Google is giving us to make our Android apps better. However, I will tell you that you may see smaller apps, more rapid app updates, and features from your favorite app leaking into the Android operating system. You might even notice fewer bugs, as Google has made testing easier. If you are interested in Google’s new development tools, you know where to find them: https://developers.google.com.

Tips for Future I/O Goers

I decided to include this section at the end because I never see anything like this on news websites. We report what was revealed at these conferences, never speak about the actual conference itself. So, here are a few tips for future I/O attendees, or attendees of any large conference like this.

1. Bring lots of sunblock, and reapply often. I didn’t reapply often enough, and ended up with sunburn.
2. Relax! Don’t stress about rushing to sessions. Most will be available online later, and you’ll miss the forest through the trees. Only go to the most interesting ones.
3. Go to hands-on sessions. These can show you the technologies you’ll be able to use in a fun way, giving you ideas on how to use them.
4. Go to meetups. People are working on cool projects, and it can be a great networking tool.
5. Leave your hotel/house early. The lines will be long.
6. Don’t wait in line too long for anything, just find something else to do.
7. Bring a hat or visor and sunglasses. A hat will cut glare, even if you’re wearing sunglasses, and you should never be outside on an even partly sunny day without UV protection on your eyes.
8. Google’s Code Labs are cool. Don’t waste your time doing them at I/O, go home and do them online.
9. 

   I was this close to Phantogram and Justice. You can’t beat that.

   Go to the social events. Go to the concert. It’s a ton of fun and you’ll need these to unwind a little.

10. Take notes. Your company will want them, and you might be a blogger who will want to write about it later.
11. Let yourself have fun! Yes, you’re probably there for work. Ok. Take time to do other things. You may find it benefits your work to explore too.

I had a lot of fun at Google I/O. Sure, there were things Google did wrong: the food situation wasn’t very good, sessions were tough to get to, the lines were too long, there weren’t enough interactive things to discover, and the ride hailing situation was a mess, but overall, it was informative, I learned a lot, and it was fun. If you have the opportunity, I definitely recommend going to events like these. You’ll learn, you’ll make new friends, and you’ll have a great time, even if you’re socially anxious like me.