Google I/O 2016: Assistant, Home, Allo, Duo, Android N, and More

[mejsric]

I thought this was MacRumours. I don't want to read about Android crap

Actually this is not MacRumors anymore, probably the website name but content it's actually not and the members also overshadowed by Apple haters.

 

[rikscha]

Google Home looked good at first, until you realise that all the stuff the family is doing in their video is something it might do in the future.. Ridiculous to advertise features it is not capable of.
Right now it can't do much more than amazon's box.

 

[bighype]

What happened to Apple? Cook's reign has been awful. Apple's services are third-grade at this point.

Whatever Eddy Cue runs, it turns to crap.

Cook needs to go. He's trying to make Apple into a luxury brand and is abandoning technology.

 

[jeremiah256]

Do you conduct all your personal conversations by standing in the middle of the mall and shouting so absolutely everyone around you can hear every word? I didn't think so.

So why does anyone want to use something like Allo? Google Assistant will be monitoring every word you say in order to better "serve" you.

I cannot believe how many people like the idea of an assistant that listens to every word. The next step will be "smart" internet of things appliances that respond to voice commands. They'll have microphones embedded in places you can't access and there will be no way to disable them giving Samsung or Amazon or the FBI the ability to listen in every second of the day. We won't be told about it and even if we are, I fear most won't even care.

When I use iMessage I know that only the participants in the conversation know what's being said. The ability to speak without being overheard by any manufacturer, ISP, OS maker, hacker or government agency is too important to give up.

Then don't use the app. Mandatory use of the app is not being added to the Constitution. If I choose to give Google access to my email, search history, and messages in exchange for services that I want and find convenient, that's on me. And the way we stop government excesses is by voting and holding our politicians accountable.

 

[John Mcgregor]

Then don't use the app. Mandatory use of the app is not being added to the Constitution. If I choose to give Google access to my email, search history, and messages in exchange for services that I want and find convenient, that's on me. And the way we stop government excesses is by voting and holding our politicians accountable.

Yes, that's on you and when there are enough of YOU in numbers others have to suffer the precedent you create. Piss poor excuse.

 

[renato3]

Well, Google is working to integrate all kinds of services - even if that means writing another messaging/FaceTime style implementation and hype that on stage. Not bad, it kind of show the direction that home automation is going.

I like to use the best services available on my platform. So Google services on iOS are fine with me. Mostly I prefer the Apple ones, but foremost because I have the feeling Apple is spying on me less than Google does.

And with Google Home, CONSTANTLY LISTENING....Google is finally where they want to be. Right in your house, your home, your place. Constantly listening. I wouldn't recommend it for now ;-)

Grtz,
R.

 

[Cablekevin]

Outstanding. So I need a $300 watch and a charging stand that will keep the watch on it's side to give me basic alarm clock functionality. BTW, I do have an Apple Watch. I find it too small. My eyesight is not what it used to be. I need glasses.

I don't think it's too much to ask that a phone that has a built in alarm functionality be able to be used as an alarm clock.

I don't think you have an Apple Watch. And you don't need a charing stand to do so (just lay it down sideways). And to top it off, the functionality that you describe will require you to put your vertical in landscape mode thus requiring some form of support.

 

[lowendlinux]

That's why Apple can't offer the same services without mining data as much. FTFY

People want Siri to do things beyond pedestrian tasks like the oft' quoted "set timers". Those advanced features require a give an take between vendor and customer. For all the privacy hand wringing on this site, most of the people I've engaged 1. Can't address the issue intelligently beyond saying the word 'privacy' as if it's an all encompassing blanket. 2. Don't know the difference between selling ad space and selling customer data. 3. Don't realize Apple does the same data mining. Siri could be much better. I have no doubt about that. Sometimes I think Apple uses the privacy as an excuse not to upgrade Siri to a fuller potential.

The flip side of that though is Google pretty much is the public face of the internet. They've won search, they've won the browser war, and they're the dominate player in mobile. We seem to have entrusted a great deal of information to Google for no obvious reason. Google is kinda scary and with them heavily into the IOT it's going to get worse.

 

[PBRsg]

I find that Google is big on new ideas, short on polish and even shorter on those ideas surviving. I am not interested in experimental stuff; I want my products to be polished, have good design and work flawlessly.
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Switched from a Nexus 5 to an iPhone 6s a little over a month ago. And while iOS has a more finished, polished look, the above statement is spot on.

Goggle Now blows Spotlight right out of the water. Apple Maps still blow chunks compared to Google Maps. I still miss the notification icons at the top of the phone. And the very simplicity of having a clock come on when I charge the phone. Built-in the OS. As it is, I nee a third party app for my alarm clock. And to remember to start it manually at night.

Overall I like iOS better, but it still lacks behind in many aspects.

In iOS' defence, Apple cannot put out some of the half baked stuff that Google puts out - Apple's customers are pretty fussy and they pay a premium price, so they would revolt.

 

[apolloa]

Well then go back to tumblr then since this form is not for White Knights . This is a Google event showing off hardware and software not about showing off how diverse the company is because the number of x. It does't matter what their sex is and you are the real sexist for thinking that hiring them for the sake of their gender is instead of their skills. Is it Apple's fault that they hire people based on their skills not their gender just like most companies these days?

You STILL don't get it do you? Can't be bothered to explain it anymore. I'm guessing you never watched the keynote.

 

[TroyBoy30]

Do you conduct all your personal conversations by standing in the middle of the mall and shouting so absolutely everyone around you can hear every word? I didn't think so.

So why does anyone want to use something like Allo? Google Assistant will be monitoring every word you say in order to better "serve" you.

I cannot believe how many people like the idea of an assistant that listens to every word. The next step will be "smart" internet of things appliances that respond to voice commands. They'll have microphones embedded in places you can't access and there will be no way to disable them giving Samsung or Amazon or the FBI the ability to listen in every second of the day. We won't be told about it and even if we are, I fear most won't even care.

When I use iMessage I know that only the participants in the conversation know what's being said. The ability to speak without being overheard by any manufacturer, ISP, OS maker, hacker or government agency is too important to give up.

 

[Zirel]

No, it's not "tinfoil", Google already uses data mining to sell you ads, and that's specially concerning that they use it to children, and people who don't understand.

 

[sidewinder3000]

I'm throwing things like Amazon Echo and Google Home in the same category as "Smart Watches" - gimmicky and worthless for most people. It's like people have forgotten about the smartphone in their pocket that can already do all of that.

So confident, so wrong. Form factor and environment are important.

 

[AsherN]

Google I/O is a developer conference, not a public release announcement. Siri is fine, pretty much on par with the "OK Google". It's a lot of other small things that work so much better. Google Now is miles ahead of Spotlight in features and usability.
[doublepost=1463658036][/doublepost]

I don't think you have an Apple Watch. And you don't need a charing stand to do so (just lay it down sideways). And to top it off, the functionality that you describe will require you to put your vertical in landscape mode thus requiring some form of support.

I do have a watch. Too small. The buttons are definitely too small. And the display goes away in 10 seconds.

My phone is in a dock. Standing up. The Alarm Clock displays the time in the middle of the screen.

 

[kdarling]

You realize that Google Maps was crap for years after launch, right?

On the contrary, from the moment Google Maps came out, it consistently got 4-5 star ratings. It was heads and shoulders above anything else available at the time.

It didn't require downloaded updates, it sometimes had traffic data (fantastic feature at the time), and it was free.

Sure, at first it was not uncommon for a street address to be mapped off by a house or two, but that was quickly fixed by allowing people to correct such minor misalignments using a desktop browser.

On a Windows Mobile device in 2006, it gave capabilities for search and navigation like nothing else. Fortunately for later iPhone users, all those older smartphones with GPS allowed Google to provide the GPS-less iPhone with locating services later on.

Heck, without Google Maps (and Search and YouTube and Locating), the first iPhone would've been nothing more than a glorified web browsing feature phone.

 

[Tech198]

it is me, or does everyone think there are too many voice assistant type ways to do stuff...in one device.

u have to think... ok.... which one can tell me more info, and use that.... Google assistant for more of "conversation" stuff, Google now for web only stuff... This is getting complicated... since its intertwined..

I hope this not not gonna be expected from Apple as well... I just wanna talk,,, i don't wanna decide which assistant is better in order to use. Just wasting time and technology... just build in all in one.. and build up on that........

Viv is sounding better all the time as a true replacement for the lot of them, it is proves it points.

 

[AsherN]

Sure, at first it was not uncommon for a street address to be mapped off by a house or two, but that was quickly fixed by allowing people to correct such minor misalignments using a desktop browser.

That is still an issue that affect every navigation solution. Addresses are not mapped to specific coordinates. The mapping data has the address range and length of the street. Locating a particular address is just a matter if averaging. So if lots have different sizes, or numbers are skipped, it will be off. OTOH, and maybe it's just me, but if my nav system gets me to within a few addresses from my destination, I think I can handle figuring out where it is.

 

[aarond12]

This is real innovation!
Google leaving Apple in the dust!
Tim Cook is too busy pandering to communist China to actually innovate!
Cook is is busy in India trying to save the company instead of innovating like Google!
Apple spent too much time on watch bands to innovate!
Cook is going to be fired!
Steve Jobs would have never let this happen!
Apple still offers 16GB!
Switching to Android and Google services!
Apple is falling behind!
Apple is doomed!
Apple is too busy wasting time on an electric car to innovate!

You! Are! Very! Excited! Do! You! Work! For! Yahoo!?

 

[mchoffa]

Apple's last event was blah. This is pretty much blah. Unless Apple has some big surprise up their sleeve, WWDC will most likely be blah as well (adding Siri to OS X is a non story for me). This is looking like the first year in 7 or 8 years that I haven't bought any new devices.

 

[Aston441]

I find that Google is big on new ideas, short on polish and even shorter on those ideas surviving. I am not interested in experimental stuff; I want my products to be polished, have good design and work flawlessly.
[doublepost=1463653965][/doublepost]

In iOS' defence, Apple cannot put out some of the half baked stuff that Google puts out - Apple's customers are pretty fussy and they pay a premium price, so they would revolt.

I'm back to this thread late. I don't think Google is Apple's worry now, at least no more than usual. AMAZON is everyone's worry. Alexa, powered by Amazon's back end, possibly the most concentrated collection of raw processing power on earth, caught everyone with their pants down. Somehow some engineer finally managed to convince a manager to spend $50 per unit on a microphone array as a front end to that power, and then that manager managed to convince the project approval committee that it would sell. The rest is history.

Can you imagine an engineer trying to get penny pinching Cook, three years ago, to put a $50 microphone in anything? That engineer would have been fired. And THAT is what's wrong with Apple now. They think cost cutting, not big ideas and dreams.

 

[aarond12]

One must keep in mind that these "free" services being given away by Google are not really free. Every microsecond that people spend using at least one Google service is an opportunity for them to collect more data. Combined with their research and advances into machine learning, which could act on that very data, and the future is looking to be a very interesting (and possibly scary) place. Apple's more conservative approach to their platforms and data handling may indeed win out in the long run. We'll have to see.

A recent FOIA request from the FBI could not "confirm or deny" that they've used Amazon's Alexa to listen in on conversations inside someone's home. With how cozy Google is with the government, it wouldn't surprise me if they built in a backdoor in their Google Home just for the feds.

 

[TechZeke]

I just skimmed through the reviews and it's a crapplet issue but not surprised since we're talking about Metrostink. Low reviews also apply to iOS version.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.justride.metrolink

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/metrolink/id1083843914

No. It won't let her install the app at all. The play store literally says its not compatible and it won't even download.

It's a brand new app, and they are still working on several improvements such mechanisms to prevent people from buying tickets when no trains are running and working with LA Metro to add barcode readers on the Red Line turnstiles. There are allot of hard working people trying to improve the system with the limited funding available from the stingy member agencies. While the system has its issues, I don't really appreciate you calling it "Metrostink".

 

[lazyrighteye]

N = Nougat.

 

[igorsky]

It's fair to say you are really the typical forum user here. Not all of us pee our pants with glee with the news of Siri for Mac’s Colorful Waveform Dock Icon Reveal.

I'd say you're the far more typical MR forum user than I am. If Apple made these lame announcements you'd be leading the pitchfork posse...but it's not Apple, so all good.

 

[Satan991]

I like turtles.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/what-the-forecast-!!/id1031653653?mt=8