Android M Google I/0 2015

Android M has arrived:
here's what you need to know
VINOD BEDA

ANDROID M:
The Android M developer preview was launched today at
Google I/O 2015 in San Francisco. Sundar Pichai, senior vice
president of products at Google, introduced the conference
and said that the company had "gone back to basics" with the
new version of Android. While Android Lollipop introduced a
brand new design and aesthetic, Android M is bringing some
much-needed stability and usability improvements, which
might not be as immediately exciting, but may prove to be
strong long-term additions.

ANDROID M:
The Android M developer preview was launched today at
Google I/O 2015 in San Francisco. Sundar Pichai, senior vice
president of products at Google, introduced the conference
and said that the company had "gone back to basics" with the
new version of Android. While Android Lollipop introduced a
brand new design and aesthetic, Android M is bringing some
much-needed stability and usability improvements, which
might not be as immediately exciting, but may prove to be
strong long-term additions.
Dave Burke, vice president of engineering at Google,
followed Pichai on stage to outline six of the major new
features you can expect to see in Android M.
Which phones will get the Android M update first?

ANDROID M:
1. App permissions
First up, app permissions. As had previously been
speculated, app permissions have been overhauled in
Android M, with users now being able to choose to accept or
deny individual permissions as they see fit. Permissions have
also been simplified.
Permissions will now be requested the first time you try to
use a feature, not at the point of installation. "You don't have
to agree to permissions that don't make sense to you," Burke
said, and used WhatsApp to give an example of how this
works.

ANDROID M:
If you want to record a voice message, WhatsApp
will prompt you with a one-time request for permission to use
your mic: if you still wish to give it access and record the
message, you can, but you don't have to. Android M is giving
users greater control of the information apps can access, and
this is a truly positive step forward for Android.
You can modify the permissions granted to apps at a later
date in your Settings, or you can view permissions by type
and see which apps have that permission granted. It's all
about giving the user complete control over their Android.

ANDROID M:
2. Web experience
Google has been exploring trends in the way web content is
consumed to provide a better user-experience when
interacting with websites and apps. "Chrome Custom Tabs is
a new feature that gives developers a way to harness all of
Chrome's capabilities, while still keeping control of the look
and feel of the experience," said Burke.
Chrome Custom Tabs will allow apps to open a
customized Chrome window on top of the active app, instead
of launching the Chrome app separately. This will provide a
faster and more intuitive user-experience when navigating
between apps and the web.

ANDROID M:
Chrome Custom Tabs supports automatic sign-in, saved
passwords, autofill, and multi-process security to assist the
integration of the app and web experience. So, for example,
a Pinterest custom tab will have a Pinterest share button
embedded in it, can include custom overflow menu options
and doesn't require the Pinterest developers to build their
own web browser.

ANDROID M:
3. Fingerprint support
Google will "standardize support" for fingerprint scanners on
phones running Android M. The new functionality will allow
the scanner to be used not only to unlock phones, but also to
make purchases while shopping in real-life or within Play
Store apps.

ANDROID M:
4. Mobile payments
Android Pay is Google's new mobile payments system
designed to make the checkout process easier and faster. It
will work in more than 700,000 stores in the US, and is being
supported by American Express, Visa, Mastercard, and
Discovery. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are also on board for
the new system.
The best thing? Any Android phone with NFC can make use
of Android Pay. Android Pay will work with Android devices
running Android 4.4 KitKat and above, but fingerprint support
for authorizing payments with Android Pay will be an Android
M (and onwards) feature.

ANDROID M:
5. App links
App links are being changed so that apps can open content
directly, instead of stopping users every time with a dialog
box in which the user has to select the app with which to
open the link. How does this work? If you click a Twitter link
in an email, for example, the Twitter app will now open
directly instead of asking if you want to use Twitter to view it.
Clever.

ANDROID M:
6. Power and charging
Android M makes use of a new function known as Doze to
improve device standby time. By using motion detectors,
Android will recognize when devices haven’t been interacted
with for a while, such as when a person is asleep or a device
has been left on a table, to reduce background processes.
Burke said that Google tested two Nexus 9 devices, one
running Lollipop and one running the Android M preview, and
learned that M will provide up to two-times longer standby
time. Even in Doze mode, your Android can still start alarms
or notify you of priority notifications.

WHAT ELSE IN ANDROID M:
Google Now - Google Now has been improved upon once
again in Android M. Focusing on three key ares: being aware
of different contexts, providing answers and helping you take
action, Google Now is now smarter than ever.
Google Now's context awareness understand over 100
million different places, so when you ask ''How far is it to
there?'' Google Now know exactly which ''there'' you're
referring to. This awareness is compunded by Google's
Knowledge Graph, which understands one billion different
entities, from sports teams to gas stations, TV shows to
recipes.

WHAT ELSE IN ANDROID M:
Google Photos - As expected, Google pulled the wraps off
its new Google Photos service. Previously a part of Google+,
Google Photos is now standalone photo and video storage
and sharing service that provides unlimited free storage for
up to 16 MP photos and 1080p video. That is seriously
impressive.
The Google Photos service stores high-quality compressed
versions of your photos and movies but doesn't store
anything on your device, so you can search through
thousands of photos at high speed and without bogging your
device down with gigabytes of photos.

Thank you
All the best developers

Android M Google I/0 2015

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Android M Google I/0 2015