Google I/O: Android Wear now has 4,000 apps

We’re starting to see the smartwatch arena expand further with this announcement from Google. The tech company announced that its wearable platform now has 4,000 Android Wear apps for download on the Google Play Store. They’re ahead by a 1,000 or so third-party apps available for the Apple Watch but then again Apple’s wearable platform was released later than Android’s.

Source: Android Community

Google I/O: Google opens access to Inbox

You no longer have to scour for Google Inbox updates. Google announced at its I/O developer’s conference that the email client is now available for download from the Google Play and Apple App Store.

The app also now has a much-requested Undo Send option. It also now shows your reminders in Google Keep inside Inbox. And Trip Bundles automatically collates your trip-related emails and highlights the key information you’d need. Inbox now also supports custom signatures and you can enable a “swipe to delete” gesture as well.

Source: Gmail Blog | Download: Google Play Store (Free) + Apple App Store (Free)

Google I/O: Now on Tap boosts contextual search capabilities

Screenshot: Cult of Android

Google Now just got smarter with the new Now on Tap feature. It basically lets you fire off quick queries while within other apps. For example, you’re listening to a certain musician in a music app and want to know what his/her real name is. Now on Tap will be able to answer that for you. Google’s Aparna Chennapragada said this feature can even turn text message conversations she has with her husband into actionable information. For example, being able to set a reminder to pick up dry cleaning or get a restaurant recommendation when she was talking to her husband about a dinner date.

Other sample features include Now on Tap being able to help you decipher unpronounceable items on a menu, even showing you a photo while it’s at it. This feature will be available when Android M launches later this year.

Source: Cult of Android

Google I/O: Google officially launches Brillo Internet of Things platform

Seems there was truth behind the rumour that Google was building its own Internet of Things operating system. Called Brillo, the operating system is based on a stripped down version of Android. It’s designed to run on as minimal specs as possible to make it work for devices as little as light bulbs. It makes use of a protocol for synchronizing data called Weave. It’s a cross-platform common language based on JSON, which will be made available to developers in the third quarter. What it does is Android devices will be able to detect IoT devices and offer to configure these automatically. It’ll work with devices no matter you’re using.

Weave documentation will be announced throughout the year and the developer stack will come out in fourth quarter.

Source: Wired + The Next Web