Unless you’ve been camping out under a mossy tech news rock all week, you’ve probably heard plenty of news connected to Google’s annual Google I/O gala by now.
And my goodness, has there been a glut of it! Google gave us our closest look yet at the upcoming Android 15 update and the freshest features in its latest beta build, and it announced approximately 7.4 gazillion things related to Gemini and the company’s commitment to inserting Much AI Magic™ anywhere and everywhere imaginable.
That’s all well and good. But the most intriguing news of all this week is something El Googathor didn’t so much as mention from the stage or any Google I/O sessions. It seems to be a somewhat secret development, in fact, that’s mostly being discussed behind closed doors and with copious amounts of cackling.*
But it may well be the biggest, most interesting news to break cover in the Android arena all week — maybe even all year. And if it ever ends up moving past the point of demonstration and into an active launch status, it could completely change the way we think about Google’s platforms and what an “Android device” represents — even more, I’d contend, than any amount of AI could possibly ever accomplish.
* The cackling part is entirely my own creation. But, c’mon: It makes the visual *way* more dramatic, doesn’t it?!
[Get fresh Googley insight in your inbox with my free Android Intelligence newsletter. Three new things to know and try every Friday — cackling completely optional.]
2024-05-17 23:00:02
Original from www.computerworld.com