Google launched the third 'Google for India' event in New delhi. Hinting at not only the growing internet user base but also the shift away from desktop to smartphones, Rajan Anandan, Vice-President - South East Asia and India, Google, said there are over 400 million internet users in India, with around 330 million accessing internet smartphone.
Indian language usage will explode as more Indians come online. And we’re excited to be a part of this journey. #GoogleForIndiapic.twitter.com/IQdJ75D4i6
— Google India (@GoogleIndia) December 5, 2017
Google says on an average, Indians consumer 4GB of data every month and expects that data consumption could increase up to 11 GB per month over the next four years.
The tech giant announced English and hindi versions version of Google Assistant for Jio phone, the first feature phone to have a voice-based assiatant
The Google Assistant for the JioPhone, built for India in both English and Hindi—is launching today. pic.twitter.com/Rml3P1fR8C
— Google India (@GoogleIndia)December 5, 2017
Google announced that Android Oreo (Go edition), aimed to better performance of entr-level smartphones, will enter the market in early 2018. The update will come with new features and apps such as Google Go, Files Go and Google Assistant, and will be available to "Oreo devices with 512MB to 1GB of RAM."
An OS optimized to deliver what matters most to the users - performance, security, data management and storage. #GoogleForIndiapic.twitter.com/3k44Rg1FL5
— Google India (@GoogleIndia) December 5, 2017
We built #FilesGo from scratch for Go Edition devices. Today, we're launching the official version on Google Play. #GoogleForIndiapic.twitter.com/DGDroDT6PO
— Google India (@GoogleIndia) December 5, 2017
In a bid to ease user experience in low-end smartphones, Google has come up with Google Go which cosumes less than 5MB download space.It helps users translate their search queries with the "tap-first" feature, while the user also gets to switch the answers to preferred languages. Google Go will be the default search engine for Android Oreo (Go Edition), acording to Shashidhar Thakur, Vice-President of Engineering.
40% lesser data consumption does not mean 40% lesser results. Get the answers you asked for with #GoogleGo . #GoogleForIndiahttps://t.co/V4wi0sRzVlpic.twitter.com/hpdcokPkWB
— Google India (@GoogleIndia) December 5, 2017
With Assistant Go, one can call, text, play music and videos, and access other apps even on an entry-level smartphone. #GoogleForIndiapic.twitter.com/CiJlqtbEsi
— Google India (@GoogleIndia) December 5, 2017
Another India-first feature, the company announced "two-wheeler" mode in Google Maps that reveals shortcuts not used by cars or other four-wheelers
#LookBeforeYouLeave to get where you need to, faster with directions and voice navigation mode for two-wheeler riders in @googlemaps#GoogleForIndiapic.twitter.com/TkktD4T9s0
— Google India (@GoogleIndia) December 5, 2017
The Silicon Valley firm's payment app Tez will also see updates as over 70 billers will be added, "including utilities and direct-to-home service providers", according to Google. In the new version, Tez will also have a feature to remind users when bills are due.
Watch the full event here