It’s all about time and space

For tech enthusiasts, the idea of one big ecosystem running on a single operating system, with probably just one device to rule them all, is not unfamiliar. Apple has been working constantly to make data flow as seamlessly as possible between all its devices, as long as the said devices are connected to a network or the Internet. And the range of these devices extends from the smartphones and tablets to desktops and notebooks and even up to the television.

And Google definitely doesn’t want to be left behind in this battle for the consumer’s tech space. Many of Google’s announcements this year at the I/O developers’ conference in San Francisco revolved around a lot of new innovations, expansion into the wearable device segment and a few announcements also made their way into the living room and the car. But what does this mean for the regular Android user?

It’s hard to say which announcement from Google this year at I/O was the most important one – there’s Android Auto, Android Wear, Android One, Android L, Google Fit, Android TV and much more. While the Android L update is the next iteration of Google’s mobile operating system - no sugary name yet, just ‘L’ – Android Auto and Android Wear are the innovations that would extend the Google experience dramatically.

Android Auto brings Google’s OS to the car, and would use the consumer’s Android smartphone to connect to the car’s infotainment system and Android Wear is the next generation of smartwatch operating system, which has already been adopted by manufacturers such as Motorola, Samsung and LG.

The reason why Android Auto and Android Wear stand out is because they bring the ever-so-familiar card-based interface (like Google Now) to the car’s dashboard and the wristwatch. Even Android TV will ship with built-in Google Cast, a feature that would let users stream content on to the TV from their Android smartphones. The common feature between most of these new Google products is that they’ll all follow the same “OK Google” voice based command system. From a user’s point of view, a familiar interface and usability eliminates a big learning curve. You just start using the features as you’ve used on your smartphone.

At this point, Google does seem to have a slight advantage over Apple in terms of penetration of its services and products – Apple may have announced CarPlay and other features earlier, but Android as an OS has more active users (Google claims it to be a billion). However, the matter of concern here is about users getting the latest updates with these features on time.

But Google does seem to be working on that – the Android One device, briefly mention at the conference is touted to bring the latest version of Android at a sub-$100 price tag, with decent tech specs too. Google also has the advantage of having many OEM partners and devices at every price range.

Like we said, it’s all about time and space in the OS war – who strikes first, and in which prime territory, matters.

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