Google I/O 2012: everything you need to know – The Verge

Android 12 public beta is now available: here’s how to install it

2021-05-18T16:19:21-04:00

Google unveiled Android 12 at its opening I/O 2021 keynote, and now you can try the new update yourself as part of the first public beta. The Android 12 public beta is currently available for Google's Pixel phones (Pixel 3 and up) and will also come to devices from OnePlus, Lenovo, Asus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, Tecno, TCL, Vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE. You can enroll your Pixel phone on Google's Android beta site or find specific instructions for other supported phones on the Android Developers page.

Android 12 brings a cornucopia of new features, but the most exciting are the new visuals. Along with new animations, widgets, and a modified lock scre …

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Google is teasing a big Wear OS update for smartwatches Tuesday at I/O

2021-05-17T17:45:54-04:00

A new tweet from the official Wear OS Twitter account is teasing an update tomorrow at I/O 2021 to Google's frequently forgotten smartwatch operating system. Google has even suggested that the developer conference will feature an entirely new version of Wear OS on the I/O Adventure page, the "virtual sandbox" for trying the products Google will announce at the conference, 9to5Google writes.

Wear OS has been on a long and bumpy journey up until this point - with new features, but not the dramatic rethinking of the platform that it may need. In the last year, Google has added a new keyboard, support for third-party Tiles (Wear OS's answer to …

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A closer look at Google’s Android Accessory Development Kit 2.0

2012-07-12T07:01:02-04:00

google ADK 2.0 (wired)

Last year Google announced the Accessory Development Kit (ADK) for Android, a hackable Arduino box that let you hook up your phone or tablet over USB and program it to work with various apps. It was a pretty stripped-down affair, though, so the company's taken a more design-focused approach with the ADK 2.0, announced at I/O 2012 and explored in detail by Wired. As you can see above, the new ADK has a radical new form factor, and it actually works as a programmable alarm clock and audio dock straight out of the box.

Egg timer with atmospheric pressure compensation

The ADK is held together by magnets, making it very easy to pop it open for mo …

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Android Developer Relations team releases 28 videos from the I/O sessions

2012-07-10T18:07:14-04:00

Android doll mascot logo

Google I/O 2012 has come and gone, but the team over in Mountain View has some new goodies to share with those who couldn't make it out this year. The Android developers team has just posted a huge playlist of 28 videos known as the Android Sessions. Nearly all of these videos are a full hour long, so any Android developer wanting to catch up with all of the news from I/O should block off a lot of time on his or her calendar - and that's not even including the more consumer-focused keynote presentations. The videos touch on a wide variety of topics, including marketing, monetization, security, design, and game development. Sadly absent is an …

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Google introduces new YouTube API for Android

2012-07-06T08:01:56-04:00

YouTube Android API slide

If you were distracted by all the skydiving and BMX stunts at Google I/O, you may have missed a new YouTube API for Android, announced by Ross McIlroy and Anton Hansson. Set to be made public in the coming months, the API solves a common problem for Android developers, allowing YouTube video content to be embedded seamlessly in native apps.

Currently, developers are limited to either embedding video as Flash content, which limits access to the API, or as an iframe in a webview, which Android Central points out is "un-supported on older versions of Android." A workaround involves redirecting users to Google's native YouTube app, but this dis …

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Android 4.1 Jelly Bean review

2012-07-03T11:22:19-04:00

Jelly Bean Hero 1

Google's latest version of the Android operating system is here and will be rolling out to a precious few devices later this month. Unlike the last iteration, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is more about refinement than revolution, but a new feature called "Google Now" has the potential to finally achieve some of the promises we've all heard from smartphone companies for years now. Beyond that, if you're one of the (sadly small) number of people who have used stock Android 4.0, there's nothing here that will throw you off.

Within that familiar framework, however, are changes both subtle and not-so-subtle that make Jelly Bean feel robust, grown-up, …

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Android manufacturers mostly mum on Jelly Bean updates as Google tries to repair a broken system

2012-07-02T10:00:40-04:00

Upside Down Jelly Bean

After any major OS update, the first question on everybody's mind is naturally "When can I get it?" As Android owners know all-too-well, the answer to that question inevitably involves waiting, rumors, innuendo, leaks, and often crushing disappointment. With the announcement of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean at Google I/O, there was the same hope there is for every Google I/O: that the situation would change. Sadly, it's not at all clear that it will - if the responses we've gotten from major Android OEMs is any indication.

In case you missed it, Google only listed a few "Nexus-class" devices that will receive Jelly Bean in July: the Nexus S, Galax …

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Nexus Q features Magic 8-Ball Easter egg

2012-07-02T02:54:17-04:00

Gallery Photo: Google Nexus Q review hardware photos

So, you've just laid out close to $300 on Google's enigmatic Nexus Q media streaming device, you've hooked it up to your home entertainment system, and you've worked your way through your backlog of Google Play content. What, you want more functionality? Well, true to form, Google has hidden one of its traditional Easter eggs away in the Q's software. Similarly to the Jelly Bean trick accessed by mashing on the software version number, a series of rapid taps on the Nexus Q's image will reveal a special Magic 8-Ball mode where the device will answer anything your heart desires. To a certain extent.

As you can see from the screenshots, the Nexu …

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Vizio Co-Star hands-on: take a chance on Google TV at $99?

2012-06-29T22:31:06-04:00

Gallery Photo: Vizio Co-Star at Google I/O 2012

We showed you Vizio's tiny $99 Google TV and feature-heavy remote control back at CES, but it wasn't quite ready for primetime: here, at Google I/O in San Francisco, we sat down with Vizio CTO Matt McRae to discuss the impending July launch, and got our first real look at the Vizio Co-Star's UI.

In case you're not familiar, the Co-Star (formerly known as the VAP430) is an exceptionally small Google TV set top box about the size and shape of a large steamed meat bun, but far more sleek. It has just two HDMI ports, an ethernet jack, a USB socket, and a power plug to its name.

Like other Google TV set tops, it sits between …

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Watch this: Google’s I/O 2012 day two keynote video now live

2012-06-29T20:03:20-04:00

Google Drive iOS hero (1020)

Google's second keynote didn't contain as many hardware announcements as the first, but the company did provide a closer look at its ancillary software. The first major announcement was that Chrome would be coming to the iPhone and iPad, and we've already gotten a chance to give it a spin. Next, it was announced that Google Drive would be coming to iOS and Chrome OS, featuring optical character and image recognition, as well as real-time collaboration. Google also unveiled a totally new product - Compute Engine - which is a direct competitor with Amazon's EC2 (Elastic Cloud Compute) service. There's plenty more information where that came fr …

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