During the opening keynote of the I / O 2022 conference (follow the event with us on Twitch!), Google also talked a lot about Android 13, the next release of the operating system scheduled for this fall. If with the Developer Preview and the first Beta we have already had the opportunity to observe various innovations, large and small but mainly technical, with this event we have a more concrete sense of the general direction that Google wants to take on the whole ecosystem. Google has recapitulated the major innovations we’ve seen in previous builds, but we won’t repeat them here; we attach the article below, which is the central hub with the full summary of each function and article. Below we list the completely unpublished information.
- Google Messages: End-to-end encryption even for group chats. Google explained how much it is working with operators for the dissemination of the RCS protocol, already known for years and essentially the heir of SMS; the company says it’s growing fast, and that Messages already now has around 500 million monthly active users. The app already offers End-to-End cryptography in single private chats, in the coming months they will also arrive for groups. It will be an Open Beta, at least initially.
- All new Google Wallet: coming to Wear OS and digital documents. Google has a very ambitious vision of the service, and aims to integrate hotel badges, keys, tickets, boarding passes, loyalty cards and much more. Google Says It Is Collaborating In The US And Abroad To Accelerate Adoption Of Digital ID Card And Driver’s License; the first concrete implementations will arrive by the end of the year. As for Wear OS, initially only support for payment cards will arrive. The new Wallet is expected to arrive in the coming weeks.
- Wear OS: More devices, more apps, more services. Google says that with the launch of the unified platform in partnership with Samsung, the number of Wear OS smartwatches on the market has more than tripled from last year. Several more watches will arrive later in the year from companies such as Fossil, Mobvoi, Montblanc, Samsung itself, and more. Furthermore:
- Google Assistant is coming to Galaxy Watches. For the first time, the company adds. We’ll start with the Galaxy Watch 4 range, which is currently Samsung’s only Wear OS-based range. Assistant, by the way, has been optimized and promises to be faster and more natural in voice interactions.
- Lots of apps coming soon. Those for Spotify, Adidas, Line and KakaoTalk are already available, later this year they will also come from SoundCloud and Deezer.
- Alert and SOS: earthquake warning service will expand into new markets – “all those with a high seismic risk,” says Google. It is worth mentioning that the service is already live in 25 countries. In addition, Google said it has started collaborating with its partners to bring the SOS app we now know to smartphones also on smartwatches.
- Tablet: now it’s up to the apps. Google reiterates its commitment to supporting large-screen devices, a radical change of pace initially seen with Android 12L and continued with the first experimental builds of Android 13. The number of active users has grown to over 700 million. The company promises that over 20 Google apps will be updated with a tablet-optimized interface over the next few weeks, and says it is working with top-notch partners to help them do the same. Among the names mentioned are those of Facebook, Zoom, TikTok “and many others”.
- Multi-device experiences: Google promises that its Cast protocol will soon be compatible with many more product classes and many more brands. Chromebooks, tablets and even cars are mentioned. It will also debut the multi-device copy-paste experience, so that if I copy a URL, a screenshot or any other element on the smartphone I can paste it, for example, on the tablet. Even the Fast Pair protocol, which allows you to connect Bluetooth devices quickly and without complications, is destined to expand significantly in the coming months and will also include the Matter protocol we talked about in this dedicated article. Phone Hub will also allow you to show all conversations from your Chromebook.
