Tech trends to look out for in 2016

This time last year I was looking forward to what mobile would offer us in 2015. This year I’m casting the net further afield, but inevitably mobile still features to one extent or another, whichever technological trend you look at. After all, for many ‘the mobile internet’ is now simply ‘the internet’; the distinction has become immaterial as mobile becomes their main touch point for information and online interactions.

Here’s what I expect to be the main trends, concerns and areas of attention over the course of 2016.

Web design

There’s a lot of development around web design and UI patterns right now, fuelled by more businesses recognising the need for their sites to be mobile/multi platform ready. As mobile traffic starts to overtake desktop traffic, and continuity and consistency of customer experience across multiple touch points becomes increasingly relevant, so too does the adoption of approaches and templates that makes it easier to achieve.

The easier you make it for a customer to recognise regular functionality, such as registering an account or going to the checkout, the better – we’re now at a point with commonly used features where it’s no longer necessary to reinvent the wheel just because you can. If there’s a tried and tested model of usage that is instantly understandable by the user, then in most cases it’s going to be better to adopt that than force a person to work through something new.

This link goes through the common UI design patterns you can expect to see in 2016. In fact you’ve probably seen a few already.

Google AMP

In October last year, Google announced its Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project. The objective was to development a set of technical specifications that publishers could adopt in order to make their websites and online content load faster when accessed by mobile browsers.

Following successful testing, Google are set to roll it out February this year and have already secured commitments from top news, advertising and analytics providers. For developers it should mean that the same code can be used across multiple mobile platforms in order to make pages, regardless of content, load more efficiently. For users it should mean less time surfing and less data spent in the process.

This page provides more info on AMP and links to instructions and code for developing your first page using the specification.

Mobile payments

Mobile payment options and awareness grew over the course of 2015. However, in spite of that, usage appears to have remained low, so expect 2016 to be about how to reduce the gap between awareness and adoption.

Doing so will be as much about increasing opportunities to use mobile payments as it will be about encouraging people to use them. In reality, mobile payment is just another way to use your credit card. Once mass adoption kicks in that won’t be such a big deal, but right now what’s the incentive for people to use a mobile wallet over other payment options that are so well established?

Starbucks provided a clear value proposition with their adoption of mobile payments, incentivising use with special offers on their own products as well as those offered by strategic partnerships (Spotify and The New York Times for example). July last year, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz revealed that mobile transactions accounted for 20 percent of all in-store sales; equating to more than 9 million mobile transactions a week and a 4 percent increase in foot traffic.

Others are also starting to do loyalty programs too: Android Pay started last year with Coca-Cola (awarding points for use against purchases at Coca-Cola vending machines) and Samsung Pay incentivised activation on their handsets in the US with a free wireless charging pad.

Fragmentation, point of sale compatibility and ongoing concerns about the security of payments are still hurdles to adoption, but despite those it does seem that mobile payments are now finally in a position to start gaining some traction.

Rising mobile video adoption

This article from last year covers a comScore report highlighting how people consume video on mobile devices.

It’s clear that improvements in mobile technology and the networks supporting them has reduced the barrier to people accessing what they want, whenever they want. For example the report shows that YouTube app usage rates on smartphones increased by 34 percent over the year, nearing 5 hours of viewing a month; on tablets it was an average of 9 hours a month.

As this trend continues over the course of 2016, advertisers, businesses and media will increasingly be able to reach people with richer content on an everyday basis. With this in mind expect mobile viewings to continue to rise with mobile advertising increasing as a result. Also expect these increases to be supported by greater use of video in all aspects of mobile, as people are now willing to watch more video content for longer on their devices.

Wearable technology

Yes, 2015 was still slow moving for wearable tech. Google Glass stopped selling and smartwatches were still absent from many a writst, but hey Rome wasn’t built in a day.

In truth, the biggest hurdle isn’t the technology, it’s social acceptance. Google Glass is apparently coming back this year, but it’s coming back as a tool for enterprise, which makes sense because used within industries with a legitimate business case Glass provides genuine value without the social stigma to worry about.

From a consumer perspective the sticking points for many are still design, varying standards, having to tether your device to a phone (in most cases), and of course the ever present poor battery life. All these are getting better though. Variety in design is growing, standards are maturing, both Apple and Google have taken steps towards making devices less dependant on direct tethering (through the introduction of Wi-Fi support), and devices with better battery life are starting to arrive.

It’s worth considering that eventually we will come to a point where we will no longer consider the delivery medium; we’ll simply expect to access information and services regardless of where we are, and that it will be delivered to us in the right context for that environment.

Think of television as an example. When I’m watching something at home with others (or on my own) I watch it on the big TV. When the big TV is already in use I use my tablet. When I’m on the train, squashed in with the other rush hour travellers, I look at it on my phone. That makes me sound like a TV junkie, but you get the idea. The point is I don’t even consider the hardware I’m using to watch what I want to watch anymore, I just use the right tool for the job without even thinking about it. Smartwatches and the Internet of Things will eventually become part of that ‘continuity of information access’ model for more and more people.

Perhaps one day we’ll have the Apple iEarBud whose UI is purely audio with voice control. You don’t think so? Give it time…

Internet of Things

IoT had a solid presence at CES, showing that there’s a real impetus behind moving it forward this year.

For starters Microsoft and Samsung announced a new partnership to integrate Samsung devices and software with Windows 10 devices, allowing the monitoring and controlling of household appliances through the use of apps that run on Windows.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm were putting a lot of focus on connected devices within the medical/health care vertical of IoT. Items on display covered diagnostics, therapeutics,  and physiological monitoring.

Kwikset’s Kevo Smart Lock turns a smartphone into keys for a home through the use of an accompanying app for iOS and Android devices. Keys can be set up and deleted and even temporarily given to other users to allow access on an ad hoc basis. Of course the main hurdle will be people’s concerns around security – Kevo will track and audit activity, detailing when eKeys have been locked, unlocked, sent out or accepted, but is that enough to make you feel comfortable with the concept?

Intelligent beds, smart shoes and other not so obvious items mixed with the more recognisable watches, jewellery and fitness trackers, showing that there’s a definite desire to explore the possibilities that a world of connected devices and apparel can offer. It was also clear that developers are now looking towards more focused areas of use whilst the larger consumer market continues to be slow to adopt; health care and engineering being the prime examples.

The knock on effect of a spreading Internet of Things will of course be even more data to consume and understand. Better and more effective ways of analysing the information as well as more accessible and creative ways of visualising the results will be needed in order to capitalise on the greater volumes of content streaming in.

Analytics and Big Data

And so we’re reaching a point now where Big Data is less a buzzword and more something that businesses actually do. The means to manipulate and analyse enormous amounts of information (that isn’t necessarily stored in one place) is going to be key to customer insight and maximising ROI. It’s also going to prove invaluable in improving the flows and processes internal to businesses as well.

As IoT, Cloud, and Big Data continue to converge, anyone that is still ignoring the importance of data and analytics, be it Big Data or the more traditional and established forms of analysis, is going to miss out on a vital source of intelligence and the means to understand it. This article on Big Data predictions for 2016 covers a lot of the points of interest.

Focus on customer service as the differentiator

As technology matures it becomes an equaliser rather than a differentiator. In some markets now the differences in the process you step through are minimal, regardless of the competitor you choose to go with. Where businesses have their web and mobile solutions figured out, expect them to start putting the focus back on the level of customer service they provide rather than the technology channel they use to deliver it;  and expect them to be supporting this with analytics and Big Data.

Virtual Reality

It seems to be the right time for VR; the tech being used is better, and unlike before people appear to be open to the greater breath of potential for it’s application.

Sure, it’ll start off being used for games this year, but this time round development frameworks for VR are more accessible and users have already dipped their collective feet into the concepts of augmented and virtual reality via their smartphones (Google Cardboard for example). What this should mean is greater interest, quicker adoption and more diverse application of the technology.

It also doesn’t hurt that the likes of Facebook are backing VR with their investment in Oculus Rift. They aren’t the only ones; Sony, Samsung and HTC are also coming to market with their offerings too.

Digital assistants, robo advice and AI

As Siri, Google Now and Cortana continue to improve, and as consumers search for information online more and more, we’ll be seeing “robo helpers”, online guided advice and the application of AI driven systems become more commonplace.

In any instance where advice can be automated, there’s a potential to apply technology to augment the supply of that advice to the end user. There’s good reason to consider it; automated services can allow your workforce to service more customers without a drop in quality, and it does so by allowing you to intelligently focus effort on the areas of customer service that deserve human involvement whilst leaving the simpler solutions or decisions to systems that can deliver them with minimal or no human intervention.

Used intelligently, and blended with access to a human end point as needed, automated advice systems will provide customers with efficient access to knowledge and help whilst simultaneously allowing businesses to reduce costs and scale effectively. In addition, integrating these mechanisms into existing processes will allow businesses to pivot their delivery model towards Millennials and Generation Z as they become the key demographics to target in the not so distant future.

Millennials and the drive for a seamless digital experience

As mentioned above, the expectation for continuity across digital platforms, and through to the associated real world touch points, is going to become increasingly more important.

Although this appears to be the case across an increasingly wider range of age groups than some would have expected, it is the tech-savvy Millennials that are driving this need the most, both with their technical knowledge and their assumptions of what should now be the norm; and as they represent such a high percentage of those who spend, should you really be ignoring their needs?

An increasing amount of people will check online before making any kind of purchasing decision, be it on a product or a service. Right now that means many consumers expect a brand to have a mobile presence, with all the associated features and advanced capabilities that it implies.

However, whilst that may be the focus right now, especially whilst the Internet of Things and wearables are still moving through their slow early days of adoption, we should prepare for the defining desire to be for a seamless multi channel experience, for an experience that is accessible at the point of need rather than dependant on a particular device. So, be prepared to start thinking about how you are accessible via desktop, mobile, tablet, TV, watch, insert you favourite home appliance here; as it’s only a matter of time before this becomes the expectation that mobile is today.  Understandably frameworks that help developers to easily do this are going to be a godsend moving forward, so look out for these in 2016 too.

When it comes to linking the online with the real world, technologies such as Apple’s proprietary iBeacon, Google’s Eddystone, as well as other more open and diverse approaches such as wifi and location triangulation, are attempting to bridge the gap. Feedback on how well these achieve the purpose though differs depending on who you ask,  so I’ll be looking to explore this further in a blog entry later this year.

And if millennials aren’t a good enough reason on their own to pay attention to your seamless digital experience, then consider Generation Z. Where Millennials embrace technology, Generation Z will be the coming of the true digital native, since all they have ever known is a world of mobile apps, touch-screen devices and a landscape carved from social media and a reduced concern about privacy. For them the boundary between real world and the online world is missing – it’s simply one world. Their idea of a seamless digital experience is not that it’s an added bonus. It’s expected. It’s a necessity. Will you be in a position to provide them with it?

Cyber security

There was plenty in 2015 to draw people’s attention to the topic of cybersecurity, and as potential threats continue to mount, it’s no surprise that cybersecurity is front of mind for many businesses as they look for ways to analyse potential weaknesses and protect themselves. SMBs particularly, are finding themselves the target of attacks more and more as criminals look for those they expect to have less security in place.

For companies with fewer IT resources, the threat of cyber attack is likely to push them in two directions:

• Firstly the use of cloud based solutions that incorporate cybersecurity utilities and approaches that wouldn’t otherwise be available. Cloud providers are recognising this need and increasingly investing in technologies for data protection, network security, threat modelling and quicker incident response
• Secondly companies, both small and large, are recognising the benfit of collaboration in order to share lessons learned and to establish best practices that will see all those participating better equipped for the threats that lay ahead.

Companies also need to provide their employees with awareness training. It’s important to remember that despite the increasingly sophisticated ways in which systems are being breached, it is often the older, tried and tested low tech approaches that are still the most effective. Phishing for example continues to be used, and the only way you combat that is by educating your workforce. Also, staff need to know the procedures that need to be followed in the event of a breach occurring; what steps to follow to get the systems back up and running and what is the right way to communicate the situation outwards to those it could have an effect on.

Wearables, mobile and the the Internet of Things are not going to help. Unsurprisingly the more connected devices in use by businesses and consumers, the more vulnerabilities there are to exploit. With that in mind it’s likely we’ll see more major data breaches through the course of 2016.

And of course the increase in incidents will increase the focus on security and privacy regulation. Right now attention is on Safe Harbour 2.0, as EU officials meet with US counterparts in February to find a common position regarding which legal channels companies can use to transfer data across the Atlantic.

What does 2015 hold in store for mobile?

It’s been a good year for mobile and there’s no reason to imagine it being any different in 2015. Certainly from my perspective the use of mobile doesn’t seem to be abating in any visible way and there’s a lot around the corner to be excited about. Here’s my list of what I’m looking forward to in the New Year and beyond…

Consistency and continuity across devices

One of the headliners for WWDC, OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 this year was the idea of seamless continuity across your Apple devices – in essence the ability to connect and move from one device to another with unprecedented ease. Although the landscape is noticeably changing, right now we’re still working within ecosystems that necessitate multiple devices, each suited to specific contexts and situations, so the idea of being able to start work or watch a video on one and when needed be able to immediately pick it up and continue it on another without an ounce of faff, is very appealing.

Apple have approached this through the introduction of features such as Handoff, personal hotspot and SMS/Phone Relay, which focus on intuitive an uninterrupted interaction between devices without the need for numerous arbitrary actions or lengthy setup. Check out this link for an overview of Apple’s approach to continuity and expect to see Handoff capabilities appear in more and more apps as developers get to grips with it.

To be fair, Handoff isn’t anything innovative in terms of the functionality being used. Google offers browsing and tab synchronisation through Chrome browser extensions and lets you access draft emails over various devices with its ability to do real-time saving in Gmail. What Apple does though is cleverly design the way in which the user can utilise these features, providing them in a way that is seamless and sensible, which straightaway makes it more useful.

As this approach improves over the coming year it will become more expected by users and seen less as added value – when consistency and continuity across devices becomes taken for granted that is the point when we’ll know it has truly been adopted and is successfully working as intended.

Smartwatches and smartwear

As mentioned in a previous post, smartwatches really speak to me in a nostalgic childhood wish fulfilment kind of way. Despite that, and having spent time with the Android Wear SDK and a couple of the devices themselves, I still haven’t bought one yet. Why? For me the devices still need to be that bit better… or a lot cheaper… or both! Better battery life, amongst other things, stopped me from being enticed by the Moto 360 (Update, 20/05/15: since the latest software update I’ve found the 360 battery life to be a lot better, and under ‘normal’ usage it lasted me a day and an evening, which for me is the least I’d consider acceptable right now). Hopefully 2015 should see smartwear improve enough for me to finally purchase something, whatever it might be.

Although as consumers we don’t seem ready for head mounted wearables such as Google Glass, it’s interesting to see that pick up of both that and similar wearable devices is increasing within industries where the ability to get and send information whilst keeping you hands free actually makes them desirable.  This definitely looks to be a growing space through 2015.  For the person on the street though it seems focus will remain firmly on items that can be worn without drawing crazy attention to oneself – so keep your eye on the second round of Android Ware driven devices and of course the Apple Watch (which, although clearly first gen, can’t help but add credibility to the idea of us incorporating smartwear into our lives).

What comes after wearables?  Well that would be embeddables, but hey let’s take it one step at a time shall we?  Check out this list of influences shaping the wearable landscape.

Mobile payments

Apple Pay, Google Wallet, PayPal in-store, Current C and many more – the options and buzz around mobile payments is increasing. Mobile payments are clearly starting to gain wider acceptance and adoption, and there is no reason to expect that this trend won’t continue through 2015 as interactions between business, financial institutions and consumers increasingly occur via mobile devices – we are at a point of convergence between the new digital ways for completing transactions that retail and business are now offering, and consumers new found willingness to experiment with them. Combine this with the use of iBeacons and similar technology in order to provide people with location based purchasing opportunities, and you have a powerful vehicle for targeting the right people at the right time at the right location, whilst making sure that they have the ability to purchase unhindered.

There is an undeniable cool factor around mobile payment technology right now, and stats coming out suggest that whatever option is available to you on your device you’re likely to be interested in giving it a go at some point or another this year. Apple finally brought NFC to their devices with the the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus (for payments only though, nothing else) and are pushing adoption of Apple Pay hard, which rather interestingly has helped increase awareness beyond just Apple users – for example it has had a positive knock on effect on the uptake of Goggle Wallet, which has actually seen usage grow since the launch of Apple Pay.

Swift

It will be interesting to see how Apple’s new Swift programming language continues to be adopted for iOS apps during the course of 2015. It’s a great step forward over Objective-C that should make creating apps for the platform smoother and less daunting for the first time developer creating native apps for the platform.

Worth considering though is the increasing desire to create apps that are cross platform.  Increasingly I’m talking to people that want to write once and distribute anywhere, and whilst historically cross platform frameworks have not delivered the goods they are definitely coming of age.  I explored going cross platform on mobile earlier this year and the options available for cutting down the effort, time and cost whilst being able to target multiple markets.  Knowing this trend is happening you have to ask the question, will Swift have the impact it might have had a few years ago?

That said there are still apps that gain an edge from being developed natively, games being the obvious example. In this sense Swift should do a great job, the question being how long will it take for developers to adopt?  Apple obviously aren’t going to make developers change languages over night – many have spent years learning the ins and outs of Objective-C and have made it their livelihoods, so Apple aren’t gong to be shutting the door on it anytime soon.  Shifting to Swift will be about the benefits it has over the older language, and many of those will come from the fact that it isn’t built on top of another language (unlike Objective-C that was built on top of C) – because of this Swift should make creating apps for iOS easier, should produce more efficient code and ultimately give developers a more productive experience when creating apps.

I’ve not had the chance to spend much time with the language yet, but the syntax looks to be better and the developers I’ve spoken to so far confirm that it is a big improvement in many ways (let me know if you think otherwise) and you can indeed do things in a line or two of code that would take more to do in Objective-C and be a lot less concise.  Whichever way you cut it Swift looks like a good step forward for Apple from a development perspective, but the interesting thing for me right now will be to see how quickly it is (or isn’t) adopted for developing apps over the course of 2015.

Bigger screen phones and the potential of foldable screens

Do you remember the Dell Streak?  The first of it’s kind in 2010, this 5 inch device was way ahead of the curve in terms of screen size. We now live in a time where you wouldn’t bat an eyelid at a phone sporting a 5 inch screen – long story short we now have greater acceptance of mobile devices with larger screens, which is hardly surprising given how much more online activity we’re all willing to do through our smartphones now, and how much a larger screen makes that experience more comfortable.  Apple obviously feel the time is right too with the introduction of the iPhone 6 (4.7 inches) and 6 Plus (5.5 inches) this year.

The flip side of the coin is convenience – if the screens get bigger where will we put our phone?  Will we have to put them elsewhere or will we see trouser pockets getting bigger? 🙂  That’s why I’m interested in the research that’s being done into foldable screens.  Both Samsung and LG have started research into foldable, bendable, rollable screen technology and expect to have devices that utilise them during 2015 and beyond. Check out LG’s roadmap:

For me this is a big deal. Big screens offer a great experience for many activities, but they can then hamstring the portability and convenience of the device.  Imagine a device that utilises a foldable screen with no hinges or breaks ruining the continuity of the screen.  Imagine a device that can fold down to the pocketable size of a smartphone when carrying it or using it for calls, but can then fold out to provide a larger screen for video and productivity based endeavours when necessary.  That’s the kind of device I’m looking forward to.

The Internet of Things

After much talk about the Internet of Things it’s finally starting to feel like 2015 will be the point when we actually start to see it touch upon our lives a lot more. Wearable tech and home automation seem to be the two ‘things’ with the most momentum and attention right now. Combine these with the growing integration of beacons and NFC into items and areas that will pick up on who we are and where we are, and you can imagine how the three will interact with each other to provide a rich, targeted experience.

There’s still a long way to go.  The speed at which we integrate into more and more items will be dependant on the continued improvement of low powered chips that can make it a reality, big data companies improving the ways in which all this new data can be handled and understood, and perhaps most importantly how we handle the serious question of security. How would you like your car being hacked or someone half way around the world being able to mess with your thermostat settings?

All that said, you won’t stop the Internet of Things from happening and 2015 will be the year where we start to see it entering the mainstream.  Apple has HomeKit, HealthKit, CarPlay and Apple TV.  Google has its Nest acquisition, (the multi OS) Google Fit, Android Wear, Android Auto and Android TV.  It’s clear that both of them are making sure they are set for integration beyond the world of phones.

Enterprise mobility

Mobile first isn’t just a trend in the consumer space, it’s clearly changing the landscape within enterprise too:  the need for mobile-centric CRM, the continued march of BYOD and CYOD along with the analysis and control of the data being accessed through these devices – these are all going to be key items of attention for businesses during 2015.  Check out this article for more detail on the above along with thoughts on Microsoft Office for iOS and Android becoming a mobile productivity standard and the increased adoption of enterprise app stores for managing and securing app usage.

Google’s Material Design

I expect we’ll see that Google’s Material Design will be implemented in more and more websites and apps during 2015, providing a simple, easy to apply framework that should in theory speed up design for developers and remove some of the common pitfalls. It will also be interesting to see if anyone else comes up with alternative frameworks for doing the same thing.

The card design standard

Mobile is clearly responsible for the idea of cards as a design approach. Google Now, Apple Glances, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook’s Open Graph are all examples of how the card approach can been utilised, and we’re at a point where the concept really does make sense given the proliferation of small screen devices.  Ranging from the ubiquitous smartphone to the newly emerging smartwartch and on towards the Internet of Things – designs based around cards will really make sense during 2015 wherever you find a small screen interface staring up at you.

Project Ara

Will 2015 be the year that smartphones go modular? Are we at the point in mobile evolution where we’re jaded enough to be ready for something as different as Project Ara? Do you want to be able to build your own phone by swapping out components you don’t want and inserting better specced ones for the functions you do care about? Do you want a physical keyboard? Longer life battery and/or a faster CPU? Better speakers? In theory you should be able to take your pick. I’m not sure if we do want this or not, but I’m excited to check it out. Ara is expected to arrive at some point in 2015 and you can read about it in more detail here.

And there’s more than that too…

Of course there’s more than the above for us to look forward to in 2015, but these are the things in and around mobile that have really caught my attention.  What are you looking forward to?

This will most definitely be my final post of 2014, so with that in mind I wish you all a very happy and magical New Year.  Here’s to 2015.

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” — Albert Einstein

The key announcements from Google I/O 2014

Due to personal and work commitments I was unable to put in a post covering Google’s I/O announcements at the time, so even though I’m (incredibly) late to the party on this one, here’s my belated list of takeaways from Google’s 2014 event.

Android usage continues to climb

Senior Vice President at Google, Sundar Pichai, said Android now has more than 1 billion active users per month, up from the 538 million figure stated last year.  Historically, Google measured Android usage in terms of total device activations, but now uses a 30 day active statistic.  I think it’s good to consider the latest Android version stats when considering the overall active user number (all below versions of Android support the Google Play Store app):

Data collected during a 7 day period ending on August 12, 2014

• 2.2 (Froyo) 0.7%
• 2.3.3 – 2.3.7 (Gingerbread) 13.6%
• 4.0.3 – 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) 10.6%
• 4.1.x (Jelly Bean) 26.5%
• 4.2.x (Jelly Bean) 19.8%
• 4.3 (Jelly Bean) 7.9%
• 4.4 (KitKat) 20.9%

So, it’s great to see those Android user figures climbing and climbing, but we’re still stuck with that (OS version and device spec) fragmentation issue.  What’s Google trying to do about that?

Android One

The Android One program has been created to provide guidelines for a unified Android experience, specifically with smartphones aimed at developing markets in mind.  The objective for Google is to dictate the minimum hardware requirements that manufacturers must adhere to worldwide if they wish to attain Google’s official ‘Android One’ status.

This is no magic bullet for solving Android’s fragmentation problem, but it is at least a move in the direction of a more coherent Android experience across devices.  Applying methods such as setting a minimum specification should mean a certain level of performance can always be expected.

Saying that, you have to remain current and attractive to consumers too – and the only way Google is going to continue to do that in the smartphone space is by introducing a new, latest version of Android.  Unless Google can force OEMs to use the latest version of Android in new devices (as they were widely rumoured to be considering in February this year) or at least make it easier for OEMs to upgrade the OS of phones (something Android One should help with) then fragmentation is likely to remain a feature of the Android landscape.

It’s the flip side of the coin – you can’t have variety without the troubles that come with making Android work on every permutation of hardware and software that a manufacturer chooses to add to the mix.  This article may be two years old, but if gives you an idea of the numerous hurdles that stand in the way of resolving this issue.  It also asks the important question, “is it really a problem?”.

L Developer Preview

Android’s upcoming L release (the successor to Android KitKat) brings a number of cool items with it, along with the crystallisation of approaches that, again like Android One, focus on bringing a consolidated experience to all devices.

Google’s new approach to a unified cross platform UI, called Material Design, is an aesthetic overhaul concentrating on making content look similar across the myriad screens sizes that now make up the growing Android ecosystem.

To help designers and developers produce simpler, cleaner and more colourful UIs, Material Design is accompanied by a set of tools for making customised typography, grid and colour changes, as well as an updated prototyping tool called Polymer for creating smooth animations running at 60 fps.  Check out Google’s guidelines for building a consistent look and feel with fewer distractions here.

From what I’ve seen of it in action, the focus on object depth/weight and animation does indeed bring the OS to life, but I’ve yet to have a hands on go with it.  It does seem to be going in the same direction as iOS 8 and Windows 8 – you’ll have to decide if that’s a good thing or not for yourself.

It’ll be a few months before you’ll see the final consumer version on devices, but you can check out the developer preview for yourself by following the steps outlined here – as with all betas though bear in mind this is NOT a stable release, so for example don’t install it on your Nexus 5 if it happens to be your main device.  You could end up with apps, or worse a device, that doesn’t work.  You can uninstall it and revert to factory settings, so if you are willing to take the risk at least you know you can reset it if you’ve backed up your content in advance.

Other features being introduced with L:

• Lockscreen notifications
• Context-based authentication features (authenticating based on a bluetooth connected Android Wear watch for example)
• 64-bit compatibility
• A new Android Extension Pack to support 3D graphics
• Project Volta – helps developers identify battery discharge patterns to improve overall power consumption and better manage battery life
• More security, including patches for Google Play services and factory reset protection

From a development perspective there’s also more than 5,000 new APIs for developers to sink their teeth into.  Also worth noting is that the L release leaves behind the Dalvik runtime and completely embraces the new and improved ART (Android Run Time).  While Dalvik ran code at the point it was needed (otherwise known as “Just In Time” or “JIT” compilation) ART uses “Ahead of Time” or “AOT” compilation to process application code before it is needed.  In theory this should mean things run smoother for the user.   Those who are using it on their current 4.4 devices have reported increases in performance and battery life to varying degrees, but expect this to improve further over time.

If you’re interested in running ART on your 4.4 device follow the directions in this article, but be warned some apps may not be compatible with it.  Also code compiled with ART will take longer to install and take up more space on your device.  As is the case with Android L it isn’t considered stable yet, so you use it at your own risk.

Android Wear
Google used this year’s I/O to demonstrate the Android Wear SDK and some of the wearable functionality it provides.  I covered getting started with the SDK in my Android Wear entry back in May, but it was great to see this finally working on some actual devices.  Functionality on show included the touchscreen UI in action (clearly utilising Material Design) and use of the “Ok Google” prompt to create notes, reminders, alarms, calls and more.  Also, when a user installs an app from the Google Play store on their smartphone, a complementary wearable version of the app is installed on the smart watch and synced.

The Google I/O keynote included a demonstration of the Eat24 app for Android Wear, which showcased how users could order pizza from their favourite take away restaurant within 20 seconds, via a simple couple of taps on the watch.  Mmmmm pizza…

Speaking of wearables, no Google Glass love this i/O (well not on stage anyway – there was plenty in the audience) although we do know from previous announcements that Glass has been upgraded to 2GB RAM.

Android for Work

Consumer wise, Android is getting bigger and bigger, but when it comes to business use Android still gives many companies shivers with respect to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies and device management.  Google announced the Android for Work platform (derived from Sansung’s Knox) which will help enterprises deploy to devices in bulk and allow business and personal information to coexist securely on a single device by keeping the data for each separate, all without needing to modify or change existing apps.

Native Microsoft Office editing in Google Docs through integration with Google Drive will also be available, as will a premium level Google Drive plan for enterprise customers that provides unlimited storage for $10 per user per month.

All this comes as part of Android L, but will also be available for Ice Cream Sandwich, Jellybean and KitKat through installation of an app.  Look out for devices with Android for Work certification later this year.

Android Auto

Android Auto is Google’s completely voice-enabled solution for using connected devices in cars. When connecting an Android smartphone to a compatible vehicle, Android Auto will cast it’s UI to the car’s screen (which will incorporate bigger buttons) offering shortcuts to location searches, suggestions, navigation/maps, your music library/music streaming and other information powered by Google Now and other apps.  You’ll also be able to send and receive text messages through voice command features allowing you to keep you attention where it should be, on the road.

It may help you keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel, but I’m still cautious about how safe this will be in practice.  It’s common place for attention to be thrown by the various gadgets we use in various contexts; in the car is one place where you really don’t want it to be distorted in any way.  Time will tell though.  Android Auto supports steering wheel buttons, console dials and the before mentioned touchscreen, so it should be tightly coupled in use, which is encouraging.  Also the idea that the services offered will improve when my apps or phone does (rather than only when I trade in a car) is a pleasant thought, as is having Google Maps fully integrated into my car… maybe I’ll end up being a convert after all.

The Android Auto SDK is being supported by 40 partners, ranging from Hyundai to Porsche.

Android TV

“We’re simply giving TV the same level of attention as phones and tablets have traditionally enjoyed.  We want you to leverage your existing skills and investment in Android and extend them to TV.” said Google’s Dave Burke.

Google’s first stab at TV, Google TV, suffered from a lack of compelling content.  Android TV will let users watch live TV and streamed content in conjunction with integrated search capabilities that can provide things like cast bios/info along with related content on YouTube.  In addition to this Android TV will also leverage what already exists on your Android device, allowing you to cast Play store games and other Android device content/apps to your bigger screen in much the same manner as you can with a Chromecast.  This makes Android TV a much better proposition that Google TV ever was.

Chromecast update

Speaking of Chromecast, you can now mirror your Android device to the television wholesale through this as well (yes even the camera app can be mirrored if you can think of a reason to), bringing it up to speed with what you can do with mirroring via a Chrome browser session or an iOS Apple TV.

Other updates included:

• No longer needing to be on the same Wi-Fi network to cast content to a Chromecast (which was on my list of wants from the moment I bought one)
• A Backdrop feature that allows background photos to be pulled from your own library of content, or if that’s not your thing you can display weather or news instead

Google Fit

The open multi OS API, Google Fit, offers a platform similar to Apple’s HealthKit, aggregating all of the fitness data for a user in one place.  The likes of Nike and Adidas are already partnering.

You can get the developer preview here, which gives you access to the following:

• Sensors API – view available sensor data sources from connected apps and devices
• Recording API – connect your app and devices to Google Fit
• History API – access and edit the user’s fitness history

Google Cloud

Google Cloud has been improved with the introduction of a number of new tools that help developers diagnose and improve their systems whilst they continue to run over numerous servers in production:

• Cloud Save – the new version gives you a simple API for saving, retrieving, and synchronising user data to the cloud and across devices without needing to code up the backend (currently in private beta and will be available for general use soon)
• Cloud Monitoring – find and fix unusual behavior across your application stack
• Cloud Trace – visualise and understand time spent by your application for request processing
• Cloud Debugger – debug your applications in production with effectively no performance overhead

You can read more about it here on Google’s Developer blog.

Google also demoed Cloud Dataflow, which lets you create data pipelines for ingesting large data sets, and announced their acquisition of Appurify, a mobile test automation service.

This year’s Google I/O was very much Android I/O

Android was very much front and centre this year.  Google I/O covered in detail how Android is moving into more and more areas with Android Wear, Android TV and Android Auto, and it gave us a clear indication of how Google intends to ensure a unified approach to the Android UI, regardless of the context within which you are using it, be it from your car, through the TV or from the small screen strapped to your wrist.

Wherever you use Android, Material Design puts the emphasis squarely on great design, pleasing interfaces, and simple ways of accessing functionality.  This is a strong message to be sending out to both consumers and developers (whose jobs should be helped by the introduction of the new APIs and guidelines) and it underlines Google’s intentions for Android to be relevant in every corner of our lives.

WWDC 2014 Keynote showcases an enriched ecosystem and big changes for iOS developers

No new hardware announcements this time around, and no radical re-imagining of the iOS UI like last year, but still plenty of interesting reveals indicating Apple’s aims for the coming months, both from a consumer and a developer perspective.

The features showcased in the WWDC 2014 keynote should have a noticeable positive effect on the experience we get from our Apple devices.  Sure, we’ve seen some of this already, available in one way, shape or form via existing products or other OS; however here we have them better integrated into Apple’s OS ecosystem.  They put them at your fingertips.  Apple’s design effort allows you to take these features for granted and get the most out of your tech.

 

Enriching the Apple ecosystem

Apple started off by showing it’s latest version of OS X, which clearly stated their intention to bring desktop and mobile closer together through seamless integration and a shared style.  This year it was the turn of the Mac to experience a radical change in interface design; although thanks to iOS 7 last year it didn’t feel as jarring this time round, and the overall feel was still very much OS X.

Apple’s answer to Dropbox is the new online file storage service, iCloud Drive, which lets you store and access files virtually from your iPhone, iPad, Mac or even from your Windows based PC.  Handoff takes this a step further, allowing you to work on files seamlessly across devices that are signed into the same iCloud account.  For example start working on a doc on your iOS device whilst traveling, and then automatically pick up from where you left off on your Mac once you reach home or the office.

Although devices talking to each other and sharing docs via the cloud is nothing new, it’s how Apple integrates it into their devices that is interesting – removing the steps you’d normally have to work through when accessing a file.  An Apple device can use Bluetooth to prompt another device within range to pick up the file and continue from where you left off on the original – all without the need to go through directories or links in order to do so, and without the need to use a third party app.  It may be a small thing, but it’s this and other features, such as the new ability to make and receive calls from your Mac when connected to your iPhone nearby, that increases usability and really shows you where Apple is heading; continuity in an ecosystem seamlessly brought together.

 

The improvements coming with iOS 8

One of the coolest updates was to iOS 8’s push notifications, which now allow you to respond to text messages, invites etc. straight from the lock screen or from within the app that you are currently in.  This has been on my wish list for some time.

Apple catches up on the predictive typing technology front with the introduction of QuickType, which works pretty much as you’d expect, learning from your inputs, but additionally it will anticipate what you might type based on the content you are responding to, and learning from on device data (as oppose to Android, which uses Google in the cloud).  You can also now install third party keyboards.

iOS 8 also brings the Messages app up to speed, with the introduction of a number of improvements:

• You can now name threads and easily add and remove users.
• Opt to leave a group conversation or use the ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode to stop notifications for various durations.
• Share locations and send audio or video messages.  A received audio message can be listened to by raising the phone to your ear to listen to it straight from the lock screen.  Audio and video messages will self-destruct after two minutes, Snapchat-style (not Mission Impossible-style, which would just be wrong).

In mail you can now swipe down to access other emails without leaving the email you’re composing.  This is one update I will find hugely useful.

The Spotlight suggestions feature now integrates results from Wikipedia, App Store, iTunes, and more, so that it is no longer restricted to just the content on your device.

Speaking of iTunes, Apple introduced Family Sharing, which allows content purchased by different family members (sharing the same payment card) to be accessible automatically from any of their devices.  Parents can be contacted when a child tries to make a purchase and choose to accept or reject it.  This is another one that will be put to good use in my household.

Finally the Photos app gets some new editing options, and Siri now has Shazam support (that integrates with iTunes) and can be voice activated “OK Google” style (but with the much more appropriate “Hey Siri” command).

 

What’s new for developers?

Heralded as the biggest release for developers since the introduction of the App Store, iOS 8 brings with it over 4,000 new APIs that will increase the functionality readily available to developers.

Apple finally revealed HealthKit during the middle of their keynote, which can collect health data from third party apps and keep track of daily activities.  All of this data is then available through the Health app.  There is also the ability to share this information with the Mayo Clinic (a well respected health organisation that has done a lot to push mobile technology integration in the medical sector) – the Health app alerting your doctor if your condition should necessitate it.

The HomeKit SDK allows third party devices certified as “Made for iPhone/iPad/iPod” to be controlled via the HomeKit app, rather then through separate applications.  These third party devices could be anything: locks, webcams, thermostats, garage doors, lights etc.  and can be grouped together into a set of actions, called “scenes”.  For example a “go to bed” scene could turn down the heating, lock doors and dim lights.  There are already some well known partners involved in this endeavour, such as Philips, Kwikset, Honeywell, iHome and Sylvania.  It will be interesting to see what kind of momentum and interest manifests around this following once iOS 8 is released later this year.

The CloudKit developer framework will provide backend processing services for iOS 8, allowing developers to build cloud-connected apps.  Sounding similar to Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure, Apple’s Craig Federighi promised that it would be “free, with limits“. It remains to be seen what this actually means in practice – what costs will there be and is this specifically an Apple platform offering.

Apple claims it will bring “console level” graphics to iPhones and iPads with the introduction of a new 3D API, called Metal, that will allow game developers to take real advantage of Apple’s system on a chip processing power.  With better performance than that given by the use of OpenGL, Federighi boasted draw rates of up to 10 times faster.  Crytek, Epic, EA and Unity are apparently working on demos that demonstrate this.  The Zen Garden app, built with Unreal Engine 4 and demoed during the keynote, will be available free alongside the release of iOS 8, so we’ll all be able to check it out for ourselves.  Additional iOS 8 gaming frameworks, SceneKit and SpriteKit, were also announced and are aimed at making development of 2D games (SpriteKit) and rendering of three-dimensional scenes (SceneKit) easier and more efficient.

After its introduction last year, the Touch ID API will now finally be available to developers for use in their own apps, and I expect that this signals that all iPads and iPhones going forward are likely to have the fingerprint sensor incorporated.  There are a number of apps that spring to mind that I think would benefit greatly from this.

Extensions should prove useful to developers going forward too.  Similar to Android’s use of intents, iOS apps can now offer services to each other in a likewise manner.  Taking it a step further though, not only can you share to other installed apps, you can borrow useful actions and features from them as well.

We even have widgets on iOS now.  Not on our home screen though as with Android, these widgets sit a step away within the notification centre.

Worth mentioning are the iOS 8 changes to WebKit.  It has always been frustrating not receiving the same level of performance from in app webviews as you do from the Safari app in iOS.  As of iOS 8 though, all apps will be able to use the same JavaScript engine that is used in Safari.  Everything from Google’s Chrome app to the in-app browser pop-ups seen in Facebook etc., should now be as fast as Safari.  This is fantastic news, especially with hybrid apps becoming increasingly popular as a mobile solution.

The final reveal was a big one from a development perspective.  Apple presented its own programming language called Swift, which will eventually replace Objective C.  Apple says Swift is faster than Objective C, but many will want to spend some time with it and see what others achieve before they believe that.

Swift will be able to work alongside Objective C in the same app, happily working with Cocoa and Cocoa Touch, so there’s no need to sink wholesale into Swift right away. I expect with many developers out there experienced in Objective C and many existing apps in the App store written in it, it will be a while before we see mass migration to Swift.  You can download Apple’s free introduction to the Swift programming language from the iBooks Store.  To use Apple’s own words:

“Swift eliminates entire classes of unsafe code. Variables are always initialized before use, arrays and integers are checked for overflow, and memory is managed automatically. Syntax is tuned to make it easy to define your intent — for example, simple three-character keywords define a variable (var) or constant (let).”

Even though Swift uses the LLVM compiler to convert its code into optimised native code, you can use “Playgrounds” to type code in and see the results straight away:

“Type a line of code and the result appears immediately. If your code runs over time, for instance through a loop, you can watch its progress in the timeline assistant… When you’ve perfected your code in the playground, simply move that code into your project.”

You can find links to Swift resources here.

 

And that’s that for another year

So, plenty to get excited about.  Many will argue that a number of the reveals were things we’ve already seen to varying capacities elsewhere, but it doesn’t take away from the polish and level of integration with which Apple executes its own versions.  And in some cases Apple is no longer playing catch up, providing products and services that go one step beyond those offered by other operating systems and app providers.  On top of that, some announcements, such as Swift, are without doubt truly unique and important, and we’ll be feeling the consequences of those choices for some time to come.  By way of a comparison, it will be very interesting to see what comes out of Google I/O later this month.  Stay tuned…