It’s that time of the year again. In just a few short hours, Google I/O 2013 will kick off and unveil many things Google have been working on. Last year’s event was pretty huge for Android and the rest of the tech space. They unveiled a pure Google tablet w/ the Nexus 7, an entertainment streaming accessory w/ the Nexus Q, demoed new features of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and a tease of Google Glass.
Back to today, there have been several leaks of new products and software speculated to make its way to the I/O stage this year. We won’t be present but will be covering the event from the east coast. This is what we expect to see today.
Software
Android 4.3
With no evidence or signs of Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie is coming this year, we can expect more tweaking & enhancing done to Jelly Bean. What exactly will be the new features are one big question mark.
Android is looking to make their own Game Center for leaderboards, achievements, game syncing, matchmaking and cloud-based game saves. Now that Android is pretty much everywhere at this point, time to put some finishing touches & polish to many of their services.
Gmail
The popular email app for Android is finally set to get the look and features of that of the iOS version. So that’s a UI overhaul, Holo-theme, and a navigation panel that can be accessed by swiping from the left.
The desktop version of the mapping service will get a new look to match that of the Android apps on a bigger display. The much-needed update will give you an improved search box, full-screen mapping w/ reviews + ratings, images from Google Earth, flight search and Google Now abilities.
Google will take all of their messaging services from various apps (Google Talk, Google+ Messenger, & possibly Google Voice & SMS/MMS) and merge into one, called Hangouts. Whatever its called its presence is requested on iOS, its a train wreck over there.
After recently scoring deals with Universal & Sony, Google is said to unveil their subscription-based music streaming service. Making the Google Play suite a formidable force in entertainment. This would give them a head start ahead of Apple’s upcoming streaming radio service.
Hardware
The company’s flagship mini tablet is set to get a nice update on its specs. A thinner & lighter design w/ a 1080p HD display, faster Qualcomm quad-core processor, a rear-facing camera, & wireless charging. I hope I can trade mines in for the new one.
With no new Nexus smartphone ready at the moment, the still relevant Nexus 4 is set for a refresh as well. Expect a boost of storage up to 32GB, CDMA + LTE support, and arriving in a new White color. And yes, I’ll probably want one of these too.
We don’t expect to see any brand-new Nexus devices (Nexus 5) or the X Phone today. Probably won’t be announced until later this year along with Google’s smart watch. We shall see, the event kicks off at 12PM EST.
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