In depth: What to expect from Google in 2015

What to expect from Google in 2015

2014 has been a big year for Google. It kickstarted the smart watch revolution, we've met the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9, and Google has shown us what the future of mobile looks like with Android 5.0 Lollipop.

It's just getting started, though. As well as all the annual updates we've come to expect each year, 2015 will see Google have a crack at some entirely new platforms, as well as having another go at ones it has tried and failed to exploit in the past.

Want to know more? Read on to find out all the new advancements to expect from Google HQ in 2015.

Android M

One thing to look forward to even if you have no plans to buy a new phone or tablet next year is the next major version of Android. Will it be Android 5.1 or Android 6.0? Is Google going to go for a Malteasers tie-in, or will it be called Marzipan? We just don't know yet.

Traditionally the major new versions of Android are shown off at the Google I/O developer conference, which in 2015 is to be held between June 24 and June 26. That's a bit of a long wait, but far from a full year.

As Android 5.0 introduced a brand new UI style, called Material, it seems likely that the next main version with focus on altering the feature set rather than the look. That doesn't necessarily mean adding loads of the things, but could well involve redesigning things like multi-tasking, how notifications function and how the back-end performs.

In time we're sure to see some leaks that tell us a bit more about what to expect. But for now it's largely a case of guess-work, beyond predictable improvements to integration with things like Android Wear watches, Android TV and Chromecast.

Cardboard vs Oculus Rift

At first Google Cardboard seemed like a joke. It's a cardboard VR headset into which you slot a Nexus 5 to get an Oculus Rift-style experience on a shoestring budget.

The only 'meat' to Cardboard is a pair of plastic magnifying lenses that trick your eyes into thinking you're seeing a much larger display than the 5-inch one perched just in front of your eyeballs. Google has really beefed-up the Cardboard from the back-end recently, though, making it much easier to see which apps offer cardboard support. Support for devs has increased too, with a new SDK for Unity meaning VR Cardboard games will be relatively easy to make.

Looking to VR also helps to explain some of the design decisions in the Nexus 6 too. The large 6-inch OLED display is just perfect for a phone-based VR headset, with the response times needed to avoid the motion sickness caused when using an LCD screen.

It seems highly likely that Google will release a more upscale headset frame in 2015, one designed for the Nexus 6, or at least encourage third party manufacturers to start producing their own. It can't let the Sony Project Morpheus and Oculus Rift have all the fun.

Android to go in cars with Auto

2014 saw Android cram its way into watches in the form of Android Wear. But it's not stopping there.

In 2015 it's going to start being used in cars, courtesy of Android Auto. The system has already been shown off at the LA Auto Show, and it'll feature in the 2015 edition of the Hyundai Sonata, among other models.

Rather like CarPlay, the Apple equivalent, it hooks up with your Android phone and is operated using a big display on the main control panel of the car. The main use for it is pretty obvious: GPS navigation.

Like Android Wear, Auto uses a clear and simple interface that takes cues from Google Now, with basic apps and notifications. Using your phone's data connection, it offers full voice recognition to avoid you having to take your eyes off the road, letting you control music with your voice and more.

Absolutely loads of car makers have signed up to work with Google on Android Auto, including leviathans like Volkswagen, Renault and Ford.

We'll have to wait to see the exact models it turns up in, though. Before you get too excited, don't expect to see it in your basic supermini as it'll likely command a fair premium, just as Apple CarPlay does in the few models that offer it. Tablets may cost pennies these days, but getting a big screen in a car costs a fair old whack.

Google Glass to get less nerdy

Google Glass is the nerd core show-off gadget of choice for many flush geeks, but soon it may be a lot more, well, normal-looking.

At present, Glass uses a chunky plastic prism onto which the glasses' display is projected, giving that iconic Google Glass look that makes some people want to punch Glass owners in the face. Not to mention mug them down a dark alley.

However, the next version is likely to use a smaller display unit, and a smaller 'brain' and battery. Google Projects' Babak Parviz talked in 2014 of their intention to make Google Glass 'disappear' on your head, and while Parviz has since scarpered off to Amazon, we assume he wasn't the only one to have this aim.

Getting smaller and neater is a natural progression. Every year chips miniaturise and get more effective, enabling smaller components across the board.

We also reckon the 2015 Google Glass may be cheaper. As it sheds the early adopter 'Explorer' tag, Google's going to want to make it a more accessible gadget all-round.

More to expect from Google in 2015

Android in TVs, but properly this time

Android on TVs is nothing new. Google had a stab at it with Google TV years ago, something that's all-but forgotten, and there have been loads of set-top boxes running some version or other of Android. They range from the dreadful to the really quite good — the Amazon Fire TV box being the current star.

However, in 2015 we'll see a renaissance of Android on your TV, because of Android TV, a platform Google unveiled in 2014 during the I/O conference. The software is here, and it uses Android 5.0 Lollipop at its core, the same found in the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9.

What we're waiting for is the hardware. At present there's the Nexus Player, a tiny little set-top box, but it's only available in selected territories and really isn't there yet in terms of what you can do with it.

We want to see some other manufacturers jump into bed with Android TV, to produce (fingers crossed) an even lower-cost alternative to the Amazon Fire TV. Android TV is also set to be built into TVs from Sharp, Sony and Philips in 2015.

Proving 64-bit in mobile actually matters

Android 5.0 L is the first version of Google's mobile OS to offer native support for 64-bit processors. We're starting to see them roll-out, and by half-way through 2015 just about every new phone under the sun will have a 64-bit processor. But what will they be good for?

We're hoping Google will show us next year. There's a common perception that the main benefit is that 64-bit system can use 4GB of RAM or more, but that's really just a side benefit.

64-bit CPUs are going to offer way more processor registers than current 32-bit chips, and that'll hugely increase their ability to process large amounts of data at once.

Despite offering 64-bit support, Google hasn't made a big song and dance about it yet. After all, even its own Nexus 6 doesn't have a 64-bit processor. The 64-bit resolution will be something for 2015 to tackle.

How that'll pan out in Android itself remains to be seen, but it's certainly something to look forward to. One likely benefit is next-gen multi-tasking. Samsung has offered plenty of the stuff in its own custom Android interfaces, but we have a feeling Google may bake-in more sophisticated multitasking in Android next year.

Android Wear's response to the Apple Watch

Google managed to get the jump on Apple with its Android smart watches. By the time the Apple Watch is released, Wear watches will have been out for a full six months.

But how is Google going to respond to Apple's Watch? This is something we're looking forward to finding out about in 2015. We'll likely see tighter integration between watch and phone, increased app support and greater customisation. Android Wear only just got its own section on Google Play — it's a real baby in Android terms.

Google's part in this is of course important, but the new hardware is just as crucial. HTC is going to release its first Android Wear watch in 2015, and the LG G Watch R2 is rumoured to be the first Wear watch to have its own 4G connection, making it far less dependent on a phone.

But will Google or its manufacturing partners address the biggest problem with Android Wear watches, that battery life is pretty much universally rubbish?

Android Silver might become a reality

Android Silver — is it dead or just waiting for 2015? For those not in the know, Android Silver is the long-rumoured series of high-end Android phones that use vanilla Android rather than a custom interface. It's like the Google Play Editions we've already seen, but on a much larger scale.

While these phones have been hotly tipped since early 2014, Silver has reportedly been put on hold after manufacturers simply weren't that interested in the project. It is rather like saying "See all that stuff you've been working on for years? Yeh, bin all that" to companies like Samsung and LG.

Back in May it was reported that LG is to release one of the first Silver phones in 2015, but will it actually turn up? We don't have much faith that it will, not when the Nexus 6 has only just arrived.

Will Android's 2015 cloud have a silver lining? (Sorry… couldn't resist.)

Chrome and YouTube to go child friendly

Google is working on kid-friendly versions of Chrome and YouTube (which it owns) designed for users of 12 years and under. The younger generation is in Google's sights for 2015.

We've seen a handful of tablets designed for kids, but they've almost been universally rubbish, just budget tablets with some half-baked parental control features and lots of colourful plastic.

These kid-friendly versions of apps could well be the start of a move towards bambino-friendly tablets, with potentially much greater optimisation for young users built into Nexus devices. At present there's a bit (you can setup a limited user profile for the kids) but Google could easily do a lot more in this area.

It'd be a sensible move too. Low-cost tablets like the Tesco Hudl 2 are nigh-on perfect family devices, but there isn't really all that much optimisation for younger users. Of course, plenty of them are more advanced than the parents who bought the thing.

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Palm may be revived under Alcatel One Touch brand

Remember Palm? The once flamboyant, market leading brand of PDA (personal digital assistant) and smartphone manufacturer was purchased back in 2010 by HP for $1.2 billion and suffered a dramatic fate as the brand disappeared within a year.

Things might change pretty soon though as Palm aficionados at WebOS Nation have noticed that Palm.com is redirecting to another site called mynewpalm.com, one that shows a looping video of the Palm logo with the text "Coming Soon" and "Smart Move"; the latter slogan is also Alcatel One Touch's.

Another document surfaced which shows that Palm's trademark has been transferred to a company whose paperwork is signed by Nicolas Zibell, "President Americas and Pacific" at Alcatel One Touch, which pretty much gives it away.

Alcatel One Touch is owned by one of the largest TV producers, Chinese-based TCL Corporation. Alcatel itself was a French technology brand before it carved off and part of it sold to TCL. The latter also owns AOC and Philips TV rights and licenses the RCA brand.

TCL Corporation will be at CES 2015, which debuts next week, and it will be interesting to see whether the company uses it as a platform to launch Palm-labelled devices.

Source: Ars Technica

• Reminisce about what could have been with the Palm Pre and the Palm Pre 2

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Data reveals Chrome OS might have been a roaring success in December

Stats published earlier today by analytics company NetApplications suggests that Google's operating system, Chrome OS, might have a bumper month thanks possibly to Christmas sales.

Data compiled for the month of December 2014 shows that Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 suffered significant dips while Windows XP and OSes classified as "Other" have increased significantly.

"Other", which almost certainly includes Chrome OS, saw its market share more than double from 8.56% to 17.52% in a month; in comparison, Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 have less than 12% of the global desktop OS market.

Chrome OS's surge may also explain a massive jump in desktop browser market share in December 2014 for Google's browser. Chrome more than doubled its market share, overtaking Internet Explorer for the first time in NetApplications' surveys.

Chromebooks have been a popular gift at Christmas, occupying three out of the five top gift ideas at Amazon US. We've reached out to Netmarketshare to find out more about the data published.

Source: NetMarketshare

• Check our review of Windows 10

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In depth: Change for good: 5 bits of tech that are going to make the world a better place

It goes without saying that we at TechRadar are a forward-thinking bunch. But while we spend much of our time gazing into the crystal ball, not everything that manifests is worth telling grandma about. Sure, we'll tell you that Apple is probably going to improve the camera on the iPhone 7, or that we'll be seeing more than a few 4K TVs at CES this year, but every so often we get to tell you about something that's going to change lives in a meaningful way.

Because sometimes you read about something and you know, almost instantly, that it's going to make the world a better place. There's a lot of exciting high-impact tech on the horizon, but we've picked out the five (well OK, maybe six) most imminent bits of technology that we believe are going to make the world a better place, and we should see them making waves this year.

1. Skype Translator

You'd have to be a stone-cold luddite to not be impressed with Skype Translator. What Microsoft has pulled off is nothing short of a marvel, letting people of different languages converse in their native tongue in real time - all thanks to some clever tech that audibly translates every sentence to the other party. The implications will be huge: language learning for education; connecting with distant relatives; international business relationships. Heck, it could make for some interesting cyber dates...

The software is still in its early preview stage, but expect to see it roll out in full glory in 2015 with a number of compatible languages - and more to come down the line.

2. Electric cars gain momentum

The electric car has had a slow and uncertain rise, but thanks to big players like Tesla we really feel like the electric vehicle's time has come. We don't need to tell you the environmental reasons why they're important, but why have they not gained more momentum thus far? The main drawback has been distance but that's starting to change. The Tesla Roadster is being upgraded to extend its range to 400 miles, and in four months time you'll be able to drive across the UK for no cost at all in a Tesla S. Tesla also wants you to know that it takes less time to swap the battery on your Tesla S than it does to fill a tank of gas.

3. As will driverless cars

The driverless cars are coming and no one can stop them. Unless you've been living in a cave for the past three years you'll know that Google has been leading the charge in this area. It's just revealed the next evolution of its autonomous vehicle - now ready for the roads - but as with most things Google it won't be building the final product itself, but will enlist the help of established names in the field instead.

2015 will be the year that driverless cars take a big leap forward, and will see the UK playing a significant role: four British locations will be host to driverless car trials starting this month, with the aim of teaching us how autonomous vehicles can be assimilated into our daily lives. That includes driverless buses.

4. Cheap internet for the masses

We at TechRadar are big fans of Elon Musk, but it's his work on internet accessibility that we're probably most impressed by right now. Musk wants to offer unfettered, low cost internet to the masses via a fleet of micro-satellites. And by gosh he's going to do it.

In November Musk promised an announcement "in 2 to 3 months" and calendar fans will know that puts us at code red. Expect to hear more any day now.

But Musk isn't the only one. Google and Facebook are also working to bring widespread internet connectivity to the third world, and we can expect to see more developments in 2015.

5. Health

Health is an area of technology that's so multi-faceted right now it can often feel too fragmented. But we believe that we're approaching a point where wearable, fitness-focused technology will become mainstream, health will be gamified, and suddenly everybody will care about their wellbeing. There's no guarantee that the smartwatch will stick around, but wearable technology is here to stay.

The key is to make the data meaningful - Jawbone is a great example of someone who's doing it right - rather than just telling us that we've walked 60 more steps than we did yesterday. Yes, gamifying it will help more people to take interest, but that information must then be turned into something that can make us fitter, healthier, more productive...

Bonus number 6: teleportation

OK, this one might be a bit of a stretch but that doesn't make it entirely impossible. If there was one takeaway point from the discovery of the Higgs Boson it should have been that travelling at the speed of light may now be possible. Some thinkers on the Higgs Boson believe that by "shutting off" a person's Higgs field, they might be able to travel at this speed and potentially teleport from one place to another.

One response to this is that, to do so, you'd probably have to heat that person up by billions of degrees, which doesn't sound like much fun to us. But who knows - we may see teleportation one day become a reality after all. Just don't expect much to happen this year.

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Interview: What's next for cloud collaboration?

Introduction

As teams move away from traditional office locations, tools need to develop to support this new team structure. But, what's next? Many organisations are turning to the cloud for collaoration and project management tools to cope with the shift. TechRadar Pro talks to Per Wising, head of R&D at online project management software firm Projectplace, to find out more.

TechRadar Pro: Why is there now such a boom in collaboration and project management tools?

Per Wising: Collaboration and project management tools go hand in hand with the rise of cloud computing as more and more businesses invest in the technology. There has been a marked rise in the number of satellite teams, made up of in-house, suppliers and freelancers spread across different geographies – meaning there is a greater demand for online tools that can help bring the team together online. It's easier to communicate efficiently through modern online collaboration tools than the more traditional tools previously used.

TRP: Why do companies and individuals need project management tools?

PW: Businesses require an effective way to bring all the different elements of a project together and be able to communicate effectively throughout all stages of a project. Using a project management tool to track progress can help provide visibility to all team members involved. It can also help visualise all of the activity in a distributed work environment, whilst making planning and execution easy. Your job title doesn't need to be 'Project Manager', and you might not identify yourself as a project manager, but inevitably everyone manages campaigns and tasks that could make use of these tools.

TRP: How are cloud project management tools better than traditional alternatives?

PW: The make-up of our teams is changing, and we need the tools to support this new working style. We're no longer working 9-5 Monday to Friday in the office; we're working varied hours, weekends and across multiple locations. A cloud project management tool with a community element can help bring the disparate team closer together, while empowering each member of the team to reach the common goal.

With cloud tools users can access them at any time, from anywhere, meaning that updates and feedback can be entered in real-time without any delays. With traditional paper based or document based tools it's harder to share updates, and any changes might have to wait until users are back in the office. Cloud tools can provide the transparency needed for team members and motivate individuals to work towards a common task.

TRP: Aren't ordinary Gantt style tools still widely used? Why do you think there is now a need for cloud collaboration alternatives?

PW: Traditional Gantt tools may still be used, but we often hear that these are very time consuming for the project manager, and they spend more time designing the Gantt chart, than actually completing any tasks within the chart. Having cloud versions eliminates the cumbersome admin of traditional Gantt charts, and allow for easier editing and provide easy access to all members. New tools can help address the modern project manager's needs in the anywhere-working, cloud era and to enable smoother collaboration between project managers, team members and senior management. In addition they empower teams to self-organise, prioritise tasks and work towards a common goal.

TRP: What do you think the next big thing in collaboration and project management technologies will be?

PW: Mobile will be the next big thing in collaboration. We can already see apps being developed for cloud tools, and it will only be a matter of time before they're widely available for all desktop applications and devices. As the workforce shifts from office based to a more fluid team style, there will be a greater focus on mobile apps that empower individuals to use smartphones, tablets and laptops.

TRP: How will cloud-based collaboration tools change the traditional team setup?

PW: Cloud collaboration tools provide more visibility and transparency of the whole project as opposed to just each individual's tasks. They nurture a more collaborative environment where everyone is invited to provide feedback and thoughts regardless of job roles and seniority. Team members are able to see the bigger picture and understand how their task fit into the bigger project. In addition, they empower users to work effectively with suppliers and freelancers, expanding team size as teams are able to work closer to the project than ever before.

TRP: Do you think the upcoming changes in flexible working will affect teams' productivity and motivation? What will it mean to the team?

PW: That's certainly what many CEOs fear will happen as they receive an influx of requests from staff to work from home. However, cloud collaboration tools can help bring teams together and give them a sense of contributing towards a common cause and reaching a common goal. The right tools can empower and at the same time motivate the team. Business owners should look to technology that enables users to be connected at all times from anywhere, to empower their staff to work effectively whether they are at their desks in the office or working from home. The key to productivity is often motivation.

TRP: Are there any security implications or issues with these types of tools?

PW: There will always be the security after thought with anything in the cloud, or online for that matter, but it shouldn't be a barrier. The truth of the matter is though that although these security risks are real, cloud providers put a lot of effort into ensuring their services are secure, so whether you like it or not, your data is probably more secure in the cloud than it is in your own office.

Businesses just need to ensure they select a credible provider.

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CES 2015: Samsung's new Ativ One 7 PC will bring the curves to CES

Samsung has ensured that its CES 2015 hype train left the station early with a slew of announcements this week, the latest of which is the Windows 8.1-powered Ativ One 7 Curved all-in-one curved PC.

The company says it's the first curved all-in-one PC, with a 27-inch "full HD display, smart connectivity and advanced sound features."

The announcement also highlights the display's color capabilities and wide 178-degree viewing angles, its "metallic deco frame" ("with complimentary stand"), and the PC's cross-device content sharing and Samsung phone connectivity features through SideSync 3.0 and Samsung Link 2.0.

As far as specs, the Ativ One 7 Curved packs Intel's Core i5 chip, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB flash drive, and Bluetooth Music Play 3.0, which lets users connect Bluetooth devices to the PC's dual 10W speakers even when it's turned off.

The Samsung Ativ One 7 Curved PC will launch in the first quarter of 2015 at $1,300 (about £830, AU$1,600). Watch out for more coverage at CES next week.

Samsung this week also introduced a set of alien-looking speakers and curved soundbars, a more powerful Galaxy Note 4, a virtual reality streaming service, and a fanless MacBook Air competitor.

• You'll want to read TechRadar's Samsung Galaxy Note 4 review

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