Google made a lot of big announcements during its annual I/O developers conference in Mountain View on Wednesday.
The event saw the unveiling of a range of new products, including a new messenger app, a home virtual assistant, as well as plans to improve Android and a virtual reality platform that comes with the new N operating system.
Below are the major announcements from Google's I/O 2016 event:
Google Assistant
Google Now has been upgraded to Google Assistant, which easily understands natural language and puts queries into context by using the search engine.
"Every single day, people say 'OK Google' and ask us questions that we help them with," CEO Sundar Pichai said at the conference. "We started becoming truly conversational because of our strengths in natural language."
Pichai demonstrated the assistant's capabilities by asking it what movies were playing in the evening, saying he wanted to bring the kids with him, and then purchasing tickets without closing the app.
The new Google Assistant can be accessed through its new messaging app Allo as well as Google Home.
Google Home
There's also a wide range of bot support within the app, such as OpenTable, which allows users to pick a restaurant and make reservations without ever leaving the app. Meanwhile, Allo's companion app Duo works just like Skype or Apple's FaceTime, which allows video calling.
Both Allo and Duo include end-to-end encryption, and will be available to Android and iOS users later this summer.
Virtual Reality
Google unveiled a lo-fi virtual reality headset, Cardboard, two years ago at I/O. But the company announced a mobile VR platform that's built on top of Android N, called Daydream.
The new feature gives users high-quality virtual reality on their Android devices.
The Verge also noted that Google has created VR versions for its apps, including YouTube, Street View, the Google Play Store, Play Movies, and Google Photos.
Google teased a design for a standalone headset and controller that allows people to use their hands in VR. The reference designs will be shared with third parties later this fall.
Android Wear
Google will update its Android Wear software that works independently from a smartphone. Apps for the next release will no longer need Wi-Fi, bluetooth, or cellular data in order to work.
"Everything works on just the watch," said David Singleton, VP of engineering at Google. He added that users of the wearable tech will have the ability to make calls directly from their wrists.
Instant Apps
The conference also saw a preview of Android Instant Apps, which allows users to immediately use parts of apps right in the Google Play store, even if they have not installed them.
Android smartphones will download the code to play a certain video, e-commerce product, or other content.
Developers modularize their apps, which Google Play fetches and runs in a screen.
Instant Apps will be available in the fall, and is compatible with Android operating systems from 2012 and later.
