The major announcements from Google I/O 2016

Google’s I/O developers’ conference is their biggest event of the year and doesn’t usually disappoint. This year is no different with several major software and hardware announcements.

Here are the 4 biggest announcements Google made this year at I/O 2016:

1) Android N

The release of Android N came as no surprise, but there was a lot of stuff we didn’t know about Marshmallow’s successor.

The major software update will bring us a new Vulkan 3D graphics API for better gaming visuals, fast install times, longer battery life and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

Android N is due out later this summer so I’m sure we will learn a lot more about the up and coming updates over the next few months.

2) Daydream Virtual Reality

Google appears to be moving away from cardboard VR headsets and moving onto the Daydream which will be built into Android N. It will be a phone based VR and several manufacturers will be creating Daydream compatible smartphones including Samsung, LG and HTC.

We expect to see them also releasing their own headset shells for Daydream too.

These smartphones and VR headsets are likely to be released early autumn.

3) Wearable technology

Android Wear hasn’t seen that much success and can seem rather dated compared to the Apple Watch but Google hasn’t given up on it quite yet. Google will be releasing Android Wear 2.0, an update with significant changes to your wearable experience.

The new software will deliver better notifications, smart replies directly from the watch and surprisingly a full keyboard.

Android Wear 2.0 will also allow you to run your smartwatch separately without your smartphone, connecting the two devices through WiFi or cellular connections rather than Bluetooth. Some much needed features to help Android Wear succeed.

Again this update is likely to be out in autumn.

4) Allo and Duo

Allo is a new text messing app which has a few clever features such as Google Assistant which allows you to have text conversations with the virtual assistant as well as receive answers pulled straight off the web.

Duo is a video chat app, similar to FaceTime. Again Duo comes with a few very cool features and will be available this summer on Android and iOS.