Android in 2020: how much could Google's OS change?
Android-powered handset saw the light of day. Obama
won his first Presidential election, Apple launched its App
Store (the iPhone had appeared the year before),
Google announced its own Chrome browser and we got
our first look at the company's new mobile OS on the T-
Mobile G1 .
The Android of 2016 is a world away from that 2008
version, where the Android Market was in its infancy,
there were no native video playback capabilities embedded
and the G1 had no multi-touch support. In short, it was a
phone that sat very happily on the pile of 'might make it
big one day if the stars align' moonshots that companies
were throwing out at that time.
But Google did make a success of Android, seeing it grow
to the most dominant operating system in the smartphone
world - but it will need to keep innovating and improving
its mobile OS to keep that lion's share.
We've re-tooled this article to take a peek into the
future with our new knowledge, helping us see what
Android might look like in the year 2020.
With new Android monikers now appearing about once a
year ( Android N expected around October), its codename
should start with an "R" - Rhubarb Pie, Rocky Road or
Rice Pudding, perhaps? Or maybe even Rolos, giving
Google another chocolate brand tie-up?
Here are the four key features we think could play the
biggest part in Android's ongoing evolution over the next
seven years:
Maps in Android in 2020
Apple's Maps app may not have set the world alight
when it launched, but it's now growing in use (to the
point where the brand is claiming it's the dominant
mapping platform on iPhones) and that means Google
needs to keep enriching its mapping app to stay ahead.
Recent Google Maps refreshes have brought with them
a greater level of customisation based on your personal
searches, and this will only increase in the future.
With Google Now tracking your every move, you might
already be seeing directions to your favourite watering
hole appear on-screen every Friday lunchtime or to the
football field every Monday evening, all handled
automatically.
Richard Jones, Principal Lecturer in Computing at
Buckinghamshire New University thinks this knowledge of
your habits could be key to the future of how we
interact with our phones and may alter how much we
depend on our phones.
He believes that what will drive innovation is what he
calls "Ambient Intelligence". He told us that "In essence
this will see people functioning naturally in digitally
enabled/enhanced environments using presence-
responsive devices that are tailored to their personalised
requirements and anticipatory of their behaviour."
So, for example, in 2020, if the bar in question has an
Android-friendly program installed, you might even find
your tipple of choice waiting for you when you arrive,
because Android will have been able to figure out where
you're going, what you're doing, and what you want to
drink.
The question of whether this will actually happen isn't as
clear - many people won't like to have their movements
predicted to such a degree, so it will likely be strictly opt-
in and have to involve some kind of credit - after all, no
bar is going to pour drinks on the off-chance you
appear, no matter how likely that is.
As for all of the services hanging off Maps, Google is
already hiring out the Street View cameras and enabling
you to peek inside buildings - you can expect Android
2020 to offer better imagery of most public buildings, as
well as tappable info as you move around.
Google augments its own data with user-generated
content to provide an even more up-to-date view of the
world, and once initiatives such as Jump (Google's own -
expensive - 360-degree VR rig) become more established
you'll be able to see most parts of the world in stunning
detail and from the comfort of your own home with the
rise of Cardboard... or whatever Google is up to next in
VR.
More broadly, with the rise of the Internet of Things,
we can expect mapping data to get even better. As
more gadgets come online that can provide real-time
updates on traffic, weather and more, directions are
going to get even better and more accurate, saving us
more time when travelling.
Perhaps one of the most interesting potential mapping
innovations could come out Google's Project Tango. This is
a real-time 3D mapping technology that uses phones with
two cameras on recreate your view in 3D - a bit like
Microsoft's Kinect.
This technology could be used not just to create cool-
looking 3D maps (imagine a 3D Streetview you could zoom
around like Grand Theft Auto), but could have practical
applications too such as helping the blind and partially
sighted navigate more easily - all using the power of your
phone.
Multiple brands are launching Tango-enabled phones this
year, so by 2020 this should have become an
established part of the Android ecosystem.
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