source: http://mashable.com/2014/06/25/google-io-everything-to-know/

Google I/O 2014: Everything You Need to Know

Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Android, Chrome and Apps for Google Inc., speaks during the Google I/O Annual Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, June 25, 2014.

IMAGE: MASHABLE, KURT WAGNER

BY KARISSA BELL

Google had no shortage of announcements during its almost-three-hour developers conference on Wednesday. Some announcements, like Android Wear and Android L, were expected; others took us by surprise and played out differently than anticipated.

Just in case you didn't watch the full conference, we've rounded up some of the biggest highlights, below.

Android L

Google appears to be ditching its dessert theme with the latest version of Android, simply called Android L, which will roll out to users in the fall. (A preview version is available to developers now.)

One of L's biggest features is the platform's new design language, Material Design, which will run across Android phones and tablets, Chrome OS, smartwatches and the web.

Android L also comes with some serious performance enhancements, promising to bring "PC-like gaming" to phones and tablets and new controls to optimize battery life. Notifications also got a much-needed overhaul; users will be able to read and dismiss notifications directly from their device's lock screen.

Speaking of the lock screen, Android L also integrates with Android Wear-powered smartwatches to authenticate your identity. This means

if you're wearing a smartwatch running Android Wear, you won't need to enter your pin to unlock your phone

if you're wearing a smartwatch running Android Wear, you won't need to enter your pin to unlock your phone.

The company also announced a new initiative, Android One, aimed at bringing high quality affordable devices to developing countries like India.

Android Wear

Google's platform for smartwatches and other wearables will integrate with Android L and Android TV. When downloading a new app to your phone, for example, the Android Wear version of the app will automatically download onto your device. Subsequent app updates will also be automatically downloaded.

Notifications on Android Wear are designed to display only the most relevant and important information at any given moment. Notifications will come from the apps on your phone and smartwatch, as well as contextual alerts from Google Now. If you get a new notification on your phone, such as an incoming text message, your watch will vibrate and a card will display a preview of the message.

Notifications are also "glanceable," much like those recently added to Google Glass. This means you can interact with them by simply raising your wrist.

The platform also has the ability to track fitness stats like your daily steps and your heart rate, provided your watch supports those features. The first Android Wear-powered devices— LG's G and Samsung's Gear Live smartwatch— are both available now, and Motorola's Moto 360 will go on sale later this summer.

Android Auto

Google has finally brought Android to the car with Android Auto, the company's connected-car platform not unlike Apple's CarPlay.

The system is completely voice-enabled and allows you to cast navigation, communication and music apps from your phone to your car's dashboard. Voice commands, enabled by Google Now, allow you to send and receive text messages, get directions and make phone calls with only voice commands.

The company already has more than 40 partners for the system via its Open Automotive Alliance, launched earlier this year. Android Auto's launch will coincide with the rollout of Android L later this year, but developers will soon be able to start building their own apps for the car with the Android Auto SDK, which will be "published soon."

Android TV

Google unveiled Android TV, which combines live TV, Android apps and Google Play services.

The platform emphasizes easy searching and supports voice-enabled searching. Searches can also be controlled via an Android Wear-powered smartwatch.

Android TV also supports Google Cast, meaning it will function much like a Chromecast, allowing you to cast content from your phone or tablet to your set. Speaking of Chromecast, Google also announced a few major improvements to its streaming dongle.

You no longer need to connect to the same Wi-Fi network to use a Chromecast, meaning you can easily connect someone else's device to your television without sharing your Wi-Fi password and network information. Chromecast will also support mirroring between your television and phone or tablet.

Google is partnering with Sony and Sharp to develop Android TV-supported sets and Razer and Asus to make gaming specific set-top boxes.

Chromebooks

Google appears to be pushing to bring Chrome OS and Android closer together to create a more unified experience between to the two platforms.

Android notifications, and eventually native Android apps, will be coming to Chromebooks. The notifications feature will allow you to view incoming call, text message and battery level notifications directly on your desktop. Native Android applications will follow and we got a brief preview of native versions of Vine, Flipboard and Evernote running on a Chromebook.

The effort is still in "early days" of development, it's not yet clear when we'll see more than just a preview of the feature.

Google Fit

Google also unveiled Google Fit, its new platform for tracking health and fitness information. The platform will be open to developers and an SDK will be made available in the coming weeks.

Fit will serve as a hub for all your health and fitness data and will take advantage of data collected by sensors on your phones and wearable devices to provide relevant recommendations. Early partners include Noom, Nike+, Addidas, Basis, Runtastic, RunKeeper, Polar, Withings, HTC and Motorola.