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Cloud Computing solutions, including Software, Infrastructure, Platform, Unified Communications, Mobile, and Content as a Service are well-established and growing. The evolution of these markets will be driven by the complex interaction of all participants, beginning with end customers.

Edge Strategies has conducted over 80,000 interviews in behalf of our clients in both mature and emerging markets with decision-makers across the full cloud ecosystem- including Vendors, Service Provider and End Customer organizations.

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  • Building process to reduce churn, build loyalty and measure Customer Lifetime Value
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We provide current, actionable insight into business decision processes across market segments, from SMBs to Large Enterprises. Our work leverages a deep understanding of the business models of key Cloud Ecosystem participants including:

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Our experience allows us to get up to speed quickly on new projects. We are experts in designing and conducting quantitative and qualitative research. Based on our focused findings, we work with our clients to make the decisions necessary to gain early success in a variety of markets, including SaaS, IaaS, PaaS, UCaaS, and mobile/device services.    

 

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News

  • Dropbox adds end-to-end encryption for team folders

    Dropbox now offers end-to-end encryption and key management for customers on certain paid plans, part of a range of updates to the file sharing application announced this week.  Customers files are already encrypted “at rest” using 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standards, said Dropbox, but the end-to-end encryption integrated into team folders offers an added layer of security.  The change means that only the sender and recipient can access content, with “not even Dropbox” able to view customers files, the company said in a blog post Wednesday.  Dropbox said it will also provide customers with access to encryption keys, managed by FIPS 140-2 Level 3 key management services. Information on how to activate and manage team folder encryption is available on the Dropbox website. The company warned that end-to-end encryption restricts certain features in the app, such as the ability to share files with users outside of a team, and might not be suitable for all files stored in a Dropbox account. Other security features include the ability to manage team membership and invites from the Dropbox admin dashboard, and an updated Trust Center that contains security and compliance information related to Dropbox products.  The security features are now available to customers on Dropbox Advanced, Business Plus, and Enterprise plans. Dropbox announced several other new features as part of the latest release. It will be easier to collaborate with colleagues on certain Microsoft files from within the Dropbox application, with a co-authoring feature that lets multiple users edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents at the same time. Users can also see who’s working on a document and any edits made in real-time. (That feature is currently in beta.) There’s also an integration between Dropbox Replay and Microsoft OneDrive, which lets users pull files from Microsoft’s file storage platform into the video and audio collaboration tool more easily for reviews and approvals.  Dropbox Replay will also get new features, including the ability to review and approve additional file types such as PDF and PSD files, integration with music production application Avid Pro Tools, and dynamic watermarking to help protect proprietary content. Other updates include changes to the Dropbox’s website UI, following a revamp last October. The new capabilities let users preview files more easily, pin favorite files to the navigation bar, and access suggest quick actions for files. Cloud Storage, Collaboration Software, Productivity Software, Vendors and Providers

  • The unspoken obnoxiousness of Google’s Gemini improvements

    Depending on your perspective, two very different stories are a-brewin’ right now here in the land o’ Googley matters. In one corner, Gemini, the AI-powered chatbot Google galumphed into the world this year, is getting better! I’ve lost count of the number of assorted little improvements that’ve shown up for the tool as of late, as it relates to Android and its increasingly apparent role as the platform’s next-generation virtual assistant. At the same time, that progression emphasizes an unpleasant and often unspoken truth around Google’s rush to get its jolly green generative AI giant everywhere imaginable: This thing was rolled out way too soon and long before it was ready. It’s being forced down our throats for the sake of Google’s business benefit and at the expense of our user experience. And it’s being awkwardly and hurriedly shaped into a role it wasn’t designed to serve in a rushed-out, piecemeal manner instead of in the thoughtful, meticulous way that would have made it much more palatable for those of us who rely on Google’s services. That first fork is the story Google wants to tell. The latter one, though, is the reality most of us in the real world are experiencing. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’ve got a sneaking feeling it’s only gonna get worse from here. [No sugar-coating, no nonsense. Get level-headed perspective on the news that matters with my free Android Intelligence newsletter. Three things to know and try every Friday!] Google, Assistant, and the rocky road to Gemini Let’s back up for a second to set the scene around this saga — ’cause goodness gracious, is it a strange yet simultaneously very characteristic-seeming tale, for anyone who’s been watching Google long. Back in 2016, y’see, Google launched one of its biggest company-wide initiatives ever — a saucy little somethin’ called Google Assistant. It’s hard now to even convey just how big of a deal Assistant’s arrival was at that point and then continued to be over the years that followed, up until extremely recently. Much like a certain plus-symbol-involving service we shall no longer name (pour one out…), Google set out to make Assistant appear everywhere. From early on, the service connected to countless other Google services — from its integration into every imaginable corner of Android and ChromeOS to its home at the core of all Google-associated smart displays, TV systems, and speakers. It came to Android Auto, even, and showed up as the branding behind all sorts of smart Pixel calling features. Heck, Google’s presence at tech conventions turned into a literal Assistant playground for years, with endless plastering of Assistant branding everywhere you looked and — well, stuff like this: Assistant became the common thread across all of Google’s high-profile products, and even that was still just the start of the company’s grand Assistant ambitions. A few short years ago, Google was laying the groundwork for Assistant to evolve into its own fully featured platform. As a certain greasy-beaked tech philosopher put it at the time: Assistant is the Google platform of the future. Whether we’re talking about Smart Displays, the Home Hub, or Android devices, the operating system is but a pawn in Assistant’s larger-scale and higher-stakes game. It seems safe to say Google devoted more time, energy, and likely also money toward building up Assistant as a tool and a brand than any other effort in recent memory. And, not surprisingly, it worked! Those of us who spend our days within the Google ecosystem learned to depend on Assistant for all sorts of tasks, ranging from quick actions across Android to cross-platform memory storage and on-demand smart device control. And then — well, you know what happened, right? ChatGPT showed up. The tech industry freaked out about its future. And everything related to Assistant went to hell in a handbag. The Assistant-to-Gemini (d)evolution The signs of Assistant flailing first started showing up mid-last-year. I’d gotten message after message from readers of my Android Intelligence newsletter and members of my Intelligence Insider Community asking the same basic question: What in the world is going on with Google Assistant? People were noticing that Assistant was acting oddly and becoming more and more erratic. Commands that once worked fine were suddenly leading to strange results. Sometimes, Assistant just wouldn’t answer at all — or would return random errors anytime you tried to summon it. I was among the lucky who didn’t run into any such issues for a while, but that’s absolutely changed in more recent months. The many Assistant-associated gizmos scattered around my home — speakers, screens, and other “Hey Google”-responding gadgets in practically every room — have become exercises in frustration. Error after error, failed command after failed command. Plain and simple, what was once a reliable tech tool has turned into a steaming hot mess of disappointment. Even my kids, once obsessed with what they saw as the all-knowing and omnipotent Google genie, have now taken to berating and insulting the brand with inspired barbs like “Hey Google, why are you so stupid?” and — more direct yet — “Hey Google, you suck.” While Google has yet to officially give us any guidance about its plans for the future of Assistant and how Gemini might fit into that, it’s become increasingly apparent over time that the company’s moving away from Assistant and devoting its time and resources toward building up Gemini as its replacement. And that brings us to the other side of our current unchosen reality: When Gemini first showed up as an “experimental” Assistant alternative on Android earlier this year, it was an underwhelming glimpse at a future precisely none of us asked for — and that’s putting it mildly. As I wrote back in February: The real problem with Gemini as the Android assistant is that Google’s forgotten why a phone assistant actually matters — and what we, as actual users in the real world, need from such a service. Using Gemini in place of Google Assistant feels like having a square peg awkwardly forced into a round hole. It feels more like an awkward adaptation of an AI chatbot than a phone assistant — something that’s half-baked at present and not at all intended or appropriate for this context. And the more time you spend using Gemini, the more apparent that disconnect becomes. To Google’s credit, in the time since then, Gemini as an Android assistant has only continued to get better. It’s clear that Google’s working to fill in the gaps and bring the service up to speed with Google Assistant as quickly as possible. Heck, this week alone, we’ve seen signs of Google cookin’ up a Gemini automation system to take the place of Assistant routines, an improvement that’d allow Gemini to interact with streaming apps and control audio playback on your phone (something that, yes, has thus far not been possible), and a series of under-the-hood enhancements that’d make Gemini faster and more “natural” to interact with on Android. Hey, that’s great! All of it. (Remember our diverging dialogues from a minute ago?) But more than anything, it highlights just how badly Google has bungled this transition — and how much trust it’s rightfully gonna cost it in the eyes of its most committed users. The Gemini on Android reality The truth is that using Gemini as an assistant on Android, to borrow a phrase from my wise progeny, still sucks. And it’s not because its generative AI parlor tricks aren’t up to snuff. That stuff — all the new tricks Gemini brings to the table — honestly doesn’t matter all that much for most of us in this context. As I mused a couple months back: When it comes to an on-demand mobile device assistant, we don’t need the ability to have mediocre text or creepy images created for us from anywhere across Android. We need a fast, consistent, reliable system for interacting with our phone and other connected devices, getting things accomplished with our core productivity services, and getting short bursts of basic info spoken aloud to us in response to simple questions. What Google’s scrambling to do now is catch Gemini up with those foundational basics — the table stakes, in other words, and the bare minimum of what makes for an effective and reliable phone assistant. And while it may be making impressive strides toward that goal, in the meantime, Gemini continues to fail at the core tasks we actually need from a service of this nature while also continuing to be pushed as a default for more and more people who never asked for it. And at the same time, Assistant itself — thanks to its apparent abandonment within Google — is also now flailing at those same tasks, which it once handled handily. That adds up to create a lose-lose for everyone — except for maybe Google’s business department, which can now tell investors it’s pushing new boundaries and leading the way in generative AI development. The most maddening part of all is that it didn’t have to be like this. Google could have thoughtfully worked out the best parts of Gemini, as an assistant, and then integrated those elements into the existing Assistant framework in a way that’d feel like an upgrade and expansion instead of a rug-swept-out-from-under-us degradation. It could have kept the system and the brand it spent years building up while simply sprinkling new capabilities in instead of doing its typical Google thing of pulling a complete 180, giving up on something entirely, and then leaving us — as its users — to sort out the mess. More than anything, Google could have waited until Gemini was actually in a reasonably ready-for-prime state before rolling it out and pushing Android phone owners to switch over to it — while simultaneously dropping the ball on the existing Assistant platform and leaving us all in a lurch with no clear answers or direction. All of this brings me back once more to the question I posed at the start of this year, when the effects of the tech industry’s hype-driven AI obsession were just starting to become apparent: How much of the current rush to cram some form of “AI” into everything imaginable is actually about what’s useful and advantageous for us, as human users of these creations? And how much is more about chasing the latest buzzword du jour and finding a reason to use the term “AI,” no matter what it accomplishes or how it fits into our lives? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Most of us don’t need a “creative” chatbot at our fingertips all day long, in every area of our Android experience. We don’t need on-demand image and text generation at our constant beck and call. And we certainly don’t need long-winded, on-screen answers of questionable accuracy for our short spoken questions. What we need is a simple, reliable task-handler and an accurate and concise info-relayer. Assistant established the framework for that. And seeing Google throw that all away now and start over from scratch with Gemini — while forcing us to suffer along with its slog back toward a state of basic reliability — sure doesn’t feel like “progress.” We may well reach a point where Gemini genuinely grows into a fully featured, reliable replacement for Google Assistant on Android and across the rest of Google’s ecosystem. I certainly hope so! But instead of bringing us to that point in a calm, carefully planned, and sensible-seeming manner, Google’s forcing us through a painfully rocky long-term transition — with a new tool that isn’t up to snuff, an old tool that’s being left to fall apart at the seams, and no meaningful guidance as to how all of this will ultimately play out. That doesn’t seem like a smart way to handle things to me. And, I don’t know about you, but in this case, I don’t even need a half-baked virtual assistant to tell me why. Get unmatched insight on all the news that matters with my free Android Intelligence newsletter. Three things to know and try in your inbox every Friday, straight from me to you. Android, Google, Google Assistant, Voice Assistants

  • Android versions: A living history from 1.0 to 15

    What a long, strange trip it’s been. From its inaugural release to today, Android has transformed visually, conceptually and functionally — time and time again. Google’s mobile operating system may have started out scrappy, but holy moly, has it ever evolved. Here’s a fast-paced tour of Android version highlights from the platform’s birth to present. (Feel free to skip ahead if you just want to see what’s new in Android 14 or the actively-under-development Android 15 beta release.) Android versions 1.0 to 1.1: The early days Android made its official public debut in 2008 with Android 1.0 — a release so ancient it didn’t even have a cute codename. Things were pretty basic back then, but the software did include a suite of early Google apps like Gmail, Maps, Calendar, and YouTube, all of which were integrated into the operating system — a stark contrast to the more easily updatable standalone-app model employed today. The Android 1.0 home screen and its rudimentary web browser (not yet called Chrome). T-Mobile Android version 1.5: Cupcake With early 2009’s Android 1.5 Cupcake release, the tradition of Android version names was born. Cupcake introduced numerous refinements to the Android interface, including the first on-screen keyboard — something that’d be necessary as phones moved away from the once-ubiquitous physical keyboard model. Cupcake also brought about the framework for third-party app widgets, which would quickly turn into one of Android’s most distinguishing elements, and it provided the platform’s first-ever option for video recording. Cupcake was all about the widgets. Android Police Android version 1.6: Donut Android 1.6, Donut, rolled into the world in the fall of 2009. Donut filled in some important holes in Android’s center, including the ability for the OS to operate on a variety of different screen sizes and resolutions — a factor that’d be critical in the years to come. It also added support for CDMA networks like Verizon, which would play a key role in Android’s imminent explosion. Android’s universal search box made its first appearance in Android 1.6. Google Android versions 2.0 to 2.1: Eclair Keeping up the breakneck release pace of Android’s early years, Android 2.0, Eclair, emerged just six weeks after Donut; its “point-one” update, also called Eclair, came out a couple months later. Eclair was the first Android release to enter mainstream consciousness thanks to the original Motorola Droid phone and the massive Verizon-led marketing campaign surrounding it. Verizon’s “iDon’t” ad for the Droid. The release’s most transformative element was the addition of voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation and real-time traffic info — something previously unheard of (and still essentially unmatched) in the smartphone world. Navigation aside, Eclair brought live wallpapers to Android as well as the platform’s first speech-to-text function. And it made waves for injecting the once-iOS-exclusive pinch-to-zoom capability into Android — a move often seen as the spark that ignited Apple’s long-lasting “thermonuclear war” against Google. The first versions of turn-by-turn navigation and speech-to-text, in Eclair. Google Android version 2.2: Froyo Just four months after Android 2.1 arrived, Google served up Android 2.2, Froyo, which revolved largely around under-the-hood performance improvements. Froyo did deliver some important front-facing features, though, including the addition of the now-standard dock at the bottom of the home screen as well as the first incarnation of Voice Actions, which allowed you to perform basic functions like getting directions and making notes by tapping an icon and then speaking a command. Google’s first real attempt at voice control, in Froyo. Google Notably, Froyo also brought support for Flash to Android’s web browser — an option that was significant both because of the widespread use of Flash at the time and because of Apple’s adamant stance against supporting it on its own mobile devices. Apple would eventually win, of course, and Flash would become far less common. But back when it was still everywhere, being able to access the full web without any black holes was a genuine advantage only Android could offer. Android version 2.3: Gingerbread Android’s first true visual identity started coming into focus with 2010’s Gingerbread release. Bright green had long been the color of Android’s robot mascot, and with Gingerbread, it became an integral part of the operating system’s appearance. Black and green seeped all over the UI as Android started its slow march toward distinctive design. It was easy being green back in the Gingerbread days. JR Raphael / IDG Android 3.0 to 3.2: Honeycomb 2011’s Honeycomb period was a weird time for Android. Android 3.0 came into the world as a tablet-only release to accompany the launch of the Motorola Xoom, and through the subsequent 3.1 and 3.2 updates, it remained a tablet-exclusive (and closed-source) entity. Under the guidance of newly arrived design chief Matias Duarte, Honeycomb introduced a dramatically reimagined UI for Android. It had a space-like “holographic” design that traded the platform’s trademark green for blue and placed an emphasis on making the most of a tablet’s screen space. Honeycomb: When Android got a case of the holographic blues. JR Raphael / IDG While the concept of a tablet-specific interface didn’t last long, many of Honeycomb’s ideas laid the groundwork for the Android we know today. The software was the first to use on-screen buttons for Android’s main navigational commands; it marked the beginning of the end for the permanent overflow-menu button; and it introduced the concept of a card-like UI with its take on the Recent Apps list. Android version 4.0: Ice Cream Sandwich With Honeycomb acting as the bridge from old to new, Ice Cream Sandwich — also released in 2011 — served as the platform’s official entry into the era of modern design. The release refined the visual concepts introduced with Honeycomb and reunited tablets and phones with a single, unified UI vision. ICS dropped much of Honeycomb’s “holographic” appearance but kept its use of blue as a system-wide highlight. And it carried over core system elements like on-screen buttons and a card-like appearance for app-switching. The ICS home screen and app-switching interface. JR Raphael / IDG Android 4.0 also made swiping a more integral method of getting around the operating system, with the then-revolutionary-feeling ability to swipe away things like notifications and recent apps. And it started the slow process of bringing a standardized design framework — known as “Holo” — all throughout the OS and into Android’s app ecosystem. Android versions 4.1 to 4.3: Jelly Bean Spread across three impactful Android versions, 2012 and 2013’s Jelly Bean releases took ICS’s fresh foundation and made meaningful strides in fine-tuning and building upon it. The releases added plenty of poise and polish into the operating system and went a long way in making Android more inviting for the average user. Visuals aside, Jelly Bean brought about our first taste of Google Now — the spectacular predictive-intelligence utility that’s sadly since devolved into a glorified news feed. It gave us expandable and interactive notifications, an expanded voice search system, and a more advanced system for displaying search results in general, with a focus on card-based results that attempted to answer questions directly. Multiuser support also came into play, albeit on tablets only at this point, and an early version of Android’s Quick Settings panel made its first appearance. Jelly Bean ushered in a heavily hyped system for placing widgets on your lock screen, too — one that, like so many Android features over the years, quietly disappeared a couple years later. Jelly Bean’s Quick Settings panel and short-lived lock screen widget feature. JR Raphael / IDG Android version 4.4: KitKat Late-2013’s KitKat release marked the end of Android’s dark era, as the blacks of Gingerbread and the blues of Honeycomb finally made their way out of the operating system. Lighter backgrounds and more neutral highlights took their places, with a transparent status bar and white icons giving the OS a more contemporary appearance. Android 4.4 also saw the first version of “OK, Google” support — but in KitKat, the hands-free activation prompt worked only when your screen was already on and you were either at your home screen or inside the Google app. The release was Google’s first foray into claiming a full panel of the home screen for its services, too — at least, for users of its own Nexus phones and those who chose to download its first-ever standalone launcher. The lightened KitKat home screen and its dedicated Google Now panel. JR Raphael / IDG Android versions 5.0 and 5.1: Lollipop Google essentially reinvented Android — again — with its Android 5.0 Lollipop release in the fall of 2014. Lollipop launched the still-present-today Material Design standard, which brought a whole new look that extended across all of Android, its apps and even other Google products. The card-based concept that had been scattered throughout Android became a core UI pattern — one that would guide the appearance of everything from notifications, which now showed up on the lock screen for at-a-glance access, to the Recent Apps list, which took on an unabashedly card-based appearance. Lollipop and the onset of Material Design. JR Raphael / IDG Lollipop introduced a slew of new features into Android, including truly hands-free voice control via the “OK, Google” command, support for multiple users on phones and a priority mode for better notification management. It changed so much, unfortunately, that it also introduced a bunch of troubling bugs, many of which wouldn’t be fully ironed out until the following year’s 5.1 release. Android version 6.0: Marshmallow In the grand scheme of things, 2015’s Marshmallow was a fairly minor Android release — one that seemed more like a 0.1-level update than anything deserving of a full number bump. But it started the trend of Google releasing one major Android version per year and that version always receiving its own whole number. Marshmallow’s most attention-grabbing element was a screen-search feature called Now On Tap — something that, as I said at the time, had tons of potential that wasn’t fully tapped. Google never quite perfected the system and ended up quietly retiring its brand and moving it out of the forefront the following year. Marshmallow and the almost-brilliance of Google Now on Tap. JR Raphael / IDG Android 6.0 did introduce some stuff with lasting impact, though, including more granular app permissions, support for fingerprint readers, and support for USB-C. Android versions 7.0 and 7.1: Nougat Google’s 2016 Android Nougat releases provided Android with a native split-screen mode, a new bundled-by-app system for organizing notifications, and a Data Saver feature. Nougat added some smaller but still significant features, too, like an Alt-Tab-like shortcut for snapping between apps. Android 7.0 Nougat and its new native split-screen mode. JR Raphael / IDG Perhaps most pivotal among Nougat’s enhancements, however, was the launch of the Google Assistant — which came alongside the announcement of Google’s first fully self-made phone, the Pixel, about two months after Nougat’s debut. The Assistant would go on to become a critical component of Android and most other Google products and is arguably the company’s foremost effort today. Android version 8.0 and 8.1: Oreo Android Oreo added a variety of niceties to the platform, including a native picture-in-picture mode, a notification snoozing option, and notification channels that offer fine control over how apps can alert you. Oreo adds several significant features to the operating system, including a new picture-in-picture mode. JR Raphael / IDG The 2017 release also included some noteworthy elements that furthered Google’s goal of aligning Android and Chrome OS and improving the experience of using Android apps on Chromebooks, and it was the first Android version to feature Project Treble — an ambitious effort to create a modular base for Android’s code with the hope of making it easier for device-makers to provide timely software updates. Android version 9: Pie The freshly baked scent of Android Pie, a.k.a. Android 9, wafted into the Android ecosystem in August of 2018. Pie’s most transformative change was its hybrid gesture/button navigation system, which traded Android’s traditional Back, Home, and Overview keys for a large, multifunctional Home button and a small Back button that appeared alongside it as needed. Android 9 introduces a new gesture-driven system for getting around phones, with an elongated Home button and a small Back button that appears as needed. JR Raphael / IDG Pie included some noteworthy productivity features, too, such as a universal suggested-reply system for messaging notifications, a new dashboard of Digital Wellbeing controls, and more intelligent systems for power and screen brightness management. And, of course, there was no shortage of smaller but still-significant advancements hidden throughout Pie’s filling, including a smarter way to handle Wi-Fi hotspots, a welcome twist to Android’s Battery Saver mode, and a variety of privacy and security enhancements. Android version 10 Google released Android 10 — the first Android version to shed its letter and be known simply by a number, with no dessert-themed moniker attached — in September of 2019. Most noticeably, the software brought about a totally reimagined interface for Android gestures, this time doing away with the tappable Back button altogether and relying on a completely swipe-driven approach to system navigation. Android 10 packed plenty of other quietly important improvements, including an updated permissions system with more granular control over location data along with a new system-wide dark theme, a new distraction-limiting Focus Mode, and a new on-demand live captioning system for any actively playing media. Android 10’s new privacy permissions model adds some much-needed nuance into the realm of location data. JR Raphael / IDG Android version 11 Android 11, launched at the start of September 2020, was a pretty substantial Android update both under the hood and on the surface. The version’s most significant changes revolve around privacy: The update built upon the expanded permissions system introduced in Android 10 and added in the option to grant apps location, camera, and microphone permissions only on a limited, single-use basis. Android 11 also made it more difficult for apps to request the ability to detect your location in the background, and it introduced a feature that automatically revokes permissions from any apps you haven’t opened lately. On the interface level, Android 11 included a refined approach to conversation-related notifications along with a new streamlined media player, a new Notification History section, a native screen-recording feature, and a system-level menu of connected-device controls. Android 11’s new media player appears as part of the system Quick Settings panel, while the new connected-device control screen comes up whenever you press and hold your phone’s physical power button. JR Raphael / IDG Android version 12 Google officially launched the final version of Android 12 in October 2021, alongside the launch of its Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones. In a twist from the previous several Android versions, the most significant progressions with Android 12 were mostly on the surface. Android 12 featured the biggest reimagining of Android’s interface since 2014’s Android 5.0 (Lollipop) version, with an updated design standard known as Material You — which revolves around the idea of you customizing the appearance of your device with dynamically generated themes based on your current wallpaper colors. Those themes automatically change anytime your wallpaper changes, and they extend throughout the entire operating system interface and even into the interfaces of apps that support the standard. Android 12 ushered in a whole new look and feel for the operating system, with an emphasis on simple color customization.Google Surface-level elements aside, Android 12 brought a (long overdue) renewed focus to Android’s widget system along with a host of important foundational enhancements in the areas of performance, security, and privacy. The update provided more powerful and accessible controls over how different apps are using your data and how much information you allow apps to access, for instance, and it included a new isolated section of the operating system that allows AI features to operate entirely on a device, without any potential for network access or data exposure. Android version 13 Android 13, launched in August 2022, is one of Google’s strangest Android versions yet. The software is simultaneously one of the most ambitious updates in Android history and one of the most subtle version changes to date. It’s an unusual duality, and it ultimately all comes down to what type of device you’re using to experience the software. On the former front, Android 13 introduces a whole new interface design for both tablets and foldable phones, with a renewed focus on creating an exceptional large-screen experience in the operating system itself and within apps (as first observed and reported by Computerworld in January). The enhancements in that area include a fresh framework and series of guidelines for app optimizations along with a more capable split-screen mode for multitasking and a ChromeOS-like desktop-style taskbar that makes it easy to access frequently used apps from anywhere — enhancements we now know were aimed initially at Google’s Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet devices, though their impact and effects have certainly stretched beyond those two products. Google On the latter front, Android 13 also laid the groundwork for the Pixel Tablet to function as a stationary Smart Display and then allow you to detach its screen and use it as a tablet. The software introduced support for a whole new series of shared-surface widgets and screensavers along with an expanded multiuser profile system for that purpose. On regular phones, Android 13 is much less significant — and in fact, most people probably won’t even notice its arrival. Along with some minor visual refinements, the software introduces an expanded clipboard system that allows you to see and edit text as it’s copied, a native QR code scanning function within the Android Quick Settings area, and a smattering of under-the-hood improvements connected to privacy, security, and performance. Android version 14 Following a full eight months of out-in-the-open refinement, Google’s 14th Android version landed at the start of October 2023 in the midst of the company’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro launch event. Like the version before it, Android 14 doesn’t look like much on the surface. That’s in part because of the trend of Google moving more and more toward a development cycle that revolves around smaller ongoing updates to individual system-level elements year-round — something that’s actually a significant advantage for Android users, even if it does have an awkward effect on people’s perception of progress. But despite the subtle nature of its first impression, Android 14 includes a fair amount of noteworthy new stuff. The software introduces a new system for dragging and dropping text between apps, for instance, as well as a new series of native customization options for the Android lock screen. Android 14 includes options for completely changing the appearance of the lock screen as well as for customizing which shortcuts show up on it. JR Raphael / IDG Android 14 provides a number of new improvements to privacy and security, too, including a new settings-integrated dashboard for managing all your health and fitness data and controlling which apps and devices can access it. And it adds in a more info-rich and context-requiring system for seeing exactly why apps want access to your location when they request such a permission. The software also sports a series of significant accessibility additions, such as an enhanced on-demand magnifier, an easier way to increase font size in any app, improved support for hearing aid connections, and a built-in option to have your phone flash its camera light anytime a new notification arrives. Beyond that, Android 14 features a first taste of Google’s AI-generated custom wallpaper creator, though that’s available only on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro to start. You can generate all sorts of interesting wallpapers in seconds via Android 14’s AI generator feature — but only on the Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro for now. JR Raphael / IDG Android 14 rolled out to Google’s actively supported Pixel devices in early October, on the day of its release, and has been making its way slowly but surely to other Android phones and tablets in the weeks since. Android version 15 (beta) Google got its first developer preview of 2024’s Android 15 update out into the universe in late February and moved on to a public beta build of the software in early April. As typically happens with new Android versions, the beta software is starting out somewhat bare bones — with most of the higher-profile, headline-worthy features still out of sight and under wraps. At this point, the official elements Google’s discussing and making visible revolve primarily around under-the-hood improvements and developer-aimed adjustments. That being said, we have a pretty good idea of what front-facing features we might see as the development moves forward. Bits of behind-the-scenes code suggest Android 15 could include a new system for stopping overly aggressive notifications, along with a simpler way to tap into Android’s split-screen system, an “Adaptive Touch” feature that’d automatically adjust your screen to be as responsive as possible in different scenarios, and the long-awaited return of the now-12-year-old lock screen widgets concept — in certain contexts, at least. It also looks increasingly likely that Android 15 will introduce a new “Private Space” option that’ll make it possible to create a separate, locked-down profile for securing especially sensitive apps and data (something some device-makers have added into their versions of the software for some time but that’s never before been a consistent, official part of the platform). Google is expected to release four Android 15 beta versions in all, with a final release following sometime in the late summer to early fall months — as early as July, potentially, though that timing is always a floating target. (For context, remember: Android 14 didn’t arrive until early October. Android 13 before it showed up in mid-August. Anything’s possible.) We’ll almost certainly hear much more about Android 15’s progress and at least some of the software’s significant features at the Google I/O company conference in May, so stay tuned: This story is only just getting started, and the biggest news is absolutely still ahead of us. This article was originally published in November 2017 and most recently updated in April 2024. Android, Mobile, Small and Medium Business, Smartphones

  • Google can’t seem to quit cookies, delays killing them again

    Google this week once again said it will delay plans to eliminate third-party identity tracking software — cookies — from its Chrome browser and from Android OS. Now, it plans to remove them by 2025. The tech giant said the latest delay is due to “ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers.”  As far back as 2019, Google was telling users it planned to limit third-party cookies and phase them out in Chrome and other Chromium open-source browsers by 2022. In 2020, it delayed its plans to eliminate them through its Privacy Sandbox initiative. Then in 2022, Google pushed back its plans to 2023. And last year, it delayed the plans again — to the second half of 2024. In January, it again said it would find alternatives to cookies for identifying users and discovering their habits, but was pushing back plans to eliminate trackers. “We recognize that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers, and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem,” Google wrote in a blog post this week. “For marketers, the message is clear: get off cookies now,” said said Ken Weiner, chief technology officer at digital advertising platform GumGum. “Most of the industry, including mobile and other browsers like Safari, have already moved away from cookies or never used them in the first place. Don’t wait for Google’s shifting timeline to take action; the transition should be happening now. Keep in mind that regardless of cookies, the web’s future—driven by consumer preferences and regulatory changes—is identity-less. Contextual targeting is the best way forward.” Google has been working with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the Information Commissions Office (ICO) on its plans to use its Privacy Sandbox instead of cookies. The British regulatory authority and others have voiced concerns about Google’s plan, saying it could “unfairly hinder competition” by giving preference to Google’s own advertising products, which would increase the company’s market dominance. “We remain committed to engaging closely with the CMA and ICO and we hope to conclude that process this year,” the company said. “Assuming we can reach an agreement, we envision proceeding with third-party cookie deprecation starting early next year.” A cookie is a small file that is downloaded onto a computer when the user visits a website. They can do helpful things, such as remembering preferences, recording what has been added to a shopping basket, and counting the number of people viewing a website. They can also use a person’s identity to allow third parties to bombard users with emails and targeted online ads. Cookies often ingest and retain sensitive consumer information such as login credentials, personally identifiable information, and browsing history. As a result, the move away from cookies should help reduce some cybersecurity risks. Over the past few years, the online advertising industry has been undergoing a sea change as regulators restricted how cookies can be used and browser providers moved away from them in response to consumer outcries over privacy. “They often feel surveilled; some even find it ‘creepy’ that a website can show them ads related to their behavior elsewhere,” according to a recent study by the HEC Paris Business School. Google has said its Privacy Sandbox project will create new standards for websites to access user information without compromising privacy by sharing a subset of user information without relying on third-party cookies. “It will provide publishers with safer alternatives to existing technology, so they can continue building digital businesses while your data stays private,” the company said on its website. For Android device users, Google will introduce new solutions that operate without cross-app identifiers — including Google Play services’s Advertising ID, which will limit data sharing with third parties and offer a user-resettable, and user-deletable ID for advertising. Google Chrome, which is used for about 66% of all internet traffic, impacts more consumers than any other browser, so changing the way it tracks users would also have market-changing consequences. “In the short term, there will be some disruption with advertisers struggling to market themselves effectively,” said Roger Beharry Lall, research director for IDC’s Advertising Technologies and SMB Marketing Applications practice. “This may seem good for consumers who are ‘cookie free.’ However, there will likely just be more irrelevant ads flooding the media trying to find an audience. So, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword.” Browser Security, Browsers, Chrome, Chrome OS, Privacy

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