Google’s web services and Android have been a pair for years now, but a recent leak suggests Google might be preparing to finally pop the question.
Google I/O is fast approaching, so the leaks are starting to become more prolific. There’s never any way of knowing what will be anounced–and history would suggest rumors are often innacurate–but one thing is for sure: Google will anounce new things. Google’s lineup of products and serves is constantly expanding. We already detailed some of what can be expected at Google I/O, but new leaks have illuminated some additional details on Android updates.
Google doesn’t always anounce (or release) Android updates at Google I/O, so it could be a few months or so before we see any new iterations, but either way, there are updates coming down the pipe and they were leaked to Android Police recently.
The name of the update is Project Hera. Hera is the Greek godess of marriage and that’s exactly why Project Hera is named after her. The update is the proper marriage of Google’s various web servics.
Up to this point, Android has definitely been plugged in to Google’s services, but Google’s entire ecosystem is very compartmentalized. A marriage of Android’s software and Google’s services through Project Hera will blur the lines between different apps and distinct tasks.
The leak suggests that Hera will provide a bridge between Chromium and Android, bringing more HTML5 centric features into play. This will be most evident as a form of multitasking. Currently, multitasking in Android means flipping between snapshots of various open apps and choosing which app is needed to complete a specific task.
Project Hera’s version of multitasking has broken this out into a task oriented model, though. Think about it as a blend of Google Now and Android’s existing multitasking card view. Instead of opening Google Now to view your cards, those cards (and equivalent task oriented cards from other apps) will appear in the multitasking view.
This doesn’t only allow for quicker, more contextually relevant multitasking options, but also for quicker access to relevant features without having to enter into a new app every time. It’s like combining your notification shade, your Google Now cards, your current multitasking cards and your widgets into a new type of super multitasking cards.
So, in practice what this will do is place the information and tools you need right now directly at your fingertips. Imagine you are going on a flight and have already checked in with your airline on your phone. Today, the QR code for your electronic boarding pass will appear within the Google Now app when you are close to the Airport. In Project Hera, though, it will appear in your miltitasking view as its own card, making it just one button press away.
A lot of the features required to truly take advantage of such an update would depend on developers to update their apps, but once the industry adjusts, it will make your smart phone that much smarter. It may take some time, as this isn’t simply a software update, but an entire paradigm shift on the concept of what an app is vs a specific task or presentation of data.
Source: Android Police
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