a16z Podcast | For Google, Android is a Tactic and Cloud is a Strategy | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Google I/O Conference focuses on Android improvements, innovation in Google services, the introduction of Google Photos, and advancements in virtual reality and IoT.

Key Insights

• 😶‍🌫️ Google's innovation primarily occurs in their cloud services layered on top of Android, available on iOS and the web.
• ❓ Google Pay and Google Photos showcase Google's advancements in payments and image recognition technologies.
• 👤 Google focuses on machine learning, reaching more users, and gathering data to provide personalized and relevant experiences.
• 👶 Virtual reality and IoT present new opportunities for Google, with efforts to make VR more accessible and incorporate it into YouTube.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: What are the key improvements in Android M?

Android M offers practical improvements but lacks major breakthroughs, with notable features such as Google Pay, a fingerprint API, and Google Photos.

Q: How does Google Photos differ from Apple Photos?

Google Photos offers unlimited cloud storage, advanced image recognition, and seamless syncing across devices, while Apple Photos requires paid storage and lacks cloud-based image recognition.

Q: What is the significance of Google's focus on the cloud?

Google leverages the power of the cloud to provide personalized recommendations, better search results, and relevant advertising, while Apple focuses on integrated hardware and is less interested in machine learning.

Q: What is the purpose of Google's investment in VR and IoT?

Google aims to make virtual reality and IoT more accessible and affordable by using smartphone components, creating open standards, and incorporating VR capabilities into YouTube.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Android M brings sensible improvements but lacks major breakthroughs, while Google services innovates on top of Android, available on iOS and the web.

• Google introduces a new payments system, Google Pay, along with a fingerprint API and Google Photos, offering unlimited cloud storage and advanced image recognition.

• Google emphasizes the importance of the cloud, machine learning, and reach, highlighting the differences between Apple and Google's strategies.