About the growing appetites of Google Now, Android M, the official way to install Windows 10 on Android a smartphone Xiaomi and the difficulties of choosing
This time the digest turned out to be rather short – although there were enough interesting events last week (only Computex 2015 with Google I / O is worth it), they have already been analyzed in detail on MR.
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Computex 2015. Zensation |
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Computex 2015. Asus Zen AIO, ZenWatch 2 and Pro Art Monitor |
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Computex 2015. Booth Asus |
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Computex 2015. Stand Acer |
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Google IO 2015 |
Google I / O
For obvious reasons, we are primarily interested in the Google event, and specifically in Android M. Although it is too early to draw any conclusions about the new OS version, we can already say that it will be more of an evolution than a revolution. Nevertheless, there are enough innovations in it – in Phonearena they have already counted 55, and it is far from a fact that this is a complete list.
Link to news
It must be admitted that most of them have been asking for a long time. Take at least the same offline access to Google Maps, which, for reasons I don't understand, hasn't worked so well in Google maps. Although they tried to introduce it for a long time, and in various ways, even with the banal loading of the map, everything was very difficult. Sometimes she worked for all cities, sometimes only for some, sometimes she did not work anywhere – it all looked downright ridiculous. Against this background, we didn't even have to talk about offline navigation.
Another highly anticipated feature is app backup. Although for me personally this is not particularly critical, I cannot but admit that the innovation has ripened for a very, very long time.
But the list of changes also lacks less noticeable features. They may not be very important in and of themselves, but it is from them that the overall picture ultimately develops. For example, I am personally very pleased that the new Android will finally have support for several color schemes for service menus. Moreover, if the user wishes, the color scheme of the design will automatically change depending on the time of day.
Link to news
However, users clearly expected more. Another question is to what extent their expectations were initially justified.
In general, Google I / O is a rather strange thing. On the one hand, this is a conference for developers, which, by definition, shouldn't be of particular interest to everyone else. On the other hand, many people every time expect from Google some kind of loud event, a bright announcement, subconsciously comparing this event with presentations Apple. And each time they remain disappointed, because the new iPhone on Google I / O has never been demonstrated.
Development Android goes on as usual, the system continues to evolve, and that's not bad. But people want not only bread, but also spectacles, and there is nothing like this on Google I / O. And not only on Google I / O – remember at least the presentation of the latest devices from the Nexus line, which was not even dedicated to a separate event. One fine day, information about the devices just appeared on the official blog of the search giant, that's all. Google generally tries not to make a show out of their announcements, and this is probably commendable … but, to be honest, I'm not at all sure that this is correct. The famous dictum of the classic that everything in a person should be beautiful, and the face, and clothes, and soul, and thoughts, is equally suitable for both people and companies. Whether you are at least a thousand times a genius physicist or a virtuoso musician, this does not save you from having to dress neatly and cut your nails.
As a result, nothing was shown that would cause a loud cry of 'WOW!' Among users, and many still want to discuss the event. This is where the invention of all sorts of different horror stories and the sucking of sensations from the finger begins. This time, the Google Now service got the most, which already knows a lot about its users, and will soon want to know even more. The most popular comments are in the style of “I'm certainly not paranoid, but this is completely abnormal” and “yes, modern youth simply do not understand what they are doing.”
I would like to remind you that the 'norm' is simply a majority choice that changes over time. What we are used to becomes obsolete over time and ceases to be considered the norm. And this (sorry for the tautology) is absolutely normal. Someone will adapt to these changes, someone no longer, but in any case, no one will be able to stop the changes. In this world, everything flows and everything changes – that's how it works.
From the point of view of any sane person of the 19th century, our current behavior is not just a flagrant violation of all norms, but outright savagery and complete insanity. Yes, at least look at modern clothes – a hundred years ago, even a girl of easy virtue would be ashamed to put on most of the items of modern summer wardrobe. I don't even know what would be considered more shocking and stupid – to appear on the beach naked or dress up in a modern analogue of bathing suits. But I believe that in either case it would have ended with a visit to a hospital for the mentally ill. At the same time, it is very naive to believe that people of those years were better, smarter and more ethical than you and me. It's just that a different set of stereotypes was put into the concept of 'normal behavior'.
Roughly the same story is happening now with personal information. It was once considered correct to be buttoned up, giving a minimum of information about yourself not only to unfamiliar people, but even to relatives, colleagues and friends. Especially at a time when one anecdote told at the wrong time was enough to be deprived of freedom quickly and for a long time. Nowadays it is customary to act differently – to show yourself to everyone, talking about your tastes, showing a list of friends and sharing the latest news. Roughly speaking, by exchanging an old bathing suit for modern swimming trunks or a bikini swimsuit. To get personal information about a particular person, you do not need to magically hack his Google account with Google Now information. Just open his page on the social network and immediately get as much information as the special services of the beginning of the century could not have 'digged' in a decade. You can argue as much as you like that publishing your personal information is stupid, wrong and unethical. But this reasoning is from the same series as “the youth is not the same today”, “in our time the grass was greener” and “Stalin is not on you.”
Could this be dangerous? Yes maybe. As with anything, from food to exercise. The chance to choke on a donut or fall unsuccessfully, breaking his neck, has not yet been canceled. Especially if you start jumping from the second floor or eat exclusively shawarma bought in the first gateway that comes across. Or at night walk around the gangster area in a translucent swimsuit. But is it necessary because of this to eat only vegetables from your own garden, give up all types of physical activity and dress in the fashion of the nineteenth century?
Other news
It is impossible not to mention the announcement Meizu m2 note, on which there is also a separate material on MR.
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Meizu m2 note. First glance |
I will not dwell on the device itself, I will only note one point – a decrease in the number of available colors. They say that this was done for a reason, but in order not to put poor buyers in front of too difficult a choice. Honestly, I really want to believe that the company decided to abandon additional colors for some technical or financial reasons, and then at the last moment they came up with some other explanation. Because otherwise, you will have to admit that there are more and more people unable to choose from more than two or three options.
Are buyers really willing to buy a competitor's smartphone just because they have the 'only correct' option in the window, eliminating the need to compare models of different colors? And if so, how do these people choose their clothes or, say, order food in a restaurant? Perhaps for someone the main advantage of a business lunch is not at all in its cost, but in the absence of the need to think about something and choose something?
If that's true, then services like Google Now have a great future. Just press the button and you will immediately see what to choose for dinner, which movie to watch, where to go for a walk … no hesitation, no choice – immediately ready, the 'correct' option. Which, moreover, will surely be to your taste, because Google Now recommendations are based on user preferences.
To be honest, such a picture scares much more possible leaks of personal data and theories and a world conspiracy.
Link to news
The next news is about Xiaomi Mi 4. In one of the previous issues of the digest, we already said that Microsoft plans to release a special firmware for this device with Windows 10. Moreover, a whole detective story unfolded around this event at one time – it was reported that Microsoft was cooperating with Xiaomi, then that Xiaomi was not going to have any business with MS.
As usual, the truth was in the middle – in Xiaomi they see no point in cooperating with Microsoft at this stage, but they also do not plan to prevent them from creating a new firmware for Mi4.
Recently it became known that the firmware will be released on June 1st. Anyone wishing to sign up for beta testers can simply fill out a special form, although for now it is available exclusively in Chinese.
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It's not hard to guess that Microsoft isn't that interested in Xiaomi Mi 4 by itself. What we see is only the first step in the chosen direction, and if the experiment is successful, then 'custom' firmwares with Windows will appear for other devices as well.
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Offtopic: empire of tiles, version ten |
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Offtopic: mobile duality |
MS's reasons are clear, but it still looks pretty wild. And it puts the company on a par with Cyanogen, whose Cyanogenmod also sits somewhere between 'firmware' and 'OS'. In fact, it is closer to the first, but the company itself thinks exactly the opposite.
Link to news
Speaking of Chinese smartphones, one cannot fail to mention the IDC study. According to the company, in 2015, the growth of the Chinese smartphone market for the first time will be less than the industry average.
Many Chinese companies practically ignored the markets of other countries, living primarily on sales at home. Now they will have an additional incentive to try to win the hearts of users in other countries. For you and me, this is just a plus – the higher the competition, the better for everyone.
Link to news
At the end of the release – an infographic from MTC, in which the company describes the development of the smartphone market in Russia from 2010 to 2014.
As you can see, over the past five years, smartphone sales in our market have increased by about 7.3 times, but the average price has dropped. And this is the merit of not only famous brands, but also the “Chinese” under a variety of labels, which are often much more optimal in terms of price / quality ratio.
Link to news
