Google Android developers kicked off with a keynote address focused heavily on the company’s efforts to spread its Android operating system beyond smartphones.The company featured new software for watches, cars and homes. The company also unveiled an initiative, called Android One, to get cheaper smartphones into the hands of more people in developing countries.
Google’s senior vice president in charge of both Chrome and Android Sundar Pichoi, revealed at Google’s I/O conference this week in San Francisco that Google’s Chromebooks – the company’s laptop operating system – could also be unlocked if a user’s Android L phone was present.
David Burke, Android’s Director of Engineering, said that phones could be unlocked using, “signals like locations you’ve designated, Bluetooth devices, or even your unique voice print."
Google is also overhauling notifications for Android L. For instance, Google merged the lock screen with the notification pane: Notifications on the lock screen pop up at you when you touch them, and when you swipe down on the lock-screen
The final demo in the Android L sneak peek was an authentication technique called “personal unlocking.” A user can designate a favorite Bluetooth device that, when present, lets the Android phone or tablet know the user really is present, too.
