Google made a lot of big announcements during its annual I/O developers conference in Mountain View on Wednesday.
The event saw the unveiling of a range of new products, including a new messenger app, a home virtual assistant, as well as plans to improve Android and a virtual reality platform that comes with the new N operating system.
Below are the major announcements from Google's I/O 2016 event:
Google Assistant
Google Now has been upgraded to Google Assistant, which easily understands natural language and puts queries into context by using the search engine.
"Every single day, people say 'OK Google' and ask us questions that we help them with," CEO Sundar Pichai said at the conference. "We started becoming truly conversational because of our strengths in natural language."
Pichai demonstrated the assistant's capabilities by asking it what movies were playing in the evening, saying he wanted to bring the kids with him, and then purchasing tickets without closing the app.
The new Google Assistant can be accessed through its new messaging app Allo as well as Google Home.
Google Home
The search company announced its competitor to Amazon's Echo, called Google Home. The new voice-enabled speaker can answer questions, check the weather, and play music.
"Further in the future we'll work with developers to make it possible to control things beyond the home, like booking a car, ordering dinner, sending flowers to mom, and much, much more," Mario Queiroz, vice president of product management, explained during the event. The device will launch later this year, the company said.
Android N
This upcoming operating system was previewed back in March, and while it won't be released until later this summer, Google demonstrated new features. It displayed split-screen multitasking, a new "clear all" button, and a list of new emojis.
New updates also include Vulkan graphics API, which lets developers "squeeze in more effects per frame while still maintaining a high frame rate," Dave Burke, vice president of engineering at Android, said.
According to Quartz, Android N will also feature file-based encryption, and automatically download new updates.
Google will be bringing in SafetyNet, a feature that analyzes billions of signals from apps to prevent malicious actions.
The company has yet to reveal what the N stands for, but it will most likely be named after a sweet treat.
Allo and Duo
Allo, a messaging app that integrates Google Assistant, links phone numbers to be able to chat with friends, just like in a text message.
Allo also features smart replies, which suggest responses that evolve over time based on conversations you have with your friends, according to BGR.
There's also a wide range of bot support within the app, such as OpenTable, which allows users to pick a restaurant and make reservations without ever leaving the app. Meanwhile, Allo's companion app Duo works just like Skype or Apple's FaceTime, which allows video calling.
Both Allo and Duo include end-to-end encryption, and will be available to Android and iOS users later this summer.
Virtual Reality
Google unveiled a lo-fi virtual reality headset, Cardboard, two years ago at I/O. But the company announced a mobile VR platform that's built on top of Android N, called Daydream.
The new feature gives users high-quality virtual reality on their Android devices.
The Verge also noted that Google has created VR versions for its apps, including YouTube, Street View, the Google Play Store, Play Movies, and Google Photos.
Google teased a design for a standalone headset and controller that allows people to use their hands in VR. The reference designs will be shared with third parties later this fall.
Android Wear
Google will update its Android Wear software that works independently from a smartphone. Apps for the next release will no longer need Wi-Fi, bluetooth, or cellular data in order to work.
"Everything works on just the watch," said David Singleton, VP of engineering at Google. He added that users of the wearable tech will have the ability to make calls directly from their wrists.
Instant Apps
The conference also saw a preview of Android Instant Apps, which allows users to immediately use parts of apps right in the Google Play store, even if they have not installed them.
Android smartphones will download the code to play a certain video, e-commerce product, or other content.
Developers modularize their apps, which Google Play fetches and runs in a screen.
Instant Apps will be available in the fall, and is compatible with Android operating systems from 2012 and later.
