Sundar Pichai talks Google’s platform expansion, open approach, and relationship with Samsung

[Justin Herrick]

On Wednesday at the Google I/O 2014 keynote, Sundar Pichai and Google introduced new platforms centered around Android. The newest arms of Android include Android Wear, Android TV, and Android Auto. With them, Google is ensuring Android has a presence in various areas of a person’s life. Interviewed by Wire, Pichai explains why Google has an approach in which Android and Chrome are appearing in many different areas while working together. He also spoke about why Google has a horizontal approach in being open and welcoming users of other platforms (like iOS) with their products (like Chromecast). Pichai even noted that the company has healthy relationship with Samsung and often gets to see their roadmap of what is to come.

On why Android Wear, Android TV, and Android Auto exist:

There’s been a big evolution since the days of personal computing. People had a concept of one computing device per family or maybe per person. We’ve clearly evolved to computing devices becoming more personal. People increasingly have a lot of those in their lives. So to us, the thing was, how do you build a computing platform and an experience which spans all those screens? How do you get it all working for users in a cohesive way? We need to bring Android and Chrome to every screen that matters for users, which is why we focused on phone, wearables, car, television, laptops, and even your workplace. Also, we wanted to do things in a way in which they were really contextually aware. A major theme was this notion of your phone being at the center of this connected experience –voice enabled, with Google Now cards accessible.
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Although Android Wear will presumably stick with Android devices exclusively, Pichai explained why Google includes outside users:

It’s a good question. We do take a more open approach in these things. For example, you can plug a Chromecast into your television and still continue to use your iPhone or an iPad. We do take a horizontal approach–we want many things to work together. But, sure, there are other players who build end-to-end systems where they think through every piece of it. We do envision a world where having an iOS or an Android device it doesn’t preclude you from buying a certain car.
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The entire interview is worth reading, so hit the source link below to get started.

Source: Wired


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