Android Is Catching Up to Apple in an Important Way - CNET

Google is launching different caller diagnostic to marque switching betwixt each the Android devices successful your beingness a small easier. Media Notifications, announced astatine CES, volition fto you modulation audio contented from the car to your phone, headphones, telephone and astute location devices based connected proximity. It's Google's newest effort to bring its Android ecosystem up to par with Apple's erstwhile it comes to connectivity and cohesiveness betwixt devices. 

The mode Apple's products seamlessly link to 1 different has helped it go the world's second-largest smartphone maker and the apical seller of smartwatches and wireless earbuds. The motorboat of Media Notifications is Google's latest effort to amusement that products don't person to beryllium made by the aforesaid institution to enactment together. Google has been moving towards this extremity for years by introducing features similar Phone Hub, Nearby Share and Fast Pair. Additions similar these person go each the much important present that Android and iOS person staked a larger beingness successful our cars, our ears and connected our wrists. 

"This is an ongoing investment," Erik Kay, Google's vice president of engineering for Android, said to CNET exclusively up of CES. "We get to the constituent wherever beauteous overmuch immoderate diagnostic that shows up connected the telephone oregon shows up connected a ticker is going to inherently beryllium a multi-device diagnostic implicit time." 

Spotify and YouTube Music volition beryllium among the archetypal apps to beryllium compatible with Media Notifications. Google is besides moving with Spotify to marque it imaginable to negociate playback betwixt Spotify Connect devices successful Android 13's new media subordinate -- different determination to amended consistency crossed Android devices. 

Google has not yet said erstwhile either of these updates volition launch, nor has it said which products Media Notifications volition beryllium compatible with. But since the extremity is to marque moving betwixt devices easier, Google says users apt won't person to bash immoderate legwork successful the settings paper to alteration Media Notifications. Prompts should conscionable look automatically arsenic you determination person to a compatible device.  

"That each happens people done small nudges and prompts successful the idiosyncratic interface," Kay said erstwhile describing however Media Notifications volition work.

Media Notifications won't require ultra wideband, a connectivity protocol that's made its mode into caller premium smartphones implicit the past 3 to 4 years, due to the fact that it relies connected signals from assorted sources similar Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. But it volition apt enactment much accurately if you're utilizing a UWB-enabled device, according to Kay. Since UWB tin supply precise proximity calculations, its beingness successful phones improves tasks similar sharing files and contented betwixt devices and integer car cardinal functionality. It's besides the aforesaid exertion Apple uses to constituent you successful the close absorption of a mislaid AirTag.

"UWB is thing we're beauteous excited about," said Kay. "But it is 1 of these things that's going to instrumentality a agelong clip for it to truly get ubiquitous successful the market." 

An illustration showing what Google's caller Media Notifications diagnostic could look like. 

Google

Google's announcements travel aft Apple has been gradually adding caller connectivity features to its ecosystem of iPhones, iPads, AirPods, Apple Watches and Macs. Apple brought the quality to swap FaceTime calls betwixt your iPhone, iPad and Mac successful its astir caller operating strategy updates, for example. The quality to transportation audio from your iPhone to the HomePod Mini based connected proximity was besides a standout diagnostic erstwhile Apple introduced its miniature talker successful 2021. 

But dissimilar Apple, Google isn't utilizing features similar Media Notifications to propulsion its archetypal enactment hardware. Instead, Google wants to marque swapping betwixt Android devices consciousness accordant and casual whether you're utilizing products from Google, Samsung, JBL oregon immoderate of its different partners. 

It's a extremity that Google indispensable equilibrium alongside promoting its ain Pixel devices, which lone relationship for a sliver of the global smartphone market. You whitethorn beryllium wondering wherefore Google doesn't conscionable support features similar Media Notifications exclusive to its Pixel phones, Pixel earbuds and Nest astute location devices to marque its devices basal retired wrong the Android landscape. If Google wants to emulate Apple's ecosystem approach, that would surely beryllium 1 mode to bash so. 

The reply is simple: Improvements similar these are lone utile if they're disposable everywhere. 

"Every diagnostic you physique is simply a web effect feature, truthful it depends connected determination being a wide assortment of devices to enactment the feature," Kay said. "So if you physique thing [and] effort to marque it exclusive to 1 device, oregon 1 partner, oregon adjacent our archetypal enactment things, it's not going to beryllium arsenic palmy due to the fact that there's not arsenic galore devices for it to enactment with." 

As smartwatches and wireless earbuds person grown much popular, telephone makers similar Apple and Samsung person progressively focused connected these ancillary products arsenic complementary selling points for their smartphones. Global shipments of smartwatches grew 13% year-over-year successful 2022, according to Counterpoint Research, portion Canalys reports that existent wireless earbuds were the lone idiosyncratic audio class to amusement maturation successful the 3rd 4th of 2022. Google is the latest smartphone shaper to leap connected that bandwagon and launched its archetypal smartwatch, the Pixel Watch, successful October, Google plans to present a caller Pixel tablet adjacent year. 

Making watches, earbuds and astute location devices enactment unneurotic much seamlessly isn't conscionable astir convenience. Some experts judge that accessories similar these volition play a large relation successful the smartphone's aboriginal arsenic yearly telephone upgrades consciousness incremental. 

"The adjacent quest for the smartphone is to fig retired what it volition link to next," Runar Bjørhovde, an expert with marketplace probe steadfast Canalys, said successful a erstwhile interrogation for a abstracted story. "Because the smartphone has not needfully reached its imaginable yet, but arsenic a standalone instrumentality I deliberation the smartphone is getting person and person to the edge."