Technological advancements are not new to the present generation. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a prominent example of how technology eases our lives. The growth rate in investments in IoT platforms has been rising. According to an estimate of the Gartner Research Project, almost 14.2 billion devices would be connected in the IoT landscape by the end of 2019, and this number would supposedly escalate to around 25 billion in 2021. This estimated trend does not seem to be far from reality with recent news of Google tailoring its IoT platform to different devices such as OEMs build smart speakers and displays.
Google launched the IoT platform, Android Things, in 2017 as a support for diverse lightweight devices. However, the primary use of Android Things has been largely observed in the promotion of smart displays and speakers powered by Google Assistant. According to recent IoT news, Google has decided to provide Android Things certification for smart displays and speakers.
The announcement from Google comes as a noticeable change from its previous approach with Android Things that included support for a minimum of four system-on-modules. Manufacturers utilized these modules for obtaining certification of Google for their device. On the contrary, there were few system-on-modules which were observed in consumer products.
According to the official statement by Google, the company has worked in unison with partners for developing consumer products that would be powered by Android Things and in-built Google Assistant. The unique success that the company received by working with partners in terms of smart displays and speakers has been a notable reason for Google to represent Android Things as a suitable platform to OEM partners for building devices in the two categories in future.
In addition to this interesting piece of latest IoT news, Google has also stated its intention to continue supporting hobby-based experimentation with Android Things. For examples, non-smart display manufacturers could use the Cloud IoT Edge or Cloud IoT Core features recommended by Google. So, this is the way Google is headed in IoT! Let's see what comes next.
