Live stream: Google I/O 2014 keynote
Google I/O 2014 - Keynote — Scheduled for Jun 25, 2014 Find out about the latest product and platform innovations at Google. Watch all Google I/O 2014 videos at: g.co/io14videos
Context & Ripple Effects
Google I/O has served as a venue for product announcements whose keynote and session material is later distributed broadly, as shown by the 2011 I/O video release. The 2014 program couples developer infrastructure—Gmail API, Cloud Debugger and Cloud Dataflow—with an effort to make Android and Chrome work more consistently across multiple screen types.
First-order effects
- Developers building Gmail-connected applications gain a Google-supported API alternative to IMAP and POP, while Cloud Platform users receive new debugging and data-pipeline tools.
- Android and Chrome developers are asked to design for handoffs across phones, tablets, laptops, TVs, cars and watches rather than treating each screen as a separate destination.
Second-order effects
- Gmail-integrated app makers face a migration decision: adopt Google's new API and its capabilities or continue supporting older mail protocols.
- Google Cloud's new development and data tools make its platform a more integrated option for teams that build, debug and process application data within Google's stack.
Third-order effects
- If developers adopt the APIs and cross-screen approach, Google gains more influence over the interfaces and tools through which third-party services reach users.
- The announcements point toward platform competition being fought through developer tooling and continuity across device categories, not solely through a single operating system.
The trend: Google is tying developer APIs, cloud tooling and Android-Chrome device continuity into a broader platform strategy spanning multiple screens.