Google I/O 2016: There was nothing new, or exciting about this keynote

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Recently, Siri co-founders announced Viv, a smart assistant that deploys natural learning mechanism to get things done with the help of voice. Google Assistant seems to follow these concepts and sex it up with its own machine learning tools.

Next up it was Google Home, a wireless speaker with Google Assistant built-in. Yes, you have heard it before; Amazon Echo with Alexa built-in. In fact, Google was kind enough to acknowledge Amazon for its inroads in natural learning, and smart-assistant development. So what’s new here, Google?

Google then announced two new messaging apps – Allo and Duo. Basically Allo is a Snapchat competitor, while Duo is a FaceTime competitor. Again two new apps to take on the two well-conceived apps.

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Interestingly, Allo uses Google Assistant too and offers smart replies and allows users to annotate their photos like Snapchat. Ok Google, that is definitely not something new.

Both Google Allo and Duo are coming to Android and iOS later this year, but will it make a dent in say WhatsApp or Messenger’s popularity? Unlikely.

Google then shifted gears to Android N, the next phase of search giant’s mobile operating system. Android N, which was released as an early preview early this year, finally brings split screen multitasking and support for Unicode-9 emojis.

Android N’s hidden gem is the new VR mode. Google has developed a new VR platform called Daydream, a reference platform for OEMs to build their VR devices. It also showcased a reference VR headset complete with a controller that looked exactly like Gear VR.

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Another announcement was Android Wear 2.0 which brings support for standalone apps and native keyboard to Android wearables.

So here is everything Google announced:

Google Assistant – Siri, Viv competitor
Google Home – Amazon Echo competitor
Google Allo – Snapchat competitor
Google Duo – FaceTime competitor
Android VR – Oculus competitor

For the first time in several years, Google spent two hours to announce how it plans to compete with various leading brands and their services. It clearly outlines that Google has turned vulnerable and is now conceding to market demands.

Also see: Google I/O 2016 highlights: Home speaker, Android VR, Android Wear 2.0, Google Cloud Platform

Read more: Google I/O 2016: Smart-home speaker, VR system, chat service announced