This month held Google I/O, one of the biggest developer conferences of the year. It’s a chance for Google to show the world what it’s been working on, and give a glimpse of what’s coming in the future. This year wasn’t any different — even if Google hasn’t quite figured out a name for Android N just yet.
As is usual for these types of events, especially Google’s, there’s a lot to take in. Companies like Google and Apple (which has its own developers conference scheduled for June) do a pretty good job of condensing most of the forward-facing features, the ones that matter “the most” to consumers, in a long keynote speech to kick off the conference ahead.
This year wasn’t any different for Google. Well, except for the fact the company held the conference outside, which was pretty unique. That aside, though, Google I/O this year was similar to many of the Google I/O conferences before it, with plenty of products to sift through, changes to software, new additions, and much more.
I’ll admit that there were a few things that stood out to me. I honestly don’t think I need another messaging app, mostly because I’ve got one that I use for a few close friends/colleagues, and I use iMessage to talk to everyone else that uses that kind of means of communications. Plus, with iOS and OS X I can send standard texts from my computer if my phone’s not next to me, so I’ll keep doing that until something better comes along — and Allo isn’t that.
However, Duo got my attention. I’ve never been one to video call a lot of people — or anyone, for that matter. But there are a few changes coming to my life soon, and video calling is something that I know I’m going to be considering a lot more of in the months ahead. There are plenty of options out there, from Facebook to Microsoft to whoever else, but Google’s implementation of the “Knock Knock” feature —which allows the person on the other end of the call to see what I’m doing as I call them— looks really cool.
Plus, the focus on making the video call as stable as possible, no matter the connection, is pretty important.
So when Google introduced Duo, I was just waiting for one thing: Launching for iPhone. And sure enough Google did confirm the new app would be available for Apple’s mobile device, and another thought went through my head: “Good, I don’t have to switch.” Not that Duo is such a profound thing that I’d switch everything around just to get it, but it would be one service of many that I use on a daily basis that, all-in-all, I could switch to Android and be perfectly comfortable.
When I started thinking about it, I realized that there aren’t a lot of Apple services on my phone that I go out of my way to use. The aforementioned iMessage is one, yes, and it’s a big one! However, I only use iCloud when it’s offered and there’s an app on OS X that uses it as well, usually something to do with text entry. I do use iCloud for photo and video storage, but, again, that’s just offered to me so I use it as an extra backup just in case.
I use Google Photos and Microsoft OneDrive to store my photos. They are my go-to options.
I don’t use Apple Maps because in the majority of instances where I’ve used it versus Google Maps, I’ve been left wanting more and I’ve ultimately switched back to Google’s offering. I use Siri, but only now because I’ve got an iPhone 6s and I can activate her with a voice command at any time I want (unless I have headphones in), and doing that usually means I’m immediately opening up something else that isn’t Apple’s.
I’ll use Siri to open Spotify, not Apple Music.
I’ll use Siri to open the Google app, and then immediately use another voice command to look something up, not Apple’s Spotlight.
The one service that I’m using more often these days is Apple Pay, and I’m very happy with that one. Of course, this is another area where I think I could be okay switching to the competition, like Android Pay, and probably actually get a bit more out of it, too.
Apple is leaning on services a bit as it moves forward, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Apple does some services very well, and I think the ones that are lacking, like Apple Music, will get better in major ways soon enough. Maybe if I’m still using an iPhone when that day arrives I’ll switch from Google and use Apple’s options, but that days has certainly not arrived just yet.
It’s one of those things where if Google wasn’t the company it is, and locked these apps onto the Android platform instead of distributing them around (except for you, Windows Phone/Mobile), I don’t think I’d have to think too long about switching. But Google’s services are so great, and they make them work so well even on iOS that they’re truly indispensable — and make it even more difficult for me to leave iOS, strangely enough.
But it got me curious how the rest of you fare when it comes to Google’s services, especially when it comes to running them on your iPhone. How many of Google’s options to you prefer versus Apple’s? Or, on the flip side, how many Apple services have you switched to from Google, and why? Let me know!