Google announced a plethora of new products, features, and services at its annual IO conference on Wednesday, many of which will be available in the coming months. A new Pixel tablet, watch, and phone, as well as a new cheap phone, were all shown out. The first Android smartphone, the Pixel 6a.
But we couldn’t help but note how similar many of the announcements sounded to us. At IO, there were a number of features that appeared to be lifted directly from Apple’s playbook. Here are five features that Apple consumers have been enjoying for years that will be coming to Google and Android devices:
Digital Crown
At Google IO, Google stopped short of announcing its first-ever wearable, but it did officially confirm the Pixel Watch’s existence. It sports a circular shape with a pretty large bezel, similar to previous Android Wear OS watches, and a new “tactile” crown that looks to be Google’s equivalent of the Digital Crown on the Apple Watch. We don’t know if it’ll be as smooth as Apple’s or have an ECG sensor built in, but the concept and design are nearly identical.
Pro Pixel Buds
During its IO event, Google announced and promised a number of hardware developments, including the new affordable Pixel 6a, but the Pixel Buds Pro was the most interesting. While the Pixel Buds A-Series wireless earbuds are not interchangeable with AirPods, the Pixel Buds Pro offers a feature set that is quite comparable to AirPods Pro. Noise cancellation, transparency mode, spatial audio, and ‘find my’ tracking are all included, as is an in-ear design that seems very similar to the AirPods Pro 2 reports. If you must, call them rivals, but we’ll just call them copycats.
From phones to tablets, copy and paste
Because of the strength of Handoff and iCloud, Apple customers have had the option to copy anything on their iPhone and paste it on their Mac for a long time, and now Google is introducing the same functionality to phones and tablets with Android 13. “You’ll soon be able to copy a URL or photo from your phone and put it on your tablet,” Google says. The method (seen below) appears to be a little clunky in comparison to Apple’s absolutely flawless Universal Copy and Paste, but hey, it’s a start.
Multitasking and better tablet applications
To put it gently, Google’s tablets aren’t quite up to par with Apple’s iPad. With Android 13, Google hopes to alter that by emulating Apple’s fantastic tablet experience. Easy multitasking and redesigned interfaces “to take full advantage of the extra space,” including YouTube Music, Google Maps, Messages, and more, are among the new features coming to Android tablets. We’re not sure whether this will make much of a difference in Apple’s tablet supremacy, but better late than never.
Wallet by Google
The change of Google Pay to Google Wallet was one of the most significant app announcements at IO. Granted, Google Wallet existed before Apple Card, but the most recent version borrows heavily from the iPhone software. Google Wallet, which will be available shortly, is your one-stop shop for all things digital, including digital IDs, plane passes, concert tickets, immunization cards, loyalty cards, auto keys, and, of course, credit cards. Android users, in my experience, will adore it.
Well, Google has been on the top forever in terms of upgrading its features and bringing the best for everyone. Go ahead and try some of the top shorts mentioned above.
