Android boss, Sundar Pichai, sat down with Wired for his first major interview since taking over as Google’s mobile head. He chats about the future of Android, Chrome, and Google’s relationship with Facebook. This interview takes place just a few days before Google’s I/O developer conference.
Before assuming his role as Google’s mobile chief, Pichai worked with the Chrome team, which included the Chrome browser and cloud-based operating system. By having both Chrome and Android run by Pichai, Google’s browser and operating systems are unified under one vision. There are rumors that Chrome OS and Android will merge but Pichai neither confirms nor denies this merger.
“We embrace both and we are continuing to invest in both. So in the short run, nothing changes. In the long run, computing itself will dictate the changes…At Google we ask how to bring together something seamless and beautiful and intuitive across all these screens. The picture may look different a year or two from from now, but in the short term, we have Android and we have Chrome, and we are not changing course.”
Google’s Chrome OS has been a tough sell to consumers, since it relies so heavily on cloud services. Android, on the other hand, feels more like a traditional operating system where you can continue to use apps and services offline.
Pichai also took the time to clear the air about Google’s stance on Facebook Home.
“It’s exciting that Facebook thought of Android first in this case. Android was intended to be very customizable. And we welcome innovations…We want to be a very, very open platform, but we want a way by which end users are getting a good experience overall. Users get to decide what apps and what choices they want. Some users really want this. We don’t want to get in the way of that. [But] in the end, we have to provide a consistent experience. As part of that, with every release of Android, we do go through changes. So we may make changes over time. But if this is what users want, I think Facebook will be able to do it. We want it to be possible for users to get what they want.”
While Pichai remains open and optimistic about apps that change the Android experience, he does temper his enthusiasm by saying apps must provide a good overall experience for users. This is vague enough that Google could decide Facebook Home violates its design principles one day and ban it from the store. Google has already shut down Facebook’s hopes of updating their app without Google Play.
Last but not least, Pichai tempers excitement for Google I/O by saying it will be very developer focused, meaning the event will most likely concentrate on showcasing developer tools instead of consumer products. “Both on Android and Chrome, we’re going to focus this I/O on all of the kinds of things we’re doing for developers, so that they can write better things. We will show how Google services are doing amazing things on top of these two platforms,” says Pichai.
You can read the entire interview over at Wired.
Be sure to stay tuned for our Google I/O coverage this Wednesday, May 15th.
Source: Wired
