Wow. Here's a sixteen-page (as a pdf; website citation below) report from ars technica with intel on Google's likely activity in 2014. The report cites
- push on gaming -- mobiles, Chrome browser
- increasing connectivity for the developing world -- infrastructure, cheaper smartphones
- home automation (see related Internet of Things)
- healthcare
- robotics -- the self-driving cars, the company's recent acquisitions (Boston Dynamics and others)
- Project Ara -- a modular, componentized smartphone
- Android improvements -- camera, for car, Google Home, speedier runtime, a fitness API, Chrome remote desktop app, YouTube and background audio and subscription music services
- wearable computing -- including a consumer release of Google Glass
- Chrome
- those silly barges
This is an important read for everyone, whether you're a heavy Google user or not.
The 2014 Google tracker—Everything we know Google is working on this year
Google's plans for Android, gaming, smart homes, healthcare, robots, and much, much more.
by Ron Amadeo - Feb 10 2014
While some companies pride themselves on secrecy, Google doesn't seem interested in surprises. The future of the company is often proudly demonstrated on a stage in front of hundreds of people or announced to the world via a company acquisition press release. Everything Google mentions publicly is for a reason, and if you just listen, you'll pick up a few hints and get a pretty good idea of what the company is working on.
Google via ars technica
This post is a collection of all the hints, announcements, and acquisitions we've heard from Google lately, along with some common sense speculation. We're not predicting or guaranteeing that all of these projects will become consumer products in 2014; it's more of a "to-do list" for Google. Like any to-do list, it's not heavy on ETAs—you can complete an item and cross it off the list, or you can procrastinate and let that list item hang around another year. So to prepare for what promises to be a wild year of Google news, here's everything we know about the company's future plans.
See link for full report.