Pixel, Android, goodbye to Inbox, Google+ and Allo. What was 2018 for Google?

What was the year 2018 for Google? The company removed this year's famous "do not be evil" from its code, and its karma caught it.

This was not the best year for Google. The company, although it did financially start a good start, but decelerated strongly in the third quarter, disappointing investors. Humors' bosses have not improved either a record punishment from the European Commission or a rebellion of workers demanding the abandonment of the Maven project, then Dragonfly, or the decision of Epic Games that their fantastic earning game will be distributed outside of the Google Store.

Google in 2018, however, is not just about scandals and failures. Some things really went well with the company. A large part of the application looks better than last year, some of them can be used in dark mode, and Pixels, like Pixels, impress with the quality of cameras.

It announced the extinction of three applications, one new one was introduced, and the rest was filled with an annual supply of bleach.

Google has managed to create (or buy) many well-liked and well-known solutions over the past years. This year, the company's portfolio was expanded by new News, and flagship products underwent a major facelift. Several extinction products have also been announced.

In 2018, the Material Design era in Google ended. Computers, tablets and smartphones were visited by his successor - Material Design 2. According to the new standard, colors had to give way to an all-encompassing minimalist whiteness that evokes mixed feelings. Some people are sore eyes, others enjoy the breath of freshness, and the third one reminds them that ... they forgot to buy bleachers in the store. The colors have been kept to a minimum, but the colors are more saturated, more intense. The icons have been simplified and made look lighter, the beautiful Google Sans has become a valid font ... It happened at least in cases when Google was successful in the difficult art of consistency. For now, the forgotten elements of the protoplasts scare the fresh.

A lot of applications have got a new look , including Gmail, Google Drive, Chrome and, of course, a calculator. Yes, this key application for every Android user also got new robes, unlike some niche Gmail for smartphones.

Although Google decided to light up the digital world, it decided to dazzle here and there. More and more new applications were gaining their dark face this year - News, Contacts and YouTube got a dark mode . Google has seen the most changes outside of the look. You can read more about what was happening with Chrome in 2018 here .

Google News appeared, and the Google Assistant started speaking Polish , although I do not want to talk to everyone yet.

Google launched this year with a new news aggregator. Google News is an application that is not only to suggest to its reader content tailored to its measure, but also to provide him with alternative sources of information on a given topic. In practice, it is less pink. First and foremost, the content personalization algorithm fails to please the reader, who does not always want to believe that we are not interested in the latest gossip from the world of stars .

Although only a few have had the opportunity to talk to Google's assistant for the time being , the company has overtaken competition with their three ladies - Siri, Alexa and Cortana - by several lengths. For all Android and iOS users, the Assistant should be available at the beginning of January .

Time to say goodbye to Allo, Google+ and Inbox.

First, they got a major update , and then they were shown the door - Google was badly enjoying this year's emotions of the last three Google+ users. The social networking site, to put it mildly, was not the greatest success in the company's history, and yet it surprised everyone, staying on the surface for years. His fate sealed the leakage of half a million users. With Google + ordinary customers (if anyone who still uses this site, you can specify this) will have to roll up the suit by April next year (earlier was said about August). The service will continue to be available to companies and will grow according to their needs.

Allo also leaves for the well-deserved rest, which is one of the many, but little used, Google communicators. The team dealing with it has already passed in April to the Chata, which defaults to all android users to replace text messages. The last Allo users can use it until March 2019 .

However, the heaviest blow fell in September. At that time, Inbox lovers learned that it was time to say goodbye to your favorite post . Unlike previous applications, this one was not an artificially sustained corpse. Unfortunately, Google decided to focus on developing only one email client and I think it will not surprise anyone that it is Gmail. Inbokx will eventually expire in March 2019.

Pretty cool, or Android Pie .

Another year, another appetizing Android. Android Pie has changed a lot . First of all, he introduced, wherever possible, artificial intelligence. It is supposed to manage screen brightness, application layout on the list, as well as a battery, so that the phone uses the available energy resources in the best possible way. Google employees also expanded the ability to control gestures on the phone and completely differently approached the mode do not disturb , which finally really does not bother. Switching to this mode, the phone not only does not ring, it also hides notifications.

However, not everything is so rosy. There are unpleasant surprises waiting for those who have Android Pie. One of them is the end of the possibility of recording telephone conversations . As it usually happens, the newest operating system can only be enjoyed by a few and a lot of water in Wisła will pass before it is on most phones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65OymhsGzJg

The equipment is not that exciting, but certainly the new Pixels are worth attention.

At Google's autumn conference, two new Pixels, a tablet and something to pass as an intelligent speaker are presented, and it looks like a nanny.

Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL .

Pixel XL did not avoid notes, but Google decided not to use this miracle of designer thought in a smaller variant of the phone. The company also made brave resistance to trends, placing only one lens in the main camera (if in the era of raging selfiism the back camera is still the main one). This did not stop Pixel from continuing to make excellent photos. According to tradition, it is one of the best smartphones for taking photos. Internet birds are chirping about a new, cheaper Pixel, which would take as good photos as the rest of the line, but it would be cheaper.

Pixel Slate , or a new tablet.

In addition to smartphones, Google presented a new tablet at its autumn conference. Pixel Slate operates under the control of Chrome OS and is positioned as a premium device to compete with Surfac Pro or iPad Pro. And in theory, it looks good - it is neat, has good components and a beautiful screen. It is also convertable, so just attach the keyboard and trackpad to it and try to cheat that you bought such a laptop almost. In practice, however, he collects extreme evaluations and is unlikely to threaten competition.

The Google Home Hub has also arrived this year. This intelligent speaker with a large screen for watching YouTube or viewing photos is to serve not only to manage life, but also home to all those who smart house somehow managed to compose .

And what else? There was a lot of political buzz around Google.

Google will have to break the piggy bank money box. The European Commission has punished him with a huge punishment .

The European Commission announced on July 18 that Google is using monopolistic practices , using Android, and more specifically the Google Play Store, to promote Google and Chrome for smartphones. As monopolistic practices are severely punished in Europe, the record went down to a record high of 4.34 billion euros. Google, of course, appealed against the verdict . Waiting for the decision of the court, the company announced the introduction of such changes in the distribution of Android, which will satisfy the EU body. We will find out whether this project will have arms and legs in practice. Some, however, are convinced that this is an idea from a horror novel by Mary Shelley .

Article 11, tax on links, article 13 or ACTA 2. Many names and one problem, also for Google.

Google is involved in the fight against article 11 and article 13 of the directive on copyright in the digital single market. The first introduces the so-called link tax . If it comes into force, it will completely change the way content aggregators work, such as Google News. Article 13 also raises controversy, as it transfers responsibility for what the users publish to the network to owners of websites and internet providers. Google even started the #saveyourinternet campaign to mobilize YouTube users to fight these laws.

Working in secret on the Chinese search engine did not go well for Google.

This year, Google not only shocked the public, but also its own colleagues. In August, it was also revealed that the company has been working on a search engine for the Chinese market for a long time. It tempts with big money, but to get to it, the search engine would have to adapt to the requirements of Chinese decision makers. In practice, this means that it would not show the results that are on the black list of the ruling party. And these do not apply to child pornography or the protection of privacy, but the activities of opposition groups, human rights and those elements of the history of China, which are not pleasing to the ears and eyes of the ruling politicians. When information emerged that Google was working on the Dragonfly project, the company had to translate heavily.

The angry employees published a letter calling for the closure of the project, and the team responsible for taking care of the rights of the user had a serious conversation with the boss. As if that were not enough, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, was asked about this project during a hearing before the committee in the United States parliament. In the end, work on the project was stopped . At least for now.

Fortnite showed that you can be on Android and not be in the Google Store.

The above information seems to be insignificant, as a summary, but I think that it can potentially have far-reaching effects. Epic Games has decided to distribute its colorful Battle Royale for Android without using the Google store. It is true that this crazy popularity allowed Fortnite to go beyond the beaten track, but the company showed that it can be done effectively. Suddenly, we woke up in a world where not everything popular on Android must come from the Google store. We will see only if someone will follow in her footsteps, for the moment a dangerous precedent was created from the perspective of Google.

Pixel, Android, goodbye to Inbox, Google+ and Allo. What was 2018 for Google?