Google has introduced several Google products, platforms and access programs at its second Google for India event. The new products include ‘YouTube Go’, a YouTube app built from the ground up for India; the Google Station for Wi-Fi access in public spaces; the Allo service with Assistant and Smart Replies in Hindi; as well as the Google News service in Lite Mode. According to Google data, in India, every second three new customers come online for the first time, which is over 10,000 people every hour.
Google has announced it is starting extensive user tests of YouTube Go, a new mobile app reimagined for the next generation of YouTube users. Google says its product team spent the last year learning from users in India about their access and affordability challenges. So the company designed the app to load and play YouTube videos across various connectivity situations, as well as to provide users with transparency and control over their data consumption. The app also has a new feature that enables users to share videos with friends and family nearby, without using any data. YouTube Go will be India-only at first. Customers can test the service by signing up at youtubego.com website to find out when the app is available. Google has also introduced its Google Station platform in India. Back in September 2015, Google has signed a partnership with Indian Railways and RailTel to provide Wi-Fi at 400 railway stations in India. Over 50 stations currently provide internet access to 3.5 million people each month. Around 15,000 Indians come online each day through these stations, Google said. Google now plans to expand this Wi-Fi service beyond railway stations, and even beyond India. The Wi-Fi facility is expected to be expanded to malls, bus stops, city centers, and cafes all around the world.
The Google Station enables partners to roll-out Wi-Fi hotspots in public places. Google Station will provide software and guidance on hardware to turn fiber connections into Wi-Fi zones. Google also said it is looking for a few strategic partners to work with on this project.
Google has also introduced its Allo platform with an Assistant and smart replies in Hindi. One of the main features of our new messaging app Allo is a preview edition of the Google Assistant, a new way to have a conversation with Google. In the app, customers can ask the Assistant questions and let it help them get things done directly in the customers’ chats. This is currently available in English, but later in the year, Google will also be rolling out the Assistant in Hindi. And as part of that, the “Smart Replies” feature - where Allo suggests responses to messages so you can respond quickly in English and Hinglish - will also be available in Hindi.
Google has also launched two updates to Chrome for mobile and Google Play. This new update will support MP4 videos, saving up to 67 percent of video data, the Internet giant said. Also, Chrome on Android will automatically optimize pages to their essentials when 2G-like networks are detected. These simplified pages load up to 2X faster, and are expected to save more than 90 percent of user data.
Chrome for Android also adds a new Download feature that enables users to save web pages, videos, music, and pictures on their phone. All downloaded contents can be accessed in Chrome's new Downloads tab, even when the users are offline.
On the Google Play side, Indian users on 2G connections can now access two new experimental features. The Google Play app will now pre-load the most popular parts of the store on Wi-Fi so that browsing is much faster even on a weak signal. And when choosing to install an app, Play will offer the option to “Wait for Wi-Fi” and install the app when the phone connects to Wi-Fi and save data.
Starting this week, the Android app Google News and Weather adds a new feature dubbed “Lite mode” for people on low-bandwidth connections that keeps the headlines and trims the rest of the components down to their essentials so that the app loads more quickly. This mode uses less than one-third the data, Google also said.
