New Google App Icons Discovered Signal What To Expect At Google I/O 2018
The Android ecosystem has progressed so much over the past decade that it's not only hardware we look forward to anymore but the software that drives it as well. As we've become more reliant on our smartphones, our usage models with these operating systems of choice evolve, as does our taste. It's for those reasons that Google's I/O conference has become such an important part of the mobile landscape every year. Many new technologies announced at the show and developer conference will directly affect Android and Google services users either right away, or in the near-future.
As with every other year since its inaugural event, 2018's I/O conference has been prefaced with some intense speculation, with the latest object of fixation being the leak of some new app icons, giving us a sneak peak of what Android P might look like and focus on. The folks at 9to5Google have unearthed currently unreleased icons of several Google apps, and have spent time analyzing each one to see what hidden meanings could be interpreted.
One of the most obvious changes relates to a recent rumor about an upcoming Google News update, one which will focus more on video, and ultimately better response times and speed for readers. Naturally, the icon is being updated, and can be seen below to the left; next to it is the old Google News and Play Newsstand icons.
That icon isn't too intriguing, this one app is, and you guessed it, it's simply called "One". It's speculated that this could be an icon dedicated to Android One smartphones, or an app that will apply to everyone. We simply have to wait to find out if it's one app worth having but it's worth speculating that Android One phones could make a prominent showing at Google I/O. The other possibility is that this is in reference to the Android app One Today, which as Google notes, "makes it easy to support the nonprofit causes you care about. Make it your very own generosity app."
Other interesting overhauls include an update to the AdSense icon, which is now simply called Ads, and also a Migrate icon, which itself has migrated from Google' s Data Transfer Tool apparently. Other icons exist, but as of now, no one can give a confident guess as to their function. These include a ribbon icon called "PLX", a bi-directional arrow icon called "Insights", and an interesting blue 'M' icon carrying the name "MDC iOS". Yes, we've been talking about Android this entire time; don't fret but clearly something is up with iOS development and a quick Google search yielded "Material Components For iOS. Hmm...
Google's I/O conference kicks off this coming Wednesday, so if you're appetite has been effectively whetted, it'll only be a few more days before you can dig into a feast of official details. Be sure to check back with HotHardware often, as those details will undoubtedly grace our pages not long after they're outed.