Here’s Your Guide to Google’s Android Things

Android Things is Google’s operating system for its smart devices. It was released a little over a month ago, and is able to operate on most smart devices. These devices include smart speakers, light bulbs, TVs, routers, security cameras, and appliances — but that’s only the beginning.

Android Things will help all of these smart devices work more efficiently, by having the same operating system run across a variety of smart devices — allowing them to connect and communicate more easily with other Android devices like smartphones and tablets.

An Updated and Improved Version of Brillo

A keen observer will notice a striking similarity between this new operating system and Google Brillo, an older OS for smart devices. Brillo was released in 2015, and its functionality has been updated and rebranded as Android Things, which promises to be easier to use, particularly for developers without mobile development experience.

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As was the case in Brillo, further product integration will be made possible through communication software like Google Weave, which will allow Android Things to communicate with various other Google services, including Google Assistant, and smart gadgets. Weave is independent software, though, so it also works with other operating systems.

Android Things Includes New Tools

Beyond the original Brillo software, Android Things also includes access to tools like Android Studio, Android Software Development Kit (SDK), Google Cloud services, and Google Play services. But users won’t interact with Android Things in the same way that they interact with Android Nougat: Android Things is simply the operating system that controls the machine. It’s designed for developers to use, in order to build and improve the performance of smart devices.

The Promise of Better Security for Smart Devices

Android Things promises better security and more frequent updates for smart devices as well, which will allow manufacturers to easily make minor updates to their products. More importantly, it will help them issue critical updates by simply passing on Google’s patches to their devices. Because hacking of smart devices has become a serious concern for hardware as well as software developers, Android Things’s promise of tougher security makes the platform all the more appealing to manufacturers as well as users.