 Google sucks at security, makes ugly software, and most importantly innovates slower than Apple. It's what you might have thought before today's Google I.O. Have you seen what they're doing with Android 12? And don't even get me started on the range of third-party designs when Apple's idea of innovation includes updating the look of the iMac once every, I don't know, 11 years or so and making a purple iPhone. Hey. Okay. Those were cheap shots. Apple is absolutely innovative, but just because they have a world-class team of developers and designers doesn't mean that Google can't also have a world-class team of developers and designers. And it really shows. So let's dive deeper because there is more to the story than innovation alone. Like learning about our sponsor, Crucial. Crucial has been making high-quality RAM and SSDs for over 20 years, and with their Crucial system scanner tool, finding the perfect parts for your system is now easier than ever. Check out Crucial at the link in the video description. Rumors suggested we might get a glimpse at Google's new Whitechapel SoC, maybe see the Pixel Buds A series, and of course we expected news about Android 12 and Wear OS. But the reality of it is with no I.O. event last year at all, Google had a clean slate. They could surprise us. And it's safe to say that they did, and that they didn't. They didn't pull off an Apple One More Thing product announcement. It is a developer keynote, so it's not like they had to. But what they did surprise us with is just how much effort has gone into Android 12. I mean, look at this. It's superficially more than a little iOS-like, but it's got its own style, or more accurately, you've got your own style. Google's new Material UUI is front and center, featuring responsive design that dynamically resizes to fit your content, and user-tweakable elements from the color palette all the way down to line weights. And not only that, but it can do a lot of the work for you by automatically generating complementary colors, and even pulling a palette out of your phone's wallpaper, meaning if you're a fan of matching themes, you are going to love Android 12. More of these on-screen elements are larger and more animated, which means that you're going to be treated to a lot more eye candy. They showed off the idea, for example, of the lock screen lighting up in different ways, depending on how you woke the phone. And the new combo notification shade and quick settings area is far more alive than it's ever been. Importantly, if Google's to be believed, it's not going to come at a significant cost to responsiveness or battery life, where not only have animations transitioning between apps been shortened, but they claim that they're getting a good 22% less CPU time, with 15% less time on high performance cores. Along with fewer interrupts, this all means that the CPU is freed up to do more, while also doing much less in the background, which should lead to better battery life. That's awesome, but not as innovative as the new privacy features. The privacy dashboard shows you a breakdown of how all apps, including Google Zone, have been using your Android devices' sensors. And it quickly and easily lets you revoke access for apps that you don't trust. Like on iOS, there are now clear indicators in the system tray when apps use a sensor, and there are new toggles for microphone and camera access that you can use to block access for all apps, including Google Zone. It's not as good as a pure hardware switch, but having OS-wide controls like that is a game changer, and it's baked right into Android now. This is one area that Apple has been pushing really hard recently, as a shining example of why their closed ecosystem is superior to Android, and Google has just pulled the rug right out from under them. Okay, following Apple's lead here is not that innovative, and we still don't have any control over app tracking in the same way that iOS provides, but hey, at least if you love Android, you can control the size of your water bottle from LTTstore.com. They both cost the same. Moving on to camera then. Google showed off a new machine learning algorithm that detects and enhances the auto white balance and exposure settings to make skin tones appear more natural, but this time for everyone, not just whiteys like me. Until now, partly due to limited dynamic range in photos, desaturated highlights haven't accurately portrayed how darker skin looks in real life, and shadows have often ended up crushed altogether. So to solve this, Google's created an algorithm that promises to preserve these skin tones while also preventing lighter parts of the image from being blown out. This is a real problem that affects real people, and it's really cool to see that real work is going into solving it. And what's more, Google is planning to release it to the whole Android ecosystem rather than keeping it to themselves for their refreshed pixel line that should launch alongside the final version of Android 12 sometime in the fall. This is super innovative, and the beta is available right now if you're interested with OnePlus and Xiaomi phones among those called out as supported. Aside from Android itself, a lot of focus was spent on Google search and backend systems, which for a developer's conference makes sense to a degree, but we were really hoping for some more info on the long rumored Whitechapel in-house SoC that we think might debut in the next Pixel phones. They did still hint at deeper collaboration with Samsung, however, when they revealed long-awaited updates to Wear OS. So get subscribed because we're definitely going to be taking an in-depth look at these when they come out. For now, let's take a moment though to acknowledge an area where Apple has clearly led the pack and Google is playing catch up. This entire list of expected features in the new Wear OS is stuff that I can already do on my Apple Watch, with the exception of Google's tiles feature. All day battery, check. Fast app startup, check. Turn-by-turn directions, check. Offline music, check. Payments without a phone, check. Quick app navigation, check. Health and fitness app, freaking check. I mean, don't get me wrong. Most of these things are what Wear OS has been sorely missing and are why the ecosystem clearly hasn't taken off the way Apple's Watch OS has, but holy crap, has it ever taken them a long time to catch up. And I am really hoping we end up with something a little less cumbersome that I might be able to actually use. Because, as most of you probably know, I don't even keep a SIM in my iPhone. I've just been wearing this Apple Watch as a silent protest against how terrible Wear OS has been. There's some more me too bits in here as well, like the ability to use your phone's NFC and ultra wideband as a car key to lock, unlock, and start your car. Super sweet. The ability to use your Android as an Android TV remote complete with voice search and on-device keyboard support. Yes, for my Nvidia Shield, love it. And the ability to use your phone to unlock your Chromebook, which can now receive your phone's notifications while you're using it Apple style. Finally, as before, Android Auto is superior to CarPlay. It really is guys, don't at me. Back to the question of innovation though. Google's main message this year was that they're not only catching up to Apple in key areas, but also surpassing them in others that really do matter. And to hear Apple tell it, that's an impossibility with Google's open model for Android. To say that they can't innovate as fast as Apple is honestly just kind of ludicrous. I mean, a perfect example of this is Project Starline, a real-time 3D representation of two people as if they're in the same room separated by a display. It's not ready for prime time, and it's possible that it'll morph into something else or end up dead before it launches. Remember Tango? But it is the kind of stuff that keeps Google moving forward along with healthy competition from other innovators like Apple. Just like our sponsor, Shells. Thanks to Shells for sponsoring today's video. Shells.com offers secure personal cloud computers that can be accessed from anywhere on almost any device. It was created by one of the founders of private internet access and it runs in your web browser. So it works on your phone, your tablet, your computer, or even your new Xbox. You can open up a brand new high-speed computer in under five minutes, and they've got options for both Windows as well as various Linux systems depending on your preference. Shells virtual desktops are always on so you can switch devices on the fly, and their affordable pricing starts at just $4.95 a month with no hidden fees. So give your computer a break and get a virtual desktop at the link down below. Thanks for watching, guys. If you're looking for something else to look at, view, watch, watch. Go check out our review of Google's Nest Hub for an example of some of maybe Google's slightly less successful innovation. It's not that it's bad, it's just, I don't know, just watch the video, I guess.