Android M | Unveiled alongside Updated Cardboard Virtual Reality Kit

Google showed off some functions of the next version of its Android mobile operating system.

Google says it'll give users greater control over their privacy settings and will also introduce a new smart wallet service called Android Pay.

The tech giants also unveiled a new photos and video storage app with "unlimited" free storage and an updated version of its Cardboard virtual reality headset.

One tech consultant said "Google IO lacked the headline announcements of recent years but nonetheless underlined the company's ecosystem advantage by virtue of the Android installed base, user knowledge, machine learning and highly integrated services."

Android Pay

The Android M, addresses concerns about third-party apps' access to smartphone and tablet data by making it easier for users to control the permissions given to each app.

Apps in the future will ask to be allowed access to location data, contacts, calendar, camera, microphone and other sensors the first time they need to use them, rather than at the point of installation.

If in doubt, users can later go into their settings and see what permissions each app is using and revoke the ones they are not happy with.

The new mobile system  will also allow fingerprints to be used as ID checks for purchases made through websites and in physical stores, where devices can be used in the place of payment cards via a new service called Android Pay.

  

Google Wallet an application the firm has attempted to get people using android smartphones to make real-world payments with in the past; but had limited success with.

However, it suggested that the new Android Pay facility was superior as users would not need to open up a special app to make a transaction.

Reports gathered in March say that in the US only 7% of Android users used mobile payments.

"Android Pay's easier user interface will help, but there's a long way to go."

Android M should also extend battery life. using a new feature called Doze, which will suspend apps if a device's sensors indicate it is not being handled. Notifications and alarms, however, will continue to function.

The firm has stated that tests indicated that its Nexus 9 handset could last up to two times longer between charges as a result.

A new app unveiled at  I/O developers conference in San Francisco, called Google Photos, is already available for download.

The software which runs on both Android and iOS is said to automatically organize user's pictures and self-made movies, which are stored on Google's computer servers.

The app can suggest and create montages set to music, and create links that allow others to see streams of selected images.

Users of the app can save an unlimited amount of photos, up to 16 megapixels in quality, and videos, up to 1080p HD resolution, without charge.

This app could pose a challenge to Apple's rival Photos app, which charges consumers who need more than five gigabytes of online storage, and Yahoo's Flickr, which has a one terabyte limit.

Photos are becoming a hugely valuable asset to companies like Google and Facebook. It's little wonder Google is has offered unlimited storage on its new photos platform

"As techniques such as image analytics, auto tagging, face detection and machine vision improve, the information that can be derived from a simple photo is immense. By default it means images are of clear value to companies driven by targeted ad-sales."

"Family friendly" wide range changes are also being made to the Google Play store.