Everything You Need to Know About Android 2.2 Froyo

Google finally unveiled the much anticipated Froyo update to the Android platform on day two of Google I/O. Android 2.2, as it is more formally known, is filled to the brim with new features to improve your smartphone experience. A lot of the announcements were expected based on previous rumors and statements, but there were also some real surprises. The new features will make the basic experience better, and will allow developers to create a new generation of mobile apps. 
 
Here's why Android just got a lot more interesting.

Speed

Just as we'd heard in recent weeks, Google is using the JIT compiler in Android 2.2. Approaching the announcement, there were rumors that the new compiler would offer a 450% application performance increase. We were a little dubious of those claims, but Google is saying that the JIT compiler will, in fact, allow apps to run 2-5 times faster. This was illustrated with a framerate analysis of the same game being played on 2.1 and 2.2 side-by-side. Froyo was consistently maintaining higher framerates than the 2.1 handset. 

The new compiler won't increase the overall speed of the OS directly. JIT only affects programs that are not already compiled to native code. What we can expect though, is that apps that are running in the background will make better use of the CPU and that could help the system as a whole.  

Market and apps

The Android market is getting some very interesting, and frankly, overdue features. First up is the ability to have apps auto-update. This can be set up by simply selecting a checkbox on the apps market page. This will allow the app to stay up to date provided the permission don't change. This is actually a smart security move that alleviates some concern we had this the notion of auto-updates to Android apps. If an app's system permissions change, users will have to update manually meaning they will know something has changed.  

Along the same lines, there is now an "Update All" option so you can bulk update apps. So even if you're not comfortable with having apps update themselves, you don't have to click through all those screens one at a time. These features make having a large number of apps instantly less annoying, but what about all the space they take up?
 
Google has that covered as well. App storage on the SD card (Apps2SD) is going to be a native feature in Android 2.2. From the App Management menu, users can choose to move an app from the internal memory to the SD card and back. The Android system will also do this automatically if space is needed. This is a feature that developers will have to enable in their apps, but we think it's going to be expected in fairly short order. There are games showing up on the Market that are upwards of 20MB, and no one is going to want to install that on their limited internal memory if there's an alternative.  

Last up is an exciting look into the near future. Google showed off something we didn't see coming, but we should have after yesterday's Chrome web app store unveiling. There's going to be a version of the Android Market in web store form. Users will be able to browse for apps on their computers and buy apps there. Then the apps will automatically install over the air to the devices associated with the account. The new store will also have the option to buy music, which will also sync to the device. You will even be able to stream your non-DRM iTunes tracks to the phone. This makes it much more of a direct threat to iTunes and the Apple ecosystem. The web-based store might not launch alongside Froyo, but we don't expect the wait to be too much longer. 

Browser and Adobe Flash

The browser is getting some nice updates as well. Google just add support for the V8 JavaScript engine to Chrome, and now the Android browser is getting the same treatment. Google showed off the speed of the new engine by running the SunSpider JavaScript benchmarking tool. According to Google the browser is now 2-3 times faster at interpreting JavaScript. This apparently makes it the fastest mobile browser for this particular measure. There are also new APIs that allow web apps in the browser to access phone hardware like the accelerometer, GPS chip, and camera. 

As we had expected, Flash 10.1 is working with the new browser. Flash will be released as a download in the Android Market in June, but will only be available on devices that have been updated to Android 2.2. This jives with what we have been hearing, and Adobe expanded on the rumors saying that the APIs for Flash are built into 2.2. Hardware specs required for Flash are looking like Snapdragon, Cortex A8/9, or Tegra processors. So older phones will not be getting any Flash love. Adobe will also be working with OEMs to get Flash preinstalled on as many phones as possible.  

Performance on the demo devices at Google I/O was overall quite good. Froyo will come with a bookmark where Adobe has listed some mobile optimized Flash sites. When viewing a video that is not designed with mobile Flash in mind, a message will display at the start of playback alerting the user to this fact. Still, even on non-mobile sites the demos look impressive. It's even more impressive when you consider Google is saying the version of Flash used at I/O was not final and doesn't have hardware acceleration enabled. The final version will have this feature and should improve matters. 

Before you ask, no Hulu doesn't work. Adobe and Google say that Hulu is blocking them due to content licensing issues. This isn't really that surprising. Last year when Skyfire brought a work around for Flash streaming to Windows Mobile, Hulu immediately blocked the browser. They are probably doing this by detecting the user agent, so we wonder if the community will come up with a hack to get around this. 

Tethering and Wi-Fi Hotspot

Google also announced that tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot functionality would be built in to Froyo. As of now, the only security option for the Wi-Fi  is WPA2 PSK, but we doubt anyone would complain. The demo units were allowing users to log onto the carrier's data networks with no problem. This brings up the issue of what carrier are going to think about this. Most tethering options require customers to pay extra for the privilege each month. 

Hiroshi Lockheimer, head of Android engineering said after the keynote that carriers will ultimately have discretion in allowing tethering or not. It's no clear how a carrier would go about doing this on a stock Android phone. Phones with modified kernels, like Sense UI phones, could easily have the tethering interface locked down. But would stock Android phones get free tethering? There is no way in Android for carriers to monitor data usage. We'll have to see how the carriers react. 

Cloud APIs

It's not news to anyone that Google loves all things Internet and cloud related, and a new set of Android APIs certainly show that. Google has created a sort of beefed up push notification API. Unlike the system on the iPhone, the so-called Cloud-to-Device Messaging API can actually send data or initialize 2-way sync.  Google showed this off with a Chrome extension that sends a URL to the associated Android device as a pushed message. Developers will have to update their apps to take advantage of this API though. 
 
One annoyance about Android was that app data would be lost if switching devices or doing a system wipe. This was made a little more bearable in 2.0 with cloud syncing of system settings, wallpaper, and apps; but not app data. That's what they're adding now. App developers can use a new backup API to allow settings or game progress to be synced to the Google cloud so it can be easily restored.  

Everything else

Those are just the major points; Google also made numerous smaller changes to enhance to OS. One of the most obvious of these is the slightly revamped home screen. Next to the app launcher at the bottom of the screen, users will find links to the dialer and the browser. It is unclear if these can be changed to other shortcuts, but we imagine not. There are also two new widgets. The first is a tutorial widget that shows tips on how to get around in Android. The other is a Market widget that rotates through featured apps. The search widget is now more of a universal search. Users can use it to specify if they want to search everything, or just a single place, like apps or contacts. 

Enterprise users are getting a smattering of treats as well. Android's notoriously bad Microsoft Exchange support is getting a bit better. Auto0discovery and calendar sync are supported out of the box. A new API will allow network admins to install apps that can execute other Exchange features like remote wipe and password protection. 

Great, when can I get it?

Google neglected to give us an exact launch date. They only said it would be available in the coming weeks. That probably means a June release for the Nexus One and maybe the Droid, though we don't have any direct evidence of that. Older phones like the G1 and MyTouch 3G are probably going to be left in the dust.  

What about all those attractive Sense UI phones HTC is releasing? The EVO 4G is about to launch with Android 2.1, and the 2.1-powered HTC Droid Incredible just hit the streets a few weeks ago. Well, according to HTC, "...if your phone was launched this year, we will most likely offer an upgrade for it to the Froyo version." They would only commit to getting this done sometime in the second half of 2010, so expect at least a few months wait. 
 
 
We saw a lot of things in the Android keynote today that impressed us. We're definitely looking forward to the speed boost from JIT. While the idea of having Flash in the browser is great, we've almost come to terms with it after all the months of teasing. What is truly interesting is the new cloud-based services that are going to be baked into Android. The ability to backup app data, do OTA app installs/music downloads, and send robust push messages are very interesting. It makes Android feel like the cloud-friendly mobile Internet device a phone should strive to be. The days of plugging your phone into a computer feel like they're coming to a close. Did you hear what you wanted about Android 2.2? Are there any missing features in your opinion? 
 
Edit: We previously stated that the music app was getting a 3D redesign. Google was using a newer build of that app in the keynote, probably to work with the streaming services they were demoing. We now believe the stock 2.2 music app to be unchanged from 2.1