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Hi, everybody.
As [INAUDIBLE] said, I'm Michael Silliski.
I'm a product management director here on Google Play,
and I'd like to kick off the day by sharing
a few thoughts with you about the state of Play,
and the amazing momentum that we've been seeing with Android,
with Play, and with you guys-- the app developers-- recently.
I'd also like to highlight a few key trends that I think
we've really been focused and are
really relevant to you guys, and then
point out a few things I think you'll see throughout the day.
So let's get started.
As I think you guys all know, Android
has become an incredibly popular platform.
And as somebody who's been at Google since we launched
the G1 back in 2008, it's incredible to see over
just six short years how we've gone from a few thousand
devices to now Android accounting
for three out of every four smartphones in the world.
More recently, we've seen amazing momentum
on tablets with Android now counting
for three out of every five tablets in use in the world.
And Android's not just popular.
It's also become increasingly powerful.
At this point, over 85% of devices
are running Android 4.0 or above.
But as you guys know, the Android opportunity
is not just about market share.
It's about the aggregate impact, and we
crossed an amazing milestone this year.
We now have over one billion active Android devices
in the world.
A number that I find just staggering.
And that growth has continued to increase in velocity over time,
and it's projected to continue into the future.
Taking a regional view here at Europe,
the Middle East, in Africa-- EMEA forecasts
are for smartphone sales to double over five years.
As you can see, Android is the blue on the top.
And so Android's capturing the vast majority
of those increased sales going forward,
and the same is true for tablets with tablet sales continuing
to increase and Android capturing the lion's share.
But as you guys know, the Android platform story
is not a regional story.
Android has really become a truly global platform.
We now have 60 device manufacturers
selling Android devices all over the world.
We have partnerships with 329 mobile operators,
and they're distributing devices in over 190
different countries.
And I think that's one of the first themes
that I wanted to talk to you guys about, which
is the increased internationalization
of Android.
And particularly a focus that we've
had recently both on Android and on Play
around emerging markets.
Despite all of that growth, only one
out of four people in the world today have a smartphone.
And we at Google are focused on how
we can bring the next five billion people online.
And one key effort to do that is Android One.
Android One's an effort to bring high quality devices
to emerging markets, like India, Indonesia--
like the Philippines and South Asia.
And with Android One, we're trying
to make devices that have fast processors,
smooth interactions, and we've actually
partnered with device manufacturers and silicon chip
makers to create reference designs
to allow these to not only be high quality devices-- not
only powerful devices, but also affordable devices.
And devices that have features that
are particularly relevant in the local markets.
For example, in India-- FM radios.
They're not only high quality and affordable devices,
but they're also devices that will always
run the latest version of Android,
which you guys know is important.
Here on Play, we build the distribution layer
and the commerce layer on top of Android.
And so, the Android platform expansion
into emerging markets through Android One and other efforts
is a tremendous opportunity for us.
And we have really been prioritizing making sure
that users and all those different countries can pay.
Whether it's your paid apps, whether it's in-app billing,
whether it's subscriptions-- we want
to make sure that all of those people
have a seamless and [INAUDIBLE] way to engage with your apps
and services.
And so we spent a ton of time over the past couple of years
making sure that all these markets are payments enabled.
Earlier this year we launched Paypal,
and we have Paypal live in 12 different markets.
Another way to pay in a wide region.
We've seen increased popularity of direct carrier billing,
and we've been focused on expanding that internationally
as well.
We now have direct carrier billing
in over 25 different markets, and that covers about half
of the Android user base.
We've also been working really hard
to get our gift cards program rolled out
in as many markets as possible.
And in under two years, we're now
at 18 different markets with gift cards.
And I'm really happy to be able to say that all of that work
seems to be paying off for developers.
We've paid out over $5 billion to developers
through Google Play.
It's become a really big opportunity,
and it continues to grow year over year.
We paid out more than 2 and 1/2 times as much
last year as we did the year before,
and we're looking forward to increased growth in the future.
So looking forward a little bit, we're
around the corner from the Android L release.
And I wanted to highlight a couple of trends
with L that I think are particularly
relevant to you guys.
One is material design.
So with material design, we challenged ourselves
to come up with a new visual look for Android that
would synthesize the classic principles of good design
with the possibilities that technology affords us.
And so material design brings a new look and feel,
new principles of motion, and better animation to Android.
It is really beautiful.
It's a joy to use.
I think you guys will really like it.
And I think now is a great time-- with the L preview
out there-- to go look at how you
can bring material design into your apps.
Another major trend of L is expanding Android--
as [INAUDIBLE] said-- from phones and tablets
into a new wave of device types, and I
think we're just on the brink of this.
TVs, and wearables, and auto.
So with Android TV, we're bringing Android
into the living room with big screen apps, and games,
and content.
And not just a streaming service, but also
platform on which you can build incredibly rich,
visually stunning games.
And we think it's something that has mass market
potential with a variety of form factors
and multiple manufacturers.
And best of all for you guys, it's
less work because it's a simple incremental expansion
pure Android app.
Second platform I wanted to mention
is Android Wear, which brings Android onto your watch.
With devices like this Moto 360 which
went on sale just this week.
This is a really beautiful device.
There's a range of devices out there now.
And I can tell you that it's really
transformed the way that I interact with apps and services
that I've used over a period of years.
Which I think for every app developer
is an opportunity to think about how you can bring your apps
and services onto the wrist.
So Android Wear organizes your information.
It surfaces to you without you even having to ask,
and so whether it's messaging, or appointments,
or weather notifications-- who knows what in the future.
But I hope you guys will dream up
the use cases that make this a medical device.
And then lastly, Android Auto, which
brings Android into the car.
Android Auto was designed with safety in mind
with a simple and intuitive interface.
With integrated steering wheel control.
With integrated voice control.
And you can connect your phone to get
your contacts and your messages and your music all on the car
without having to take your eyes off the road.
And I'm really excited about this.
Particularly with over two dozen auto industry partners.
So I think as we look from this transition
from phones and tablets to TV, and wearables, and auto,
this big opportunity both for us and for you guys.
Because Android and Play provide the platform,
but you guys are going to provide
the apps and the services that actually
make these devices useful and worthwhile.
So an expansion of types of apps that you can build.
A new design language.
A new range of devices.
New markets around the world.
So how do you take advantage of it?
So we're going to talk about that throughout the day,
but I wanted to kick off by highlighting
five key points there are things that we think about ourselves
every day as we're building apps.
And I think you guys want to think about as well.
So first as I mentioned, get ready for L platform release.
L is one of the biggest releases we've ever done.
It not only brings a new UI paradigm.
It brings a new runtime, enhancer notifications,
and over 5,000 APIs which means new capabilities for you guys.
Things that you can use to build new types
of apps that haven't existed before.
Second, capitalize on these new device opportunities.
We're on the verge of the next wave of devices,
and right now is a time when it's really
a Greenfield opportunity.
The L preview release is out there,
and so it's a great time to start
thinking about how you can define what a device like this,
or what having the Android platform on your tablet,
your wrist, and your TV means.
What kind of services can exist over
the next few years that don't exists today.
Third, it's a great time to go global.
There's over a billion devices in use around the world,
and whether we're sitting in California or in London
or in Tokyo, our users are everywhere.
And as we work to bring those next five billion devices
online with efforts like Android One,
I think you're going to see that it's only
going to become more international.
And so the opportunity is there to think
about the local unique needs of your users
whether they're in India, or Brazil, or Indonesia.
Fourth, if you're building games,
integrate Google Play Games services.
Google Play Games services has grown in a short time
to become the fastest growing mobile game
network of all time.
We've added over 100 million new users in the last six months
alone.
So it's an opportunity to get a lot
of the features and the infrastructure
that you would otherwise have to build for yourself,
and it's an opportunity to increase
your visibility both through the Games network and to the store.
And we hear consistently from developers
that integrating Games services and using features
like achievements, leaderboards, quests, gifts, multiplayer.
The whole range of services helps them increase engagement
with their users, retain their users for longer,
and extend the life of their game.
And fifth, critical for us and for you
guys-- our relentless focus on quality.
You guys know your users.
You know that quality is important for them.
It also really impacts how well your apps monetize.
So for every additional star you get in your rating in the Play
Store, we see a multiplier effect
on revenues to developers.
So I encourage you to maximize your marketing money,
and make sure that you're engaging and retaining
those users.
And so finally, I just want to mention
that Google's here to help.
Throughout the whole life cycle, we really
honestly spend all of our time every day
thinking about how we can improve
the tools and the services that we make available to you guys,
and how we can make your lives better as app developers.
Whether it's in the store, whether it's making payments
easier for users, whether it's making devices
available in more places to more different types of users.
Whether it's building out the developer console providing
tools like A/B testing to you, this is what we do every day.
And so I'm really looking forward to meeting as many
of you as possible, hearing your feedback,
hearing your questions, hearing your ideas, and thank you.