Mark your calendar (it feels good to say that two weeks in a row!): May 18–20 are the dates for Google I/O — it's all virtual and free to all! If you're not familiar with the event, it's essentially the Google version of WWDC (see last week's post). It's great for learning about the latest developments on Android, Material Design, and Google tech in general. And just like WWDC, its primary audience are developers, so there will be plenty of coding sessions as well.

In other OEM news, LG has decided to throw in the towel on smartphone production. On the one hand, for those of us who work in mobile apps, that means one less flavor of Android to worry about. On the other, that also means one less competitor in the market (and LG was doing some interesting stuff with dual and rollable screens in their final months). On the sentimental tip, my first tough screen phone was an LG, so it will always carry some nostalgia for me. I just hope their mobile team finds a good home.

Working my way down the OEM list, Apple appears to be adding support to Find My for third party devices via a new testing app for Made for iPhone Licensees. Although this may more likely be in response to accusations of anti-competitive practices, a step towards interoperability, I believe, is a good thing. After all, not everything Apple makes is gold and, when it comes to connected devices, they cannot make all the things.

Admittedly, I haven't read this year's update to The Current State of Mobile UX from top to bottom, but Baymard Institute, who I've been following for several years now, generally does solid work with their research and case studies. Worth noting, however, they tend to focus on e-commerce and oftentimes on mobile websites, not native apps. That said, if you have the time (it's a long read), it will be time well spent. Or, at the very least, jump down to the end where they list out the 18 pitfalls in summary.

And if you've been considering picking up a smart display, but can't seem to justify the purchase, then this article is for you. I wouldn't normally include this sort of consumer advice content, but I recently acquired a Nest Hub myself and am very intrigued by the inclusion of air gestures in the interaction design space. I'm even more interested in seeing adoption rates (air gestures are not new, see also: Microsoft Surface tablets) and to what other use cases — outside of the kitchen — air gestures might apply.

Articles

• LG confirms it's shutting down its mobile business via Engadget
• Apple launches an app for testing devices that work with ‘Find My’ via TechCrunch
• The Best Smart Displays via Wired

Events

• [May 18–20] Google I/O 2021 via Google

Resources

• [Case Study] The Current State of Mobile UX via Baymard Institute
• [Inspiration] UI Interactions of the week #257 via Muzli