Google has announced on the Android Developers subreddit, that it will be holding an AMA on July 9.
This AMA is strictly for asking technical questions about Android 11, something that would normally be done at Google I/O in one of the many developer sessions and talks at the conference. But since Coronavirus cancelled I/O this year, Google is having to do things a bit differently this year.
Don’t expect to ask non-developer questions in this AMA
It’s not often that Google does AMA’s on reddit, and there’s plenty of people that want to ask Google questions. But Google is wanting to keep this AMA strictly for technical questions. As it noted in its post “This is your chance to ask us technical questions related to Android 11 features and changes.” And also noting that the conversation should be about the engineering of the platform.
So if you’re not a developer, there’s likely not much that Google is going to say in this AMA that is going to get you excited.
As mentioned, these questions would normally be answered at different sessions at Google I/O, but this format may turn out to be better for Google. As developers can go back later and use ctrl+f to find the answer to a specific question. Instead of needing to watch the entire session on YouTube – since the sessions are normally available on YouTube for playback.
This is part of Google’s 11 weeks of Android initiative
With the launch of the Android 11 Beta last month, Google launched its 11 weeks of Android initiative. Essentially putting the Android sessions that would be at Google I/O, online for everyone to take advantage of. This is actually better for developers, as they can attend them all, instead of just a few, seeing as at Google I/O a lot of sessions are taking place at the same time. Or fill up very quickly, so not everyone can get in.
It also helps everyone else learn a bit more about the upcoming version of Android. So it is a pretty big deal, even now that it is all virtual and done via videos on YouTube.
It’ll be interesting to see some of the answers to some questions that are asked during this AMA with Google next week. If you are a developer, make sure you mark your calendar for July 9 – that is going to be Thursday. It’ll start at 3PM EST and last until around 4:20PM EST.