Android Things 1.0, is the variant of Android OS designed for IoT devices by Google, and could technically boost IoT security through a unified software option for developers on constrained devices, thus ensuring critical updates.
Android Things itself is an outgrowth of a project codenamed “Brillo” which Google rolled out at I/O 2015. Google is perhaps planning a teaser at this year, Google I/O, the company's annual developer conference, as its likely to announce the full roll-out of Android Things 1.0.
While Android Things 1.0 is essentially a one-size-fits-all software option for developers of constrained devices like smart watches and other smart home devices; the idea is to provide a unified experience. And the device makers are restricted from modifying any parts of Android Things’ code, to ensure Google can flash updates to all devices running the software at any particular time.
IoT security is perhaps the biggest stumbling block to the deployment of the emerging technology, hence the inability or unwillingness of smart device makers to regularly update the software to patch security holes is the biggest part of this problem.
Google wants to guaranteed the regular update of software as a way to make IoT more attractive to the enterprise users who accounts for all the exponential growth being predicted for the market, whose need for security far outweighs any other.
Albeit, Android Things isn't Google’s only foray into IoT, as Google also has a pair of networking protocols called Thread, developed in partnership with companies like ARM and Qualcomm, and also Weave, an API layer for Thread.
For now, Android Things remains as more of an entry-level, consumer-style product, but that may change as Google is pretty serious about moving the framework as an option for device makers, and thus broadening its appeal.
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