One of the more interesting tidbits to come out of the interview were Pichai's comments on Google Wallet, particularly amid recent rumors that the Google may be gearing up to launch a new payments API called Android Pay at this year's I/O developer conference:
For people who use Google Wallet, the experience works. [The question is] how do you get Google Wallet present and how do you get all the point of sale terminals and the end-of-end ecosystem, the banks, the issuers. For me there's been a lot of progress in the last few months. I'm very excited with our road map there. Stay tuned. We definitely expect to make important advances in this area.
When asked about how Google is looking to leverage Android in China, a country which has historically been hard for the company to penetrate with its services, Pichai was vague, but said that the country presents a huge opportunity going forward:
We have seen a lot of interest from Chinese developers on Google Play, because the extent to which Android is used. We see those as opportunities ahead. If we can figure out a model by which we can serve those users, it would be a privilege to do so. So I don't think of China as a black hole. I see it as a huge opportunity in which we are playing as an enabling platform today and hopefully we have a chance to offer other services in the future.
Finally, while Google has already begun to separate Google+'s features into separate services with Hangouts and Photos, Pichai hinted that we may see an increased push to break them out further in the future:
I think increasingly you'll see us focus on communications [Hangouts], photos and the Google+ stream as three important areas, rather than being thought of as one area.
The full interview is a pretty good read, as Pichai touches on a number of other subjects including Google's relationship with Apple, as well as its vision of Android as a platform for innovation. For much more, be sure check the interview with Forbes out at the source link below.
Source: Forbes
