Report: Google developing new ‘Hera’ service to further unify Chrome, Search, and Android

Android Police is reporting that Google is planning a new feature, known as Hera, for the next major version of Android. Hera is reportedly the company’s latest attempt to unify the experience that users have within all major Google services, including Android, Chrome, and Search on Android-powered devices. Hera looks to be based on a special Chromium build that is meant to run on Android and execute certain tasks though the web, as opposed to within an app.

Currently, the multitasking view in Android shows a snapshot of each app that you have open. With Hera, however, the multitasking view will show “snapshots of actions being taken in Chromium instances.” From what we can gather, this is a new HTML5-based interface that allows users to quickly perform certain online actions without opening a dedicated full app. This would allow for an easier and quicker interface for users to perform basic tasks within.

The report notes that one instance this could be used in is with Hangouts. If you receive a text message, Hera would alert you to the message, display it, and allow you to reply – all without opening the actual Hangouts app. The same could apply to Gmail and the ability to reply to an email without every opening the actual Gmail app.

As far as the interface goes, it is apparently very similar in overall style to the leaked Gmail shots we saw last week, suggesting a new design direction for Android and Google apps as a whole. Hera will replace the current multitasking view, as well.

Android Police says their certainty for this rumors is an 8/10, noting that the reason for the deducted points is because their “understanding of the project is not complete.”