Rumor: Google’s Project Hera Could Bring a Unified UI to Android

First there was Project Ara, and now there is Project Hera, Google’s (GOOG) latest secretive development in what could be turning into a bid to change the fundamentals of how we use our smartphones forever. According to the rumors flying around the internet, Project Hera will allow Android users to connect all of Google’s products and services, resulting in the company’s first unified user interface (UI).

If the rumors of Hera’s existence are true, Google could be working on a way for users to unify their experiences in Android, Chrome, and Google Search all on their Android device. According to Android Police, this will be accomplished through the use of a special Chromium build that runs on Android and can execute tasks through the web both for Google and third-party apps.

For example, according to Android Police, through Hera users could open a Google Map on their phone that they had previously viewed on their desktop browser, since Hera essentially will create a duplicate task on the smartphone after the user opens a window on their computer.

In addition, Project Hera is expected to give smartphone users the ability to execute tasks such as viewing and answering an email without having to physically open that particular app. With Hera, users would be alerted about a new email and be able to respond without having to go into their Gmail app. Android police compared this new functionality to that of Chrome desktop sync, except Hera would be able to collaborate between all Google products.

If Hera is indeed a reality, it would mean that Google is making its latest version of Android an HTML-powered intermediate UI, allowing users easier access to their various applications. Android Authority summed up the process quite nicely, noting Hera will replace the current multitasking view available on Android devices with mini-HTML5 applets to quickly let users perform functions outside of the physical app.

While all of this is speculation thus far, Android Police said it has solid evidence to back its claims. The Project Hera leak coincided with another supposed change to Gmail’s interface, which also was announced last week. In any case, it’s likely we’ll hear more on Project Hera and any other Google projects currently in the works at the Google I/O conference in June.