iOS 9 to defend Apple’s title as ‘most valuable brand’; Google arms Android M to regain it

With Google's unveiling of the Android M, it seems that the competition gap between the search engine company and Apple are getting thinner in some aspects. Five features of Android M are taken into consideration that may prove game-changers for Google, and retrieve the title as the "most valuable brand." However, are they enough?

Google would release its reiteration of their Android OS with new and improved features, which some are somewhat almost similar with Apple's.

First off, the companies' mobile payments in their operating systems: the Apple Pay in iOS 9 and Android Pay in Android M.

When the searching engine company unveiled Android Pay in its I/O event, it was seen as an attempt to "provide a rival to Apple Pay." Specifically, Google would challenge Apple Pay by using "standardized fingerprint authentication, and addressing concerns about third-party access to smartphone and tablet data by making it easier for users to control permissions granted to each application." Once Android Pay is implemented, mobile payments will remain a "battleground" between the two companies in the coming years.

Second is the launching of Android M with "superior voice recognition." This move would challenge Apple's Siri in iOS 9 as well as Microsoft's Cortana. However, only those who use voice recognition regularly would be able to tell the difference between Google, Apple, and Microsoft's services. Nevertheless, others find Google's advancement a "very welcome decision."

Third is Maps. Google Maps is one of the strongest mapping technologies out in the market, and Apple is reportedly looking to close the gap and acquire more brand awareness for its native version in the iOS 9. Though Apple is slowly removing Google Maps in their iOS, it would still be in their offering, especially now that Google updated their application in Android M. Thus, this would still ensure the place that Google Maps is currently enjoying.

The fourth is Photos. It is not surprising to see that Apple's new Photos app would contend with Google Photos. However, Apple reportedly cannot match what Google is offering due to megapixel restrictions. The search engine company is offering users to save an "unlimited amount of photos which are up to 16-megapixles in quality, along with 1080p videos." This is something that Apple is unable to offer as of this moment.

Lastly, Google Play against App Store. Though Google is making its app "more friendly to families," Apple's App Store is still strong in this type of marketplace, and Android M still needs a lot of catching to make.

Though these five Android M features could potentially be game-changers, others are still not convinced that Google would bring Apple down.

Apple Insider said, "Apple's new introductions at last year's WWDC 2014 were far more novel and interesting than this year's Google I/O. With Apple's vast gulf over Google in earnings, employees, ecosystem and frankly, competence in implementation and deployment, you can expect that WWDC 2015 will launch Apple even further ahead, setting up support for new products, new capabilities and new technologies."

Further, a recent market research reportedly showed that Apple was able to reclaim the title as the world's "most valuable brand," beating out Google who was on the top place in 2014. Apple was seen having a 67% percent increase in brand value, amounting to a whopping $246.9 billion.

However, no one knows what would happen this year especially that Google is trying to close the competition gap. The tech world is seeing the company offering revolutionary features in Android M and is also rumored to release two Google Nexus devices this year, akin to Apple's upcoming iPhone 6s product lines. But are these enough to regain the title as the world's "most valuable brand"?

It could not be answered as Apple is still to unveil their iOS 9 and other products in the upcoming WWDC starting June 8.