Google I/O, Google’s biggest developer conference of the year, is just around the corner. The event is scheduled to take place on May 20 to 21 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, where Google will unveil new products and updates across its various platforms including Android, Chrome, Google Search, YouTube, and its AI-powered chatbot, Gemini.
Gemini and AI are expected to be major highlights of the event. Google has been heavily investing in AI technology, and it is rumored that a new addition to the Gemini family of AI models, possibly an updated Gemini Ultra model, will be announced at I/O. This new model may come with a pricier subscription plan, with leaks suggesting the introduction of two new plans – Premium Plus and Premium Pro. The details of these plans and their pricing are yet to be revealed.
Google will likely also discuss Astra, its initiative to develop AI apps and agents for real-time, multimodal understanding, as well as Project Mariner, which focuses on AI agents that can navigate and take action across the web. References to “Computer Use” in the code of Google’s AI Studio developer platform hint at potential updates related to Project Mariner.
Another key focus of Google I/O will be Android 16. The Android Show, a separate event dedicated to Android updates, will precede I/O and showcase the latest version of the operating system. Android 16 is expected to introduce improved notifications and a new design language called Material 3 Expressive, which promises a top-to-bottom overhaul with enhanced responsiveness and visually striking action elements.
In addition to Android updates, Google may also highlight advancements in Android XR for mixed reality and Wear OS for wearables during the event. The official I/O schedule indicates that there will be sessions dedicated to Chrome, Google Cloud, Google Play, Android development tools, and Gemma, Google’s collection of open AI models.
Last year, Google surprised attendees with AI-related announcements such as the introduction of models tailored for educational applications like LearnLM. This year, an upgrade to Google’s NotebookLM, a podcast-generating tool, could be in the works. Leaked code suggests the possibility of a “Video Overviews” feature that would leverage Google’s Veo 2 video-generating model to create video summaries.
As Google I/O approaches, tech enthusiasts and developers eagerly anticipate the exciting announcements and updates that the conference will bring. Stay tuned for more details as the event unfolds.
