Google’s annual I/O developer conference, its largest event of the year, is just around the corner. Scheduled for May 20-21 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, the conference is expected to reveal significant new features across Google’s products. According to a TechCrunch article, the focus will be particularly on Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini, and the upcoming Android 16.
Focus on Gemini and AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently the hottest technology trend, and Google, much like its competitors, has been investing heavily in this area.
A major announcement almost certainly expected at I/O is a new addition or updates to Google’s main family of AI models, Gemini. Recent leaks suggest that an improved version of Gemini Ultra, Google’s most advanced Gemini offering, is on its way.
This upgraded Gemini Ultra might come with more expensive subscription options. Currently, Google offers one paid tier, Gemini Advanced, for $20 per month, which unlocks extra features in its Gemini chatbot. However, Google might soon introduce two new plans, ‘Premium Plus’ and ‘Premium Pro.’ It’s not yet clear what special benefits these new plans might offer or how their prices will compare to Gemini Advanced.
Google is also highly likely to discuss ‘Astra,’ its broad initiative to build AI apps and ‘agents’ that can understand different types of information, like text, images, and sounds, in real-time. Also probably on the agenda is ‘Project Mariner,’ which are Google’s AI ‘agents’ designed to browse the internet and perform actions on a user’s behalf. People on X (formerly Twitter) have found hints about ‘Computer Use’ in the code for Google’s AI Studio developer platform, which could relate to Mariner.
Android 16 and Beyond
For the first time this year, Google will host a separate event specifically for Android updates, called ‘The Android Show.’ This event will happen on Tuesday, about a week before I/O.
The latest version of Android, Android 16, will be the main topic. Android 16 is expected to bring better notifications and a completely new visual design called ‘Material 3 Expressive.’ A leaked blog post from Google describes Material 3 Expressive as a complete overhaul, aiming for more responsive features and ‘action elements’ that stand out.
Reports suggest that Android 16 will mostly be an update focused on making the user experience better. It will introduce support for ‘Auracast,’ which should make it easier to switch between different Bluetooth devices. Also expected are lock screen widgets and a range of new features to improve accessibility for all users.
Google might also highlight new capabilities in the latest versions of Android XR, its operating system for mixed reality devices, and Wear OS, the company's software for smartwatches and other wearable devices.
Other Announcements
Based on the official I/O schedule, Google will have many other topics to discuss after ‘The Android Show’ and the main I/O keynote speeches. The schedule lists sessions dedicated to Chrome, Google Cloud, Google Play (the Android app store), Android development tools, and ‘Gemma,’ Google’s collection of ‘open’ AI models.
Last year, Google unveiled a few AI-related surprises at I/O, including a set of AI models specifically designed for educational applications called LearnLM. An upgrade to Google’s popular NotebookLM, a tool that generates podcasts, could be another such surprise. Leaked code suggests a ‘Video Overviews’ tool that would likely create summaries of videos, probably by using Google's Veo 2 model, which generates videos.
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