Google’s flagship developer conference, Google I/O, is almost here. Taking place May 20–21 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, the event will cover announcements spanning Android, Chrome, Google Search, YouTube—and, notably, the company’s AI chatbot, Gemini.
Gemini and AI
AI is front and center this year, and Google is widely expected to reveal enhancements to its Gemini model lineup. Leaks suggest we’ll see a refreshed Gemini Ultra—the priciest, most capable tier yet. To accompany the new Ultra, Google may roll out higher-end subscription plans beyond its current Gemini Advanced ($20/month), possibly dubbed “Premium Plus” and “Premium Pro,” though pricing and feature details remain unconfirmed.
You’ll also likely hear more about Google’s agent-building efforts: Project Astra, which focuses on real-time, multimodal AI agents, and Project Mariner, designed to let those agents navigate and act online for you. Recent code hints in Google AI Studio reference “Computer Use,” which many believe ties into Mariner’s web-enabled capabilities.
Android 16
This year, Google is holding a dedicated Android preview—The Android Show—about a week before I/O, where Android 16 will take center stage. Reports describe Android 16 as more of an incremental “quality-of-life” update, featuring revamped notifications, lock-screen widgets, and a fresh Material 3 Expressive design language with more dynamic “action elements” and improved responsiveness. Under the hood, it adds Auracast support for seamless Bluetooth switching and introduces new accessibility tools. Google may also highlight updates to Android XR for mixed reality and Wear OS for its smart-watch platform.
Beyond the Keynotes
According to the I/O timetable, post-keynote sessions will dive into Chrome, Google Cloud, the Play Store, Android development tools, and “Gemma,” Google’s suite of open AI models. Last year’s I/O surprises included LearnLM—AI models fine-tuned for educational use—and upgrades to NotebookLM. Keep an eye out this time for rumored features like a “Video Overviews” tool powered by Google’s Veo 2 model, which could automatically generate video summaries.