Adobe, Apple, and Microsoft all managed to pull off virtual versions of their annual developer conferences in 2020, but Google cancelled I/O 2020 entirely. This year, the search giant is back with its first-ever virtual I/O, which promises "significant product updates and announcements," according to Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Here's how to watch and what to expect.
How to Watch Google I/O 2021
Google I/O 2021 takes place from May 18 to May 20, starting at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.
Like Apple WWDC and Microsoft Build last year, I/O is free and open for anyone to join in. Keynotes will be live-streamed on YouTube (video embedded below). To attend Workshops and Ask Me Anything Sessions (AMAs), register at Google's Events minisite, which lets you create a personalized schedule of sessions you're interested in.
Pichai will likely take the stage for Tuesday morning's keynote with an overview of what's next for Android, Chrome, Google TV/Android TV, Wear OS, and, of course, search.
Most of the conference will focus on development tools like Firebase, Flutter, JetPack Compose, Kotlin, and Progressive Web apps. Several sessions will offer support for underrepresented categories of developers such as Black people and women. Developers will get to play with new code capabilities in "virtual sandboxes" and to hang out together in "virtual Meetups."
Pixel 5a 5G, Pixel Buds A, and More
Google I/O is largely a software show, but hardware is often on the agenda. In an April 29 blog post, Google said its smart home-focused May 19 keynote, scheduled for 4:15 p.m. PT, will include "new product announcements," so look for new devices from Google's Nest lineup.
Some observers have mentioned the possibility of a Pixel 5a 5G smartphone reveal. Google has confirmed that the budget phone will be available in the US and Japan this year, despite global chip shortages.
The long-rumored Pixel Watch might also be on the agenda; we got a glimpse of it last month from Jon Prosser, and Google finalized its acquisition of Fitbit in January, but it may be too early for that match-up to bear fruit.
9to5Google also reports that we may see the affordable Pixel Buds A, while XDA-Developers points to text in Google's developer tools that suggests Google is following Apple's footsteps and creating its own mobile CPUs, in a project dubbed Whitechapel.
What's New in Android?
As in previous years, a major highlight of Google I/O is info on the next version of Android and its features. Android 12 is already out in developer preview releases, but Google tends not to include major features in early betas. Known new features in version 12 include audio-coupled haptic feedback, a splash-screen API offering new app launch animation, ranked call notifications, picture-in-picture improvements, and new camera and connectivity capabilities. Mike Bifulco, a Developer Advocate at Google, says in the aforementioned blog post that "widgets in Android 12 are coming with a fresh new look and feel."
Google Assistant
As 2021 marks five years of Google Assistant, the company's virtual assistant will play a big role at I/O. "Expect to hear about what’s happened in Assistant over the past year, new product announcements, feature updates, and tooling changes," Bifulco says. An Assistant-focused keynote is scheduled for May 19 at 9:45 a.m. PST.
These smart assistants are always fair game for improvements in contextual understanding, and Google has been working on a Memory feature, 9to5Google reports. It sounds like a turbocharged version of the old memory key on calculators, though working with many types of information besides numbers.
There's likely plenty more to be announced not covered here; tune in for Tuesday's keynote to get the highlights. While you're waiting, you can play the fun pong game Google has on its I/O registration site.