Google I/O 2024 is just a few weeks from kicking off on May 14, and an official schedule has now been released, giving some idea of what to expect at the event.
Google I/O is an annual developer conference held by the company itself in Mountain View, California. The event is always developer-focused but promises typically promises some new announcements as well, both in hardware and software.
Things kick off with the Google Keynote at 10:00 am PT, which is then followed by the Developer’s Keynote at 1:30 pm. While we don’t know exactly what will be revealed there, the preceding session can help give a rough idea.
The main thing that was an obvious shoo-in is Android 15. The operating system has already been detailed in some fashion and should get a full reveal at the event. Some of the new features include satellite connectivity support for the messaging app, smoother tap-to-pay on Android phones, and screen record detection for privacy.
Past that, there’s a “Building for the future of Wear OS” session that promises to help developers “discover the new features of Wear OS 5.” This could provide some meaningful updates on Google’s smartwatch platform and perhaps even a Pixel Watch 3.
Android Auto, an app used to mirror features of an Android device on a car’s dashboard, also looks like it will be getting some updates. Although we don’t know exactly what, there’s one developer session titled “Android for Cars: New in-care experiences.”
ChromeOS is also seemingly getting updated, with “What’s new in ChromeOS” promising new capabilities and operating system integrations.
Finally, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Google Gemini seems to be a major focus of the event. Gemini is Google’s generative artificial intelligence, which was first introduced as Bard in March 2023. There are 14 different Gemini-focused sessions, including the standard What’s New as well as “New ways to build immersive 3D maps and use Gemini to create AI apps” and “Apps Script and Gemini: Build AI-powered Google Workspace solutions.”
