Google I/O is a developer conference, where tech community members gather to hear about what’s on the cards at Google.
It’s pretty nerdy, but Google I/O also interests those who don’t plan to develop apps or work in the industry. This year we expect to hear about Google’s upcoming plans for AI, including potentially how it will be integrated into Google’s Pixel phones in future.
There’s word of a new foldable phone coming during the show, which could be used as the vehicle for this merging of AI and phone hardware.
Here’s what we know about Google I/O 2024 so far.
How to Watch Google I/O 2024
The Google I/O 2024 keynote address kicks off at 6pm on May 14.
It will be streamed live on YouTube, available to view from this link or below.
The listing specifically mentions “AI updates”, which are expected to dominate the spotlight at this year’s conference.
What will happen at Google I/O 2024?
One of the core roles of Google I/O from a consumer tech fan perspective is to put some meat on the bones of the next version of Android.
Google released the first developer preview of the upcoming Android 15 in February. These days, the most interesting updates aren’t really about the core of Android itself — unless you’re into the nitty-gritty of privacy and security — but Google apps and services including Maps, Health, and the newbie — Google Gemini AI.
What could those updates be? We don’t know yet. However, given the current state of things, we would not be surprised to hear more talk of AI integrations within Maps, Gmail, Docs and others.
Sick of hearing about AI? Here’s the hardware we may hear about at Google I/O 2024.
Google I/O 2024 hardware announcements
Google Pixel Fold 2
The original Pixel Fold was announced at I/O 2023 and released in June 2023. Time for round two?
Clear ways to improve the design include thinning the screen borders to provide more display for the in-pocket bulk. A newer generation of processor is a must, too.
Android Authority suggests it might get a new name, too: the rather unwieldy Google Pixel 9 Fold Pro.
Of course, in a second generation, there’s less cause to announce the phone at I/O 2024. This is primarily a software conference. When foldable software concessions are now part of Google’s rulebook, unveiling the phone at another time may make more sense.
Google’s VR collaboration
AR, augmented reality, could be a big feature of I/O 2024, as reported by UploadVR. This isn’t just where you use your phone’s camera to see Pokémon appear on your phone’s screen. It’s Google’s answer to Apple’s Vision Pro headset. But we don’t think Google is going to make it.
Google partnered with Samsung on this project, as it did with the relaunch of its smartwatch platform WearOS and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 in 2021.
Samsung will make the headset, while Google will produce the new version of Android that keeps the thing running. Google is very late to the party here, of course. The Meta Quest headsets use a version of Android, as did their Oculus predecessors years before the VR pioneer was bought by Meta (simply Facebook at the time) in 2014.
However, this will require some awkward acrobatics between Google and Samsung. Google can’t announce a new VR headset version of Android without a headset to use it. And Samsung will no doubt want to unveil the headset itself.
According to SamMobile, the next Samsung Unpacked show, where Samsung reveals its big new products, won’t happen until July. A big question mark hangs over this one, then.
