Android is getting its greatest visible replace in years, and somewhat than unveiling it for the primary time at its massive annual developer convention, Google introduced Materials Three Expressive at a pre-show occasion broadcast on YouTube the week earlier than. If a significant design language shift for the world’s hottest cellular OS doesn’t qualify as a headliner at I/O, then what does? You guessed it: AI.
We anticipate Google to speak all about Gemini throughout I/O, which kicks off on Tuesday, and the way it’s enhancing it and bringing it to merchandise in areas that buyers will see much more.
For those who’ve paid consideration to the previous couple of I/O keynotes, this gained’t be a shock. Android was barely talked about in 2023, and CEO Sundar Pichai mentioned AI so many times that we lost count. Final 12 months’s keynote was extra of the identical, besides that Pichai saved us some hassle and counted mentions of AI for us. All of this displays the very apparent, inescapable shift that Google and each different tech firm have made just lately to pump out AI options at a breakneck tempo.
However in a manner, much less information in regards to the latest Android OS at I/O is definitely factor.
Google has made a giant effort lately to convey new options to extra telephones — even when they aren’t working the most recent OS. Firms like Samsung and Motorola roll out new OS variations on their very own schedules, so including new options via Google Play and app updates means they’ll attain individuals quicker. One key criticism of Android in earlier years was gradual function rollouts that always solely failed to succeed in many customers. Google additionally adopted a brand new schedule this 12 months for Android 16, shifting to a significant launch in Q2 and a minor launch in This autumn, which ought to assist extra units benefit from new options.
If this 12 months’s I/O actually is an AI show, then there’s a danger it’s going to really feel like one we’ve seen earlier than.
The previous two years of software program and {hardware} from seemingly each shopper tech firm have been continuous AI pep rallies. We’ve seen plenty of previews of options which are supposedly simply across the nook. Then, when it’s time to really ship them… properly, ask Apple how that’s going.
To Google’s credit score, it has actually shipped numerous AI options. The corporate has plenty of surfaces for it, too — from the XR platform we’re anticipating to listen to extra about (that’s the glasses it has teased a number of occasions), to Chrome, Gmail, and Meet. There’s plenty of floor to cowl.
I get the sensation, although, that we’re reaching a tipping level, one the place guarantees of on a regular basis and energy that AI will save us are carrying a bit of skinny. But when nothing else, I admire that Google went out of its solution to give Android time to shine earlier than the large show — somewhat than relegating it to a handful of mentions between AI function updates.
