This year's Google IO is your ticket to Android N, Android VR, Chrome OS and self-driving cars
Google IO 2016 dates are slated for May 18 - May 20. Day 1 sees the two-hour opening keynote beginning at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm BST and hosted by CEO Sundar Pichai. You can watch the keynote on YouTube, and, not only that, it will be broadcast in YouTube 360 for all you VR fans.
The rest of the slots at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif. are filled with sessions devoted to a wide range of subject matter, from VR to cars to gaming. Of course, there will be tons of Android talk.
Developers along with the watching world will see what Google is ready to launch right now or in the near future, plus what its plans are for the the long term. If Google IO 2015 is any indication, there will be lots of cool stuff in between.
Update: The conference may feature a bit of a reunion, with former Googler Hugo Barra announcing that Xiaomi, his new employer, will have a presence at the conference.
"Beyond thrilled to share that Xiaomi will be a part of Google I/O. A sneak peek of what you'll see from Mi at #io16," he tweeted, along with a sketch of what looks like a TV-related device.
A new Xiaomi device is certainly exciting, but it's likely going to be one of several partners that announce new products related to home entertainment. At least, that's our read.
What to expect at Google IO 2016
We'll learn more about Android N
One of the most shocking developments heading into IO is that Google let the veritable cat out of the bag by announcing Android N early. It's available now in a Developer Preview, and we have a full breakdown of what the new mobile operating system brings, including multi-window support and Doze Mode 2.0, in our Android N update: release date, news and features hub.
We still don't know its official name, however, so that could be a bit of news Pichai shares during his keynote. We'll also likely hear when it will head to consumer devices, and might see new Nexus handsets that will carry vanilla Android N baked in.
HTC is rumored to be developing two new Nexus phones - could we see the so-called Marlin and Sailfish breach the surface at IO? It's certainly possible.
Despite revealing a lot about Android N pre-IO, Google will still have plenty to share during its three-day dev conclave. With the official Google IO 2016 schedule out and reports swirling about a new Android VR platform, we have even more to digest.
Say hello to Android VR
One of the strongest rumors heading into Google IO centers around Android VR. It's unclear if it's a standalone headset, a platform for others to iterate upon, or both, but whatever it is, we're 99.99% sure we'll see it unveiled during the conference.
Reports have suggested Google is working on a standalone VR headset, and head of VR Bavor indicated in an recent interview with Popular Science that the company has learned valuable lessons from Cardboard (mobility is a huge consideration), and may have something new to share based on its findings.
The hints didn't stop there: On May 10, a reference to "Android VR" was made in the release notes for Unreal Engine 4.12 Preview 3.
As if that wasn't enough, Android Police spotted Android VR in the Google Play Developer Console, right next Android Auto, Android TV and Android Wear.
Eagle-eyed Android N developer preview testers have spotted several mentions of VR in the underlying code, which could be a hint in itself that Android VR won't arrive until Android N is on more phones than just the latest Nexus devices with which it will likely debut.
- Here's how to watch the Google IO livestream video today
Google goes for the Home... again
Just hours before the IO 2016 keynote, word came that the company plans to announce its first foray into the voice-activated home device space with a product called Google Home.
Google Home will reportedly be in the vein of Amazon Echo, according to The New York Times, able to answer simple questions and perform similarly basic chores.
Though it seems all but confirmed Google Home will be announced during the keynote, the product apparently won't come to market until the fall.
The device first hit the rumor mill in the week before IO, described as a virtual assistant/speaker combo and codenamed Chirp.
Also in the days leading up to IO, Alphabet-owned Nest revealed it's introduced new Works with Nest partnerships that bring a whole new level of Nest integration to third-party products. Developers have already created new capabilities for such partners as AT&T, August, Belkin Wemo, LIFX, Lutron, Misfit, P&G, simplehuman, SkyBell and Waxman. While the news is out now, it's a sign that we'll hear more about the smart home - and Nest specifically - during the keynote Wednesday.
Let's just hope all of Google's new smart home initiatives go better thanAndroid@Home.
What's cooking with Google Cardboard
Of course, Google already has a VR headset in Cardboard, which is doing quite well for itself.
Several IO sessions are devoted to VR, including one on Day 2 called, simply, "VR at Google" and hosted by Google's head of VR, Clay Bavor.
During this session, Bavor will tell attendees "what we have built, what we have learned, and where we are headed", according to the session description. That's broad, yes, but it means we should get insight into how Cardboard is progressing, what Google's learned from making cheap, mobile VR and what it has planned next in the space (i.e., Android VR).
There's also a "VR & Cinema" session that should provide insight into VR film and give us a look at how the entertainment industry is evolving - literally - right before our eyes.
Google announced its professional-grade Jump VR camera rig at Google IO 2015, and with Samsung and Facebook now in the 360-camera game, the stars could align for the company to unveil a more affordable version for homegrown content creators at this year's conference.
With over 5 million Cardboard units out in the wild, Google will use IO to make another pitch to developers about why they should create apps, games and entertainment for its VR platform(s). This year, it has the numbers and ecosystem - and possibly a whole new headset - to back it up.
Project Tango phone for consumers and mapping ambitions
Another part of Google's new-reality push is Project Tango, its augmented reality tech that allows devices to register where they are in the world and generate experiences in real time based on that positional understanding. Think of it likeMicrosoft HoloLens, just housed on your phone or tablet.
Google already has a Project Tango tablet and phone, though for IO, the handset - announced at CES, built in partnership with Lenovo and aimed at consumers - seems to be the device it's championing.
During a session entitled "What's New with Project Tango", Google "will explore the vision of Project Tango and how it will come to life with the launch of our first consumer phone, announced earlier this year."
Lenovo is set to launch the first Project Tango phone at its own conference in June, though it sounds like we're in for a preview - or a full-blown reveal - at IO 2016.
The company is also reportedly pushing to map the entire world with Project Tango, but not in the way you may think. It apparently wants to use Tango to map inside buildings, letting developers create experiences like games, educational programs and advertisements using these 3D maps, according toBloomberg.
It will apparently show off its progress during IO, so stay tuned for much more on Tango.
Artificial intelligence takes center stage
Another topic we expect Google to devote a large chunk of time to is artificial intelligence, or AI.
Sundar Pichai recently laid out in the Google's 2016 Founders' Letter that he expects us to move from a mobile-first to an AI-first world, which he also notedduring the company's Q1 2016 earnings call on April 21. Here's what he said in the Founders' missive:
"Looking to the future, the next big step will be for the very concept of the 'device' to fade away. Over time, the computer itself—whatever its form factor—will be an intelligent assistant helping you through your day. We will move from mobile-first to an AI-first world."
AI can take many forms, but the mostly likely one for IO, based on what Pichai is saying, is bots. We've seen a surge in bots that perform helpful though not mind-blowing tasks in recent weeks from the likes of Facebook and Microsoft. It sounds like Google is primed to start offering intelligent assistants in Android devices in a similar vein.
Google also saw its AlphaGo supercomputer take down a human champion at one of the most complex games on the planet, so it may devote some time to talking up the power of its AI platform. However, we expect Google to focus on more real-world (i.e., less terrifying) AI applications than defeating humans at various tasks.
The company is having its neural network read romance novels, indicating whatever AI it shows will be a lover, not a fighter.
Chrome OS might begin its Android merger
One of the hottest rumors in the weeks leading up to IO is that Google plans to merge Chrome OS with Android, essentially killing its computing platform and baking the remains into the mobile operating system.
This supposedly won't happen until 2017, but word is Google plans to show off an early version of this Frankenstein OS sometime in 2016. And, if we were a betting tech website, we'd say Google IO would be the perfect time to do so.
There are also strong signs that Google will open up the Google Play Store to Chromebooks, bringing over one million Android apps to the laptop line. This would be a huge step towards blending the two OSes, and likely the first move towards a larger migration.
Recent IOs have emphasized unity over division when it comes to Google's various platforms, and we think it's only a matter of time before these OS merger rumors become fact. IO 2016 seems like the time to start that transformation.
And everything else!
As for what else Google has on tap, the majority of the sessions revolve around Android (naturally), though the cloud will get lots of love as well.
Somewhat unexpectedly, there's a dearth of sessions devoted to games and the living room (sorry, Android TV). There's one session planned for Android Auto, though it doesn't sound like it will be chalk full of new information.
In the days before Google IO, the Mountain View firm announced a new Spaces app for small group conversations around a particular topic. Spaces will have a showcase of sorts during IO, so expect to hear plenty about how it works IRL (including from us).
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