Google I/O 2026 kicks off May 19, and if the past few years are any indication, AI is going to be the main attraction. The two-day event will be livestreamed and is expected to cover updates across Gemini, Android, Chrome, and more — with keynotes, demos, and what Google calls “Dialogues” sessions featuring conversations about where AI is headed.
Last year’s keynote livestream was long, so prepare yourself. Google I/O 2025 ran nearly two hours and touched nearly every corner of the company’s product lineup, from its consumer apps to developer tools to hardware.
Gemini dominated the conversation, with Google rolling out model updates, deeper Workspace integration, and a wave of new AI-powered features across Search, Shopping, and beyond.
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The company also used the stage to pull back the curtain on its AR/VR ambitions with Android XR, including a new XR headset built with Samsung and Qualcomm, as well as a pair of Android XR smart glasses. This year, we’re hoping for a better look at those Google XR glasses — hopefully with a working demo this time.
Check back on May 19 for Mashable’s live coverage of the annual event. In the meantime, here’s what’s likely on the table for Google I/O 2026.
A new version of Gemini
A major Gemini model update is widely expected to be the centerpiece announcement. Whether it lands as a 4.0 or something in between, a newer, more capable version of Google’s flagship AI is almost certainly coming, per CNET’s preview of the event. Gemini is already embedded across most of Google’s product lineup, so whatever gets announced will have a wide reach.
A next-generation model would set the tone for the company’s entire product roadmap going forward.
On the more speculative end, our tech editor Timothy Beck-Werth thinks I/O 2026 could also bring updates to some of Google’s other AI tools — Nano Banana, Gemma, Lyria, and Genie, among them — along with a possible Veo 4 announcement, Google’s AI video generation tool. None of that is confirmed, but if Veo does get a major update, YouTube integration feels like a natural next step given how aggressively Google has been pushing AI into its platforms.
New Gemini Live voice models
Pre-show leaks suggest Gemini could be in for a significant upgrade on the voice side. Forbes contributor Paul Monckton reported this week that a hidden model selector in the Google App reveals seven previously unknown Gemini Live voice models under internal testing, including variants with codenames such as “Capybara” and “Nitrogen.”
One of those models identified itself as “Gemini 3.1 Pro” when asked — a step up from the Flash Live model currently powering Gemini Live — and Monckton’s own testing found meaningful behavioral differences between them, including variations in memory, location access, and fact-checking ability. The infrastructure to switch between models is apparently already built; it’s just not public yet.
New video editing tools
On the video side, Chrome Unboxed flagged a separate leak this week, pointing to something called Gemini Omni, a new video generation model that appears to be surfacing for select users ahead of the event. Citing a report from 9to5Google, the outlet describes Omni as capable of remixing videos, in-chat editing, and template-based creation — possibly an evolution of Google’s existing Veo foundation.
Early demo footage reportedly showed strong results, though the model appears to be computationally expensive: one user apparently burned through 86% of their daily AI Pro plan allowance generating just two short clips.
Aluminium OS
Credit: Google
Google introduced the Googlebook at The Android Show event this week. In the preview, Google reps said the AI laptops wouldn’t run on ChromeOS, but rather an unnamed operating system they couldn’t name.
This hint suggests that Google’s long-in-development project to create an Android operating system for PCs and laptops is expected to get significant airtime. The project would potentially merge Android and Chrome OS into a single platform, and it’s been dubbed Aluminium OS (or is it Aluminum OS?).
Google’s Android Ecosystem President Sameer Samat confirmed to Android Authority earlier this year that the platform is still on track for a 2026 debut, pushing back against court documents from the Google antitrust trial that suggested a possible 2028 timeline. Chrome OS, notably, isn’t going anywhere — Samat was clear that Google sees the two as parallel strategies rather than one replacing the other, with Aluminum OS targeting a broader consumer laptop audience.
Android XR glasses
Credit: Google
After debuting as a concept at last year’s I/O, Google confirmed in December that its Android XR smart glasses would launch in 2026.
And as Mashable reported in December, Google has actually been developing two distinct products under that umbrella. The first is a display-free pair of AI glasses equipped with a camera, speakers, and microphones for hands-free Gemini interaction — a form factor that draws obvious comparisons to Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses.
The second, more ambitious product adds an in-lens display that can privately surface information like navigation directions and translation captions, visible only to the wearer. Both are being built in partnership with Samsung, Gentle Monster, and Warby Parker, and both run on Android XR, the same operating system powering the Samsung Galaxy XR headset that launched in October 2025.
We’re hoping to see both pairs of glasses at Google I/O 2026.
The Android XR platform
Credit: Google
On the developer side, Google’s own design documentation for Android XR glasses offers a window into how the company is thinking about the experience. The platform is built around the idea that interfaces should feel like a natural extension of how people perceive the world. Google I/O 2026 could be where developers finally get the full toolkit to start building for it.
What remains unclear heading into I/O 2026 is when the display version will actually ship. Google confirmed the simpler AI glasses are expected this year, but has declined to give a launch date for the display model.
Android 17
Google has been rolling out Android 17 betas since February, with a final release expected around June or July ahead of the usual Made by Google Pixel hardware event in August.
The beta has been light on headline features so far, though app bubbles — a floating window system for quick app access — has been one of the more notable additions. Like last year, Google hosted an I/O edition of the Android Show right before the big conference.
More agentic AI
Across the board, expect a heavy push for agentic AI. Systems capable of handling tasks on your behalf with minimal input are all the rage right now. OpenAI is rumored to be making a phone around the concept. Google has been signaling this direction for a while, and I/O is the natural stage to show what that actually looks like in practice with Gemini.
The future of Google Search
Remember when Google was a search engine? Once upon a time, before it was an AI company, Google used to help you find stuff on the internet.
Once again, we do expect Google to announce updates to AI Mode and AI Overviews.
Last year, the launch of AI Mode was one of the biggest news stories from Google I/O. This year, will Google announce that AI Mode is becoming the new default search experience? That kind of development would be catastrophic for publishers and websites, but we do expect some new developments in AI search (with or without mentioning AI hallucinations).
Google I/O 2026 begins May 19 at 10 a.m. PT and streams live at io.google.
