First Click: What are you hoping to see at Google's biggest show of the year?

May 13th, 2016

19

Google’s annual I/O software developer event kicks off next week. It’s traditionally the place where we learn about the company’s plans for Android with guest appearances made by every service in the Alphabet. Google I/O is the place that launched Google Glass, for example, and Google TV, Android Pay, Google Music, Google Photos, Google Now, and the ill-fated Nexus Q music streamer to name just a few. It’s an event not to be missed by fans — not just of Google, but of technology in general. Where Apple plays its R&D cards close to the chest, Google lays them right out on the table and then shoots them to the moon.

This year’s I/O will be a little different since we’ve already seen a developer preview for Android N (Nerds? Nutella? Nougat?). But Google’s said that it has a few surprises to come. One of which will be apps that take advantage of built-in support for pressure-sensitive screens. Though that might come later than originally expected.

We’re still waiting for Google to reveal its new, smarter messaging app rumored since last year. A service fueled by AI, that’s capable of connecting you to friends or all-knowing bots. Why not do it at I/O.

An Android VR headset followup to Cardboard is also a possibility. The rumored stand-alone headset is said to function like Samsung’s Gear VR but supports a wider array of smartphones. It’s performance is said to slot somewhere between the Gear VR and high-end rigs like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. There’s also Tango, a 3D mapping technology that Google wants to make "ubiquitous." Think Google Maps but for navigating inside buildings and in VR.

There’s also a chance that we’ll hear more about modular hardware from Google’s oft-delayed Ara initiative. Failing that, maybe we’ll see if Lenovo’s new Moto X does indeed feature a smart connector on the backplate. Or how about the next Nexus devices, dubbed M1 and S1 from HTC? And isn’t it time we heard more about Project Aura now that the Google Glass successor has found a new home?

We’ve also got the longstanding rumor / hope that Android and Chrome OS will merge or at least heavily blur the line between the two. And what better place to demonstrate this than on a new Chromebook Pixel or Pixel C.

And maybe, just maybe, we’ll get an update on Android Auto and Google’s self-driving car initiative — after all, last month it was "close to graduating" from Alphabet’s X lab.

But really, anything could happen during the two-hour keynote on Wednesday the 18th. These are just my best guesses based upon current rumors. Which one has you most excited?

Poll
What Google IO rumor are you most anticipating?
Thank you for your vote
0 total votes

Five stories to start your day



  1. Apple invests $1 billion in China’s Uber rival

    Apple has invested $1 billion into Didi Chuxing, a major Chinese ride-hailing service. Among other things, the move is intended to help Apple better understand China, its second-largest market...

  2. Trump: Bezos and Amazon have 'a huge antitrust problem'

    Donald Trump, widely known for playing a successful businessman on TV, has some pointed business advice for Amazon: beware the regulator. Now the presumptive nominee to become the Republican...

  3. That massive airport fight in Captain America: Civil War was almost entirely digital

    When it comes to visual effects, the popular refrain over the past few years has been pretty simple: practical effects good, computer-generated effects bad. But the truth is infinitely more...

  4. With its new keyboard, Google has colonized every major function of my iPhone

    I downloaded the new Gboard for iOS today, and have been really enjoying it so far. Along with wondering about what Google will tell advertisers now that they can read every single thing I type, I...

  5. Should you spend nearly $300 on a new Kindle?

    The new Kindle Oasis has a sleek profile and comes with a fancy leather case that gives Kindle even more battery life — but it also starts at $290. As my Verge colleague Katie Boehret wrote in her...

Input/Output of the day

Reticulating poll splines...