Google I/O 2025: What to Expect and How to Watch

Google’s annual I/O developer conference returns this month with a unique, two-part schedule.

Before the big show on May 20, Google is hosting an Android-specific event on May 13. Android announcements are usually just one component of the main I/O conference, so the fact that Google is spinning off a separate event suggests it has a lot in store—or it wants AI to be the star of the show later in the month. We’ll find out soon enough; the Android Show: I/O Edition will be livestreamed starting at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Google I/O follows on May 20 from the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. It starts with a livestreamed keynote at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET, and a developer keynote at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET.

Google says it will be sharing the latest on “Google’s newest products, technologies, and innovations in AI, Android, and more” in keynotes, breakout sessions, and workshops, more than a dozen of which will be livestreamed. You can learn more and register at io.google/2025.

Here are our predictions for what Google will show off this month.

An Early Arrival for Android 16

Google hasn’t said much about what’s in store for “The Android Show,” other than teasing details on “what’s new on Android.” Typically, we get a first look at the latest version of Android at I/O with a formal launch in the fall. But Google is adopting an accelerated schedule for Android 16 “to better align” with the launch of popular Android smartphones.

Android 16 first appeared in November with a developer preview, followed by a second preview in December, the first beta release in January, the second a month later, and the third in March. This sets Google up to introduce a more complete version of Android 16 on May 13 or at I/O.

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These early versions of Android 16 tip the return of lock-screen widgets,  AI-generated summaries of notifications from messaging apps, new tools to manage health data securely, and stricter security features. We’ll also see accessibility features for users with impaired vision, including an outline-text option you can invoke to display text in dialog boxes and other controls inside contrasting boxes. 

Android 16 may also support a new “desktop” mode for Pixel phones, which would essentially turn them into mini PCs, Android Authority reports. Google already enabled the new functionality on a Pixel 8 Pro running the Android 16 beta, so it could be ready for primetime and rival Samsung’s DeX feature, which lets users turn their phone into a desktop-like work experience, including connecting to a monitor.

A livestreamed deep dive into what’s new in Android is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. PT on May 20.

Are New Google Smart Glasses on the Way?

Smart glasses are having a resurgence, at least in Silicon Valley. Mark Zuckerberg is all-in on the tech, likely because his company’s Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses are leading the pack. But Apple is apparently prepping its own pair, so Google doesn’t want to be left in the dust.

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Though Google canceled its Project Iris glasses in 2023, it debuted a new operating system for VR headsets and smart glasses in December. We saw that in action at MWC on a Samsung headset, dubbed Project Moohan. At I/O 2024, we got a look at Project Astra, an AI-powered voice assistant, which Google showed off using a pair of mystery AR glasses.

Google recently integrated some of Astra’s features into Gemini Live, giving the voice assistant access to your camera so it can comment on what it sees. Will it show up on new specs at I/O 2025, too?

Gemini Takes Center Stage

AI Mode (Credit: Google)

Expect AI to dominate most of the opening keynote. The company just debuted a Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview “I/O edition,” which boasts “massively improved coding capabilities,” according to Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, who is scheduled to give a talk on the “frontiers of AI” at 3:30 p.m. ET on May 20.

More models and AI tools are on tap for I/O as Google competes for attention against rivals like OpenAI and xAI, News notes.

Google usually uses I/O to show off new tricks, mostly to clue in developers on what’s coming up, but there are nuggets in there for the average tech user, too. It’s been working on a more conversational AI mode for search, essentially turning Google into ChatGPT. This is likely the next big step in AI-powered search for Google since it introduced AI Overviews at I/O in 2023.

Meanwhile, Google parent company Alphabet also owns autonomous car tech company Waymo. At I/O, Dmitri Dolgov, Co-CEO of Waymo, will discuss the “critical role of AI in this tech’s development and deployment, and the exciting possibilities that lie ahead” during an onsite I/O session.

What Else Is New?

A few other Google products are getting the I/O livestream treatment. Here are some of the sessions on tap and when you can watch.

May 20

• What’s new in Chrome with Paul Kinlan, Chrome developer relations lead, at 3:30 p.m. PT

• What’s new in Google Cloud with Fran Hinkelmann, developer relations engineering manager, and Richard Seroter, chief evangelist for Google Cloud, at 3:30 p.m. PT.

• What’s new in Google Play with software engineer Jiahui Liu, Mekka Okereke, GM of Google Play Apps, and Raghavendra Hareesh Pottamsetty, Play Developer and Play Monetization lead, at 4:30 p.m. PT.

• What’s new in web features with Rachel Andrew, content lead for Chrome Developer Relations, at 4:30 p.m. PT.

May 21

About Emily Forlini

Senior Reporter

I’m the expert at PCMag for all things electric vehicles and AI. I’ve written hundreds of articles on these topics, including product reviews, daily news, CEO interviews, and deeply reported features. I also cover other topics within the tech industry, keeping a pulse on what technologies are coming down the pipe that could shape how we live and work.

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