Google IO 2018 is just hours away, and we know some of the announcements ahead of time, including the big keynote highlight: a deep dive into Android P.

It all starts on May 8, with the Google IO livestream video – if you didn’t score a ticket like we did to see it all unfold in person. We’re here to give you all of the details in an ongoing Google IO liveblog.

What do we know so far? The schedule for Google’s three-day event give us insight into the topics that will be covered. We’ve also received a few clues as to what we might see between May 8 and May 10.

Here’s everything we expect to see at the Google IO 2018 keynote.

Cut to the chase

• What is Google IO? Google’s annual developer conference
• When is Google IO? May 8-10

Google IO 2018 news and rumors

What will we see at Google IO this year? Only Google itself knows, but there are plenty of leaks and rumors out there.

We’ll be at Shoreline Amphitheater in California (where the last couple of IO conferences have been held) to see it all unravel, and we’ll be piping it all through right here and on our live blog, which will launch soon.

Will the Chromecast 3, which looks to be a 4K-enabled Android TV dongle take the stage? What about Google’s mysterious game streaming service codenamed “Yeti”? 

Let us not forget about Fuchsia, Google’s long-in-development operating system that might unify Chrome OS with Android.

1. Android P Developer Preview 2

Android P isn’t expected to get an official name at the Google IO keynote, but we do anticipate bearing witness to new Android P Developer Preview 2 features.

Google’s timeline for the second developer preview is early May, and that lines up perfectly with its Google IO event on May 8. Expect to see a full list of front-facing and backend features before the final release date, likely around August.

Android P leaks point to new UI navigation buttons, showing the normal back button and a new horizontal bar in place of the typical home button, with the Overview button completely absent. These changes put the Android P UI in line with the iPhone X, perhaps as Google tries to cater to more phones with notches.

2. Google Lens

Google Lens may come to an Android phone near you very soon, not just a Google-branded Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphone.

Google’s object recognition software using the camera lens is said to be rolling out to more smartphones. The LG G7 ThinQ, for example, contains an AI button shortcut that leads to Google Assistant with one press and Google Lens with two presses.

Right now, Google Lens works on other Android phones through the Google Photos app, but the company is expected to integrate its smart software to the forefront at IO.

3. LG Timepiece and Wear OS update

Google recently re-branded Android Wear to Wear OS, but we’re still hoping IO 2018 will bring more updates beyond the name change. More apps, improved efficiency and better support iOS would be a good start, among other things. If some new wearables land alongside it then all the better, like the rumored LG Watch Timepiece.

Adding to your expectations that an update to Wear OS will show up at Google IO, there’s a session in the official schedule labeled “What’s new in Wear OS by Google.” Google has already launched new features in a developer preview of Wear OS. Features include a dark theme, and a number of battery-saving changes, such as disabling radios when the watch isn’t being worn and limiting background activity. 

How much more we’ll see at IO is uncertain, but so long as Google keeps adding on features as it recently has done with Google Assistant, we’ll be happy.

5. Google’s gaming ambitions 

Google could go big with gaming in 2018, as hints of its ambitions came to light back in February with a streaming and possible console project codenamed Yeti.

It could be working on its own ‘Made by Google’ console and streaming service run  by veteran ex-PlayStation and Xbox exec Phil Harrison, now at Google. He’s been with the Android company since the beginning of 2018, so Google IO may be his moment to shine on the keynote stage.

On top of this, the company is said to be building its own social gaming start-up called Arcade, according to Bloomberg, directly within the confines of Google. 2018 could be the year Google gets gaming right.

6. Chromecast 3 with Bluetooth support

Chromecast 2nd Gen and Chromecast Ultra are among Google’s most successful hardware products, and Google IO 2018 may land the ground for a sequel.

Chromecast 3 (what we’ll call it for now) is said to be coming with Bluetooth support, according to one recent rumor, while an FCC leak points to an entirely new 4K Android TV dongle.

Google may also take time to spotlight its JBL Link Bar, which brings Google Assistant and Android TV together in a soundbar. We’ll be sure to go hands on with that after the keynote.

7. A VR push

Google got more heavily into VR with Daydream, announced back at IO 2016, and we’d like to see another big VR push at this year’s event.

That could mean the announcement of new VR games and experiences or even some new VR hardware – though we wouldn’t count on that, as a new version of the Google Daydream View landed in late 2017 and the Lenovo Mirage Solo just hit shelves alongside the VR180-capturing Lenovo Mirage Camera. We could see more manufacturers jumping into the standalone VR scene at Google IO.

8. Assistant improvements

Google Assistant is arguably the best AI assistant around, but there’s still room for improvement and hopefully a new and better version of it will be announced at Google IO 2018.

We already know that this year Google Assistant is becoming impressively multilingual, and the ability to respond to assigned names instead of “OK, Google” is a welcome change.

There’s a lot that we’d like from it, but perhaps most importantly we want it to get even better at hearing and understanding what we’re saying – and being able to usefully respond to our requests.

9. Google Home software updates

Google Home in its various forms is a decent smart speaker, and we wouldn’t particularly expect to see any new Home hardware at Google IO 2018 (though news that the Home Max is coming to more countries would be appreciated), but what we might get is improvements to the software.

Whether that’s a more responsive app, compatibility with more devices and services, or something else entirely, we want it.

10. Surprises

One thing we always like at events like these is surprises, and with so little known about Google IO 2018 so far, we might even get some. That’s if everything isn’t leaked in the weeks before it kicks off.

http://www.techradar.com/news/google-io-2018

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 release date may be a little over three months away, which means you may be holding out for Samsung’s extra-big Android smartphone.

We’re sorting through the rumors and leaks (there are a lot of them), and to do that we’ve gotten out our trusty S Pen stylus ready to declare which are plausible, and which are just wishful thinking.

The Note 9 is poised to be a big deal because it’ll be a massively sized update to the Galaxy Note 8, and slightly bigger and better than the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus, which launched around the world in March.

Of course, that’s not to say it’ll be a massive update to last year’s phone with a 6.3-inch screen. No, we’re expecting iterative, but important changes, mostly to the internal specs, rather than a complete redesign on the outside.

Update: The rumors about the Note 9 getting an in-screen fingerprint sensor keep going back and forth. We’re seeing how it could work, with no guarantees it’ll make it into the final design in August. It’s the biggest mystery in phones right now.

Good news: Samsung has to roll out a new Note that’s still attention-grabbing enough to outlast the iPhone X2 phones that Apple is likely to unveil in late August or early September. If you’re keen on big phones with a handy stylus, this is the one to read up on.

Here are all of the Note 9 rumors so far and the features we want to see from Samsung’s next two-handed handset. 

Cut to the chase

• What is Note 9? Samsung’s next flagship phablet
• When is Note 9 out? Possibly end of August 2018
• What will Note 9 cost? Probably at least $929 / £869 / AU$1,499

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 release date and price

• Last year’s phone launched on August 23, and we expect similar timing in 2018
• Likely to ship to stores and first customers in September

Samsung is readying the Galaxy Note 9 right now, according to new reports, though we still expect the release date to be closer to August 23 last year’s launch date.

We haven’t heard many Samsung Galaxy Note 9 release date rumors yet, but we did see last year’s phone announced on August 23 and ship to stores in September. The short-lived Samsung Galaxy Note 7 followed a similar schedule two years ago.

So there’s a good chance that the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 will be announced in late August 2018, before hitting stores possibly in mid to late September.

The Note 9 appears to have been trademarked by Samsung in mid-March, so it’s possible that the release target is being set in stone.

There’s always someone saying the Note phones will come earlier than ever though. This year, it’s the The Investor that cites market watchers who believe it could be unveiled in early to mid August instead. And the same site claims that Samsung has codenamed the phone ‘Crown’ and plans to have a prototype of it ready during the first quarter of 2018.

We’ve also heard reports that Samsung is testing firmware for the phone and that it started doing so two weeks earlier than for the Note 8, which somewhat suggests an earlier launch is possible – especially as the Galaxy S9 also had its firmware tested earlier than the S8, and went on to launch earlier.

Whenever the Note 9 does arrive it’s sure to be expensive. The Galaxy Note 8 retailed for $929 / £869 / AU$1,499 at launch and we can’t see Samsung lowering the price for the Note 9, especially now Apple has pushed smartphone prices even higher with its iPhone X.

In fact, the S9 and S9 Plus saw a price increase in most countries, so it only makes sense for Samsung to push its top-tier phone higher, unfortunately. 

For now, you’ll have to be satisfied with the Note 9’s predecessor. Check out today’s best Galaxy Note 8 deals.

Watch the video below to see our Samsung Galaxy Note 8 review.

Note 9 in-screen fingerprint sensor

The biggest Samsung Galaxy Note 9 rumor relates to its fingerprint scanner, which could be built directly into the screen. It’s the long-awaited feature we’re still waiting to see in a mainstream smartphone, and not in demo form or just in China.

A recent rumor suggests Samsung is testing multiple in-screen solutions and will probably use one of them, a move which could also apparently allow room for a larger battery in the Note 9.

That tallies with a source who’s said the Note 9 will have both an in-screen scanner and a big 3,850mAh battery.

However, a slightly earlier rumor points to the in-screen fingerprint sensor skipping the Note 9, just like it did on the S9 and S9 Plus, Note 8 and S8 and S8 Plus before. There’s reason to believe it’ll show up on the Galaxy X (Galaxy 10 next year, however).

Both Samsung and Apple have been rumored to be working on this but failed to achieve it in time for their most recent handsets, pushing Samsung to move the scanner to a sub-optimal position on the back of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8, while Apple ditched it altogether from the iPhone X.

There’s hopeful news on the subject in the form of a Samsung patent, showing a handset with a scanner built into the screen. Supposedly it would digitally show where users need to place their finger, and could potentially provide vibrations as feedback. Vivo has demonstrated exactly this tech in a phone this year.

But we’ve seen many sources in the supply chain claim Samsung has settled on placing the scanner on the back, just like its current flagship phones, so right now we’d say an in-screen scanner is looking unlikely.

Other Note 9 leaks and rumors

As noted above one source has said the Note 9 could have a 3,850mAh battery, which would be a lot bigger than the 3,300mAh one in the Note 8, but only slightly larger than the 3,500mAh one in the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, so it’s believable.

But the newest rumor about the Note 9 battery is that it could climb to a 4,000mAh capacity, a new high for a Samsung flagship device. The same rumor has the screen at 6.4 inches, so we’re unsure if the source just likes big numbers or if this is true. We’re taking this leak with a grain of salt.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has also seemingly been benchmarked with predictably high scores, revealing in the process that it has a Snapdragon 845 chipset, 6GB of RAM and runs Android 8.1 – the same specs in other words as the US version of the Galaxy S9 Plus.

In more unlikely news, there’s a chance that Samsung will go even further than an in-screen scanner with the Note 9, as it’s patented a smartphone concept that has not just the fingerprint scanner but also the front-facing camera and sensors embedded in the display, for a truly bezel-free design. This might be too ambitious for a 2018 launch though.

That said, an even more ambitious goal for the Galaxy Note 9 could be for it to have a bendable display. This is something Samsung’s been working on for even longer, and there’s suggestion that the tech could land in a phone late this year.

However, it might still arrive too late for it to be used in the Note 9, and Samsung might not want to debut such an experimental tech on a major flagship.

Elsewhere, another patent may have given us a glimpse at what the Note 9 will look like, as Samsung has published a phone design with a screen that curves at the right edge, but oddly not at the left.

It’s an unusual look for a phone, and quite different to the Note 8, so we’re skeptical that it will be used for the Note 9, but you never know.

However the Note 9 looks, there’s a chance that it will be made from a new material, as Samsung has trademarked ‘Metal 12‘ – a material that’s both strong and light.

And moving from the outside to in, The Korea Herald reports that Samsung might equip the Galaxy Note 9 with an NPU (neural processing unit). That’s essentially an AI chip like Apple and Huawei have begun using in their flagships.

It’s unclear what Samsung would use the chip for, but it could potentially speed up certain functions of the phone.

It’s almost certainly going to have a large curved Super AMOLED display, an S Pen stylus and at least 6GB of RAM. The internal storage should start at 128GB given that Samsung bills this as an enterprise class smartphone. The S8 Plus has 128GB of space in most countries, but just 64GB in the US. 

The Note 9 is also likely to sport the top-end Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810 chipset, exactly like we see in the S9 and S9 Plus. 

However, there are rumors that Samsung is working on an Exynos 9820 chipset. That could bring about faster speeds or, more likely in our minds, HDR video recording. This feature is already supported by the Snapdragon 845, but noticeably absent from all S9 devices across the board, likely because the Exynos 9810 doesn’t support it. With new Android phones, like the Sony Xperia XZ2 having HDR video recording, Samsung needs to play catchup.

What we want to see

There are only a few Samsung Galaxy Note 9 rumors so far, but we have a good idea of the sorts of things we want to see from it, such as the following.

1. An in-screen scanner

This has been rumored and it would be a great headline feature for the phone. Having the scanner on the back is awkward, but building it into the screen would both be convenient and the sort of high-tech, futuristic thing that could see the Galaxy Note 9 stand out among other handsets.

We’re pretty sure Samsung is working on it, it’s just a question of whether it’s ready in time for the Note 9’s 2018 launch.

2. Room-filling sound

There are plenty of great things about the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, but its speakers aren’t among them. 

It has just a single bottom-firing speaker, so for the Note 9 we want at least two speakers, and ideally for them to be positioned on the front of the phone, for sound that travels towards you when you’re looking at the screen.

Given how large the Note 9 is likely to be though, it could maybe even manage four speakers, for truly big sound.

3. Better Bixby

Bixby is one of the key new features of this year’s crop of Samsung flagships, but in its current form it leaves something to be desired, especially when it comes to understanding what you’re saying. 

By the time of the Note 8’s launch we want it to be a true Google Assistant and Siri rival.

But however good it ends up being we also want to be able to remap the inevitable Bixby button, because not everyone is going to want to use it.

4. Two-day battery life

Samsung’s been conservative with the size of the battery in the Galaxy Note 8, understandably given what happened with the Note 7, but it’s meant that while the Note 8 should last you a day you’ll probably be plugging it in at night.

And it doesn’t charge as fast as earlier fast charging Samsung phones either. 

That may have been a safety precaution as well, but if Samsung can find a way to deliver two-day life and truly fast charging with the Note 9, without risking an inferno, we’d be very happy.

5. Improved face scanning

Although the iPhone X’s Face ID is perhaps its headline feature, it’s not the first phone to sport face scanning. Nor is the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, but it does have it, it’s just not very secure, to the point where a still image can fool it.

So for the Galaxy Note 9 we want face scanning to return, but only if it’s a lot better. If it can prove more reliable than even Face ID then Samsung could be on to a real winner.

6. A similar price

Given that it’s likely to be one of the most high-tech phones of 2018 we don’t really expect Samsung to launch the Galaxy Note 9 at a lower price than the $929 / £869 / AU$1,499 Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

But if it can keep it around the same that would be something, and would see it undercut Apple’s top-end phones, given that the new iPhone X starts at $999 / £999 / AU$1,579.

7. Even less bezel

The front of the Galaxy Note 8 is almost all screen, but there’s still a sliver of bezel at the top and bottom.

We’d like to see Samsung reduce or remove that for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, perhaps along the lines of the Essential Phone or the iPhone X. Doing so would allow what’s always going to be a very big phone to be a bit more manageable, without having to shrink the screen.

• We might also see the HTC U12 in 2018

http://www.techradar.com/news/samsung-galaxy-note-9-what-we-want-to-see

Google’s Android P update is one step closer to launching now that Google IO 2018 is underway and the keynote should give us more clues about its features.

We’re expected Android P Developer Preview 2 to launch, as Google’s official release date timeline calls for an early May timetable for the next beta software update.

The first version of its operating system upgrade is now available for developers as well as those curious enough to check out some unfinished software.

It builds on 2017’s Android Oreo update by focusing on overhauling the visual design than how it works. Of course, Google is bound to still make countless more changes and improvements in the coming months.

Looking to download Android P for yourself? You’ll need one of four phones currently supported: the Google Pixel, Google Pixel XL, Google Pixel 2 or Google Pixel 2 XL. More devices will support the software shortly after its final release, like the Google Pixel 3, but if you want beta access, going Google is the only option.

We’ll add new information to this article as we hear it, including what the Android P name could stand for, but while we wait for more official info, we’ve also come up with a list of things we want from Android P – because as good as Android Oreo is there’s always room for more improvement.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next version of Android
• When is it out? Probably August 2018
• How much will it cost? It will be a free update

Android P release date

Google brought out the first developer preview of Android P in early March 2018, and we expect to see Developer Preview 2 at the Google IO keynote.

The cadence of beta updates will pick up, according to Google’s vague release date timeline, with the final version of the software due to launch in August 2018, one year after Android Oreo landed.

Of course, it will be available first for the Google phones listed above, but it will also likely make its retail debut in the Google Pixel 3 nearing the year’s end.

Android P news

As we get closer to the release of Android P, some new features are starting to pop up. Recently, a feature cropped up that will let Android P remember the preferred volume that you use in your Bluetooth devices.

This small, but important feature will make certain that your music or podcasts are played neither too loud or quietly.

Android P first impressions

After the trial and error that always comes with the delicate process of flashing a smartphone, we finally have Android P loaded onto a Google Pixel XL. It didn’t take long for us to notice a few small, but appreciable tweaks to the visuals from the initial setup screen.

Text is more sharp, there’s generally more color in the menus, transition animations have been touched up, and some stuff has been moved around. It looks and feels fresh, even in this very early software build.

Looking for the time? It’s now on the top left corner of the screen. App notification icons pile next to it, which could get dicey if A.) you use a lot of apps, or B.) your next Android phone has a notch (Google has planned ahead for this, thankfully.) 

The Pixel Launcher now has a rounded-off edge, matching the look of notification windows that you see when you wake up your phone. This is obviously a minor touch, but it plays into the overall look that Google is going for with P. 

Ambient Display has been overhauled, at least compared to what came before it on Pixel XL and what currently exists on the latest Pixel 2 XL Oreo software. The date and day of week no longer display underneath the time, but it still displays app notification icons. 

The biggest change here is that down at the screen’s bottom, it displays the battery percentage, so that you don’t have to wake it to know whether you need to plug in or not. We look forward to Google making more updates to Ambient Display as the dev preview continues.

Buried in the display settings, the preview allows developers, and by extension, us and anyone else who installs the preview, to simulate a notch on their phones. Offering three different notch options, Google lets developers test their apps using a hypothetical notch before more devices with the feature release, which will inevitably happen. I’m sure some people will leave this feature on for fun, but it looks pretty silly on the Pixel XL’s humongous bezels. Plus, seeing app notifications hiding because there’s no more space? Not so much fun at all, really.

We’re still digging around Android P and will be installing new updates as they come, so stay tuned.

What we want to see

Android is in quite a polished state by this point, but there are always improvements that can be made, such as the following things.

1. Wider, faster availability

Android has long had a fragmentation problem, with many devices stuck on very old versions and even those which will ultimately get the latest release often taking many months to do so.

With Android P we’d like to see Google push to get the update on more devices, faster. This is largely in the hands of manufacturers, but Google might be able to do something to help.

In fact, Google is already working on this somewhat with Project Treble, a feature which should mean it’s less work for manufacturers to update their devices.

It remains to be seen how much difference that will make, but we’re sure there’s more that could be done in any case.

2. Movable search bar and date widgets

One of the things we typically praise about stock Android is that it’s free of bloat, but that can also mean it’s light on features, such as the ability to move the search bar and date widget.

They are currently glued to the bottom and top of the home screen respectively in the stock version of Android Oreo.

Most people will probably be happy with that, but we’d like the ability to move them anywhere on the screen with Android P, like you can with most widgets.

3. More customization

On a related note, we’d love to see more customization potential in general with Android P.

Some third-party launchers let you customize gestures, screen transitions and the like, but for the most part what you see is what you get with Android Oreo.

There’s nothing stopping you switching the stock launcher for a third-party one to gain those options, but then you lose the Oreo look and feel, so for Android P we want more customization built-in.

4. Make the Pixel Launcher available on all devices

While your device may get Android Oreo, it probably won’t get it as Google intended unless it’s a Pixel phone, so we’d like to see the Pixel Launcher made available for third-party handsets too, so users can choose between Google’s take on Android and that of their device’s manufacturer.

The Pixel Launcher is actually available on Google Play, but only for Google’s own devices, so with Android P we’d like to see its availability and compatibility widened.

5. Feature parity

Even once you get a new version of Android on your device, you won’t necessarily get all the features straight away.

For example, Google Assistant took a while to arrive on many devices even once they had Android Nougat, and Google Lens doesn’t come as part of the core Android Oreo update.

With Android P we’d like to see any and all features, especially big ones like those above, be made available for all devices running the software and to come as part of the core Android P update.

6. Picture-in-picture for every app

Picture-in-picture is one of the big new features of Android Oreo, but it’s actually quite limited, with many apps not supporting it.

That may well change over time, but if it’s not fixed as part of Oreo we want to see it available for most or all video apps as part of Android P.

7. A focus on tablets

While Android is great on phones, there’s a sense that less focus has been put on the tablet experience in recent years, and that’s all the more noticeable now that Apple has launched the tablet-focused iOS 11.

Google could learn from this, and we’d like to see it add the likes of system-wide drag-and-drop and more native tablet apps with Android P. Bringing Google Assistant to tablets wouldn’t hurt either.

• We also have a wish list for Wear OS

http://www.techradar.com/news/android-p-what-we-want-to-see-from-android-9