Google IO 2018: all the news from Google’s big developer conference

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.

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