It’s almost time for Google I/O 2026, with Google’s developer conference set to run from May 19 to 20.
Most of the big announcements will probably be made during Google's headline keynote, which kicks off at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST on May 19, or 3am AEST on May 20 in Australia.
1. More Googlebook details
Google recently unveiled the ‘Googlebook’ — a new class of laptops powered by a combination of Android and ChromeOS, and which can run Android apps natively.
But it’s also ‘designed for Gemini Intelligence’, which, like most tech in 2026, means the Googlebook features lots of AI. In fact, it has Gemini baked right into the ‘Magic Pointer’ (Google’s updated take on the cursor), so all you have to do is waggle it to receive context-sensitive suggestions based on what you’re pointing at on the screen.
Early impressions of Googlebook have been mixed at best, but Google I/O 2026 is a chance for the company to show us more of what this Chromebook successor is capable of, and perhaps turn impressions around.
2. Gemini Remy
When you think of Gemini, you probably mostly think of the chatbot, but a new Gemini agent called Remy is reportedly in the works. Rather than this being something you talk to and ask to do things, Remy is an always-on assistant that can work 24/7 in the background to carry out tasks for you, even across third-party apps, and with minimal user intervention.
It would apparently be able to do things like make purchases, communicate with other people and businesses, send documents, and proactively complete errands without waiting to be instructed to.
This sounds either extremely useful or a recipe for disaster, or — perhaps more likely — both. But whatever the case, there’s a good chance we’ll get an official look at Remy and exactly how capable and independent it is during Google I/O.
3. Android XR smart glasses
It’s very likely that we’ll get another look at some Android XR-powered smart glasses during Google I/O 2026, as while plenty have been teased and there’s even an Android XR-powered headset in the form of the Samsung Galaxy XR, so far, no Android XR glasses have actually launched.
These would be true smart glasses, running capable AI and, in most cases, probably having screens, and there’s a good chance Samsung, in particular, will show off a pair of smart specs, with other companies such as Xreal potentially doing so as well.
If so, we’ll presumably see something new — be that features and capabilities that haven’t been shown off before, a new model, or better yet, an actual release date for them.
4. Google Home Speaker
We first saw the Google Home Speaker last year, but despite having been official for a long time now, you still can’t buy it.
But you should be able to soon, with Google already having set the release date for ‘spring 2026’ — and it’s spring now in the Northern Hemisphere, which will be what Google’s referring to, so it should go on sale very soon.
As such, Google I/O seems the ideal place for the company to announce an exact release date for the Google Home Speaker, or maybe even to open up orders.
If so, we’ll probably also see more of what it’s capable of during I/O, because while we know it’s “engineered” for Gemini, Google has only given us brief looks at it so far.
5. More about Gemini Intelligence
Gemini Intelligence was unveiled at the recent Android Show, and it was arguably the star of the show. It promises to give Gemini an agentic AI upgrade, and while perhaps not quite as capable as the rumored Remy, it would be able to carry out a wide variety of tasks across apps with minimal oversight.
Since Gemini Intelligence was recently announced, we doubt it will get as much attention as some of the things above, but there’s a high chance that Google will give us another look at it at I/O proper, and show off some other potential use cases.
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