Google I/O is slated for early May, and the first draft of the schedule is now live on its website.
The schedule that appears this early, usually doesn’t tell us a whole lot of what to expect from Google I/O, and that’s no different this year. Kicking off the schedule on May 7 is the Keynote at 10AM PST. The keynote is going to last about two hours, before the Developer Keynote kicks off at 12:45PM PST. These two keynotes have the same slots as they do every year.
The keynote is always the first thing on the schedule every year. As Google needs to announce what it will be focusing on at its developer conference this year – and that’s also why the schedule is pretty bare, before the keynote. The Developer Keynote digs into the developer area of Google’s different products, while the main keynote is more for everyone – including the press.
As always, there are a ton of Android sessions on the schedule, including some “What’s New In Android” sessions where Google developers will be talking about what’s coming in Android Q. There’s also a session about building a modular Android app architecture. Google also has a couple of sessions about using Dark Mode on Android. Which likely means that Android Q will have a heavy focus on dark mode. We do have a preview of Android Q already, but many of the new features are being saved for the keynote at Google I/O.
Perhaps the most interesting sessions on the schedule right now, are for Stadia. At 3PM on May 7, there is a Stadia session where Google will be doing a deep-dive on Stadia’s Streaming Tech. That’s bound to be an exciting session, seeing as it is going to be the first time that Google talks about Stadia, other than at GDC earlier this month.
Notably missing from the schedule, at least so far, is Wear OS. There is not a single mention of Wear OS on the schedule right now, which could spell the death of Wear OS. Google has been getting rid of many of its services recently. Like Allo, Hangouts, Google+, Inbox and YouTube Gaming. So it wouldn’t be too crazy to expect that Wear OS joins the growing Google Product Graveyard. Though many that still use Wear OS are hoping that is not the case. It is possible that Google could add some Wear OS sessions after the keynote, but the likelihood of that happening is pretty low.
The schedule is pretty empty right now, it’ll get populated more by the end of next month. Allowing attendees to actually plan out their time at Shoreline Amphitheater. And of course, plenty more will show up after the keynote on May 7. Google I/O is taking place from May 7 to May 9 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California once again, for the fourth year in a row. This allows Google to really show off all of its products, and also invite a lot more people to attend.