Google I/O 2026 live blog: Updates on Android, Gemini AI, XR, and more we expect

Kerry Wan/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Google I/O, the company's annual developer conference, is back after several weeks of hype. The company teased a bit of what's to come last week when it announced Googlebook , a new line of devices, alongside several Android updates that heavily incorporate AI .

Even without those hints, the company's main message has been clear lately: Gemini is about to be in everything, and making agentic AI more accessible is the focus for the foreseeable future. Also: This powerful Gemini setting made my AI results way more personal and accurate Amidst mounting pressure from competitor labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, which have been aggressively rolling out new models and impressive coding features within just weeks of each other, Google's task is to keep up -- and convince users that the AI push is worth it. So far, not everyone has loved Google's move to make its AI assistant ever-present across search, Workspace, and other day-to-day surfaces. The annual developer conference takes place May 19 and 20 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California. The opening keynote, at which Google leaders kick off the conference by announcing new software and hardware, starts at 10 a.m. We're on site covering those announcements live, which you can follow along here. If you'd like to watch at home, Google will livestream the keynote here for the public. At last year's Google I/O, I demoed the company's first pair of Android XR reference glasses. Since then, I've gone through several demos of the mixed reality platform's capabilities, including AR navigation, Gemini prompting, and content capture. I'd like to see how the company upsells its youngest Android platform to developers, especially given that Apple may be on the cusp of releasing its own pair of AI-infused smart glasses. Google needs to convince developers that building for Android XR will be worthwhile, and convince consumers that there's more we can do with the form factor. The answer, much like the Googlebook strategy, may be to tap into the expansive network of manufacturers who also want a piece of the smart glasses pie.

Key points

• Even without those hints, the company's main message has been clear lately: Gemini is about to be in everything, and making agentic AI more accessible is the focus for the foreseeable future.
• Also: This powerful Gemini setting made my AI results way more personal and accurate Amidst mounting pressure from competitor labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, which have been aggressively rolling ou…
• So far, not everyone has loved Google's move to make its AI assistant ever-present across search, Workspace, and other day-to-day surfaces.
• The annual developer conference takes place May 19 and 20 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.
• The opening keynote, at which Google leaders kick off the conference by announcing new software and hardware, starts at 10 a.m.