Google I/O 2026 - Recap & Headlines

Hi everyone,

It’s been a busy few weeks at Google!

Google Cloud Next kicked things off in Las Vegas at the end of April and we caught the Android Show: I/O Edition together earlier this month, and now the main event is almost here. 

The Google I/O 2026 keynote kicks off tomorrow, Tuesday 19th May at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST.

There are actually three things to put in your calendar this time around. Tuesday 19th kicks off with the big ones:

• Google keynote — 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST
• Developer keynote — 1:30pm PT / 4:30pm ET / 9:30pm BST

And then Wednesday 20th has a full day of sessions worth bookmarking too, including:

• What's new in the Gemma open model family — 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST
• What's new in Android development tools — 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST
• Defining the agentic AI era — 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST
• A new era of discovery: AI and the frontiers of science with Demis Hassabis — 12pm PT / 3pm ET / 8pm BST

Gemini, Agents, and the Agentic Era

An epic sounding name for a innovative, boundary-pushing phase of AI integration.
 

• Gemini 3.5 Flash launched as the new default model across Search and the Gemini app, built for speed and agentic workflows. Alongside it, Gemini Spark was unveiled as a 24/7 personal AI agent that works in the background across your Google products and takes complex tasks off your plate — under your direction.
• Gemini Omni was introduced as a new model that can create anything from any input, starting with video — combining Gemini's intelligence with generative media capabilities for a new level of multimodal editing and creation.
• Intelligent eyewear was announced, with two types coming later this fall: audio glasses offering spoken Gemini help in your ear, and display glasses showing information in your line of sight — partnering with Samsung, Gentle Monster and Warby Parker.

For Android Enterprise Customers
 

• Android Enterprise support for Advanced Protection is coming later this year, enabling organisations to enforce Google's strongest device security mode by policy for managed devices. Android 17 also brings additional hardening, including removing accessibility service access from non-accessibility apps and expanded scam detection for chat notifications.
• The Neat Board series and Logitech Rally Board 65 are now certified for Google Meet as the first Android-based all-in-one room devices, available to order now through authorised partners.
• Third-party whiteboarding add-ons including Figma, Lucidspark and Miro are now available on Android-based Google Meet room hardware.

For ChromeOS and Chrome Enterprise Customers
 

• Gemini in Chrome is coming to Android in late June, acting as a personal browsing assistant for summarising content, answering questions and connecting with Google apps like Calendar, Keep and Gmail. Initially on devices with 4GB of RAM or more.
• Auto browse is available now for Workspace customers in the US via Chrome Enterprise, completing multi-step tasks across the web with checkpoints throughout, with existing enterprise data protections intact.
• WebMCP was proposed as a new open web standard enabling AI agents to interact with websites more reliably, with an experimental origin trial starting in Chrome 149.

Speak soon,
Kirk