Google I/O is back with updates to Search, Android, Gemini, and a fresh peek at upcoming Android XR smart glasses. Here's how to watch the announcements live and what to expect. This is the annual developer event and product showcase where Google shows off all the shiny new updates to its Android operating system and other platforms, as well as new features and improvements to its artificial intelligence models. The big announcements at Google I/O usually come in the form of a livestreamed keynote event at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, hosted by Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. That starts on Tuesday, May 19, at 10 am Pacific time (1 pm Eastern).

Go fully hands-free with these tips for Android and iOS. With the arrival of digital assistant apps like Gemini and Siri, most of us have grown used to talking to our phones. But conversing with your Android or iOS device can go way beyond interacting with AI. You can also use your voice to launch apps, fill out text fields, and do just about everything that was previously only possible with your fingers and thumbs. Of course, the traditional touchscreen input will often be the way to go.

Apple is on Google's side when it comes the latter's criticisms against the European Union's proposals which would give third-party AI services the same level of access to Android that Gemini has. The European Commission has been taking steps to ensure that Google complies with the rules of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). In January, it told the company that it has to give external AI assistants the same access to Android its own technology has and to hand over anonymized ranking, query, click and view data held by Google Search to rival search engines. The aim, the commission said, was to give third-party providers an an equal opportunity to innovate and compete in the rapidly evolving AI landscape on smart mobile devices. It explained that opening up Android would keep the AI market open and promote innovation in the field.

Google I/O, the company's big annual developer conference, is almost upon us . But the company isn't waiting until then to reveal what it has in store for Android. There was just far too much news on that front to squeeze into the I/O keynote, so Google revealed the details in the latest edition of The Android Show today. And, my goodness, were there a lot of details to reveal. From Gemini Intelligence and new laptops in the form of Googlebooks to an AirDrop-related update and Instagram editing tools in Android, Google had plenty of announcements to make. So, without further ado, here's an overview of everything Google announced during The Android Show: I/O edition.

These laptops feature deep Android phone integration, allowing app casting and cross-device functionality, while supporting Android games through Google Play Store. Despite Google partnering with major manufacturers like HP and Dell, success remains uncertain given past mixed results with similar initiatives. We've been hearing about Google's push to unite Android and ChromeOS into a new laptop operating system rumored to be called "Aluminum" for a while now. A week before this year's Google I/O conference, the company is ready to talk about it. And to the surprise of absolutely friggin' no one, these seem more interested in Gemini "AI" than the actual product.

Googlebook Is Google's New AI-Powered Laptop Platform Built on Android They won't replace Chromebooks, but Googlebooks have an Android-centered operating system, AI-first features like the Magic Pointer, and a promise of desktop-grade apps. Almost exactly 15 years since Google introduced Chromebooks and ChromeOS --which ushered a wave of cheap, functional, web-based laptops that would come to dominate the US education market--the company has announced a new laptop platform called Googlebook. It's built around artificial intelligence and Android, and while it isn't replacing Chromebooks, it could give the company a more meaningful foothold in the premium computer market. Google announced the platform on The Android Show on YouTube, where it also detailed new features coming in Android 17 and Gemini Intelligence (you can read more about that here). Google is purposefully not sharing the operating system's name yet (it was codenamed Aluminium OS internally); Googlebook is the platform, and Dell, Acer, Asus, HP, and Lenovo have all signed up to produce Googlebooks coming later this fall.

You'll soon be able to generate your own widgets or ask Gemini to finish a booking in Chrome on Android. The Google I/O annual developer conference is around the corner--May 19--but in what is quickly becoming a tradition, Google announced new features for Android and Gemini a week early. The news came on Tuesday via the second-ever Android Show on YouTube . This livestreamed presentation helps Google spread out the cavalcade of updates from the often jam-packed I/O keynote. The Android Show focused on new features in Android 17, the next version of Android coming later this summer, as well as several updates to the Gemini assistant experience. It continues the theme set last year by Sameer Samat, president of the Android ecosystem, of turning Android into an "intelligent operating system."

The app reads your email inbox and your meeting calendar, then gives you a short audio summary. It can help you spend less time scrolling, but of course, there are privacy drawbacks to consider.

There Aren't a Lot of Reasons to Get Excited About a New Amazon Smartphone The company is reportedly building a new AI-powered mobile device. If Amazon follows through on the plan, experts warn it would be next to impossible to break into a crowded market. Reuters reports that Amazon's Devices and Services unit is working on a smartphone--dubbed Transformer--with Amazon's Alexa+ AI assistant and shopping as a major focus of the experience. It's unclear what this smartphone would cost, how much Amazon is spending to develop Transformer, and what operating system it will run. There's no word on when it will launch, and there's still also a chance the project could be scrapped altogether.

Gmail Is Killing POP and Gmailify Access. If you have multiple email accounts, your Gmail setup may soon need some reorganizing. Google giveth, and Google taketh away. Two long-standing features are being removed from Gmail, and they both relate to how you access messages from other, non-Google email accounts through the Gmail interface. The features we're talking about are Gmailify and POP access, and if you rely on them to consolidate multiple email accounts into your Gmail inbox, you're going to have to find a different approach.