For fans of Google products, there are two big moments to look out for each year. There’s the fall event — when we expect to see the Pixel 9 debut this year — and Google I/O in the spring.
While the latter is mainly about the software, we’ve seen some big hardware being unveiled in recent years including the Pixel Fold, Pixel Tablet and various a-series Pixel smartphones.
We don’t have a date for Google I/O 2024 yet, but an invite to a post-event developer conference has just given us a solid hint that it will fall in early May once again.
As shared by 9to5Google, developers have received invites to Google I/O Connect in Berlin. This year it will take place on June 27, offering attendees the chance to “explore Google’s latest products and solutions with live sessions, hands-on activities, and demos.”
The key thing to note is that 2023’s corresponding event in Amsterdam was held on June 21. With last year’s main event starting on Wednesday May 10, that means that it feels likely that we’ll be looking at either Wednesday May 1 or a week later on May 8 this time around.
That’s not a huge surprise. Aside from 2020, when Covid-19 saw the cancellation of the event entirely, you have to go back to 2014 to find a year when Google I/O wasn’t held in May. And even then, it was just a month later, starting on June 25.
Google I/O 2024: What we’re expecting
Like Apple’s WWDC, Google I/O is pitched as a developer conference, which means that there’s a lot of software talk. In particular, we can expect to hear a lot about Android 15 — the first developer preview of which just launched last week. You can also expect a lot of AI promotion as there was last year.
But in recent years, I/O has offered a few things for tech enthusiasts who aren’t themselves developers in the form of hardware and teasers about future devices. This is where the Pixel Watch was finally confirmed, even if it didn’t reach early adopters’ wrists for a few more months.
One thing we’re very likely to see is the Pixel 8a, because in the past, Google has used I/O to announce the Pixel 3a, the Pixel 6a and the Pixel 7a. We know the latest version is in the works, so it would be a surprise if it wasn’t launched here — not least because the next event in the fall will be all about the Pixel 9, leaving an ‘a’ version of the previous generation looking instantly outdated.
Beyond that, it’s all a bit more touch-and-go. We could potentially see new wearables (Pixel or Fitbit branded), more Nest-branded smarthome gear, the first signs of the Pixel Fold 2 or even an update on the Samsung/Google mixed-reality headset, now that Apple has launched Vision Pro.
This is all speculation for the time being. But now the I/O date is all but confirmed, we should get a clearer idea of what Google has up its sleeve for the event over the next couple of months.
