Google I/O 2023 was held on May 10. While many of the talks and presentations at I/O are developer focused, the event started, as always, with a flashy keynote address to let us all know what Google’s been up to lately. This year, that includes both hardware and software — and, as you might imagine, lots and lots of talk about AI. Here’s everything you need to know.
The Pixel 7a is available now
At I/O, Google not onlyfully revealed its next midrange phone, the Pixel 7a, but also surprise-announced that the phone is available to purchase — not preorder — right now, for $499. The phone shares alotof DNA with the $600 Pixel 7, including its Tensor G2 chipset, eight gigs of RAM, and design, which is nearly indistinguishable from its more expensive cousin. If you’re interested to learn more, we’ve got afull reviewfor you to check out.
Interestingly,the Pixel 6a will remain on offer at a lower price point: $350.
Google shows off the Pixel Fold
As anticipated,Google showed off its first foldableat I/O this year. The Pixel Fold’s got a refreshingly normal-looking 5.8" screen on the outside and a 7.6" display (with some pretty substantial bezels) on the inside. It’s running on a Tensor G2 chipset paired with 12 gigs of RAM, and it’s impressively IPX8 rated for water resistance.
The Pixel Fold is available for preorder beginning today for a whopping $1,800, and it’s expected to ship by June 27. If you want to learn more, we wenthands-on with the Pixel Foldat I/O.
The thoroughly leaked Pixel Tablet is fully revealed
After alotof leaks, Google finallyofficially unveiledthe Google Pixel Tablet. As expected, the device pulls double duty as a tablet and a smart home hub by way of a bundled magnetic dock that both charges the tablet and augments its audio output. It’s up for preorder beginning today for $499; it’ll be available at retail starting June 20. Check out ourI/O hands-onfor more.
Gmail will eventually write emails for you
Google’s working to release an AI-enhanced version of Gmail’s automated reply feature that’ll let you enter a short prompt to essentially have the service write your whole email for you. Of course, you’ll be able to customize the text Gmail generates. The feature is calledHelp me write, and while Google didn’t give an exact time frame, CEO Sundar Pichai said it’s coming “soon.”
We got a peek at Android 14 features
Android 14 made several appearances at I/O this year. We actually didn’t hear atonabout new features, but we got a peek at some customization options. You’ll be able tomake snazzy custom wallpapersout of emoji, photos, or even from text prompts — Android will use generative AI to create whatever wallpapers you can dream up.
Android 14 is also getting someiOS-style lock screen customization, with options to change fonts, rearrange visual elements, and more.
Google Maps Immersive View expands
Immersive View is a Google Maps feature that lets you virtually explore certain areas in convincing 3D. Thenewly announced Immersive View for routestakes that experience a step further, showing not only 3D-recreated environments, but also information about things like transit options and weather in wider swaths of more cities. That said, the feature will still be geographically limited. Google says it intends to roll out Immersive View for routes in 15 cities — Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle Tokyo, and Venice — by the end of the year.
Google Bard gains new features, loses waitlist
Google’s Bard text generator is still in beta, but at I/O, Googlemade it clear its AI chatbot is making strides. Soon, Bard will gain new capabilities, including Google Lens integration for image recognition, Google Maps integration to visualize places, and Sheets integration to create detailed spreadsheets with just a text prompt.
Starting today, Bard is available in 180 countries with no waitlist, though only in English. Google says 40 additonal languages are coming eventually. There’s also a new dark theme — nice.
There’s a new Google Labs hub
At I/O, Google launcheda new hub for its many, many AI experiments. The hub is already live atlabs.withgoogle.com, where you can browse and join waitlists for various new experimental initiatives, including upcoming generative AI features in Search.
Google Photos is getting a new Magic Editor
Google Photos is getting an AI-assisted editing boost. Thenew Magic Editoruses machine learning techniques to make previously difficult photo editing tasks a breeze. You can do things like long press on a person to cut them out of the background and reposition them in the frame, or recreate parts of objects that were outside the frame when you took your photo. Magic Editor is expected to launch later this year.
AI comes to Google Search
…And to the Play Store
There’s a suite ofnew AI-powered features coming soon to the Google Play Store. Soon, app listings will show an AI-generated review summary that aims to sum up reviewer sentiments in just a few words, saving you the hassle of actually reading user reviews. There’s also a developer-focused tool that’ll help devs generate text for app listings with minimal effort that’s rolling out in the Developer Console beginning today.
Android gets a boost in cars
Android Automotive OS — Google’s in-car software that operates entirely in your vehicle, without relying on your phone to do the lifting — is picking up quite a few improvements. Navigation apps will be able to display directions on instrument cluster screens, directly in front of the driver; multiple in-car screens will be able to display multiple different apps; and Waze is coming to Automotive OS, complete with EV charging location support. That’s not all, either: there were a ton of car-related announcements. Check outour full write-upfor more.
New Google TV developer tools debut
As fun as Google I/O may be for hobbyist spectators, it’s also an event for developers. To that end, Googleannounced a new suite of tools for creating Android TV appsin the form of a newCompose for TVdevelopment toolkit. The kit will use AI to create app UIs from scratch based on natural language inputs. As Google describes it, you’ll simply “Describe your UI, and Compose takes care of the rest.”
Google introduces new security features
Unlike previous years, Google I/O 2023 was a one-day event. Still, from Android 14 to new Pixel hardware to AI everything, there’s a lot to get excited about. It’s a good time to be an Android fan.
