Google held its annual I/O developer conference on May 19-20, 2026, at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, featuring livestreamed keynotes and sessions [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. The keynote was hosted by CEO Sundar Pichai, starting at 10 a.m. PT on May 19, and lasted about two hours [2, 3, 5, 6].

At the event, Google launched the Gemini 3.5 Flash AI model, which offers faster performance, improved agentic task abilities, enhanced coding capabilities, and stronger safety guardrails [10, 11]. Gemini 3.5 Flash immediately became the default AI model powering the Gemini app and the AI Mode in Google Search from May 19 onward [10]. The Gemini app also received a neural expressive redesign featuring new animations, colors, fonts, and haptic feedback starting the same day [10].

Google introduced the Gemini Omni AI family, beginning with Omni Flash, which can generate video clips from multimodal prompts [10]. The company also announced Gemini Spark, a new always-on AI agent running in the background on Google Cloud that integrates with Google Workspace and third-party applications, enabling continuous AI assistance [10, 11].

Updates on Android 17 and Android XR were provided, with Google confirming that smart glasses running Android XR, developed by partners including Samsung, are expected to launch later this year [2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9]. Samsung’s Galaxy Glasses may debut at I/O or at the July Galaxy Unpacked event, according to reports [2, 3].

Google previewed its AI-first Googlebook laptops powered by Android and Gemini technology from partners like HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Acer [5, 6, 8]. Hardware such as Googlebook laptops and the Fitbit Air had been pre-announced ahead of I/O, ahead of their official unveiling at the event [4, 12].

Google AI chief Demis Hassabis remarked, "When we look back at this time, I think we will realize that we were standing in the foothills of the singularity," adding the technology "will be a force multiplier for human ingenuity and usher in a new golden age of scientific discovery and progress, improving the lives of everyone, everywhere" [11].

Google did not launch the anticipated Gemini 3.5 Pro model at I/O; it is now expected to arrive next month [10, 11].

The next major deadline is the expected release of Android XR smart glasses, including Samsung’s, planned for later this year [2, 3, 5, 6]. Gemini 3.5 Pro will also debut next month.