Google I/O 2025: Key Highlights Expected, Including Insights on Gemini and Android 16 Updates

The eagerly awaited Google I/O, Google’s premier conference for developers, is approaching quickly.

Taking place from May 20 to 21 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, I/O will showcase product unveilings across Google’s diverse portfolio. Expect major updates concerning Android, Chrome, Google Search, YouTube, and, notably, Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini.

Here’s what you can anticipate.

Gemini and AI

AI remains a trending topic, and Google is making substantial investments in this area.

We should expect announcements regarding new additions to Google’s flagship Gemini AI model series. Recent leaks suggest the arrival of an upgraded variant, Gemini Ultra, which is expected to serve as Google’s flagship Gemini offering.

This enhanced Gemini Ultra might be accompanied by a higher-priced subscription option.

At present, Google offers a single premium tier, Gemini Advanced ($20 per month), providing access to enhanced features of its chatbot powered by the Gemini models. However, two new plans, Premium Plus and Premium Pro, may soon be introduced, although specific benefits and pricing details are still unknown.

Google is also likely to cover Astra, a broad initiative aimed at developing AI applications and “agents” for real-time, multimodal understanding. Project Mariner, involving AI “agents” that can navigate the web and complete tasks on users’ behalf, will probably be highlighted. Recent findings of “Computer Use” notes in Google’s AI Studio developer platform code may relate to Mariner.

Android 16

For the first time, Google is hosting a standalone event centered around Android updates: The Android Show. This will take place on the Tuesday before I/O.

The upcoming Android 16 will take center stage. Expected enhancements include improved notifications and an entirely new design language called Material 3 Expressive. A leaked blog post indicates that this design upgrade focuses on responsiveness and visually striking “action elements.”

Reports suggest that Android 16 mainly serves as a quality-of-life improvement. It will support Auracast, simplifying transitions between Bluetooth devices, and introduce lock screen widgets along with a variety of new accessibility features.

Google may also present advancements in the latest versions of Android XR, its mixed reality operating system, and Wear OS, tailored for wearables.

Everything Else

According to the official I/O agenda, Google has an array of topics lined up following The Android Show and the I/O keynote.

Scheduled sessions will delve into Chrome, Google Cloud, Google Play (the Android app marketplace), Android development tools, and Gemma, Google’s suite of “open” AI models.

Last year’s I/O included multiple AI-related announcements, such as LearnLM, a collection of models suited for educational applications. An update to Google’s well-known podcast creation tool, NotebookLM, could also be forthcoming, with leaked code suggesting a “Video Overviews” feature aimed at producing video summaries, likely utilizing Google’s Veo 2 video generation model.