What to expect:
Android N
Let's start with an easy one. Google usually reveals a developer preview of the newest version of Android at I/O, but that's, uh, clearly not what happened this year. Our first taste of Android N -- complete with a tighter design and split-screen multitasking -- came months ago. Expect to see Google's first set of N tweaks get the spotlight during the tomorrow's keynote. Are we in for a smattering of stability changes meant to make the preview a better daily driver? Or are we getting new features that expand the scope of Android's ambitions? We won't have to wait much longer to find out. And if we're really lucky, we'll get a sense of what the next batch of Nexus phones will be like too.
The future of Chrome OS
A solid chunk of Google-related chatter last year centered on the idea that Android was set to become the operating system for just about all of the company's devices. Part of that plan, prognosticators argued, involved folding Google's existing Chrome OS into Android proper. The Wall Street Journal reported that the final shift would take place sometime in 2017, with early previews expected to surface this year. Hell, at least a few people can apparently access the Google Play Store from inside Chrome OSalready. And really, what better place is there for Google to clarify its software plans than Google I/O? Don't expect Chromebooks or Chrome OS to die out anytime soon, though -- if reports hold true, Chrome OS will go open-source for continued use on third-party devices.
Android Wear
The first Android Wear watches made their debut at I/O two years ago, but despite regular updates the platform is starting to feel a little stagnant. Hopefully that changes this year -- there's a session on the books called "What's New in Android Wear," which gives us hope that we'll finally get our hands (or wrists) on Android Wear 2.0. Alas, we haven't heard a thing about Wear since Google showed off its curious Mode wristbands, so you'll have to stay tuned for the show.
Android VR
Make no mistake: Android VR is going to make headlines at the show. Now, if only we knew what they were. Or, at the very least, how ambitious Google's plans are. Reports that Android would itself become a sort of VR platform have been making the rounds for about a year. Still others suggested Google is working on a new Cardboard-style VR headset that relies on phone screens rather than bulky, built-in ones.
Not-so-surprise hardware
Google's latest stab at a consumer gadget could be an Amazon Echo-like device code-named "Chirp," according to Recode. While the report goes on to say it isn't expected to launch at I/O this year, there's at least a thematic argument that Google could unveil its work. After all, Google took the opportunity to lay out its early plans for Project Brillo -- a lightweight software platform for the Internet of Things -- at I/O 2015. It's not hard to see how Chirp could fit into Google's vision of the Internet of Things, and it's about time for an update on Brillo's progress anyway.
http://www.engadget.com/2016/05/17/what-to-expect-from-google-i-o-2016/
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