When is Google I/O 2024? Event could feature a new VR headset, Pixel phone, and Android 15

Google I/O is a developer conference. Tech community members gather to hear about what’s on the cards at Google.

It’s pretty nerdy, but Google I/O also interests those who don’t plan to develop apps or work in the industry. The event also shows off new hardware and features. Last year, we heard about the Pixel Fold and Google’s AI plans, for example.

Here’s what we know about Google I/O 2024 so far.

When is Google I/O 2024?

Google I/O starts on Tuesday, May 14 this year. It is in the US but anyone can tune in through YouTube. And the keynote timing is pretty handy for us in the UK, as it begins at 6pm.

You can watch it live in full below or directly on the official Google channel on YouTube.

What will happen at Google I/O 2024?

One of the core roles of Google I/O from a consumer tech fan perspective is to put some meat on the bones of the next version of Android.

Google released the first developer preview of the upcoming Android 15 in February. These days, the most interesting updates aren’t really about the core of Android itself — unless you’re into the nitty-gritty of privacy and security — but Google apps and services including Maps, Health, and the newbie — Google Gemini AI.

What could those updates be? We don’t know yet. However, given the current state of things, we would not be surprised to hear more talk of AI integrations within Maps, Gmail, Docs and others.

Sick of hearing about AI? Here’s the hardware we may hear about at Google I/O 2024.

Google I/O 2024 hardware announcements

Pixel 8A

The Pixel 7A was announced in May 2023. We’re clearly due the Pixel 8A, the budget alternative to the standard Pixel 8.

With any luck, it should be an easy-to-recommend phone for the average buyer.

Changes expected include faster charging, a larger battery, and, potentially, a smoother-looking 120Hz screen. We must hope this doesn’t increase the cost beyond the £449 of the Pixel 7a. The Pixel 8 currently costs £599 online. A healthy gap between the two is essential for the Pixel 8A to make sense.

Google Pixel Fold 2

The original Pixel Fold was announced at I/O 2023 and released in June 2023. Time for round two?

Clear ways to improve the design include thinning the screen borders to provide more display for the in-pocket bulk. A newer generation of processor is a must, too.

Of course, in a second generation, there’s less cause to announce the phone at I/O 2024. This is primarily a software conference. When foldable software concessions are now part of Google’s rulebook, unveiling the phone at another time may make more sense.

Google’s VR collaboration

AR, augmented reality, could be a big feature of I/O 2024, as reported by UploadVR. This isn’t just where you use your phone’s camera to see Pokémon appear on your phone’s screen. It’s Google’s answer to Apple’s Vision Pro headset. But we don’t think Google is going to make it.

Google partnered with Samsung on this project, as it did with the relaunch of its smartwatch platform WearOS and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 in 2021.

Samsung will make the headset, Google will produce the new version of Android that keeps the thing running. Google is very late to the party here, of course. The Meta Quest headsets use a version of Android, as did their Oculus predecessors years before the VR pioneer was bought by Meta (simply Facebook at the time) in 2014.

However, this will require some awkward acrobatics between Google and Samsung. Google can’t announce a new VR headset version of Android without a headset to use it. And Samsung will no doubt want to unveil the headset itself.

According to SamMobile, the next Samsung Unpacked show, where Samsung reveals its big new products, won’t happen until July. A big question mark hangs over this one, then.