Google’s annual developer conference, called Google I/O, is Google’s flagship event for developers. It’s where the company shares its latest updates and makes major announcements, including launching new products and services.
As Google’s Chaim Gartenberg put it in a company blog post, “Googlers — and the world — expect at least a little magic from I/O.”
The biggest surprise of the event was Larry Page, the CEO at the time, who appeared for a live Q&A and gave a speech about the future of technology.
The event features a range of speakers, including Google’s CEO, VPs from across the company, and executives from branches like Google DeepMind, Android, and Google Labs.
Here’s everything to know about the annual developer conference and a timeline of major announcements made at the event over the years.
What is Google I/O?
Google I/O is the company’s most important annual event for developers.
“I/O is representative of everything that Google has to offer for developers and beyond,” Mike Pegg, who previously helped lead I/O, said in a company blog post. “It’s when we share what we’re working on with the world, and we’ve had some incredible moments over the years, like when Android launched in 2008, or when support for HTML 5 was announced in 2011.”
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Following the event, Google offers I/O Connect, which is a hands-on, in-person developer event series focused on demos and live sessions from the event’s updates.
Google also offers I/O Extended, which are global, community-hosted events by Google Developer Groups. These events are held throughout May and June around the world, from Chicago to Santa Cruz and Brazil.
What does I/O stand for?
When Google launched its first I/O in 2007, it was called “Google Developer Day.”
So how did it get this obscure name?
If you look up what I/O stands for on search, you’ll find two definitions. The first is that I/O stands for “input/output,” referencing the concept of interfacing between a computer system and the outside world. The second is that I/O stands for “innovation in the open.”
The tech giant cleared up the confusion in a blog post for Google I/O 2023 — and it turns out both meanings are accurate.
The name I/O was originally based on the numerical value googol, which is a one followed by 100 zeros. Google took the first one and zero to create the event’s logo. Then, as the company brainstormed what the one and zero could represent, it came up with “input/output” and “innovation in the open.”
Google director of events and experiences Lorin Platto said in the post that the intent was to make it stick with developers, “so the name ‘Google I/O’ was almost like a puzzle to figure out.”
Google also now releases actual puzzles every year for developers to figure out the event date.
How to watch the Google I/O keynote
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The main Google I/O keynote typically takes place in May and lasts about two hours. The event is open to a small in-person audience and also livestreamed online. You can register for Google I/O to stay up to date with the content and schedule. You can also create a developer profile to save and view content.
Even if you don’t register, you can watch the full keynote on YouTube, and you can find out more about each annual event by looking up “Google I/O” followed by the year. Each event has a dedicated site with links to the keynote livestream and other workshops that take place during the conference. You can also watch shorter recaps to get a quick version of the most important updates.
Google I/O announcements history
2024
At Google I/O 2024, which took place on May 14, CEO Sundar Pichai declared Google was fully in its “Gemini era.”
Pichai also described new AI-powered features coming to Google Photos that could pull information from images and help summarize photo memories.
Demis Hassabis, the head of Google DeepMind, made his debut at the event to announce “Project Astra,” a prototype AI agent that can use video and voice features.
The Project Astra demo featured a Google employee walking through the DeepMind office in London. At first the employee used the agent on her phone, but she then switched to a pair of prototype smart glasses, calling to mind the discontinued Google Glass.
The company also provided a glimpse at what the new Google Search looks like with generative AI, Android AI tools like “Circle to Search,” and custom Gemini bots called “Gems.”
The event’s theme was clear, with Pichai revealing at the end that the word “AI” was said 120 times during the keynote.
2023
Google I/O 2023 marked the event’s 15th anniversary. The company revealed generative AI updates and tools and announced that it would integrate its big AI model, PaLM 2, into its AI offerings.
For example, you could use Google Lens to point your camera at objects and ask Google’s AI assistant to write captions for them. You could also ask the chatbot to create speaker notes based on images you insert into a Google Slides presentation.
Google also announced visual updates to its Gemini AI (then known as Bard) and opened it up to over 180 countries and territories.
2022
A major highlight of Google I/O 2022 was the unveiling of its latest affordable smartphone, the Pixel 6a.
The company also added 24 new languages to Google Translate, advanced Google Maps to show more locations and detailed imagery, automated summarization for Google Docs and other apps in Workspace, and launched LaMDA, their “breakthrough conversation technology” at the time.
2021
A notable moment at Google I/O 2021 was Pichai’s demo of its new LaMDA AI language model for dialogue applications, which included a conversation with Pluto and a paper airplane.
Google also revealed Android 12’s “Material You,” which updated the design of Androids and gave users the opportunity to change system colors.
Google also announced updates to Maps, including indoor access and eco-friendly route suggestions. It also announced a partnership between Samsung’s Tizen and Google’s Wear, which resulted in longer battery life for Google-powered smartwatches.
2020
2020 marked a big year for Google I/O — but not because of the announcements. Google canceled the event at its usual Shoreline Amphitheatre location due to the pandemic. The virtual event was later canceled as well.
2019
During the event, Google unveiled the cheaper version of its flagship smartphone, Pixel 3a. The smartphone started at $399 and has a similar camera to the Pixel 3, supporting features like Portrait Mode. It also offered updates on Android Q and announced a new smart home device called Nest Hub Max.
It also had Google Lens updates, like the ability to split the bill and calculate the tip at a restaurant if you point the lens to your check.
2017
Google shared 101 announcements at Google I/O in 2017, according to a blog post from the company.
Google Lens was the biggest announcement. The technology is embedded in different Google apps and allows you to recognize objects and places. For example, you can point your phone at a WiFi router and Lens will show you your saved password. Or you can point your phone at a restaurant on the street and it will pull up information about the restaurant.
Google Home also announced several new updates, including Hands-Free Calling, which recognizes the user’s voice and allows you to call anyone in the US or Canada for free.
2016
At its 2016 I/O event, Pichai focused on Google’s plans to incorporate AI into its offerings.
The tech giant also launched Google Home, a smart speaker with Google’s new virtual assistant. The technology is a similar product to Amazon Echo, responding to voice commands and performing tasks like playing a song or sharing the weather forecast.
It also released two messaging platforms: Allo and Duo. Allo was an instant messaging app that has since been discontinued, and Duo was a video chat platform that merged with Google Meet.
2015
Google’s 2015 I/O keynote focused mainly on Android updates, like Android Pay, its new digital wallet similar to Apple Pay. It also introduced Doze, which saves battery by using motion detection to go into a deeper sleep if inactive for a certain amount of time.
Now on Tap was another Android update that allows users to hold the home button to bring up information related to what they’re seeing on the screen. It also announced a revamped Google Photos app with an unlimited number of photos and videos for free sorted by timestamp and location.
Google also announced offline maps and Chrome in developing countries to make these offerings more accessible for people with poor connections.
2014
At Google I/O 2014, the tech giant revealed its latest version of Android, Android L. The new “Material Design” had a cleaner look with some shadows, layers, and animations.
Google also gave demos of Android Wear and announced LG and Samsung now have Android Wear watches available.
Google also announced Android TV, a new platform for TVs, its second attempt at creating TV software. The new platform for TVs lets users voice-search to find content and integrates Chromecast, which has features like setting your own photos as the background of your TV.
2013
Google updated some of its key products at I/O 2013, like Google Maps and Google+. It also released a streaming music service competitor to Spotify called Google Music All Access, which was priced at $9.99 per month.
2012
Google I/O in 2012 hosted 6,000 in-person attendees, according to a recap of the event. Google announced its latest milestone at the event: One million Android devices are activated every day. Other Google product announcements that year included Nexus 7, a seven-inch tablet running Android 14.1.
Project Glass was one of the biggest updates at Google I/O in 2012. Google had reportedly worked on the computerized glasses for a few years and announced they would become available in early 2013. The product has since been discontinued, but there may be a new version of it coming to market in the future.
2011
Google announced an upgrade to Honeycomb, which it rolled out the day of the event to Verizon customers and allowed for more efficient app switching.
It also had several updates to Google TV and came out with Music beta by Google, which allowed users to build playlists based on any song they picked.
Google also announced Android devices could now act as USB hosts, which was a big step forward in importing content like photos.
2010
Google I/O 2010 was the company’s first attempt at merging TV with the internet. Although unsuccessful, it marked an important step forward in the future of smart TV.
Google I/O 2010 also reveals how fun some of the names of Google products used to be, like Android Froyo, which brought faster speed and mobile hotspot.
Google claimed Froyo had the fastest browser and demonstrated it next to an Eclair phone and an iPad. Google also announced a Chrome Web Store to make a market for browser apps.
2009
Google I/O in 2009 focused on developer tools, especially for app creation. The company also introduced Google Web Elements, which let users embed Google products on their pages, like YouTube videos.
It also revealed Google Wave, a cloud service that let users exchange messages and media or collaborate on documents. Wave was discontinued a little over a year later, in 2010.
2008
Google I/O in 2008 marked the launch of the Android platform, which was a major step forward in the evolution of smartphones.
Google also announced the app engine, which was a platform for developing apps.
2007
Google held its first developers event in 2007, but the name at the time was “Google Developer Day” rather than I/O, and the event’s structure was also different. Google held developer gatherings worldwide that were focused on educating groups on Google’s technologies.