Google I / O 2022 is getting closer and closer, and now the company has finally announced the schedule. As always, the developer conference is filled to the brim with deep dives into app development, Google’s latest guidelines when it comes to user experience, but there are also the usual overarching messages that are relevant to everyone, whether you’re an Android device owner or a developer. We’ve dug the program through so you do not need it, and here are our seven top panels you will not want to miss.
Google I / O 2022 keynote
The Google I / O keynote is the event that launches the developer conference and takes place every morning on the first day of assembly. If you do not have too much time to follow all the other Google I / O activities, this is definitely the one event you do not want to miss. Google will provide a broad overview of everything it’s going to dive into during I / O, and there will likely be tons of announcements. We will almost certainly hear more about Android 13, and we could see the ominous Pixel Watch, and the Pixel 6a may also be on hold.
This time the main tone takes place on May 11 at. 10:00 PT (13:00 ET). Be sure to tune in if you want a broad overview of what Google has planned in the near future.
Develops keynote
While you might think the company would only talk about the unsexy technical details in the developer’s keynote, it’s historically proven to be a fairly accessible speech, with the company sometimes even dropping a few lingering larger messages that it had not been able to include in the regular keynote.
The event starts right after the regular keynote, so if you have a few more hours left over on the first day of the conference, be sure to give it a watch.
What’s new in Android
Once the first two keynotes are over, Google will dive deeper into what’s new in Android. Since Android 13 is the latest beta release of its OS, and it’s likely that its second beta will fall under I / O, we’ll almost certainly hear a lot more about what Google has hidden from our point of view so far.
This is also the first year that Google is running two beta apps simultaneously, with Android 12’s June feature also available as a beta during the QPR beta moniker (Quarterly Platform Release). Since the stable launch of this new feature drop is not too far out, we would not expect the company to talk too much about it during I / O, but we were never in this dual-beta situation before, so who knows.
What’s new in Google Pay
We suspect that Google has some news about Pay, given how a new “Wallet” brand has been on the run in leaks recently. While details are still lacking, photos and app demolitions suggest that Google Pay could be part of yet another rebranding, called Google Wallet. If the name seems familiar, it’s because it’s it – Google started its entry into payment processing with its Google Wallet debit cards about ten years ago, only to transform the service to Android Pay in 2015 and then to Google Pay in 2018. Either way , Google says that “Payments are constantly evolving, and so is Google Pay”, which is definitely interesting wording.
While we’re sure Google will announce its new branding during the I / O keynote, you may hear more details about what the company has in store for the developer keynote.
What’s new in Chrome OS
It seems that Google has been cleaning up tons of resources in Chrome OS lately and is expanding it as a platform that supports almost every utility case you could imagine on desktops and tablets. The company only recently revealed that it is adding Steam support, and there are a lot of other upcoming features already teased during CES 2022, such as deeper integration with Android phones, such as the ability to interact with your mobile device’s screen directly on your Chromebook.
Like Android and Google Pay keynotes, this will take place right after the developer conference, so you need to choose what you are most interested in.
What’s new in Google Home
Google is constantly expanding its efforts for smart homes, and one of the more interesting upcoming devices may be a Nest Hub with a detachable screen running Android. Google promises that it will help you “Discover a new era for Google Home” in this panel, which are pretty big words that make us think it has some interesting things to share. Of course, the company could also focus on interoperability with other smart home platforms, as it is one of the key proponents of Matter, an industry-wide smart home standard that is supposed to make things a lot easier going forward.
The Google Home session is another one that starts right after the developer conference, so you can see, it’s really about choosing what you’re most interested in on the date.
Construction of the privacy sandbox
Privacy Sandbox is Google’s latest attempt to introduce a replacement for third-party cookies after failing with its initial FLoC initiative. The new privacy-oriented ad targeting technology has just gone live as an example for developers on Android, so it’s going to be interesting to see how Google gets to combine two inherently different concepts – privacy and ad targeting. The team behind the sandbox is going to answer a few questions about the technology that affects both Android and Chrome.
The Privacy Sandbox panel takes place on the second day of Google I / O (May 12) at 9:00 PT (12:00 ET).
Back to the basics of System Back
As seen by Mishaal Rahman, it looks like the schedule is wasting some beans on a new Android 13 feature. The new OS version is supposed to have a predictive back-navigation system, as suggested by this panel: “Discover how the future of Android will help you create predictable back-navigation along with satisfying animations.” Mishaal admits that he has not collected all the pieces of the puzzle himself yet and is not quite in control of the “predictive” part, but he can shed some light on the “animations”. When you navigate back you will leave the home screen, you will see an animation similar to swiping up to go home instead of the regular arrow pull, which will help you understand more clearly where your back navigation will take you.
Either way, we will have to keep an eye on this event to understand all the details. It takes place on the second day (May 12) at. 9:00 PT (12:00 ET).
Some of these events take place at the same time, but don’t worry. Google will record all of these and offer them for later consumption, so if you have to choose one over the other, you can just catch up on what you missed later. We also want your back and cover all the most interesting features and announcements coming out of this year’s Google I / O – stay tuned!
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