We’ll soon get a closer look at a bunch of features and updates Google has planned for Android and its other services. The company has confirmed that Google I/O 2026 will take place on May 19 and 20. As always, Google will stream some of the keynotes and sessions for free, including the opening keynote (during which the company makes the bulk of its major I/O announcements).
Although I/O is primarily a conference for developers, it’s typically where we first learn about major upcoming Android changes, which of course affect tens of millions of people. Expect a lot of news about Google’s AI efforts as well, such as what’s next for Gemini.
As has been the case for several years, Google revealed the conference’s dates for 2026 after enough folks completed a puzzle on the I/O website. This year’s puzzle has multiple “builds” to play through, all of which use Gemini.
They start with a mini-golf game in which a virtual caddy that’s powered by Gemini offers some of the most anodyne advice imaginable. The second build is a nonogram. If you’ve ever played a Picross game, you’ll know what to do here. It’s about using logic to place tiles on a grid in order to create an image. Here, Google is using Gemini to generate “endless game boards.”
The other three minigames are Word Wheel (which “leverages Gemini 3 to automate level design”), Super Sonicbot (which “uses Gemini to introduce microphone mechanics where noise controls the Android Bot’s altitude”) and Stretchy Cat. The latter “uses Gemini 3 as a stage designer balancing game mechanics and difficulty to create endless play.”
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