Last year saw the revival of I/O after the pandemic pushed Google to scrap 2020’s event altogether. However, the show returned in an online-only form and while this year’s event has been billed as ‘live’ it once again isn’t open to the public, with only Google employees reportedly in attendance at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. Registration is open now and it’s free to sign up, with the keynote and all subsequent sessions set to be broadcast on YouTube. Google I/O is scheduled to take place across 11 May and 12 May, this year.

The focus of I/O 2021’s opening keynote centred around the release of the first Android 12 public beta, as well as the unveiling of the newly revamped Wear OS 3, which still hasn’t made it to smartwatches beyond Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic, all these months later. Those two areas or expected to remain key during 2022’s keynote, with our first real chance to see what Android 13 will be bringing to phones (and tablets) later this year, potentially more on Android 12L in the meantime and an update on the progress of bringing Wear OS to more watches. Beyond software updates, there’s hope for at least the tease of forthcoming hardware too, with an inordinate number of Pixel Watch leaks suggesting an imminent debut, alongside ongoing hearsay around the Pixel Fold foldable and the more affordable Pixel 6a. Google-owed Fitbit has also been oddly quiet as of late and with the promise of “premium smartwatches based on Wear” made at last year’s I/O by co-founder, James Park still undelivered, there’s a chance that now will finally be time for a new tracker. We discuss our expectations ahead of I/O 2022 in episode 109 of our weekly podcast Fast Charge, which you can watch below:

We’ll update this feature with more as it’s revealed in the lead-up to Google I/O 2022 and summarise everything announced, once the event concludes in May.

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