Google's annual developer conference will open with AI breakthroughs before moving to Android 17 and Chrome updates, according to a newly released schedule that maps out the company's priorities for 2026.
The two-day I/O event kicks off May 19 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, with a main keynote starting at 10 AM Pacific Time. A developer keynote follows at 1:30 PM on the same day, according to Google's published timeline.
Both sessions will be livestreamed from Mountain View.
At 3:30 PM on May 19, four simultaneous sessions reveal Google's hierarchy of focus areas: "What's new in Google AI," "What's new in Android," "What's new in Chrome," and "Agent-first workflows from prompt to production." This structured approach places artificial intelligence as the lead topic before addressing platform-specific updates.
The AI session will cover Google's "latest model capabilities across multimodal, media generation, and robotics," according to session descriptions. This follows Google's February announcement that it would share "AI breakthroughs and updates in products across the company, from Gemini to Android, Chrome, Cloud and more."
Android 17 takes center stage on day two with discussions of performance improvements and what Google calls an "Adaptive Everywhere" approach. This framework aims to let users "move fluidly between phones, cars, living rooms, and immersive environments," bringing together Android, Chrome OS, and XR capabilities under a unified system.
Chrome will receive dedicated attention for "new capabilities" arriving in 2026, though specific features remain undisclosed. The browser-focused session comes as Google continues rolling out AI-powered updates across its web platform.
Absent from the initial schedule is any mention of Android XR sessions. This omission suggests Google may be deprioritizing or restructuring its extended reality efforts compared to previous years when XR received prominent placement at developer events.
Registration for in-person attendance operates through a lottery system rather than guaranteed access. Users who want to attend must sign up through Google's official channels without assurance of securing a spot at the physical venue.
The conference dates were revealed earlier this year through an interactive puzzle that reached 100% completion by participants. Those puzzles confirmed May 19-20 as this year's I/O dates back in February when Google first began teasing its annual showcase.
