At 7 p.m. on May 10, Google is hosting its traditional I/O conference. A particularly anticipated event this year is when Microsoft seems to have taken a step ahead of Google in terms of artificial intelligence.
Every year, Google organizes two major conferences. There is the “Made by Google” event in the fall, during which Google unveils its new hardware (Pixel smartphones, Nest speakers, etc.). And there is especially the “Google I / O”, the big Google conference dedicated to developers, in the spring. On its Mountain View campus, Google unveils its new products there, in a multitude of different sectors (Android, hardware, video games, artificial intelligence, accessibility, services, research, etc.). The Google I/O is a catch-all, but also a crucial moment in the year of new technologies.
On May 10, 2023, for the first time since Covid, Google is organizing an old-fashioned I/O, with thousands of people on site (mostly developers). It is in particular on this occasion that Bard, it’s rival of ChatGPT, should officially be launched.
Google Bard, the key moment of Google I/O
Paradoxically, Google Bard is arguably the May 10 announcement that will affect the fewest users, at least initially.
However, it is the one that the world of new technologies watches the most, given the importance of the issues. Faced with an overpowered OpenAI, allied to Microsoft, does Google have what to answer? Its first tests are for the moment worrying, Google advances very cautiously.
The first public demo of Google Bard took place in Paris, with a limited beta launch in the United States following.
Faced with Microsoft, which has just opened its Bing Chat to everyone, is Google able to offer Bard to all its users from May 10? Can it do this without harming its traditional search engine, and therefore all of its economic activity? So many questions that may fascinate the I/O.
Another question: will Google integrate Bard into its services, such as Gmail, Android, or Google Assistant? Having the technology is one thing, creating innovative services is another. Rumors speak of a rival Midjourney image generator, a wallpaper maker for Pixels, or a new shopping assistant. This one would use AI and augmented reality to make you try on clothes in an ultra-realistic way.
Android 14, an update with new features?
After an Android 13 with almost no new features, will the 2023 vintage be more famous? Android 14, already available in beta, should be unveiled at greater length by Google on May 10. Each year, the brand reserves a few new features absent from the first previews, just to surprise the I/O.
For now, the only new features of the beta concern accessibility, confidentiality, and synchronization of data between several devices. So many sectors that Google should put on stage.
Unlike Android 12 which introduced a new design, Android 13 brought almost nothing.
Normally available in a new beta a few minutes after I/O, Android 14 will then arrive in the final version this summer, at least on Pixel smartphones.
Pixel Fold, Pixel 7a, and Pixel Tablet: new hardware
At Google I/O, there is sometimes hardware. The 2023 edition should be largely devoted to products since at least three new Pixels are expected:
- The Pixel Fold is Google’s first folding smartphone inspired by the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold.
- The Pixel 7a, the little brother of the Pixel 7, is in the mid-range sector.
- The Pixel Tablet, already unveiled a year ago, is a tablet capable of transforming into a connected speaker.
The Pixel Fold. // Source: Google
If the Pixel 7a should be a fairly classic product, it is the other two Pixels that interest us. The Fold is Google’s first attempt in the very high-end sector, while the Tablet marks its comeback as a competitor to Apple and the iPad.
A first look at the Pixel 8?
If we rely on previous years, Google likes to reveal its future innovations in advance, to limit leaks. Logically, the presentation of Pixel 7a, Fold, and Tablet could be followed by a first preview of the Pixel 8 range, expected in the fall.
Last year, Google showed off its Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 in May, before launching them in October.
Other surprises could be on the Google I/O 2023 program, which promises to be richer than in previous years (we think of Google Maps, Google Chrome, Google Assistant, or augmented reality, which Google likes to mention).
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