Not to be outdone by its AI rivals, Google’s I/O developer conference, which runs from May 20-21, is showcasing the future of Gemini and how that AI will fit into your everyday life. PCMag is on the ground in Mountain View, bringing you all the latest news.
Google I/O 2025 Live Blog
9:24 am ET | May 22, 2025
I Tried Android XR Smart Glasses, and One Thing Stood Out
Android XR is still in the early stages; Google didn’t let PCMag’s Rob Pegoraro take up-close photos of its prototype smart glasses, but he got to try them on and ask them to perform a few tasks. The hardware looks promising, and they should benefit from changing attitudes about smart glasses. Here’s what you need to know.
4:51 pm ET | May 21, 2025
5 Jaw-Dropping Google I/O Reveals That Point to a Sci-Fi Future
Google is aiming to change the way we work and play with a host of futuristic AI tools heading our way soon. These are the ones PCMag’s Gabe Zamora is most look forward to using.
4:49 pm ET | May 21, 2025
As a Smart Home Expert, Google I/O Makes Me Worry
The Google I/O keynote was all about AI and search. Smart home technology was pretty much nonexistent. What does this mean for Google Home and compatible devices? PCMag’s Andrew Gebhart digs in.
12:33 pm ET | May 21, 2025
Volvo Signs On to Put Gemini in Its Cars
Volvo drivers will be able to have conversations with Gemini while keeping their eyes on the road. They can summon the AI to send messages, translate them into another language before sending, ask questions about their car’s manual, or learn more about their destination.
Google is set to roll out its Gemini AI chatbot to cars with Android Auto in the coming months and later this year to cars with Google built-in. In Volvo’s case, cars equipped with Google built-in will be among the first to benefit. Learn more in the video below:
11:46 am ET | May 21, 2025
Where Are All the Android XR Smart Glasses?
It’s steadily getting new features and buy-in from third-party manufacturers, but Google’s Android XR framework probably won’t result in an actual product for at least another year. Here’s what our wearables expert Will Greenwald has to say about that.
11:43 am ET | May 21, 2025
Google’s ‘AI Mode’ Is Coming for Us All
AI Mode, a search chatbot that opened for testing in March, is now rolling out to everybody in the US. It turns Google search queries into a ChatGPT-like interface that allows you to ask follow-up questions about the results. In a pre-I/O briefing, Google executives pronounced themselves encouraged by how people have taken to that option. “They’re asking longer questions, harder questions, more complex questions,” said Liz Reid, a VP and head of Google Search. “It really creates an experience where people can come to us and ask any question that they have.”
Publishers that rely on Google search might not be quite as enthused, particularly since chatbots train on data scraped from the web, which includes tech websites like PCMag.
9:17 pm ET | May 21, 2025
Google I/O Day One Highlights
Watch all the highlights from Google’s annual developers conference in our recap video below.
Everything Unveiled at Google I/O 2025
4:45 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Chrome Can Automatically Change Bad Passwords for You
Chrome already helps you keep tabs on passwords and alerts you if your password was involved in a breach, is weak, or is being used across services. At I/O, Google previewed an “automated password change” option that prompts you to let the browser change your password for you when it finds a compromised one. “This reduces friction and helps users to keep their account secure, without hunting through account settings or abandoning the process partway,” Google says. Look for it on supported websites later this year.
4:24 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Project Astra Keeps You on Task (and Helps Cheat on Homework?)
Project Astra debuted at I/O 2024 as a next-generation AI assistant that can view the world around you, and provide advice and tips throughout the day. Since then, Astra has been incorporated into the camera and screen-sharing capabilities of the Gemini app and Google says it upgraded Astra’s voice output to be more natural with native audio, improved memory, and added computer control.
In one demo clip, a man asks Astra for help fixing his bike, from finding YouTube tutorials, plucking details out of emails, and calling a repair shop to see if they have a specific part.
Another clip shows a student aiming her phone at a math problem and asking Astra for help. It gives her hints, and picks back up later when the student returns to the problem. In this case, the woman is very studious and tries to work through the homework herself, but you can see how this would also help kids who want to breeze through without doing the work.
4:14 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Let Project Mariner Handle the Mundane Tasks
Project Mariner, unveiled in December as an early research prototype, is intended to help you with time-consuming but relatively simple tasks. In the intro video below, a Google project manager asks Mariner to take a list of companies she’s typed into Google Sheets and find their contact information. Updates in the past few months means Mariner can now handle up to 10 different tasks at a time. “These agents can help you look up information, make bookings, buy things, do research and more,” Google says. For now, it’s limited to the $250/month Google AI Ultra plan in the US but access will expand throughout the year.
3:42 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Gemini Will Dig Through Gmail, Google Drive to Create ‘Personalized Smart Replies’
Subscribers to Google Workspace are in line to get some new features in Gmail, including personalized smart replies that adapt to “your typical tone” and an “inbox cleanup” option that lets you automate mail management tasks. Next quarter, you’ll also be able to limit Gemini’s writing assistance to specific docs.
3:35 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Meet Your Autonomous Agent Jules
For something a little more advanced, Google is releasing a beta version of its Jules coding agent. “Not a co-pilot, not a code-completion sidekick, but an autonomous agent that reads your code, understands your intent, and gets to work,” Google says. Jules taps Gemini 2.5 Pro and can do things like write tests, build new features, fix bugs, and provide audio changelogs. It’ll work in the background until it’s ready for you to review its handiwork. For now it’s free, but Google plans to charge for it once “the platform matures.”
3:22 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Video Overviews for NotebookLM
NotebookLM uses AI to organize documents into a study guide or even a podcast. At I/O, it took things one step further to announce Video Overviews, which will turn your data dumps into videos. Google says it supports “PDFs, photos, and more”
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
3:16 pm ET | May 20, 2025
XReal’s Project Aura Extended Reality (XR) Device
At I/O, XReal showed off Project Aura, an extended reality (XR) device designed for the Android XR platform. It’s the company’s second Android XR device and is what XReal calls “an optical see-through (OST) XR device” that’s lightweight, tethered, and cinematic. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR chipset “optimized for spatial computing,” but we’ll have to wait until the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in June for more details.
2:57 pm ET | May 20, 2025
AI-Powered Filmmaking With Flow
Aspiring filmmakers can tap into Flow, an AI filmmaking tool built for the Veo, Imagen, and Gemini models. It includes camera controls, a scene builder, and the Flow TV library of content. Flow is available now Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers in the US; the former gets 100 generations per month, while the latter gets “the highest usage limits and early access to Veo 3 with native audio generation, bringing environmental sounds and character dialogue directly into video creation,” Google says.
The opening clip shown at I/O was created entirely with Veo 3, Google says.
2:51 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Samsung’s Project Moohan XR Headset Coming Later This Year
At MWC in February, we got a first look at Samsung’s Project Moohan, a headset that uses the Android XR platform. At I/O today, Google said Moohan is coming later this year. With Gemini, the device will be “easier to use and more powerful by understanding what you’re seeing and taking actions on your behalf,” Google says.
The company is also partnering with brands like Gentle Monster and Warby Parker to create “stylish glasses with Android XR.” Kering Eyewear will join in the future, too.
2:42 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Ask Gemini to Create an Interactive Quiz
Worried about an upcoming exam? Gone are the days of physical flashcards. Just ask Gemini to create an interactive quiz. “As you answer, Gemini provides instant feedback, highlighting topics that need more attention,” Google says. Find it on desktop and mobile. College students in the US, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, and the UK can also get a free upgrade of Gemini during the school year, with more countries coming soon.
2:18 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Gemini in Chrome
Google is more tightly integrating its AI and browser by bringing Gemini to Chrome on the desktop for English speakers. You’ll need a Google AI Pro ($19.99 per month) or Google AI Ultra ($249.99/month) subscription. “This first version allows you to easily ask Gemini to clarify complex information on any web page you’re reading or summarize information,” Google says. At some point, it’ll work across multiple tabs and navigate to websites on your behalf.
2:11 pm ET | May 20, 2025
$249.99 Google AI Ultra Plan
For AI power users, Google now offers AI Ultra. In the US, it’s $249.99 per month (after a 50% discount for the first three months). You get the highest usage limits across Deep Research in the Gemini app, video generation with Veo 2 and early access to the Veo 3 model, with 30TB of storage. There’s also the new AI filmmaking tool Flow and access to Project Mariner, an agentic research prototype, among other things.
1:49 pm ET | May 20, 2025
‘AI Mode’ for All, Search Results Tailored to Your Gmail Inbox
The Google that once showed 10 blue links is looking ever more distant with the announcement at Google I/O here of an array of AI search-assistant tools. That includes AI Mode for All and Google search results not only tailored to your past search and web activity but to the contents of your Gmail with Personalized Smart Replies. New shopping options include a virtual try-on option and agentic shopping.
1:44 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Gemini Live Camera and Screen Sharing on iOS and Android
In March, Google announced screen-sharing and live video capabilities for Gemini Live, its competitor to ChatGPT’s voice mode, which allows people to ask questions about what’s displayed on their screen. It was initially available for Gemini app users with the Pixel 9 and Galaxy S25. But at I/O, Google said it’s now available to all Android and iOS users via the Gemini app.
1:33 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Real-Time Speech Translation in Google Meet
Google has experimented with video-chat live translation for a few years, but at I/O it teased “near real-time speech translation in Google Meet [for] natural, free-flowing conversations.” Translations between English and Spanish is now available in beta. More languages are expected in the next few weeks, with access for enterprise accounts later this year.
1:26 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Project Starline Is Now Google Beam
Project Starline, the company’s hyper-realistic video-conferencing solution, has been rebranded as Google Beam. It “uses an array of webcams to capture you from different angles. Then it uses AI to merge those video streams together and render you on a 3D lightfield display — with headtracking down to the millimeter and at 60 frames per second.” Google is working with HP to launch the first Google Beam devices later this year.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
12:10 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Inside the Shoreline Ampitheatre
11:13 am ET | May 20, 2025
Live at the Shoreline Amphitheatre
With about two hours to go before the first I/O keynote begins, PCMag’s Michael Kan is on the ground in Mountain View, California.
9:07 pm ET | May 20, 2025
Let’s Talk About Google I/O
Join PCMag’s Iyaz Akhtar and CNET’s Andrew Lanxon as they break down all the action from Google. Our live coverage begins on Tuesday, May 20, at 9:30 a.m. PT / 12:30 p.m. ET.
12:11 pm ET | May 19, 2025
How to Watch the Google I/O Keynote
The I/O keynote begins at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET on May 20. Livestream it via the video below.
12:07 pm ET | May 19, 2025
Google I/O 2025: What to Expect
With Android 16 largely squared away last week, we expect that AI and Gemini will take center stage at Google’s developer conference this year. Will that show up in new devices, like smart glasses? Check out our predictions.
12:01 pm ET | May 19, 2025
Gemini AI Expands to Cars, TVs, Headsets
Android 16 will complete the replacement of the Google Assistant with Gemini Live, the no-subscription-needed chatbot offshoot of its Gemini AI platform. It brings that AI assistant to devices beyond phones, and not just to the watches that you might expect, but also to cars, TVs, and extended-reality headsets. Here’s what you need to know.
11:55 am ET | May 19, 2025
Turn on Advanced Protection Mode in Android 16
Android 16 supports Google’s Advanced Protection mode as a device-level setting. This lets you “activate Google’s strongest security for mobile devices, providing greater peace of mind that you’re protected against the most sophisticated threats,” says Il-Sung Lee, Group Product Manager for Android Security. It’s one of several big security upgrades coming to the mobile OS.
11:51 am ET | May 19, 2025
We’re Living in a Material 3 Expressive World
Google’s Android 16 pitch leads off with a new design vocabulary it calls Material 3 Expressive, the latest iteration on the “Material You” design it shipped in 2021’s Android 12. Google’s VP of Product and UX for the Android Platform, Mindy Brooks, sums it up as “more fluid, natural, and springy animations.” These changes go beyond visual effects to include touch-feedback elements, like the “incredibly satisfying haptic rumble” when you dismiss a notification. Here’s our full rundown and a wrapup of 5 Game-Changing Android 16 Design Features I Can’t Wait to Try.
11:47 am ET | May 19, 2025
Watch The Android Show: I/O Edition
Before the main I/O event, Google hosted an Android-specific livestream on May 13. The fact that Google spun off a separate event suggests it wants AI to be the star of the show this week. Watch our recap of The Android Show: I/O Edition below.
The Android Show I/O Edition Shows Off New Android 16 Features