Alphabet has officially locked in the dates for its biggest developer event of the year. The company announced on Tuesday that Google I/O 2026 will take place on May 19 and 20, returning to the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, with a simultaneous online stream for developers and fans around the world.
The announcement was made in a post from Google CEO Sundar Pichai. "See you all at Google I/O starting May 19th," he said.
See you all at Google I/O starting May 19th! https://t.co/KgNKbb3nMu pic.twitter.com/OD6x3IYtTi
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2026
It came with a short message from the company inviting people to “save the date” and expect updates across its product lineup, from Gemini to Android and beyond.
As usual, Google promises keynote presentations, fireside chats, product demos, and interactive experiences. The familiar I/O formula that blends technical deep dives with big-picture announcements.
Google I/O has long been one of the most anticipated tech events of the year, largely because it offers a clear look at where the company is steering its massive ecosystem. It’s where developers get early access to new tools, platforms, and APIs, while everyday users get a preview of the features that will eventually land on their phones, laptops, and browsers. Over the years, I/O has become less about a single product launch and more about showcasing Google’s broader vision for computing.
And if recent history is any guide, that vision is increasingly powered by artificial intelligence. At Google I/O 2025, the company delivered an almost nonstop stream of AI-focused announcements, including upgrades to Gemini models, new generative image and video tools, and deeper AI integrations across Search, Gmail, Chrome, and Workspace. Even hardware-adjacent reveals, such as Android XR headsets and Gemini-powered smart glasses, were framed around AI capabilities.
That same AI-heavy direction is expected to carry over into this year’s event. Google has already said it plans to share its “latest AI breakthroughs,” and there’s growing speculation that we’ll hear more about its upcoming smart glasses, which the company previously confirmed are slated to arrive in 2026.
All of these point to Google I/O 2026 shaping up as another milestone moment, not just for developers, but for anyone watching how AI is quietly becoming the backbone of modern computing. If last year was about proving Google’s AI ambitions, this year could be about showing how far those ambitions have already come.
Louis Eriakha
