It is spring in the courtyard, which means that the time comes for traditional conferences of technological giants. Among such events - Google I / O, which this year will be held from 8 to 10 May in San Francisco.

If you do not want to watch Keynote broadcast alone, and are ready to immediately discuss all the news and news with colleagues, then, like last year , we invite you to a collective viewing with us in Avito! We hold the event together with GDG Moscow . The meeting will begin on May 8 at 19:30 Moscow time.

And while we are all waiting for this moment, we will share in this post the main expectations from the conference and guesses about the announcements of new products.

Since the first I / O, which, by the way, took place 10 years ago, in 2008, we most often see announcements of new technologies and software updates. Presentations of new devices happened much less frequently (for example, Nexus 7 in 2012), but this could happen this year. Why? Let's figure it out!

Android P

Traditionally, a large part of Keynote I / O is given to the future version of Android. In March, Google released the first Developer Preview Android P. Judging from the plans published with the build, the next preliminary version should be presented in early May - that is, just in the days of I / O.

It is expected that along with the interface changes to the final release, the system will receive many not always noticeable, but important changes:

• applications in the background will not be able to use the camera and microphone - plus privacy;
• when recording calls, the subscriber at the opposite end will be notified with a special audio signal;
• new spam call blocking functionality;
• improved support for Bluetooth HID devices;
• native support for retinal scanners;
• support "monobrovi" a la iPhone X;
• support for the future of “other design solutions” in order not to get up twice - flexible screens and non-standard aspect ratios.

Among the expected innovations, there are also very profound, for example, hiding calls to domestic violence hotlines in the call log.

There is a possibility that Google will reveal the name of the next version of the OS. While there are plenty of options: Pineapple, Pina Colada, Pancake, Pie and even Pepsi. The situation is more complicated than with the O-release - the choice of sweets with the letter P turned out to be much wider.

Wear OS

Android Wear, introduced four years ago, has been called Wear OS since March - Google decided to rebrand its operating system for wearable devices. By removing Android from the name, the company hopes to explain to users that the products on Wear OS work not only with Android, but also with iOS devices.

However, for the time being we are content only with a post on the Google blog and the developer build of the system for just one watch model. Among the changes compared to Android Wear is the dark theme of the interface, which will help watches with OLED screens to save charge, as well as prohibiting applications from working in the background if the watch is not connected to a charger. Google really wants to catch up with Apple in the market of wearable devices, so we are likely to find out a lot of details about the future of Wear OS on Google I / O.

Google Assistant

It is expected that Google Assistant will come to almost four dozen countries, speaking in 17 new languages. At least at one of the conferences in February, Google shared the development plans of the assistant for 2018.

Among the new markets there is Russia. Through Assistant, the company is trying to promote smart columns of Google Home, which in Russia, however, like other Google devices, are not sold. All this can indirectly confirm the intention of the search giant to finally come to our country with its device store - there were such rumors too. True or not, we’ll find out on I / O in May.

Google home

"Speaking of birds." Recently it became known that Google is working on a new feature for Home - the so-called "Routines". Something similar already has a direct competitor, Amazon Echo. Innovation allows using Assistant to create chains of actions that will be performed on a separate command. For example, the conditional command "Good morning" will switch on the conditional light bulbs, and the conditional thermostat will set the desired temperature. All this is relevant for smart households, so for the domestic landscape, such specificity remains at the level of conditionality.

However, Google will probably also talk on I / O about how to build an even deeper consumer society in a single house.

ChromeOS and Chromebook with 4K screen

Perhaps here lies the announcement of a new device. In the ChromeOS source code, there were references to a device codenamed Atlas with a 4K resolution screen. So far there is little information, however, it is likely that the laptop will be presented just on Google I / O 2018.

Augmented and Virtual Reality

The trend of the last few years is deception of one’s own consciousness with the help of various glasses, helmets and cardboard boxes with slots for the eyes. Trend last year - augmented reality. All the same, only on the device screen. Last year, it was augmented reality that became one of the main marketing “chips” of both iOS 11 and Android O.

Developers are invited to implement this reality through the ARKit SDK and ARCore, respectively. There is reason to believe that Google will update the SDK for augmented reality, because in terms of functionality, it is already a little behind ARKit.

In the VR plane, there is no need to wait for new devices, but for some reason, Google bought the manufacturer of VR cameras Lytro? Perhaps the curtain will open on the I / O.

Machine learning

Another trend among technology companies is machine learning. In the past, I / O Google showed Lens - an application that allows you to identify objects and context in a photo. Subsequently, Lens became an exclusive in Pixel 2, as well as "computational photography" - the use of machine learning to process and improve photos.

Thus, for example, it turns out to separate the foreground and background, using one camera instead of several. Perhaps, on this wave, we will see an update of the Google Photos service, the Google Cloud Platform, pleasant trivia of machine learning in Android. And, maybe, new circuitry successes, such as tensor processor (TPU) in 2016 or Pixel Visual Core.
Google has a good position in the machine learning market and there are many scenarios for its use. One thing is quite certain: the topic will be touched upon.

Fuchsia

The operating system, which Google has been developing for several years now, continues to grow into details: in May 2017, it acquired a user interface, and just a month ago a browser version with limited functionality was released.

Despite the official silence of Google, interest in the new OS is only growing, and technology publications call Fuchsia a replacement for Android. On the last I / O, Android vice president of development, Dave Burke first mentioned the mysterious OS, but identified it as an "early stage pilot project." The increased activity in this pilot project and the first working builds may hint at Google preparations, which we may be told about in I / O.

Surprises and exactly what to expect

Everything that was thought out above is somehow predictable and covers already existing products and services. But Google is on Google and to surprise at a time when no one is waiting.

However, there are products that you don’t have to wait for updates on I / O: similar to the Atlas laptop in the ChromeOS source code, Pixel 3 appeared in Android code. It’s unlikely that the new Pixel will be shown on I / O - too little time has passed since the release of Pixel 2, and the tradition with such presentations is well established: they are most often shown in October-November.

View Google I / O in Avito: Passwords and Appearances

Participation in the event is free, registration is required .
We are waiting for you on May 8 in Avito's Moscow office at ul. Forest, 7 .
Registration will begin at 19:00, and the event - at 19:30. In addition to sharing Google Keynote, you will see a competition from GDG Moscow, as well as popcorn and a great company!

See you!