GoogleIO2018
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John Legend is one of six new Google Assistant voices
At the annual I/O developers conference on Tuesday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that users now have six additional options for their Assistant's voice, one of which is that of famed singer-songwriter John Legend. They'll be available for both mobile and the Google Home beginning later today.
We're live at Google's 2018 I/O keynote!
We've slathered on our sunscreen, our cameras have fresh SD cards and our fingers are itchy -- the conditions are right for a Google I/O liveblog. Google has spent the past week dropping news and announcements left and right, but with three full days of show ahead of us, there's no way the search giant won't spend a long while talking up newly updated services and fascinating features. The show kicks off promptly at 10AM Pacific/1PM Eastern, so be sure to park your browser window right here. Actually, scratch that -- check out our quick run-through of what to expect from Google I/O 2018 and then come back. (The more you know, and all that.)
Watch Google's I/O 2018 keynote right here at 1PM ET
Google's I/O developer conference gets under way at 1PM ET today, with CEO Sundar Pichai delivering the keynote. Google is expected to reveal more about the future of Android, including a possible release date (and typically candy-flavored name) for Android P, along with information on Auto and TV. We're also anticipating a Google News revamp and details on what's next for Assistant, Wear OS and Chrome OS, among others. If we're lucky and Google decides to really go nuts, we might hear about the secretive Fuchsia OS.
'Google AI' is the new home of Google's research and AI divisions
Google Research is no more. The tech titan has combined all of its Google Research projects and artificial intelligence efforts under one umbrella simply called "Google AI." Mountain View says it unified "all the state-of-the-art research happening across Google" under one straightforward name because its work in AI has been core to the development of all the machine learning techniques it's implementing in its products and platforms. The company has conducted tons of AI research and development over the years, including a recent one in which it launched websites where you can talk to books and play word-association Tetris.
JBL's next soundbar doubles as an Android TV box
JBL and Google announced a new soundbar that gives users voice control over a number of features and devices via the Google Assistant. When you plug the JBL Link Bar into your TV, for example, you can then say "Hey Google" and ask it to play whatever TV show, movie or YouTube content you want to watch or listen to. It can even be used to control your smart home devices or play music. The JBL Link Bar features seamless HDMI input switching and the Google Assistant can also be used when the TV is off.
Google's IoT platform Android Things is open to all developers
To help folks build software to make their hardware products play nice with the Internet of Things, Google announced at the end of 2016 it would create a toolkit called Android Things. It was released in preview to select developers, but today it's available to all of them.
What to expect at Google I/O 2018
It's somehow already May, which means Google's I/O developer conference is right around the corner: next week, in fact. The show is once again being held in scenic Mountain View, California, and with its keynotes, sessions and musical acts, I/O feels like a developer conference with just a hint of Coachella. Personally, we're going for the hard news, and we expect a lot of it, even despite a recent, massive Google news dump. In anticipation of all that action, here's a quick primer on what we know Google has in store for I/O, along with a few things we're likely to see once the show kicks off on Tuesday.
Google teases I/O 2018 with treasure maps and cryptic clues (updated)
As it does every year, Google is sending users on a geeky goose chase to learn details about its upcoming I/O 2018 Developer's conference. The first clue, posted on Twitter, is a bunch of binary code that (spoiler) reveals a website address, google.com/io. That leads you to a splash screen and Google Maps, where you're positioned in front of a Google office building ready to enter into a reception area. Update: Well, the mystery didn't last long. The conference will run May 8th-10th. In Mountain View, naturally.
