After missing out in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Google I/O back in 2021. The virtual event is set to take place from Tuesday, May 18, through Friday, May 21. We will likely see Sundar Pichai and other Google executives in the first part of the show as keynote, usually when the major news pops up. For reference, Google I/O is the company’s annual developer conference, announcing new software and various updates for its existing apps and services. It is primarily geared towards developers. However, there are some consumer-focused events too. Here’s what you can expect the search giant to announce this year.
Android 12
While Google’s next Android version is already in developer preview, we could see the first beta of Android 12 launch at Google I/O 2021. For the unaware, a developer preview is only made available to a handful of users, primarily developers. On the other hand, the public beta is something the general public can safely install on their own devices. Of course, it is buggy and not as smooth as a stable build, but it is generally more durable than a developer preview.
The upcoming Android 12 could have several tricks up its sleeve. We could get a new theming system that lets the software automatically pick an appropriate color for the notification panel, darker accent color for the quick setting tiles, and some sections of the Settings app. Further, we could get the forever-awaited scrolling screenshot feature as a native tool on Pixel smartphones.
Many minor upgrades like resizable PiP windows will let you adjust the size of picture-in-picture windows using pinch-to-zoom gestures. Then there are emojis in the screenshot markup menu that will allow you to add emojis to the images and draw or add notes. Moreover, In Android 12, the snooze button sits in the bottom-right corner of the notification tile.
For all the major and minor feature upgrades of Android 12, we suggest you look at our Android 12 list of confirmed and rumored features.
Google Pixel 5a
The Google Pixel 5a is tipped to feature a 6.2-inch OLED display with an FHD+ resolution. It is likely to have a high refresh rate. At the back is a squircle camera island that houses two cameras with an LED flash. We don’t know the details about the imaging hardware, but the second camera is likely an ultra-wide-angle camera. We can expect a 12MP primary camera accompanied by a 16MP ultrawide-angle lens.
