Google I/O 2019: Here’s What We Expect

May. 6, 2019

Google’s hardware plans aren’t heading in the direction the company expected it to, with Pixel 3 sales not even matching up to the Pixel 2, so it now plans to recapture the market with the launch of the much-rumoredPixel 3a. This mid-range Pixel smartphone has been mistakenly confirmed by Google on its website and the rumor mill has been hyping it ever since.

The Pixel 3a lineup is expected to feature an old-ish design as per today’s standards and have massive bezels. The Pixel 3a will sport a 5.6-inch screen whereas the Pixel 3a XL is expected to bring in tow a bigger 6-inch display. While the former could bepowered by the Snapdragon 670, the latter might be powered by the Snapdragon 710 SoC.

The highlight of the Pixel 3a and 3a XL will, however, be the Pixel-grade cameras, which Google is said to be porting from its flagship Pixel 3. You would get the Pixel Visual Core chip, with the company’s software perks and Night Sight for about half the flagship price with this device.

There’s no info on the Indian pricing of the Pixel 3a and 3a XL, which is important as the same will decide whether these mid-range smartphones will be able to survive amid the slew of competitively priced phones.

While the next flavor of Android is usually the highlight of Google I/O, it’ll most likely be overshadowed by the company’s hardware launch this time around. We’ve already seen twoAndroid Q beta releasesover the past couple of months, giving a brief look at what Google is bringing to Android, but the company will detail all the new features on stage during the keynote tomorrow.

The developers, on the other hand, could look forward to more info on scoped storage, optimizations for folding smartphones, ART, ANGLE and Neural Networks API.

Google is basically going to slap a massive 10.1-inch screen on its powerful Home Max smart speaker, giving users the ability to visualize the replies to their commands, make Duo video calls and more. It’s another product that Google mistakenly listed on its own website, but the relation to the Nest branding is unclear at the moment.

Google Duplex, the feature where Assistant could book appointments on your behalf can get an upgrade and expand beyond the confines of the United States.

Google Lens is another major avenue for the company to showcase its AI-backed image processing advancements. 9to5Googlerecently foundthat Google Lens could get a new interface with individual filters, so keep an eye out for the same.

Google’s cloud-based game streaming service,Stadia, launched back in March to much fanfare. It enables users to stream AAA game titles in Chrome browser on any mobile device, TV, computer and other devices from Google’s servers.

At the Stadia announcement event, Google disclosed almost everything about their new streaming service but promised to dole out more details in the future, including how the developers can bring their games to the platform and what it would cost to play titles on your browser. We could expect to learn about the same at Google I/O tomorrow.

A lot of you, I bet, would have heard of Android Auto. It’s a feature that comes baked in many four-wheelers and enables you to project a revamped Android interface from your smartphone to a display on the car’s infotainment system. However, Google is looking to change that with Android Automotive OS, which is a full-fledged Android-based OS which will be installed on your car’s infotainment system.

In addition, there are a number of other operating systems, apps, and features that the company could shed light upon at its developer conference. Android Wear recently got a tiles feature, so we expect to learn about more such features that make the platform lot more user-friendly.

SEE ALSO:Pixel 3a: All the Colors and Features are Here