Google I/O 2023 is scheduled to be held on the 10th of May, 2023 with a lot of expectations and rumors surrounding it including the partly confirmed launch of Pixel Fold!

Google I/O 2023 will take place on Wednesday, May 10. That’s in line with when Google normally holds its developers conference — last year’s edition took place on May 11 and May 12, for example.

Google Keynote gets started at 10am PT. There will be an in-person event at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif., a venue that’s just down the street from Google headquarters. Most people will attend virtually, though since Google streams its developer conference.

While the Google I/O 2023 agenda includes most all the products that Google develops, supports or sponsors, the most demanded ones would surely be Google Bard, Android 14 and the launch of Pixel Fold.

Google Bard

We’re expecting more AI announcements from Google with a formal introduction to Bard – it’s CharGPT rival. Artificial intelligence has been a hot tech topic in 2023, particularly, generative AI, which can generate new data like text, art, and music. Google isn’t sitting idly by as other companies grab all the headlines and buzz. Last month, Google launched Bard, its ChatGPT and Bing chat rival that can generate structured text responses to queries. And at I/O, Google will surely have more to unveil when it comes to Bard and generative AI as a whole.

Android 14

Android 14 will focus on refinements and improved security. Based on the information provided in the developer previews and two Beta releases, Android 14 will offer optimized resource management, improved support for tablets and foldable devices and more accessibility features. We can also expect more personalization options that build on the Material You design.

Pixel Fold

Google’s first foray into the world of foldable phones is set to finally see its big moment with the announcement of the Pixel Fold. It could pack tech like a 7.69-inch inner display, a 5.79-inch outer display, and the Tensor G2 chipset under the hood.

And a lot more to expect from Google I/O 2023

We have been tracking the development and release of Android 14 since its first developer preview. Today, the second Developer Preview of Android 14 gets released, building on the work of the first developer preview of Android 14 from last month with additional enhancements to privacy, security, performance, developer productivity, and user customization while continuing to refine the large-screen device experience on tablets, foldables, and more.

Android 14 – Upside Down Cake (unofficially named as Google has now moved away from naming Android based on confectionaries) is the next major release of Android. Android delivers enhancements and new features year-round and the reviews and feedback shared as part of the developer previews and Quarterly Platform Relase (QPR) Beta Programs get deliberated upon and integrated into the upcoming releases.

Support for all form factors

The biggest part of Android 14 is going to remain support for tablets and foldable form factors. With smartphone manufacturers going all in to see foldables as the next novel offering in the market, Android having built in support for the same only makes most sense.

Privacy and security

Privacy and security have always been a core part of Android’s mission. The new features included as part of Android 14 are Selected photos access, Credential manager and Safer implicit intents

Improved App Store Experiences

Android 14 introduces several new PackageInstaller APIs which allow app stores to improve their user experience, including the requestUserPreapproval() method that allows the download of APKs to be deferred until after the installation has been approved, the setRequestUpdateOwnership() method that allows an installer to indicate that it is responsible for future updates to an app it is installing, and the setDontKillApp() method that can seamlessly install optional features of an app through split APKs while the app is in use.

Personalization

Regional preferences enable users to personalize temperature units, the first day of the week, and numbering systems. A European living in the United States might prefer temperature units to be in Celsius rather than Fahrenheit and for apps to treat Monday as the beginning of the week instead of the US default of Sunday.

App compatibility

As with every major OS release, there would be some new features while there would also be some features/APIs that get deprecated. In Android 14 you now have a choice to opt-in to give you more time to make any necessary app changes.

The final developer preview or the most stable release for developers would now be expected sometime in June 2023.

Google has just released the first developer preview of Android 14, named the Upside Down Cake!

As we all know, Google has long discontinued the naming of Android versions (since Android 10). However, they do still continue to name them atleast for their internal use with the names of deserts, and thus comes the new desert – Upside Down Cake – a cake that is baked “upside-down” in a single pan, usually a skillet, with its toppings at the bottom of the pan!

As much as we would all be hoping to see as big a set of feature changes as an upside-down cake, atleast for the developers, luckily that is not the case!

It wasn’t too long ago that Android 13 started rolling out on the first set of Android devices, August 2022 to be precise. Today, Google has released the first developer preview of Android 14.

Android continues to deliver enhancements and new features year-round, and your Android 14 developer preview and Quarterly Platform Release (QPR) beta program feedback plays a key role in helping Android continuously improve. The Android 14 developer site has lots more information about the preview, including downloads for Pixel and the release timeline. We’re looking forward to hearing what you think, and thank you in advance for your continued help in making Android a platform that works for everyone.

Some of the prime features that Android 14 would be focusing on would be to continue to support tablets and foldable form factors, to help you build apps that adapt to different screen sizes and the further improvements in battery life.

As we install Android 14 on one of our own devices, we’ll get some more updates soon, along with a lots of screenshots! Stay tuned!

Over the last few days, ever since Elon Musks announement that Starlink V2 will get satellite communication to smartphone devices and that of a T-Mobile would be aiming to bring direct satellite connectivity to smartphones, there has been a lot of movement in this space with many more announcements in the industry.

Following the hype, today Google’s Senior VP of Platforms & Ecosystems, Hiroshi Lockheimer has stated that they’ll soon (as soon as Android 14) be supporting their partners in launching the satellite communication on Android devices by adding support for Android OS to connect to satellites.

Satellite connectivity on phones is primarily aimed at emergency situations and getting rid of cellular dead-zones. T-Mobile plans to support (text) messaging, MMS, and even “select messaging apps.” The carrier said it would need to cooperate with partners to “separate messaging traffic from all other data traffic.” It hasn’t started this work yet, and will do so over the coming months. In the long-term, it will see about supporting data and voice. Late 2023 is being targeted for initial beta availability of this service.