Here's when Android 16 will be officially detailed – Google I/O 25 date revealed

Mark your calendars Android fans, because Google has officially set the date for when we’re going to learn a lot more about the company’s plans for the year.

It has confirmed that Google I/O will take place on 20 – 21 May 2025. The developer conference will be held at the company’s Mountain View site in California and while the official site for the event is live, not much has been said about its content yet.

That means there’s an official puzzle for you to try to solve. It’s also a bit of a puzzle as to what we’re going to hear about in the opening keynote, but we’d expect Android 16 to be high on the agenda at the very least.

As you’ll recall, Google has stepped up the pace for Android version releases, so Android 16 is already in development. The aim is to bring the new software to devices earlier in 2025 than usual, with the official release timeline pointing to a final build perhaps around June. We’re currently in Android 16 beta releases.

Before we get to Google I/O, we’re expecting the brand to announce the Pixel 9a, its latest affordable phone, again with a timeline that’s in advance of previous years. That’s also likely to see the Pixel 10 phones previewed earlier – probably at Google I/O itself – before releasing sometime around August 2025.

Google I/O is a developer conference first and foremost. While the opening keynote will highlight changes to Google hardware, Android and other customer-facing services, most of the conference is dedicated to developer sessions. That’s going to cover new software features, such as new elements in things like Android Auto and the wider Googleverse.

High on the agenda is going to be AI. Google has been pushing Gemini as a replacement for Google Assistant across its devices, but it’s currently in a mixed state. For example, “Hey Google” sometimes takes you on a wordy flight-of-fancy that comes out of Gemini, while others it gives you the succinct information that you wanted from the older Google Assistant.

We’re likely to hear about how the language models behind Gemini are getting more sophisticated and the opportunities that that’s going to bring. There’s no shortage of work to be done either, with the reception of AI assistants (whether that’s from Apple, Google, Samsung or others) being generally muted.

I/O gives Google the stage to outline its plans, tease new hardware and tantalise with new features, so get 20 May in your calendar.