What to expect from Google I/O 2019

Enlarge / Shoreline Amphitheatre, as seen at Google I/O 2017. (credit: Ron Amadeo)

Google I/O kicks off May 7 in Mountain View, California, where Google will be hosting a keynote and a million other sessions at the Shoreline Amphitheater. The keynote starts at 10am PT, and we’ll be there to cover everything announced at the show. But before we hop on a plane and fly down to Google HQ, we’ve prepared a likely list of things we anticipate Google will announce. If you want to know where the larger Google-verse is about to go, here are the rumors, expected updates on previously announced things, and notable schedule tidbits to keep an eye on at I/O 2019.

Table of Contents

• The mid-range Pixel
• Can the Pixel 3a survive in the cutthroat value market?
• Seriously, “Google Nest” products?
• Android Q Beta 3
• Walking back scoped storage
• Changes to gesture navigation
• Smart notification actions
• The Privacy Dashboard
• APEX—Updating system-level components through the Play Store
• APEX manager
• Live boot, for Android?
• Many compatible Beta 3 devices
• Android for feature phones?
• Updates on Stadia and Android Automotive
• See you May 7!

The mid-range Pixel

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  Google’s teaser #1.

When it comes to entry-level smartphone pricing, Google gets the title of “Most Expensive Smartphone Lineup on Earth.” Google wants to be a smartphone manufacturer, but its cheapest phone, the Pixel 3, starts at $800. Most other manufacturers have a range of smartphones starting as low as $100 and going up from there. You can even enter the iOS ecosystem for just $449, where Apple will still sell you a new iPhone 7.

At Google I/O 2019, Google will take a baby step toward offering a real smartphone lineup by launching something other than a premium smartphone: a mid-range Pixel is coming, and supposedly there will be two devices, called the “Pixel 3a” and “Pixel 3a XL,” with identical designs. Hardware has been absent from Google I/O for several years, but these devices are pretty much a lock to debut at Google I/O—Google has already sent out a teaser for May 7.