The Android Show I/O Edition: All the biggest announcements

Google I/O 2026 takes place on May 19, but today, Google hosted a livestream warm-up event called The Android Show: I/O Edition. As you might have guessed, it focuses mostly on Android news.

In the past, Google I/O focused on new Android development. Now, Google removes that stuff a week early, clearing the way for Gemini and artificial intelligence to take center stage at I/O.

Everything that was shared at the Android show was fairly small and incremental, but between a new Google laptop brand and some useful-sounding Gemini features, there’s some meat to chew on here. So, let’s take a look at everything we learned at the Android Show.

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Android Show: The biggest announcements of the I/O edition

Here’s what stood out at the Android Show.

Meet Googlebook

Of course, the biggest announcement of the show was the Googlebook, a new line of laptops from Google and its hardware partners including Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Acer. We only got a brief glimpse of the hardware, and Google opted not to share a release window or price point at the Android Show. Essentially, the Googlebook appears to be a Chromebook for the Gemini generation.

Google’s big innovation with the Googlebook is the Magic Pointer, a new AI-powered mouse cursor. If you hover over something with the magic pointer on Googlebook, it will suggest AI actions relevant to what you’re pointing at. One example given by Google was the ability to hover over a date in an email and set up a meeting. You know, the things you normally do with AI, but now it’s built into your mouse cursor.

Another nice feature is the ability to use apps installed on your Android phone right from Googlebook. According to Google, this won’t require any additional downloads or poor touchscreen controls, like Android apps on Chromebooks sometimes have in the past. This is good.

Design-wise, the back cover of the Googlebook will feature a thin “globar” that will glow with the colors of the Google logo.

There are some improvements in Android Auto

If you have a modern car that’s Android Auto-compatible, Google has made some great improvements to the experience for you. For starters, the Material 3 expressive design language from your Pixel phone can now be carried over to Android Auto, bringing your personalized color scheme and font choices if you want. Users can also set custom widgets on the display to check the weather or open the garage door.

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Additionally, Google has updated Google Maps within Android Auto to give you a more three-dimensional view of the area around you. It can also tell which lane you’re in, which can be useful. Google has also added full HD, 60 frames per second video support via YouTube in supported vehicles. Like other cars with video functionality, it only works when parked. Videos will automatically convert to audio-only once the car is set to drive.

Finally, Google has brought some useful relevant Gemini features to Android Auto. You can use voice commands to order food through DoorDash, use the Magic Cue feature from recent Pixel phones to get relevant information when someone asks you a question via text message, and much more.

Gemini Intelligence comes to Android

Throughout the rest of 2026, Google will introduce some new “Gemini Intelligence” features to the “latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel” devices coming this summer. Other devices like cars, watches, laptops, and smart glasses will also get these features as the year goes on.

Gemini Intelligence features significantly streamline the things you could already do with AI, giving AI even more power to automate multi-step tasks and understand context. For example, you can use Gemini intelligence to automatically find a good spot at an upcoming spin class or find a tour on Expedia based on a photo of a travel brochure shown to the AI ​​agent.

Other nuggets include Rambler, a new speech-to-text tool that removes filler words like “um” and “like” from your prompt. Google says that it can also do the work of changing the language in the middle of the sentence. This should allow users to have more conversations when talking to Gemini. Another new feature is the ability for Gemini to automatically fill out long forms for the user on mobile.

Last but not least, the addition to Gemini Intelligence is the ability to create custom widgets using Create My Widget. Google claims you can use natural language voice prompts to have Gemini create a custom on-screen widget with the information you want. It will be interesting to test this when new Pixel devices arrive this summer.

Pause Point gives you time to reflect

One small but potentially meaningful new Android feature is pause points. How it works is that you mark apps that you use a lot as distracting, and when you try to open them, Pause Point will pause you for 10 seconds. During that time, you can reconsider opening the app, and Pause Point will also suggest other, more productive apps you can open. This should be on automatically for all social media apps.

New tools for creators

Later this year, Pixel devices will get a new manufacturer-focused feature called Screen Reaction. it records your face And What’s on your screen, so you can react to what you’re seeing without doing any video editing. Instagram is also adding special features for new Android devices. You can capture and playback content in Ultra HDR, and videos now also have built-in stabilization tools.

The Instagram Edits app for Android is also getting a boost. You can use AI to automatically enhance content and use noise separation tools to remove any unwanted background noise from your videos. Last but not least for creators, Adobe Premiere is coming to Android later this year, complete with exclusive templates for YouTube Shorts.

Chrome for Android gets a boost

Finally, Google is adding some more Gemini support to the Chrome app for Android mobile devices. It includes Nano Banana support built right into the browser for image creation, so if you’re studying for an exam and want to turn the page you’re reading into a more attractive infographic, you can do that, at least in theory.

Google says you can use SpotHero to automatically find parking spots based on purchased show tickets, and use the Gemini icon in the upper right corner of the webpage to summarize the page.

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Update: May. 12, 2026, 2:26 pm EDT This article has been updated with additional news from the Android Show event.