Everything we saw at Google I/O: Gemini 3.5, Android XR glasses, Spark, and more

Rene Ramos/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Google I/O, the company's annual developer conference, kicked off today after several weeks of hype. After prefacing the event with the launch of Googlebook , a new line of devices, and several AI-focused Android updates , the company confirmed it's all in on AI.

The opening day of I/O solidified Google's main message lately: Gemini is about to be in everything, and making agentic AI more accessible is the focus for the foreseeable future. Also: 6 Android Auto apps I wish I found sooner, because they make every drive easier Amidst mounting pressure from competitor labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, which have been aggressively rolling out new models and impressive coding features within just weeks of each other, Google's task is to keep up -- and convince users that the AI push is worth it. Not all of today's announcements left that impression. The annual developer conference takes place May 19 and 20 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California. The opening keynote, at which Google leaders kicked off the conference by announcing new software and hardware developments, started at 10 a.m. We were on site covering those announcements live, which you can follow along below. You can also watch a livestream video of the keynote here . By Radhika Rajkumar , Senior Editor / May 19 at 2:45 p.m. ET Hassabis returned to the stage to close the keynote with a plug for Google's progress on AGI, announcing a new suite of Google AI tools designed to advance scientific discovery. Scientists can use these tools to create digital twins of the Earth, for example, simulating real-world scenarios for better climate change and weather predictions. Like other AI labs, Hassabis also mentioned drug discovery as a fundamental frontier of AI for science that can actionably change lives. He said we'll look back on this moment as being in "the foothills of the singularity ." Over the past few years, OpenAI has also invested heavily in scientific applications of its AI.

Key points

• The opening day of I/O solidified Google's main message lately: Gemini is about to be in everything, and making agentic AI more accessible is the focus for the foreseeable future.
• Also: 6 Android Auto apps I wish I found sooner, because they make every drive easier Amidst mounting pressure from competitor labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, which have been aggressively rolling o…
• Not all of today's announcements left that impression.
• The annual developer conference takes place May 19 and 20 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.
• The opening keynote, at which Google leaders kicked off the conference by announcing new software and hardware developments, started at 10 a.m.