Google I/O 2016: Day One Wrap-Up

The first day of Google I/O 2016 is officially over but that doesn’t mean there is an end to the things that are surfacing about what was shown off today, and the conference isn’t over of course as it will continue into the coming days. As for today, day one is always the most exciting as it contains the keynote speech, which is also the very first thing that happens at every Google I/O conference once it begins. This is where Google announces all of the new things revolving around Android as well as Chrome, and more recently, Android Wear, and the smart home.

It was expected that Google may show off new Nexus devices at this year’s event, and although they did not make an appearance, there were other things to excite the mind. Android N was launched in the form of its third developer preview today which officially places it in a beta quality status according to Google, and there was more to talk about with Android Auto too. Google announced two new applications today that will be launching in the near future, a new messaging app called Allo, and a new video calling app called Duo, both of which you can currently pre-register for right this very moment.

While all of this is surely exciting, for many, what may have stolen the show is Google’s rumored smart speaker, codenamed Chirp, and officially announced as Google Home today. This will put Google in the running for a product that is in the exact same space as Amazon’s wildly popular Echo smart speaker, and although the Echo technically has more functionality right now, Google Home promises to be a little better at a few things thanks to the power of the Google Assistant, which itself was another thing Google announced today, and as one would have it, was the first big thing they talked about this morning. There were many other things that surfaced throughout the day, and just in case you missed any of it, we’ve rounded everything up for you below so you can navigate to things more easily.

Google I/O & Keynote Speech

Google Assistant