Google I/O 2023 live blog: Pixel Fold, 7a, Tablet, Bard, Android 14 and more

Do we know everything about Google I/O? Not even close (we hope). After all, what’s the fun of ruining all the surprises early? We know about the new phones and the Pixel Tablet, but what about the Pixel Watch 2? We haven’t heard much, so we’re guessing there will be a mention from the stage, but nothing to see on hand. We’d love to be wrong!

There are also plenty of software apps and features that Google could update, outside its most popular Android 14 and Bard developments. There could be additions to Google Maps, Android Auto, YouTube and content creation, or any number of Google channels. Google’s parent Alphabet has its fingers in so many pies, you never know what will stick. 

We’ll have hands-on with the new products coming up soon, as soon as Google is done with its spiel. In the meantime, our E-i-C Lance Ulanoff is living it up in cloudy California. Sorry about the weather, Lance.

Get excited, folks! We’re now only two hours away from the start of Google I/O 2023. As a reminder, proceedings kick off at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST (or at 3am AEST on Thursday, for those in Australia), and you’ll be able to watch along via the video link embedded at the top of this page. 

TechRadar’s US Editor in Chief, Lance Ulanoff, is on the ground in California alongside Computing Reviews editor Michelle Rae Uy, and we’ve got teams on both sides of the Atlantic ready to bring you the latest from Google’s annual product showcase.

Much has been made of the phone-related announcements expected to come from this year’s Google I/O showcase, but things have been far quieter on the audio front. If Becky Scarrott, TechRadar’s Senior Audio Staff Writer, had her way, though, Google would unveil the Google Nest Audio Gen 2 at Google I/O 2023:

“The headline product reveal at I/O 2023 – in my dreams. I know I’m in the minority here (as woman in tech journalism, for starters) but I liked the inaugural September 2020 Nest Audio, a friendly cuboid that aimed to hold sound quality in even higher esteem than voice smarts. A noble aim; one I also aspire to. 

It didn’t work out like that of course. A quick glance at our Google Nest Audio review reveals a speaker that excelled in smarts but missed the mark in terms of detail through the mids and trebles, also sounding harsh at higher volumes. 

But come on Google, you’re giving up after one redesign? Surely not. That pebble-colored, fabric-swathed second-gen. speaker had promise! And not once was it ever mistaken for an air freshener in my home (yes Google Home, I’m looking at you) so look how far you came already! I say give it another shot – maybe look at the driver array and integration. You got this.”

The Google Pixel 7a is expected to replace its predecessor, the Google Pixel 6a, as one of the best cheap phones to buy in 2023 – but the presumed affordability of Google’s next mid-ranger doesn’t mean it’ll skimp on features. 

We trawled through the phone’s various leaked specs to examine the Google Pixel 7a vs iPhone 14, and the former handset could well challenge Apple’s latest vanilla iPhone in several important areas. 

For instance, while the Google Pixel 7a looks likely to boast a similar 6.1-inch OLED display to the iPhone 14, rumors suggest it’ll actually sport a superior battery (4,410mAh vs 3,279mAh) and main camera (64MP vs 12MP). Your move, Apple.  

Google’s AI-powered chatbot, Bard, had this to say when TechRadar’s Computing Reviews editor, Michelle Rae Uy, asked what we what we should expect to see at this year’s Google I/O showcase: 

“Here are some of the things you can expect to see at Google I/O 2023:

• New versions of Android, Chrome, and other Google products
• New hardware products, such as the Pixel Fold
• Updates to Google’s cloud computing services
• Announcements about Google’s AI and machine learning efforts
• Opportunities to learn from Google engineers and developers”

And for the updates expected to come to Chrome, specifically, Bard said… 

• “First, we can expect to see further improvements to Chrome’s performance and security. Chrome is already one of the fastest and most secure browsers available, but Google is always working to make it even better.
• Second, we can expect to see new features that make Chrome more user-friendly. For example, Google may announce a new feature that makes it easier to find and install extensions.
• Third, we can expect to see new features that make Chrome more accessible to people with disabilities. For example, Google may announce a new feature that makes it easier to use Chrome with a screen reader.
• Finally, we can expect to see new features that make Chrome more integrated with other Google products. For example, Google may announce a new feature that makes it easier to share links between Chrome and Gmail.”

And now let’s touch on the power behind these devices – Android 14. Though none of them will run Android 14 at launch, all three new devices will be eligible for a day one update, as will current Pixels going all the way back to the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5. 

Google typically doesn’t let us know the big Android changes till IO, though developer and public beta releases have already given us a slight peek at what to expect. Other than improvements for tablets and foldables, Google says that multi-device experiences are going to be a big part of Android 14. 

Are we going to see Apple-style cross-device features make their way to Android at long last? With Nearby Share coming to Windows and ChromeOS, Google’s already built some semblance of Apple-like integration. Now, with a near complete hardware slate (RIP Pixelbook), the company has a chance of making it work.

Let’s not forget the Pixel Tablet. Google’s third Pixel tablet had already been announced at last year’s Google IO, and now it’s likely to be made available for pre-order shortly after this event if our instincts are right. 

Google is no stranger to tablets; the Pixel C preceded Pixel phones and the Pixel Slate was a well-built one. Google’s tablet ambitions were neutered by poor software in both instances, and that’s an area where the Pixel Tablet will hopefully do better.

The company has promised us a treat with Material You’s customization, Android 13, and the new Tensor G2 processor to keep it all flying. 

Going back to Android 13, Google has done a lot of work to make its Android look good on large screens. Areas like the home screen, the lock screen, and the notification center now work better on tablets. Beyond that surface level, the company has even updated several of its apps (opens in new tab) from Google Photos to Google TV to take advantage of the large-screen canvas you’ll be getting. With Android 14, Google plans to improve that, though how exactly, we’ll have to wait to find out. 

Another one of the gadgets we expect to see at Google I/O is the Google Pixel 7a, the next entry in Google’s more budget-friendly line of smartphones. According to leakers who have got their hands on the device early it’ll have a 6.1-inch OLED display, a 64MP main camera, and is powered by Google’s Tensor G2 chip.

If that sounds pretty exciting to you and you can’t wait to pick up Google’s next smartphone for yourself then you might be in luck. Several people are seemingly selling the Pixel 7a early on the US Marketplace platform Swappa (opens in new tab), though you might want to wait.

That’s because the cheapest listing price for the Google Pixel 7a at the time of writing is $460, slightly more expensive than the $449 we expect the device to sell for in the US. In the UK and Australia, we expect the handset to cost £399 / AU$749 respectively, but we’ll have to wait and see what Google announces at I/O later today.

As well as all the exciting Pixel Fold and Pixelbook goodies being unveiled during I/O, don’t forget about the next iteration of Google’s Pixel Watch. 

The rumor mill has been quiet on this for a long time. Since the first Google Pixel Watch launched last year, weren’t sure if a Pixel Watch 2 announcement was coming during Google I/O, or even if one would arrive at all this year. Would the Pixel Watch follow in the Apple Watch’s footsteps with an annual release, or would it share more than software with Fitbit and bring out new models only every few years?

Now I/O is here, it’s looking likely the Pixel Watch 2 will be revealed during the keynote. Leaker Evan Blass tweeted the name “Pixel Watch 2” recently, hinting that at least an announcement, if not a full demonstration, is imminent. Last year, Google teased the Pixel Watch months before its full October release date, and we’re betting the sequel will follow a similar pattern. 

Ever wondered what the ‘I/O’ bit in ‘Google I/O’ stands for? Google has helpfully answered that very question this morning, posting a blog entry (opens in new tab) where it explains how the event got its name.

The post is a long and interesting dive into the history of Google I/O, which celebrates its 15th birthday this year. I recommend reading the whole thing if you have an interest in all things Google, but the short answer is that I/O is actually 1/0: the characters are supposed to be the first two digits in a googol, the number that gave the company its name. So there you go!

Sticking with Google’s first foldable phone, a last-minute Google Pixel Fold teaser video has shown it off in full. 

The video – which we’ve included above, assuming Google hasn’t removed it yet – shows the phone being used by various NBA stars. It’s not clear whether Google meant to share it ahead of I/O, but it’s out in the wild now anyway!

Among the reasons to be cheerful about the Pixel Fold are the fact that it’s rumored to have a bigger battery than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. We don’t yet know exactly how big it will be, of course, but it’s been tipped to have a capacity of between 4,500mAh and 5,000mAh. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 (pictured), in contrast, has only a 4,400mAh cell.

A bigger battery doesn’t always equal better battery life – the size of the screen, efficiency of the processor and lots of other factors can influence that – but it’s a good start. And given that Google is apparently pitching the Fold as having “Beyond 24-hour battery life”, we’re optimistic about this one.

So, what’s the device that we’re most excited about (hopefully) getting a big reveal later today? Personally, it would be the Google Pixel Fold. We know this will definitely feature at I/O 2023, after Google itself teased the Fold on Star Wars Day. And we also think we know quite a bit about the device after months of rumors and leaks.

The biggest of these came from Jon Prosser of FrontPageTech a few weeks ago. He released a seven-minute video teasing full details about the Pixel Fold, and if the details he shared are accurate then there’s reason to be very excited indeed.

While we wait for the festivities to begin, we can satisfy ourselves with this tasty Google I/O 2023 primer. It covers all the big announcements we’re expecting, including the Pixel Fold, Pixel Tablet, and what could be a very popular Pixel 7a. It’s easily the most anticipated mid-range Android phone of the season.

While the Bard updates and Pixel Watch 2 might be speculative, Android 14 is a lock as one of the stars of the development show. We do wonder, though, if Google can do enough to make Android cool again.

Good morning, and welcome to our Google I/O 2023 live blog. Marc McLaren here in the UK to get this show on the road. The action gets under way at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST today, which means we have plenty of time to discuss everything that we expect to see later today.

Keep this page bookmarked for all the last-minute rumors and news ahead of the keynote, then stick with us once the event gets going for all the big reveals as they happen.