Google I/O is still a week away, but Google’s big announcements will begin today with the “Android Show: I/O Edition,” where it is expected to announce the highlights of the Android ecosystem coming to its annual developer conference.
Where the Android Show will take place and where you can watch it
The Android: II/O Edition will be live streamed on YouTube and the Android website on Tuesday, May 12 at 10AM PT / 1PM ET. Based on last year’s Android Show, we can expect highlights to include a look at the next big Android update as well as announcements about Gemini features on Android and possible teases of other forward-looking projects, such as Aluminum OS and Android XR.
The Android Show live stream is actually less time consuming than the I/O keynote. Last year’s Android Show session lasted just over 20 minutes, while the Google I/O keynote ran for nearly two hours.
The main event during Tuesday’s Android show will be a look at the next big Android update, which could include design changes – at least, that’s what some Android users suspect. In a 15-second teaser video for this year’s Android program, the Android robot momentarily changes from its usual solid green to a shiny, glossy look with splashes of color inside. This has made some users think that Google is giving Android Liquid Glass like iOS 26, but the president of the Android ecosystem Sameer Samat responded to the post about this saying, “It doesn’t happen!”
While the Android robot in the video looks similar to Apple’s Liquid Glass, it also resembles the Gemini app that debuted on macOS, iOS, and Android. Liquid Glass or not, it’s likely that Android 17 will have visual tweaks that Google will go over during Tuesday’s live stream, as well as new features and an update release window.
The Beta and developer previews of Android 17 include several key features to look forward to, such as “app bubbles” that allow users to drag a small windowed “bubble” to move around, like a windowed app on a PC. Android 17 is also expected to include more location controls, including an option to share location with apps and an indicator that shows when a “non-system app” is accessing your location.
The Android: II/O Edition will likely include highlights about the updates coming to Google Gemini, especially features baked directly into Android (or the Gemini Android app).
One of this year’s announcements could be the wider release of the Gemini redesign that users first saw in the chatbot app. It features a new pill-shaped information box with simple buttons. The redesign also adds a subtle splash of color to the background, which looks very similar to the “glass look” of the Android robot in Google’s tea party video for this year’s Android Show.
The Android Show could give us our first official look at Aluminum OS, Google’s PC version of Android. A glimpse of it leaked in January in a bug report that included a screen recording showing a UI that combines features of both Android and ChromeOS.
Even if Google shows off Aluminum OS during a live stream on Tuesday, we’ll still have to wait a while for the proper release. Court documents from Google’s antitrust lawsuit note that while Android ecosystem president Sameer Samat said Google hopes to launch it in 2026, a full launch may not happen until 2028, especially in the “business and education sectors.” It’s likely that Aluminum OS will only be available in beta or for testing this year, with a full launch coming later.
It’s also worth noting that Aluminum OS may not be compatible with all Chromebooks out there. The court documents also state that Aluminum OS is “not expected to be able to support older hardware” due to “heavy software.”
Last year’s Android Show ended with an Android XR tea, where Android ecosystem president Sameer Samat introduced the XREAL smart glasses, ahead of other Android XR announcements at Google I/O 2025. It’s possible that the glasses will also be seen at this year’s Android Show. Although similar to last year, Google can save and save this in the I/O main script.
