Google IO event rumours - what to expect

Over the 15-17th of May this year, we have Google's I/O event which Google uses to showcase all its latest software, gadgets, updates and projects. Agent Novelle has been searching high and low to find the most likely rumors that’ll be getting shown off at the event.

Last year we had the Nexus 4, 10 and Q announced. Along with showing off the Jelly Bean 4.1 version of Android, there was also an update to Project Glass and general updates to the Play Store experience. This year the rumor mill has been running faster than ever. I’ll run through my favourites so far from across the web!

Project Glass

This is one feature pretty much guaranteed to make an appearance, Google's head-mounted wearable computer system.

I personally cannot wait for Glass to get a public release. I’ll be saving up and getting one as soon as possible! It's been confirmed that Google Glass will be running a form of Android, and hopefully more information on the specific Android version will get a mention at IO this year. It's definitely this Agent's dream to have a completely connected digital experience through futuristic cyborg glasses.

A new flagship phone

I would love to see a new Nexus phone make an appearance, but there are plenty of rumors also flying around about the Motorola X phone which could be demonstrated this year after Google purchased Motorola around this time last year. Hopefully we’ll see something coming from that particular business partnership at the 2013 IO event!

Which ever phone gets a spotlight, we're sure that something new on the Google Mobile front will turn up, whether it’s a Nexus 5 or the X phone. It's likely we’ll be seeing one or the other, but not both. One thing is certain though, Motorola have been very quiet lately - a bit too quiet perhaps? We're hoping for something big here in every sense of the word!

A new Nexus tablet

Personally I’d like to see something like a 7.7 inch Android tablet, and maybe a second tablet with a 10 inch screen. The existing Nexus devices have a nice slim feel to them along side a reasonably high standard of hardware which we would hope to see improved upon in any new releases, and being Nexus branded it means they’ll be first in line to see the latest operating system updates.

Lots of devices offer the same screen size for less width and height so we expect at the very least to see a reduced bezel on the front of the unit and a bump to the tablet's internals.

The main challenge so far for the Nexus devices have been getting enough of them to market quickly to satisfy the demand for them. Fingers crossed these behind the scenes issues have been cleared up by Google and now more 3 month wait times for the latest and greatest kit.

Key Lime Pie

I’d be very surprised if we didn’t see a demo of the next update for Google's Android operating system. There's a lot to be expected from any new Android release, and the rumors flying around so far indicate that it may include features such as:-

• Enhanced social networking
• Updated multi-device support
• A default video chat system
• Updated stock keyboard
• Further updates to the Play Store app
• A unified messaging client which supports Talk, Hangout, Voice, Messenger, Chat for Google Drive and Google+ Chat services

This little lot, coupled with even more optimisation of the companies already excellent operating system, should help to continue its impressive run as one of the top smartphone operating systems out there!

Chrome OS updates

To further improve their Chromebook line of devices, some rumors suggest that Google will be bringing their notebook OS and their Android smartphone/tablet OS much closer together.

I think that would be awesome as apps could be cross-developed, and could even evolve to the point where we see smart phones and tablets possibly running a Chrome operating system.

A surprise project

Last year, Google wowed people across the world with Project Glass, their wearable head-mounted computer/phone hybrid. Maybe it’s just the fanboy in me but I’d love to see some more of what they’ve been cooking up in the Google labs!

For a company that prides themselves on originality and creativity, it would be a big surprise if we dont see something a little special at the conference to keep peoples eyes on the search engine giant for the next 12 months.

Think we've missed something or is there something that you would like to see? Let us know in the comments section below!