Google pins I/O keynote for May 19 and says new chips arriving in H2 2026

Google I/O opens Tuesday with the company’s main keynote scheduled for 10 a.m. Pacific at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, according to Google’s event site. The conference runs May 19-20 and includes a developer keynote at 1:30 p.m. Pacific, plus sessions centered on AI, Android, cloud and XR. The event arrives as Google pushes two tracks at once: consumer-facing AI features that are expected to dominate the keynote, and a longer-term infrastructure pitch around its custom chips. CNBC reported on May 18 that Google plans to begin delivering custom AI chips to outside customers in the second half of 2026, with broader expansion in 2027. ### When and where is Google actually presenting? (io.google) Google’s official I/O schedule lists the main keynote for May 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Pacific, followed by the developer keynote from 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. Pacific. The company said in its February save-the-date post that I/O 2026 would take place May 19-20 at Shoreline Amphitheatre and online. The conference page says the event is open online to everyone, with livestreamed keynotes, sessions and on-demand technical material. (cnbc.com) Google’s schedule also shows programming across AI, Android, Chrome, Cloud, Flutter, Web and XR. ### What is Google expected to emphasize onstage? CNET said ahead of the event that Gemini AI, Android XR and smart glasses were among the biggest things to watch at I/O 2026. TechRadar’s preview similarly pointed to Android XR smart glasses and Gemini Remy as likely focal points. (io.google) Google has already used the run-up to I/O to tee up parts of that story. On May 12, the company published “The Android Show: I/O Edition 2026,” and said Gemini Intelligence would bring more proactive AI features to Android devices. (io.google) In a separate Android Show post, Google said it was working with partners on AI glasses and wired XR glasses, with the first glasses arriving next year. (techradar.com) ### Where do the chip plans fit into an I/O story? CNBC reported that Google disclosed in the first quarter that it would start delivering custom AI chips to outside customers in the second half of 2026. The network said broader expansion is planned for 2027. CNBC also reported in April that Google had introduced separate chips for AI training and inference as part of its latest TPU generation. (blog.google) That gives the company a hardware message to pair with the software and model announcements expected at I/O. ### What has Google already put on the record about AI and XR? Google’s I/O materials say attendees can expect product launches, innovations and insights, while the company’s February announcement said the conference would cover “AI breakthroughs and updates in products across the company, from Gemini to Android and more.” (cnbc.com) Google’s session listings also point to the company’s broader AI stack. (cnbc.com) One featured session, “What’s new in Google AI,” promises updates across multimodal models, media generation, robotics and infrastructure for building AI applications. ### What should readers watch for after the keynote? May 19 is the key date for the first wave of announcements, with the Google keynote in the morning and the developer keynote later in the day. (io.google) The I/O site says additional sessions continue through May 20, and Google’s event pages are set up to host livestreams and follow-on materials as announcements are made. (io.google 1) (io.google 2)