It's a busy time for the tech industry. Companies are holding their annual events, setting up upcoming software releases, and previewing what’s coming with new devices set to launch in the fall.

Google will hold its annual Google I/O event on Tuesday, the same time as Microsoft Build 2025 and the Asian tech expo Computex. It will also happen weeks before Apple's big event, the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9.

Google I/O 2025 is a big event for the company. It's in the middle of all the tech trends right now. It's developing new devices to keep up with Apple, pushing its AI to stay right on top of Microsoft, and still offering a variety of services, whether it be Google Cloud, Chrome, or even YouTube, that are either the top dog in their fields or put the company right up there.

How to watch Google I/O 2025?

Google I/O takes place on Tuesday, May 20, with the keynote speech starting at 1 p.m. Eastern. The speech will be streamed on Google's Developers YouTube channel.

Here's what we're expecting to see during the keynote speech.

Google Smart Glasses

On May 13, Google's Android Show focused on the upcoming changes for Android 16, which should be released sometime in June. Sameer Samat, president of Android Ecosystem, hosted the show. At the end of the event, he put on sunglasses, teasing that there would be some news coming at Google I/O.

Smart glasses are the current hot tech trend, with Meta's Ray-Ban glasses being the current market leader. Apple is reportedly working on its version, and it makes sense for Google to make its own.

Google was the first to release smart glasses when it released Google Glass in 2013. However, the price and lack of functionality made them unattractive at the time.

It's a different story in 2025, with technology getting smaller and cheaper, making smart glasses easier to produce while offering many possibilities. Powering these glasses will be Android XR, an operating system for headsets and glasses. Expect a chunk of the show to be dedicated to these new glasses.

Gemini

Even though Google smart glasses might be the show's breakout star, the main character will be Gemini.

Google released its Gemini 2.5 model in March and expects it to be in everything the company produces, whether hardware, software, or services.

Wear OS

The next version of Wear OS is coming. Wear OS 6 was shown during the Android Show, and as expected, it will use Gemini, although there is more.

The wearable OS will have a new look for Pixel Watch and show more data at a quick glance. Expect to see even more features for Wear OS during Google I/O.

Android 16

Even though the Android Show covered Android 16, there are likely some more features to discuss. What those features could be remains unclear, but Google wouldn't have an I/O show without discussing the next Android release.

Google TV

Google TV, the company's operating system for smart TVs, is currently using Android 14, and it's time for an upgrade. Google TV usually updates to the new version of Android every two years, which means it should be jumping to Android 16.

If it does, expect to see more features for smart TVs, and very likely, the incorporation of Gemini into Google TV.

Pinterest Alternative?

A new Pinterest-like social media platform from Google could be an interesting surprise. The Information reported that Google is looking to release an app that enables users to put together their pictures into shared collections.

It's hard to tell what Google is cooking with this platform, but that's why there are shows like Google I/O to showcase it.

Google Chrome

While Google is still dealing with the legal matters involving Chrome and the monopoly the company has that could require it to tell the internet browser, it might as well reveal some new features for it. If there are new features for the browser, like everything else in the show, expect it to incorporate Gemini.

More from Laptop Mag

• "See you on May 20": Is this Google I/O promo a sneak peek at Android smart glasses?
• Why I ditched Google Chrome for Microsoft Edge (and haven't looked back)
• Could AI replace Google in Safari? Apple executive suggests it’s possible.

Android may be the world’s most popular operating system and have the highest smartphone market share, but it’s hardly been a guarantee for sustained success. In addition to many one-miss blunders like phones from Essential, Red, and the new Palm (so far), once high-flying HTC released its most recent flagship in 2018. And LG, which had been making phones since the pre-smartphone era, left it in 2021. Last year, another feature phone survivor focusing on rugged smartphones, Kyocera, left the market. And more recently, Bullitt Group, which made rugged smartphones under the Motorola and Caterpillar brands, packed it in.

Digging through the Fossil record

But things have been even tougher beyond smartphones. Recent news that Fossil Group will leave the Wear OS market represents a major loss for Android-based smartwatches. The company has been exploring high-tech timepieces since the late 1990s, when it licensed Palm OS for the WristPDA. And in the mid-2000s, it released a few products under the Abacus brand that used Microsoft’s FM-based SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology), branded as MSN Direct, that wirelessly received updates about news, stocks, and other tidbits throughout the day. Since it signed on to offer Wear OS watches, the company’s hundreds of retail stores provided a way for consumers to get an in-person look at them. Beyond products bearing its Fossil and Skagen brands, the company also produced watches for a host of diverse fashion and sportswear brands, including Diesel, Puma, Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Kate Spade, and Armani Exchange.

Fossil’s departure announcement had nothing to say about its hybrid smartwatches that don’t use Wear OS, so it may not be abandoning smartwatches entirely. That would keep it in a segment that its leading competitor, Swatch Group, has resolutely avoided since the category’s inception. As for the Wear OS exit, though, a leading theory of why Fossil called it quits traces back to Google’s 2021 team-up with Samsung for Wear OS 3, an inducement to have the leading Android device maker drop Tizen as its smartwatch OS.

Can Android find a way to succeed beyond the smartphone?

The struggles of Wear OS are consistent with those of other Android efforts to expand beyond the smartphone. In tablets, the most closely related device, Lenovo and Samsung are the only PC companies with a portfolio of Google-enabled Android tablets as others that had dabbled in the market years ago shifted to Chromebooks. However, other brands, like TCL, Xiaomi, and OnePlus still have a toe in the water. There’s been at least some good news for Google TV. After years of being primarily used in Sony televisions and the Nvidia Shield TV devices, the company has won the support of TCL from Roku.

And while not every loss for Android is a win for Apple, Android’s bumpy road beyond the smartphone stands in contrast to the hits Apple has had with the iPad and Apple Watch, which dominate their categories. While the popularity of smartwatches is growing, the Apple Watch’s market dominance over Wear OS is reminiscent of how the iPod went out on top of the portable music category. By the time the last iPods not based on iOS hit the market, competitors such as Creative, RCA, iRiver and Microsoft had all fled. (That said, Western Digital still sells a few variants of the basic Sandisk Sansa Clip music player and Sony has a Walkman that extends a bit more upmarket at $3,699.) 

With Fossil Group’s exit, the future of Wear OS largely falls on the shoulders of three companies: Google, Samsung, and Qualcomm. That is the same trio that stood together a year ago to share that it was collaborating on a next-generation XR device following the announcement of the Apple Vision Pro. Now that that Apple device is here, Android will soon face the next, and most important in the long term, test of what it can deliver beyond the smartphone.

We are expecting the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 to arrive alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 later this year, but unlike those devices, we haven't heard too much about the Galaxy Watch up until now.

A new leak from MySmartPrice and OnLeaks gives us our potential first look at the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic with the beloved rotating bezel that fans missed on the Galaxy Watch 5 series last year (via The Verge).

The design looks like a blend of the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, retaining something of the smoother lines of the 5 Pro, while adding the rotating bezel and slightly more raised edges of the Watch 4 Classic. These renders show a magnetic loop strap, but as with previous generations, there should be a variety of easily swappable bands.

What else do we know about the Galaxy Watch 6?

While the current leak was purely about the design with these high-res renders, previous leaks from SamMobile offered some insights into the specs for Samsung's next-gen wearables.

The Galaxy Watch 6 models should feature an Exynos W980 chipset, roughly 10% faster than the Exynos W920 used in the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 4. Even more notably this may shrink to the 5nm process, which should result in improved battery life. Fingers crossed, the Galaxy Watch 5 is still a daily charge device for most users.

The Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic should also be getting larger higher-resolution displays. The 40mm Galaxy Watch 6 may move to a 1.31-inch display with a resolution of 432 x 432 pixels, up from 1.2 inches and 396 x 396 pixels on the Galaxy Watch 5. The 44mm version by comparison should jump to a 1.47-inch display at 480 x 480 pixels, coming from a 1.4-inch display at 450 x 450 pixels.

Don't look for any major changes to the health and fitness tracking sensors, blood glucose remains years away according to most leaks. That means we should once again see the accelerometer, barometer blood pressure, body composition analysis, ECG, heart rate, and Sp02 monitoring. Durability should be comparable with MIL-STD-810G certification and IP68 dust and water resistance. 

The Pixel Watch release date is looming closer, with the wearable set to arrive alongside the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro at Google's October event. We already know how it will look, but its price and color options are still a mystery — until now.

A retailer source speaking to 9to5Google leaked a convincing price tag and color options for the new Pixel Watch, along with the colors that both the LTE and Wi-Fi models will come in. Earlier this year, the site claimed the LTE model will cost $399 in the US, which is the same as the base Apple Watch 8. Now, the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth model is tipped to come in at $349.99. 

This may be cheaper than the Apple Watch lineup (except for the $249 Apple Watch SE), but it's still a considerably pricey smartwatch. For example, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 start at $279, and even the LTE model is more affordable at $329. What's more, the Fitbit Sense, which Google is in collaboration with for the Pixel Watch's fitness ad health tracking, is $299.

While no numbers were shown, the report also indicates that European pricing won't be cheaper than the US, meaning the Pixel Watch could be the same price or more expensive around the globe.

Google's first attempt at a smartwatch will be interesting, especially with the "reimagined" Wear OS experience it will come with. The tech giant will be pushing its own Apple-like ecosystem as well, with the Pixel Watch being able to seamlessly connect to the Pixel Buds Pro and Pixel phones. Will it have the hardware and software to match the price? Only time will tell. 

Pixel Watch color options

The retailer source also showed the color options that are expected to be available for the Pixel Watch. Much like the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro's color options, there will only be three colors available for the Wi-Fi and LTE model.

According to the report, we can expect the Wi-Fi model to come in a Black case and Obsidian band, a Silver case with a Chalk band, and a Gold case with a Hazel band. As for the LTE model, expect the same Black and Gold options, except with a slightly different Silver case with a Charcoal band. Apparently, the Chalk band will be more of an off-white color, while Charcoal will be dark gray. 

We could see more options once the Pixel Watch is officially unveiled, but for now the wearable will come in Black, Silver, and Gold cases. We suspect the smartwatch's bands or straps will be interchangeable for users to personalize their look, as Google is rumored to be working on a collection of different Pixel Watch bands.

As Google's first smartwatch, we're excited to see what the Pixel Watch has in store. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, the company's first major revamp with its own Tensor chip, has been a success, so fingers crossed the wearable follows suit (without any major software hiccups).

The Pixel Watch and Pixel 7 will arrive on October 6 at the Made by Google event, and we already have high hopes for the latter. This writer even believes the Pixel 7 could be worth waiting for over the iPhone 14.

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Watch 5 (and its rugged sibling the Watch 5 Pro) at Unpacked 2022, and after hearing about all of the tepid, ho-hum new features coming to the next-gen smartwatches (yes, that was a little shade), a Google rep hopped on to discuss something more exciting: the cool enhancements headed to Wear OS.

Your Galaxy Watch lets you do plethora of cool stuff beyond health-focused features. Your smartwatch can double as a remote, allowing you to control your TV from your wrist. You can play games on it (e.g., Wordsearch Wear). Heck, you can even use your Galaxy Watch as a shutter button while capturing photos with your phone. Pretty sick, right? But Google is kicking it up a notch this year.

New features coming to Wear OS

Google announced that Galaxy Watch users will have the option to add SoundCloud and Deezer to their Wear OS app library, unlocking new listening experiences for smartwatch owners.

The search-engine giant also boasted about its recent Google Assistant integration with the Galaxy Watch series. You'll have the opportunity to invoke Google to play your favorite Spotify playlists directly on your watch. And frequent travelers will love this one: later this year, you can solely use your watch for Google Maps navigation. This way, you can pocket your phone and not stick out like a sore thumb. Passersby will simply assume you're checking the time.

On top of that, Google is making it easier for Galaxy Watch users to discover their next favorite apps. The search-engine giant is rolling out curated collections of niche apps, so you can peruse through libraries that matter the most to you.

Finally, Google says that it will improve the home page, which will bring personalized Google Play recommendations to users based on their activity. Save for the recently introduced Google Assistant integration, Google said that the aforementioned features will arrive "later this year" (it did not give a specific date).

The updates to the Galaxy Watch 5 are a little too lukewarm for my tastes, so I'll be sticking with my Galaxy Watch 4 and enjoy the new perks Wear OS has to offer.