Fri, May 22, 2026

Technology

GOOGLE I/O 2026: EVERYTHING ANNOUNCED, EXPLAINED

Sarah J6 min read

GEMINI 3.5 FLASH

Google's newest and fastest AI model. Despite being in the "Flash" (cheaper/faster) tier, it outperforms Gemini 3.1 Pro on coding and agentic benchmarks. That's a meaningful inversion: the cheaper model is now beating the premium one on the tasks developers actually use AI for.

Runs behind most of Google's new products announced at I/O. Also available directly to developers building their own apps and tools. Who gets it: Everyone. Available now for Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers. Developer pricing: $1.50 per million input tokens, $9.00 per million output tokens, roughly 40% cheaper than Gemini 3.1 Pro. Consumer pricing: Included in all paid plans from $7.99/month.

GEMINI 3.5 PRO

The full-power version of the 3.5 model family, above Flash in capability.

Heavy reasoning, research, complex multi-step tasks where you need the strongest model, not the fastest. Who gets it: Not yet available. Sundar Pichai said it would arrive next month. Pricing: Not yet disclosed.

GEMINI OMNI FLASH

A multimodal model that works across text, images, video, audio, and other input types in one unified system. You can feed it basically anything and have a conversation about it.

Editing a video by talking to it, analysing a document you photographed, creating visuals from voice descriptions.

Available now for Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers. Pricing: Included in all paid plans.

GEMINI SPARK

A 24/7 personal AI agent that runs on Google's cloud servers, not on your device. It keeps running even after you close your laptop or lock your phone. It monitors your Gmail, manages your Calendar, and drafts documents in Google Docs without you being actively present.

Set recurring tasks like automatically parsing monthly credit card statements to flag subscription fees. Teach it to check your inbox for school updates from your kids and send a daily digest. Ask it to synthesise raw meeting notes from emails and chats, create a polished Google Doc, and draft the follow-up email. You can also teach it custom skills for specific workflows.

Rolling out to trusted testers now, with beta access going to US Google AI Ultra subscribers next week. Pricing: Included in the AI Ultra plan ($100/month). Asks your permission before taking high-stakes actions like sending emails or spending money.

DAILY BRIEF

A lighter version of agentic Gemini that does not run 24/7 but delivers a morning summary. It gathers urgent updates from your Gmail inbox, tracks upcoming events from your Calendar, and compiles relevant follow-up details into a skimmable briefing. It actively organises and prioritises based on your specific goals, even suggesting immediate next steps.

Start your day without digging through your inbox. Get a prioritised to-do list generated automatically.

Rolling out now to Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers in the US. Pricing: Included in all paid plans from $7.99/month.

AI-POWERED SEARCH BOX

The Google Search box has been rebuilt around Gemini. It now supports images, files, videos, and Chrome tabs as inputs alongside text, and is designed to better anticipate intent and help users form questions. Think of it as Search evolving from keyword lookup to a conversation.
Paste a screenshot of a product, ask a multi-sentence question in plain English, attach a file and ask questions about it, all directly in the search box.

Deploying now in all languages and countries where AI Mode is available. Pricing: Free.

ASK YOUTUBE

A Gemini-powered feature built into YouTube that lets users ask questions about videos, with support for context and follow-up questions. Instead of scrubbing through a video to find the answer to a specific question, you ask and it finds it.

"What supplement did they mention at the 12 minute mark?" or "Summarise the arguments in this debate." Particularly useful for long-form content, tutorials, and educational videos.

Currently in testing, rolling out broadly in the US this summer. Pricing: Not yet confirmed, likely tied to paid plans.

UNIVERSAL CART

A single shopping cart that follows you across Google Search, Gemini, YouTube, and Gmail. The moment you add a product, it works in the background to find deals, track price history, alert you to price drops, and flag stock availability. It also flags product incompatibilities, for example warning you that a motherboard and processor you added are not compatible.

You see a product mentioned in a YouTube video, add it to your cart without leaving YouTube, and the cart automatically tracks it for a week until it goes on sale.

Rolling out across Search and the Gemini app this summer, with YouTube and Gmail to follow. Pricing: Free, built on Google Wallet.

ANDROID HALO

A persistent visual indicator at the top of your Android screen that shows what AI agents are actively doing in the background at any given moment. As agents become capable of running tasks independently, this tells you what they are doing without you having to check.

Glance at the top of your phone and see that Gemini Spark is drafting your meeting recap or that an agent finished booking a restaurant. Oversight without micromanagement.

Coming with Android 17 later this year. Pricing: Free, part of Android 17.

GOOGLE PICS

A new image creation and editing tool inside Google Workspace, similar to Canva, for building posters, flyers, and infographics. It treats every element as an individual object rather than a flat image, so you can swap or edit specific details without redoing the whole thing. All output is watermarked with SynthID.

A small business owner creates a promotional flyer by describing it in plain text. A marketing team edits individual elements of a graphic without going back to a designer.

Rolling out this summer to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. Pricing: Included in Pro ($19.99/month) and Ultra ($100/month).

STITCH

Google's design tool for building apps and websites, updated with real-time collaborative design via Stitch Agent. Now includes exports to Antigravity and direct publishing to Netlify.

A team designs a web app together in real time, then publishes it directly without switching tools.

Available now for developers. Pricing: Not separately disclosed.

GOOGLE FLOW

Google's creative studio for video and media work, now updated with Gemini Omni and multi-action AI agents. Includes custom tools via Flow Tools.

Filmmakers and content creators running multi-step production workflows, like generating footage, editing, and scoring, with agents handling parallel tasks simultaneously.

New features available now. Pricing: Not separately disclosed.

ANDROID XR GLASSES (SAMSUNG, WARBY PARKER, GENTLE MONSTER)

Audio glasses that provide all-day Gemini access with responses spoken privately into the wearer's ear. Can take photos, play music, handle calls, and access apps. Compatible with both Android and iOS.

Hands-free translation when travelling, getting directions without looking at your phone, receiving a briefing spoken in your ear before a meeting.

Launching this fall. Pricing and full specifications still to be confirmed.

XREAL PROJECT AURA

Display glasses with actual OLED lenses, not just audio. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and capable of a 70-degree field of view. These show information visually overlaid in your field of vision.

See real-time directions overlaid on the street in front of you, read a translation of a menu without looking down at your phone. Who gets it: Shown at I/O, no release date or pricing confirmed yet.

GOOGLE ANTIGRAVITY 2.0

Google's developer platform for building AI agents. Rebuilt to be agent-first, meaning it is designed from the ground up for apps that do things autonomously, not just apps that answer questions.

Developers building tools that automate workflows, run tasks overnight, connect to APIs, and manage multi-step processes without user input at each step.

CLI, SDK, and Native Voice Support available globally from May 19. Pricing: Free via Google AI Studio.

SUBSCRIPTION PRICING (UPDATED)

AI Plus: $7.99/month. Includes Gemini 3.5 Flash, the Gemini app with Omni, and Daily Brief.

AI Pro: $19.99/month. Higher usage limits, more storage, Google Workspace integration, Google Pics later this summer.

AI Ultra: $100/month (was $250). Includes 5x higher usage limits than Pro, 20TB cloud storage, YouTube Premium, and Gemini Spark beta access starting next week for US subscribers.

Google is also replacing daily prompt limits with a compute-used model, where a simple text message costs less of your monthly allowance than a complex video editing or coding request. You pay proportionally to how much you actually use.

Here is the complete I/O video

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Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed orbital launch vehicle, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 18, 2026. The rocket lifted off at 12:05:30 p.m. Indian Standard Time as part of Mission Aagaman, meaning “arrival.”Around 15 minutes after launch, Vikram-1 successfully deployed payloads into a low Earth orbit at an altitude of approximately 450 kilometres. ISRO confirmed that two satellites—Skyroot’s SCOPE and a satellite from Grahaa Space—were injected into orbit. Other payloads remained attached to the upper stage to conduct in-orbit experiments.India has operated orbital launch vehicles through the Indian Space Research Organisation since the successful launch of the Rohini satellite aboard SLV-3 in 1980. The significance of Mission Aagaman is that Vikram-1 was developed and launched by a private Indian company, although ISRO and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre provided facilities, technical support, safety oversight and regulatory clearances.The Vikram-1 RocketVikram-1 is a small-satellite launch vehicle standing approximately 22 metres tall. It is designed to carry payloads of up to 350 kilograms into low Earth orbit.The four-stage vehicle consists of three solid-fuel stages and a liquid-fuel orbital adjustment module. Its upper stage is powered by a 3D-printed liquid engine and is designed to support precise orbital deployment. The rocket also incorporates carbon-composite structures, avionics and thermal-protection technologies developed by Skyroot.The Vikram launch-vehicle series is named after Vikram Sarabhai, the scientist widely regarded as the father of India’s space programme.Skyroot is positioning Vikram-1 as a dedicated and rideshare launcher for small satellites requiring customised orbital deployment. The company argues that such missions can provide customers with greater control over launch timing and orbital destination than travelling as secondary payloads on larger rockets.Payloads and ExperimentsThe mission carried multiple customer payloads and in-orbit experiments from Indian and international organisations.ISRO has officially confirmed that two satellites, SCOPE and Grahaa, were successfully placed into low Earth orbit. The remaining payloads were carried on the upper stage for in-orbit experiments.Before launch, the announced mission manifest included:Skyroot’s SCOPE satelliteGrahaa Space’s SOLARAS S3 satelliteA technology demonstration from German space company DCUBEDEmbrace, a robotic arm experiment developed by Cosmoserve Space for orbital-debris captureThe announced manifest also included symbolic payloads: a floral-shaped artwork called Cosmic Bloom and a miniature 18-karat gold rocket honouring Indian scientific figures C.V. Raman, Vikram Sarabhai and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. These items were listed before launch, but official post-launch statements have not separately confirmed the operational status of every individual experiment.Mission Aagaman was intended to test Vikram-1’s propulsion, avionics, telemetry, stage separation, guidance, navigation and control systems under actual flight conditions. Skyroot described the flight as the first of a planned series of development missions ahead of routine commercial operations.From Vikram-S to Vikram-1Skyroot Aerospace was founded in 2018 by former ISRO engineers Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka.The company completed its first spaceflight in November 2022 with Vikram-S, a suborbital technology-demonstration rocket launched under Mission Prarambh. That flight made Skyroot the first private Indian company to launch a rocket into space from Indian soil, although Vikram-S did not enter orbit.Vikram-1 represents a significantly more demanding technical achievement. Reaching orbit requires a rocket not only to climb above Earth’s atmosphere but also to accelerate its payload to the horizontal velocity needed to remain in orbit. The vehicle must complete a carefully timed sequence of propulsion, stage-separation and navigation operations before deploying its payloads.India opened more of its space sector to private participation in 2020 and subsequently established a framework through IN-SPACe for private companies to access ISRO facilities and technical expertise. For Vikram-1, ISRO supported solid-motor casting and testing, liquid-engine testing, vehicle integration, trajectory analysis and launch-pad operations.Reaction and Next StepsPrime Minister Narendra Modi called the successful launch a defining moment in India’s space journey. He said growing private-sector participation was opening new frontiers and accelerating innovation, adding that the achievement would encourage young people to “dream bigger and innovate fearlessly.”Skyroot said Mission Aagaman was a test flight and that it expects to conduct additional development flights before beginning routine commercial launches. The company ultimately aims to provide frequent, dedicated launch services for small satellites.The achievement does not replace India’s longstanding government space-launch capability. Instead, it expands the country’s space ecosystem by demonstrating that an Indian private company can independently develop an orbital-class launch vehicle and successfully place satellites into orbit with institutional support from ISRO and IN-SPACe.Sources: Indian Space Research Organisation, Prime Minister’s Office of India, Reuters, Skyroot Aerospace and Space.com.Image courtesy: Skyroot AerospaceSEINET is an execution focused network for operators building partnerships and growth in EU-India-UK corridor in four key clusters - Space, Deep Tech, Defense and Energy. Apply to sign up www.startupeuropeindia.net

Sat, Jul 18, 2026