Google held a virtual “Android Show: I/O Edition” event on May 12, 2026, unveiling a range of upcoming features and hardware ahead of its annual developer conference later that month. Announcements included a new laptop line called Googlebooks, an AI-powered widget builder, updates to Android Auto, expanded Gemini capabilities, and strengthened theft protections for Android devices.
The centerpiece hardware announcement was Googlebooks — a new line of laptops built around Gemini AI, launching this fall. Google is partnering with Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo to produce the devices in various form factors. Googlebooks will ship with a “Magic Pointer” cursor that has Gemini built in, compatibility with Android phones for running mobile apps directly on the laptop, and the ability to create custom widgets.
On the software side, Google introduced “Create My Widget,” a feature that lets users describe a custom widget in plain language and have it generated automatically. It will launch first on Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer. Android Auto is also receiving a redesign with edge-to-edge layouts, widgets, and support for watching YouTube in 60fps full HD in select cars from manufacturers including BMW, Ford, and Mercedes-Benz. Gemini is now rolling out on Android Auto, and users will be able to place food orders through DoorDash from their car.
Gemini’s agentic capabilities are expanding to handle multistep tasks across apps — for example, photographing an event flyer and having Gemini search for it on Expedia. Gemini is also coming to Chrome on Android, with an experimental auto-browse feature that can complete tasks like booking tickets on a user’s behalf. A new Gboard feature called Rambler will clean up speech-to-text by removing filler words and resolving self-corrections.
Google is extending AirDrop-compatible Quick Share to Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor devices, and plans to allow file sharing via QR code to iPhones through the cloud. A new iOS-to-Android transfer tool will let users migrate passwords, photos, messages, contacts, eSIM data, and home screen layouts to Samsung Galaxy or Pixel devices.
On security, Google is expanding default-on theft protections — including Theft Detection Lock and Remote Lock — to all new Android 17 devices globally, as well as devices running Android 10 and above in markets including Argentina, Mexico, and the U.K. The announcements were made ahead of Google’s developer conference, which the company says will largely focus on AI.
Source: TechCrunch