Google I/O 2019: New Google Pixel phones, Android Q and updates to Google Assistant expected

Google I/O kicks off at 10 am Tuesday (10:30 pm IST Monday) in Mountain View, California. Google is expected to announce a less expensive Pixel phone as well as updates to its smart home devices.

Search giant Google is also expected to announce updates and expansions to its AI Assistant at the company's annual developer conference.

AI voice assistants are not only limited to smartphones and into cars and offices, but they are also getting into your home in the form of smart speakers for playing music, setting timers and checking the weather.

Google says more than 7,000 developers will attend its annual conference in Mountain View. Google I/O has also become a stage to announce new consumer products.

Updates to Google Assistant

Google AI Assistant powers a whole different range of devices including smartphones and Google Home smart speaker. While Google Assistant remains critically important to Google’s new products, it's commercially facing fierce competition from Alexa.

Google claims the Assistant is now available across more than a billion devices but most of those are smartphones and these smartphones users may not always engage with the Assistant in their day-to-day routine.

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Less-expensive Google Pixel Phone

Google is said to unveil two new mid-range Pixel smartphones with 5.6-inch and 6-inch screens and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 670 or 710 octa-core chipsets. With the help of less-expensive Pixel phones, Google is expected to strengthen its presence in markets like India.

Updates to Google Stadia

Earlier, Google announced a game streaming service to let gamers play high-end games across devices over the cloud. Google is expected to announce some new updates as well as partnerships with more game publisher at its annual developer's conference.

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Android Q

Google is expected to announce the public beta of Android Q today. Previously, Google released developer previews of Android Q in March. Some of its features include location sharing, high-priority notifications, sharing shortcuts, Settings panels, Wi-Fi performance mode, System-wide dark mode and more.