News about Android are being relegated to a sideshow at Google I/O, Google's annual developer conference next month. The company announced Monday that it will share information about the latest updates coming to the Android Ecosystem at an upcoming virtual event called “The Android Show: I/O Edition,” which airs on May 13th.
The decision to move the Android portion of Google I/O to its own event prior to I/O launch suggests that this year's developer meeting is even heavier than usual. AI news and updates were an increasingly long-term portion of Google I/O Consumer and Developer Keynote addresses.
However, Google frases this shift differently.
Instead, the company says it chose to create a special event (the I/O edition of the Android Show Video Podcast) as an alternative way to share the latest news and changes, as it had “many new things to share” about Android. It also points out that Android continues to exist in I/O in keynotes and technical sessions for developers.
Still, moving the majority of Android news to a virtual show before the main event is a notable programming change for developer conferences. It remains to be seen whether it's because it's “too much news” or because Google has determined that Android news doesn't require higher billing than in the past few years.