Everything Google announced at I/O 2026: Gemini, Search, Android XR, & more – 9to5Google

Everything Google announced at I/O 2026: Gemini, Search, Android XR, & more – 9to5Google

At I/O 2026, Google announced a tidal wave of new Gemini-powered features across its biggest products and services that will soon be available. We’ve compiled all the consumer-facing announcements and notable developer developments below.

Gemini models

  • Gemini 3.5 Flash combines frontier intelligence with the ability to perform agentic tasks. It surpasses 3.1 Pro in coding, agentic, and multimodal benchmarks, with the cost and speed of the Flash series at 4x faster than other frontier models in terms of output tokens per second.
    • Rolling out starting today in the Gemini app, Search, Antigravity 2.0, and Gemini API.
  • Gemini 3.5 Pro is currently in testing and will be available next month.
  • Gemini Omni is a new series of models that combines Gemini’s reasoning capabilities with creation. Gemini Omni Flash today accepts image, audio, video, and text input and outputs video grounded in real-world knowledge and that can be easily edited.
    • Rolling out to AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra starting in the Gemini app, Google Flow, YouTube Shorts
    • Google Flow and Flow Music are now available as mobile apps: “Flow app is available on Android in beta (iOS coming soon), and the Flow Music app is available now on iOS (Android coming soon).”
  • SynthID verification/detection expanding beyond the Gemini app to Search and Chrome.
  • C2PA Content Credentials support lets you check if content is an unaltered original from a camera or if it has been modified by tools.

Gemini app

  • Neural Expressive is the Gemini’s app new design language with fluid animations, vibrant colors, haptic feedback, and new typography.
    • The Gemini app now has a pill-shaped prompt box with a single ‘plus’ menu at the left that incorporates Tools and opens a bottom sheet (on mobile). The navigation drawer is now a fullscreen interface.
    • Gemini Live no longer opens a fullscreen interface for an inline experience where you don’t have to switch between modes.
    • Gemini will design responses that show the most important information at the top and in bold. You’ll also see inline images, narrated videos, timelines, and interactive visualizations.
    • Rolling out now to Android, iOS, and the web.
  • Gemini Spark is “your personal agent” that takes actions on your behalf to help “navigate your digital life.”
    • “Spark represents a big shift for Gemini, transforming it from an assistant that can answer your questions into an active partner that does real work on your behalf and under your direction.”
    • It integrates with Gmail, Docs, and other Google Workspace apps before expanding to other third-party tools via MCP over the summer.
    • Gemini Spark will be available next week to Google AI Ultra subscribers in the US.
  • Daily Brief is a personalized digest of the day ahead. Sifting through your Gmail, Calendar, and Tasks, it prioritizes and organizes what you need to do, while suggesting next steps.
    • Rolling out to Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra starting today in the US.

Google AI plans

  • The Gemini app is “moving from daily prompt limits to a compute-used’ model” that factors the complexity of your prompt, features you use, and length of your chat.
    • Limits “refresh every five hours until you reach your weekly limit.”
    • Google says this is a “better way to allocate limits, because a simple text prompt uses far less compute than a complex video or coding prompt.”
  • Google AI Ultra now starts at $100 per month with 5x higher Gemini app usage limits than AI Pro.
    • The previous $250 plan is now $200 with the “exact same capabilities” as before.
  • AI Mode is now powered by Gemini 3.5 Flash.
  • A new intelligent Search box expands the more you type in a reflection of how people have longer and more conversational queries.
    • AI-powered query suggestions go beyond autocomplete by anticipating your intent.
  • New information agents work in the background 24/7 to keep you updated on “whatever matters most to you.”
    • “Your agent will intelligently look across everything on the web, like blogs, news sites and social posts, plus our freshest data, such as real-time info on finance, shopping and sports, to monitor for changes related to your specific question.”
    • Available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers this summer.
  • Google Search will soon be able to build custom dashboards and trackers for continuous tasks. These “mini apps for your own specific tasks” will be available in the coming months for AI Pro and Ultra in the US.

Shopping

  • Universal Cart is a Gemini-powered shopping cart and agentic hub for shopping in the Gemini app, YouTube, and Gmail.
    • Once you add a product to your cart, Google finds deals, price drops, price history insights, and stock alerts.
    • “Say you’re building your first custom PC and add a few parts from several retailers to your cart. Your cart will proactively flag any product incompatibilities and suggest alternatives.”
    • “Since the cart was built on Google Wallet, it understands your payment method perks, loyalty information and merchant offers to help you choose.”
    • Coming to Search and the Gemini app in the U.S. this summer, with YouTube and Gmail to follow.

Google Workspace

  • Gmail Live lets you conversationally search your emails.
    • Rolling out to Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers in the US (English) this summer on Android and iOS.
  • AI Inbox is coming to Google AI Plus and Pro
  • Docs Live can be used to create and edit documents. Rolling out to Android and iOS this summer with Google AI Pro and Ultra in English globally.
  • Similarly, a similar mode in Google Keep will organize free-flowing thoughts into concise notes. Available in the Android app this summer with AI Pro and Ultra.
  • Google Pics is an AI image generation and design app.

YouTube

  • Ask YouTube can handle complex search queries and follow-ups. It will list the most relevant videos across the YouTube catalogue with an interactive, structured response. Currently available for Premium subscribers in the US via youtube.com/new.
  • Gemini Omni is available in YouTube Shorts Remix and the Create app.

Android XR

  • Google refers to this new form factor as “intelligent eyewear.” The first audio glasses are coming this fall. This hardware is made by Samsung and Qualcomm, with the externals designed by Gentle Monster and Warby Parker.
  • Android XR glasses can be paired with both Android phones and the iPhone.

Android Halo

  • Android Halo provides “at-a-glance visibility into what your agent is working on at any given time” with “subtle communication” at the top of your phone screen.
    • “This means you can see the agent’s progress right from the top of any screen you’re on, without having to stop what you’re doing.”
    • Available later this year for Gemini Spark and other supported agents. More details are coming then.

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