
Google is all set to host the company’s I/O conference with over 2,000 Googlers and 7,000 developers . After holding the confab inside a San Francisco convention center for the past seven years, CEO Pichai wants to bring the gathering back to Google’s backyard on I/O’s 10th anniversary. He’s keen to celebrate the community around the company’s Android software, Chrome browser and search engine, and introduce the next chapter of Google’s vision for artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
The products being unveiled at I/O, which starts Wednesday, mostly are a lot of new takes on existing products. There’s a messaging app (which suggests comparisons to Facebook Messenger), a voice-activated speaker and smart home control hub (sort of like Amazon’s Echo), a video chat app (think Apple’s Facetime) and a new hardware and software system for VR built around a smartphone (shades of Samsung Gear VR).
Google’s executives described interesting new ideas and technologies behind each product. But there’s no entirely new product that someone else hasn’t done already.