Google confirms The Android Show will return and stream ahead of Google I/O 2026

Google I/O is set for May 19, but the company is once again going to provide some Android news a week ahead of time, too.

The company announced on Tuesday that it will host "The Android Show" on May 12 at 1 p.m. ET. Google didn't provide a lot of specifics about what to expect, but the basic idea is to showcase "why this is one of the biggest years for Android yet." Last year, Google also hosted The Android Show ahead of I/O, showing off the new Material 3 Expressive design language alongside new Gemini features like screen sharing.

You can watch The Android Show live when the event starts streaming on YouTube, and there's also an event webpage on Google's site. Mashable will be providing live coverage during both The Android Show and Google I/O, so check back for the latest updates from Google-land.

If last year is any guide, by hosting an Android-specific event ahead of I/O, Google can then focus on Gemini and all things artificial intelligence during its annual developers conference. The main I/O keynote is usually where Google drops its biggest Android news each year. However, AI was the main focus of Google I/O 2025, and that's also what we expect from Google I/O 2026.

Based on public betas, we know that Android 17 is bringing a new multitasking UI to Android devices, as well as some new options for screen recording. There will probably be a lot more than that, but we'll have to wait until later this month to find out for sure.

Perhaps Google will give us some fun Android 17 tidbits ahead of the proper I/O keynote this year.

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