Google I/O 2026: All That Was Announced From Gemini 3.5 Flash To Android Halo

Google used its I/O 2026 developer conference to show just how deeply artificial intelligence is now woven into nearly every part of its ecosystem. From Search and Gmail to YouTube, Android, Workspace, and smart glasses, the company spent the keynote unveiling new Gemini-powered experiences designed to make its products smarter, faster, and more conversational.

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The event was led by Sundar Pichai, who revealed that Google is now processing more than 3.2 quadrillion AI tokens every month, a massive jump from the 480 trillion tokens it handled around the same time last year. Back in 2024, that figure reportedly stood at just 9.7 trillion tokens per month, showing how rapidly Gemini usage has expanded across Google’s services.

Gemini 3.5 Flash Takes Centre Stage

One of the biggest announcements at the event was the arrival of the Gemini 3.5 series, starting with Gemini 3.5 Flash.

Google says the model is designed to deliver high-end AI performance while operating significantly faster and at a lower cost compared to rival frontier models. According to the company, Gemini 3.5 Flash is now available globally through the Gemini app and AI Mode in Search, while developers can access it through AI Studio, Android Studio, Gemini APIs, and Google’s Antigravity platform.

Google also claimed that the model was capable of generating an operating system in roughly 12 hours, highlighting its growing focus on agentic AI systems that can independently execute complex workflows.

The company plans to launch Gemini 3.5 Pro next month.

Gemini Omni Brings AI Video Generation Into The Spotlight

Another major reveal was Gemini Omni, Google’s new multimodal AI video generation model.

The platform allows users to combine text, audio, images, and even reference videos into a single prompt to generate entirely new videos. During the presentation, Google demonstrated how users could describe scenes, camera angles, and visual styles conversationally while Gemini Omni handled the actual video creation process.

The tool is currently rolling out to Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers through the Gemini app and Google Flow.

Gemini Spark Wants To Act Like A Personal AI Agent

Google also introduced Gemini Spark, a new AI workspace designed around long-running tasks and workflow management.

Powered by Gemini 3.5, Spark can organise projects, break down tasks, and continue running in the background using dedicated virtual machines on Google Cloud. The company says users do not need to keep their phones or laptops active for Spark to continue processing tasks.

Google plans to integrate the platform across its ecosystem, including Workspace apps and enterprise tools.

Gmail, Docs And Keep Are Getting Smarter

Google Workspace apps are also receiving a major AI refresh.

Apps like Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Keep will soon support more natural voice and text-based interactions with Gemini. Users will be able to brainstorm ideas, organise notes, summarise content, and generate responses conversationally.

Google also confirmed that Gemini Spark integrations are coming to Workspace platforms later this summer.

The company additionally introduced Google Pics, a new AI-powered image editing and creation tool based on the Nano Banana model. It supports object editing, segmentation, translation, and text manipulation, and will also become part of Workspace tools.

Gmail’s AI Inbox Is Expanding

For Gmail users, Google is rolling out upgraded AI Inbox features to AI Plus and Pro subscribers.

These additions include personalised draft replies, faster access to attached files, smarter task management controls, and the ability to mark all emails related to a topic as read with a single tap. Users will also be able to dismiss irrelevant AI suggestions more easily.

Ask YouTube Can Search Videos More Naturally

Google is also making YouTube search more conversational.

A new feature called Ask YouTube allows users to ask detailed questions and search for very specific moments inside videos, even if they cannot remember the exact title of the content.

The feature can analyse YouTube videos and Shorts together to surface relevant answers and recommendations.

Ask YouTube is currently rolling out to YouTube Premium subscribers in the US who are aged 18 and older, with broader availability planned later.

Google Search Is Becoming More Agentic

Search received one of the event’s biggest upgrades.

Google introduced a dedicated AI Search box inside AI Mode, allowing users to hold conversational searches in a single interface while also supporting text, image, and audio-based queries.

The company says Search will soon be capable of running multiple AI agents in the background simultaneously. Initially, these agents will focus on gathering and monitoring information automatically for users.

Google also demonstrated new booking and commerce capabilities. For example, Search can now find a private karaoke room for six people on a Friday night, compare pricing and availability, and provide direct booking links automatically.

These agentic Search features are expected to launch broadly in the US later this summer.

Universal Cart And Android Halo Revealed

Google also announced Universal Cart, a new commerce feature powered by the Universal Commerce Protocol.

The system allows users to shop across Google Search, Gmail, Gemini, and YouTube without needing separate checkout flows for every platform.

On Android, Google confirmed the arrival of the Android Halo indicator with Android 17 later this year. The feature will display when AI agents are actively working in the background and will appear beside the clock in the top-left corner of the screen.

Android XR Smart Glasses Were Also Shown Off

Closing out the AI-heavy showcase, Google also demonstrated its Android XR smart glasses platform.

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The company confirmed that two categories of smart glasses are in development: audio-based smart glasses and models equipped with displays. Both are powered by Gemini AI and are designed to offer hands-free assistance, navigation, translation, and contextual visual understanding.

The glasses are part of Google’s larger Android XR ecosystem, where Samsung is already working on XR hardware, including its upcoming mixed reality headset.