Trusted Reviews is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.Learn more.

Google I/O 2022: All the key announcements

In This Article

Here are the key announcements from the Google I/O 2022 event.

Google’s developer conference returned yet again for 2022, leaving a ton of announcements in its wake. With the unveiling of three new smartphones and the brand newPixel Watch, it looks like Google has been busy, with many of the announcements alluding to future products and software that will be rolling out within the coming year.

Keep reading to find out all the key announcements from this year’s Google I/O event.

Android 13

Google finally announced Android 13, which is bringing in a plethora of new features. Android home screens will have a new media bar, which conforms to the Material You theme, and should make it easier to navigate your apps.

Google also mentioned a lot of enhancements that will be coming to its upcoming tablet, with updates coming to a lot of stock apps to make them look a lot better on large screen devices. The notification bar will become wider, which will make it easier to read, and users will be able to use the drag and drop feature to easily move files around, with the ability to drag a picture into an email without needing to add it as an attachment.

Messages will also take on a multi-column view, looking similar to Facebook Messenger, again to make it easier for users to view and respond to messages.

Not everything has been revealed about Android 13 yet, though you can check out our dedicated hub forAndroid 13to find out even more.

Pixel 6a

One of the most anticipated announcements was thePixel 6a, which is the budget smartphone in thePixel 6lineup. The Pixel 6a will come in three colours, Chalk, Charcoal and Sage, and pack the same processor as thePixel 6 Pro: Googe’s ownTensorchipset.

Google claims that the Pixel 6a can last over 24 hours and up to 72 hours when using Extreme Battery Saver mode. It will also come with a similar camera set up as its older siblings, including the same 8MP selfie camera and a dual rear camera set up, including a main and ultrawide lens. The camera will include features likeReal Tone, which better represents darker skin tones in photos, as well asMagic Eraserand Night Sight.

Pre-orders for the Pixel 6a will start on July 21, with products hitting shelves on July 28 with a starting price of $449.

Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro

Not much information was given about the future generation of Pixel phones, though we did pick up a few key details. ThePixel 7range will keep the same unique rear camera bar that the Pixel 6 lineup has, and it will keep the same two-tone design, though the housing around the camera lens looks a little different with the white version of the phone having a silver camera bar.

Google also mentioned that the phones will be coming this autumn and run on Android 13, though it will house the to-be-released second-generation GoogleTensorprocessor.

Pixel Buds Pro

ThePixel Buds Proare a mark-up over thePixel Buds A-Seriesmodel and have a pre-order date of July 21, a sale date of July 28 and a starting price of $199. It’s not clear if that date is for US customers or worldwide, though we will be sure to update this article when we find out.

These earbuds will be available in four colourways: Coral, Lemongrass, Fog and Charcoal, and seem to take on a traditional earbud shape with a soft matte finish that we expect will help in terms of touch and feel while operating the earbuds.

They are rated IPX4, meaning they will be resistant to sweat and rain, with three ear-tip sizes included to help everyone find their perfect fit. They come with hands-free support for Google Assistant and Active Noise Cancellation with Silent Seal, which the company claims helps the earbuds adapt to the shape of your ear, thus blocking out unwanted noise.

Pixel Watch

We only saw a glimpse of the Pixel Watch, but we can tell that it has a clean two-tone aesthetic that is overlapped by a rotating crown on the right-hand side. It looks like there will be three colourways available, black, silver and gold, and it seems that the front-facing portion has a near bezel-free display that should allow for more content to fit on screen.

It will run onWear OS3 and likely feature a bespoke overal that differs from the one previously seen on theSamsung Galaxy Watch 4. The company also mentioned that Fitbit’s ecosystem will play a large role, with Fitbit’s Active Zone Minutes – which tracks week-on-week progress towards an overall fitness goal – coming to the Pixel Watch.

Fitbit sleep and continuous heart tracking will also be brought over, which suggests that the Pixel Watch will be capable of giving users an overview of their current health.

You might like…

Gemma joined Trusted Reviews as a staff writer after graduating from Leeds Beckett University with a Journalism degree. She’s worked with national outlets, covering breaking news stories to reviews fo…

Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.

Why trust our journalism?

Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.