In just 3 days we will witness the debut of the Google I/O 2013 conference, that will take place between May 15th and the 17th. It will include some very interesting launches, especially the one of a new Android release, presumably Android 4.3, since Android 5.0 is not yet ready, according to rumors. Now let’s see a bunch of predictions related to the event.
Android 5.0 has seen much less press and leaks compared to Android 4.3, so right now it’s a pretty sure thing that this is the next release. Reports are showing that this OS exists, especially site analytics and it’s still Jelly Bean, but for some reason the rumor mill has failed to produce some reasonable features. If you ask me, they should get rid of the godawful 10 inch tablet Android interface, that’s a bit confusing with those two sliding bars at the top.
Also, the 360 degree Panorama could be better and the camera UI was pretty bad on Android 4.2, since they overdid it with minimalism, but once again that’s only me. In other rumors, Nexus Q is expected to get an upgraded model, since the first sold soooo well… not! In the end it was killed before being shipped, so maybe Google learned from the mistakes, upgraded it, took the price down, implemented some solid specs and maybe turned it into a gaming rig this time.
Ouya would be very angry about that, but that’s life! Another sure thing seems to be Google’s approach to gaming, with a sort of Gaming Center prepared, that will include game save syncing, leaderboards, achievements and all the goodies you’re used with in Xbox Live and Apple Game Center. Hopefully the design will be more inspired than on Apple’s service.
Babel is also a sure thing, initially rumored as Babble. This is an unified chat service, that integrates Google Chat, Google Talk and maybe even the messaging features in Google+. Google Glass will probably be there as well and our fingers are crossed for a commercial date announcement, if possible. Google Watch may also see the light of day, as an appendix to the smartphone and Google Glass, but that’s a remote possibility.
Finally, the devices will include a new Nexus tablet, from what we’ve heard a Nexus 7 2 made by ASUS with a 1200p resolution, quad core Snapdragon processor, 2 GB of RAM and a July release. Of course we’ll get the full suite of Google apps upgraded, including Gmail, that will get a Holo look, so it will have a slideout navigation panel, making it look like the iOS version of Gmail.
Speculations also talk about chrome and a new Chrome laptop, maybe even a tablet or perhaps a dongle of sorts, for passionates. Google has always tried not to keep the events very busy, so don’t go in there expecting a dozen new product, since it won’t happen. Basically, the only mind blowing thing could be the new Nexus tablet, maybe even a new smartphone, although I’m not sure how a Nexus 5 would fit the market right now.
We’re also not sure if the Google X Phone is ready for debut, although that would certainly be sweet. This is pretty much everything we expect from the event, that will be premiered with a 3 hour keynote, from what we know so far. Any other predictions we may have missed?
