#googleio

Sketchnotes of James Giangola’s talk on how to design voice interactions. This talk is full of great examples of how boring and inappropriote current voice assistants and the way he would re-design them.  

This year I was lucky to attend Google IO and sketched a lot during most of the sessions. I was focused on conversational interfaces, design for auto and virtual reality, accessibility issues and challenges of designing products for the new internet users.  

All presentations were recorded so you can watch them and use my sketches to better memorize information or quicker recollect everything later.

You can also download all sketches here.

Sketched sessions at Google IO 2017:

- Keynote

- Finding the Right Voice Interactions for your App

- In Conversation, There Are No Errors

- Defining Multimodal Interactions: One Size Does Not Fit All

- Assisting the Driver: From Android Phones to Android Cars 

- Creating UX that 'just feels right' with Progressive Web Apps

- What's New in Android Accessibility

- Daydream in the classroom: immersive learning

- Designing screen interfaces for VR

Google was quiet for months while OpenAI and Anthropic kept shipping. Today at I/O 2026 they came back with a new model, a rebuilt agent platform, a 24/7 personal assistant, a developer API, and a video model that edits by conversation. So is Google actually back?

Google I/O 2025 was full of exciting product updates, new features, and major AI announcements. From advanced AI tools like Gemini to new hardware like Android XR smart glasses, Google revealed a lot in the nearly 2-hour-long event.

Shocking News Google AI Ultra Plan Price

Google’s new AI Ultra subscription plan costs $249.99/month yes, you read that right! While the basic AI plan starts at $19.99/month, the Ultra version gives users full access with the highest usage limits across Google’s AI tools.

Google Search Gets AI Mode

What Is AI Mode in Google Search?

Google introduced a new AI Mode for Search, launching today in the United States. This feature lets you ask long, detailed questions, and it breaks your query into smaller parts using a smart method called “query fan-out.”

The AI gathers and combines results from multiple sources to give you a better answer.

What’s Coming Next in AI Mode?

Personal Context (Coming this summer): Search results will be personalized using your activity in Gmail, Calendar, and other Google apps.

Deep Search: AI will explore more websites to find in-depth information.

Data Visualization: Graphs and charts will be shown when useful.

Google says over 1.5 billion people use AI Overviews every month, so AI Mode could become their most popular feature yet.

AI Shopping with Virtual Try-Ons

Shopping Graph — 50 Billion Products

Google’s AI-powered Shopping Graph lets you describe the product you’re looking for, and it gives you visual suggestions.

Example: Say “a modern beige couch for small living rooms,” and Google will show you related options.

Also Read : GEO Takes Over: SEO for the Age of ChatGPT and AI

Virtual Try-On with AI

You can upload a photo of yourself, and AI will show you how you’d look in a dress or outfit like something out of the movie Clueless.

Price Tracking with AI Agent

AI agents can track product availability and price drops. You’ll get notified when the price changes.

This feature is available now in Google Labs.

Gemini — Google’s Star AI Model

New Versions of Gemini

Gemini 2.5 Pro — Google’s most powerful AI yet.

Gemini 2.5 Flash — A faster, more affordable version.

Gemini 2.5 Deep Think — Designed for complex math and coding, currently in limited testing.

Coding and AI Agents

Jules (Beta) — An AI coding agent that can work on your codebase and files.

Gemini in Chrome — Answers your questions based on what’s on the current web page.

Native Audio Output — Text-to-speech that mimics your voice across languages.

Gemini Features in Google Products

Agent Mode: Acts like a digital assistant that does research and tasks.

Personalized Smart Replies: Understands your tone from Gmail, Docs, and Sheets to reply like you.

Deep Research: Upload files and ask Gemini questions based on those documents.

Gemini will soon be integrated into smartwatches, smart TVs, cars, and more.

Generative AI — Images, Videos, and Music

Imagen 4 — Better AI Image Generation

Google launched Imagen 4, an advanced image generator that now handles text and fonts much better than before a known weakness in older AI models.

Veo 3 — AI Video Creation

Veo 3 can:

Understand physics for realistic scenes

Add sound effects, background noise, and dialogue

Be used through a new tool called Flow

Both are available now.

Lyria 2 — AI Music Creation

Google also launched Lyria 2, an AI music generator that can create songs and background music.

Gemini Canvas — AI Co-Creation Platform

Google introduced Gemini Canvas, a creative space where you and AI can work together on writing, design, and projects. Think of it like a blank page where your AI helps brainstorm and create content.

Android XR Google’s New AR/VR Platform

Project Moohan — The XR Headset

Google revealed Project Moohan, its immersive XR headset, made with Samsung and Qualcomm. The headset will be released later this year.

Smart Glasses with Android XR

These new smart glasses come with a camera, speakers, and in-glass display. They connect to your phone and are designed with fashion partners like:

Warby Parker

Gentle Monster

Developers can start building apps for these glasses next year.

Google Beam New Name for Project Starline

Real-Time Translations with Google Meet

Google Beam (previously Project Starline) is now an AI-powered communication platform.

One major feature: Real-time voice translations in Google Meet. The voice translation matches your tone and sounds natural.

Currently supports English and Spanish, with more languages coming soon.

Future of 3D Meetings

Google also teased a future 3D conferencing system that uses multiple cameras to create a realistic 3D version of you in video calls.