Google I/O 2022 dates announced; a limited live audience will attend for free

Google has announced when its annual I/O developer conference will be held this year. Actually, the dates were tweeted by Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai whose tweet included a link to the Google I/O 2022 website. The event will take place from Wednesday May 11th through Thursday, May 12th.

While some of the conference will take place at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View (that's in California if you didn't already know), the entire event will be streamed online most likely through the Google I/O app that will be made available from the Play Store. Google spokesperson Alex Garcia-Kummert told The Verge, "This year’s event will be broadcast in front of a limited live audience, and is completely free and open to everyone virtually."

If you're curious about that limited live audience, Axios' Ina Fried was told that the live audience will consist of Google employees and some partners. Google, which used to charge attendees $1,150 for a ticket to get in, said that the 2022 I/O will be "free of cost for everyone." But as we noted, only Googlers and some partners will be attending. Even us media types will be forced to view the festivities as they are streamed.

We'll be back live from Shoreline Amphitheatre for this year's #GoogleIO! Join us online May 11-12 https://t.co/KgNKbaLeympic.twitter.com/NUodJb7UCi

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) March 16, 2022

The Google I/O FAQ says, "Keynotes will be live and available on-demand following the event. All sessions will be on-demand to watch at your convenience." Those outside the U.S. will also be able to view the conference. Content will be able to be streamed on-demand and in different languages. Some of the content will be available on-demand as captioned videos shortly after the event is held.

COVID forced the cancellation of the 2020 I/O conference and last year's event was 100% virtual. This will be the first time since the 2019 I/O that a live audience will be allowed to attend at least part of the event. This year we should hear more about Android 13 and possibly see Google unveil a couple of devices including the long-awaited Pixel Watch and the annual mid-range Pixel which would be the Pixel 6a this year.

We also might hear some juicy tidbits about Google's in-house SoC, the Tensor. The second-generation version of the chipset will most likely power the rumored Pixel Notepad foldable and the Pixel 7 series which could both be released in the fourth quarter of this year.