What Kind of Spotlight Will AR Get at Google I/O?

Google is set to hold its annual I/O developer conference tomorrow, which makes now as good a time as any to check in on how Alphabet is faring when it comes to AR and VR.

While much of the product buzz ahead of this year’s conference concerns the potential reveal of a Pixel-branded watch, we’re expecting to receive some updates about Google’s ongoing efforts on immersive software and hardware. Will we see anything to rival the metaverse bonanza that preceded Facebook’s rebranding last fall? Probably not, but given last year’s surprise reveal of Project Starline and recent hiring and acquisition moves from Google, here are a few AR/VR topics to watch for, in order from most to least likely: