Google IO 2021 dates start May 18 - expect Android 12, Google Pixel 5a and more

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Google IO 2021 will be virtual-only after last year's cancelled event

Google IO 2021
(Image credit: Google)

Invites have gone out for Google IO 2021, confirming that it will be a virtual event this year and open for everyone to watch the event, including keynote and developer sessions from May 18-20.

Anyone looking for Google IO 2021 registration can do so with a Google account can on the Google IO website. As the image above says, it's free for everyone, from the keynote to the various niche developer sessions, though there may be space restrictions for some.

This will be the first IO event since Google IO 2019 – last year's Google IO 2020, slated for May 12-14, was cancelled outright in late March 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak. The usual banner announcements that would have been made during the keynote, like introducing Android 11 and the Google Pixel 4a, were quietly made online later in the year. 

We expect to hear all about Android 12, the mid-year Google Pixel 5a, and the Google Pixel 6 we expect to come later in the year, along with other Google products and endeavors in a very eventful two years since we last gathered at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in 2019.

What, no puzzle?

In a typical year, Google keeps mum on its plans for its IO event, but the release of a cryptic puzzle gets the internet off to the races to figure out that year's theme and event dates.

Given the somber tone of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Google simply released information on the event via public invites. But there's still a puzzle, and we eagerly await its solving – so far, the puzzle looks like a famous quote with blank letters for its attributes: "It matters little who first arrives at an idea, rather what is significant is how far that idea can go." 

Get cracking on the puzzle here.

David Lumb
David Lumb

David is now a mobile reporter at Cnet. Formerly Mobile Editor, US for TechRadar, he covered phones, tablets, and wearables. He still thinks the iPhone 4 is the best-looking smartphone ever made. He's most interested in technology, gaming and culture – and where they overlap and change our lives. His current beat explores how our on-the-go existence is affected by new gadgets, carrier coverage expansions, and corporate strategy shifts.