Google I/O 2022: Google needs to invest more in support than surprises – The Verge

There is more pressure than usual on Google to deliver surprises at I/O 2022. The company is expected to unveil its Pixel Watch, along with a more budget-friendly Pixel 6A, plus the latest slew of new Android 13 software and new features. Who knows? Maybe well see something else entirely.

The stakes are high, as always, for the new stuff to be good, and I dont really doubt Googles ability to impress with these new products. Its rare that Google doesnt have at least a handful of announcements (including a few pie-in-the-sky ones) that show extremely well. After all, what makes I/O fun to watch is that it is a mix of the tech thats within reach, along with some more far-flung stuff.

But what some of us at The Verge are most excited for couldnt sound duller by comparison. Instead of being surprised, we simply want to see if 2022 is the year Google figures out how to make its products relevant, for real people, for the long run. Releasing them is step one, but providing meaningful, long-term support behind these new products and the platforms that they operate on is something that Google still hasnt proven itself capable of even after all these years. Im not just talking about guaranteeing security and OS updates the boring stuff. I want to see Google go out on a limb for these gadgets and ideas like it has more than couch-cushion money to lose.

Follow-through has never been Googles strong suit. Many of its products have languished in ways that lend further credence to Googles infamous reputation for abandoning even its best ideas. There have been so many standout I/O announcements that seemed great but havent lived up to their potential, like Googles Assistant-powered Duplex service that can answer or place calls for you, which has been slow to gain traction even among people who could use it the most. Then there are ones that just straight up never materialized, like the ambitious Project Starline that Google claimed could provide a more realistic video chat experience, with depth sensors to make it look like the other person is sitting across the table.

Looking back on 2021, it failed to make good on the buzz it made on its marquee products. Its Stadia cloud game streaming platform was drastically scaled back in scope less than two years after Google became the first tech giant to go big with game streaming. Android 12 delivered underwhelming changes, and its Material You design widget rollout has been mediocre at best (it should be called Meh-terial you). The Pixel 6 had a buggy launch, which it still hasnt resolved with worthwhile updates. These were the phones that were supposed to signal to people okay, now were serious and prove the value of Googles custom Tensor processors. My Pixel 6 really isnt any more fun to use than my old Pixel 3.

The lack of Googles post-launch care has taken several different forms. My colleague Allison Johnson thought that the Pixel 5A was a safe but great midrange phone that more people should know about. But instead of going global with broad carrier support, as most manufacturers do these days with phones that theyre excited about, Google released the phone exclusively in the US and Japan and didnt partner with carriers to boost availability. Unless youre a Pixel superfan, its possible that this phones existence went under your radar entirely.

Given that approach, it seems as if Google wants to succeed with hardware on its own terms and to fail on its own terms, too. Perhaps this strategy stems from Google realizing that it likely wont ever be in the top spot for many tech hardware categories it participates in. Still, its strange to see this seemingly directionless strategy considering theres proof within Googles business (Google Photos, search, Chrome, Android, and Workspace, just to name a few) that investing heavily yields success.

If you want one representative example to watch out for, its smartwatches. If the biggest pre-I/O rumors are true, Google will unveil its first-ever flagship smartwatch, the Pixel Watch. Its an interesting time for the device to launch, as the bar couldnt be lower for Google to re-enter the smartwatch market after years of letting it evaporate. And I cant help but wonder what might have happened if Google hadnt left in the first place. It was yet another category that Google initially put some muscle behind until it didnt.

Google launched a dedicated smartwatch platform, Android Wear, in 2014 to compete with the Apple Watch. The company got the likes of Samsung, LG, Asus, Motorola, and more onboard to make hardware, each with an interesting spin on design, but each kind of crippled with the same ho-hum software, slow performance, and lousy battery life. Android Wear offered more in the way of options than Apple, but all of those options were, well, not good.

Google continued its software investment in the space, releasing a rebranded Wear OS with more features to turn a new leaf. But the best watches running Googles new software couldnt shake those first-gen issues loose even ones like the LG Watch Style and Sport, which were the flagships meant to carry Wear OS to new heights.

Googles support slowed down, with fewer major updates and even fewer must-have apps. While a few manufacturers like Fossil and Mobvoi have kept the proverbial torch lit (and, more recently, Samsung with its Wear OS 3-powered Galaxy Watch 4), the platform is not in a great place. So, theres a lot riding on Google being able to kickstart it again. But even if the company unveils a promising new product, its possible that Googles biggest chance of success with smartwatches is behind it, as almost all of its OEM partners (aside from Samsung) have given up. Still, I hope that Google provides a similar amount of support for the Pixel Watch as it does with its Pixel phones, for whatever thats worth.

Regardless of the product, be it hardware or software, this years announcements at I/O present an opportunity for Google to start again. Thats the best and worst thing about Googles strategy: it cant stop starting over. Despite some ever-present fixtures in its strategy, like Android, its search business, and Google Assistant, theres little to no logical throughline with its hardware and software. Its often exciting to see what the company does next, but Ive learned to doubt Googles ability to care about its latest products for six months (or even six weeks) after launch. I want to be proven wrong.

At I/O, well see the new products take the stage over. But Im eager as ever to see if Google recognizes that the initial impact of these gadgets matters less than the long-term support.

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Google I/O 2022: Google needs to invest more in support than surprises - The Verge