Google I/O Officially Cancelled

[jiyeon]

Source: Google I/O

 

Google has officially announced through their Google I/O website, that the annual event is no longer going ahead, citing that the decision was made after local Bay Area counties - in which Google is headquartered in Mountain View, California - ordered residents to stay at home.

 

Google have re-assured us by advising that their attention is solely on the safety of others who were originally going to attend the event, as well as advising that they were working on alternative methods to get their highly-anticipated annual event done this year.

 

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Out of concern for the health and safety of our developers, employees, and local communities — and in line with recent “shelter in place” orders by the local Bay Area counties — we sadly will not be holding I/O in any capacity this year.

 

Right now, the most important thing all of us can do is focus our attention on helping people with the new challenges we all face. Please know that we remain committed to finding other ways to share platform updates with you through our developer blogs and community forums.

 

Take care of yourselves. We'll continue to do everything we can to help our communities stay safe, informed, and connected.

 

It comes as no surprise to me, as Google I/O is an in-person event that is held every year in May, it would have been a serious healthcare concern to the audience and the people involved at Google to have held it when the schedule meets the event. I trust that Google will find a way to showcase their new and upcoming hardware and/or software, as I'm sure many are still interested.

 

In the FAQ section of their Google I/O website, Google has put the nail in the coffin for Google I/O this year:

 

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Will this year's conference take place online?

No, Google has decided to not to move forward with I/O in any capacity this year in order to prioritize the health of everybody who is a part of our community.

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Will the physical or virtual event be postponed until the Fall?

No, we will not be holding I/O in any capacity this year.

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Will there be any platform to view product or I/O related announcements? Are those being published anywhere?

Right now, the most important thing all of us can do is focus our attention on helping people with the new challenges we all face. Please know that we remain committed to finding other ways to share platform updates with you through our developer blogs and community forums.

 

Extremely saddening news, but out of the interest of health and safety of the Google team, Google aren't the bad guys, and I'm sure we can trust them to find other ways of showcasing their new gadgets and gizmos this year.

[Guest]

The world truly feels at a standstill.

 

 

http://sowonkeyboards.com

[Master Disaster]

At this point any conference going ahead is bigger news than one being cancelled. Honestly, for the next 3 months at least assume everything is cancelled. Bless the Japanese Olympics Minister who still believes the games will go ahead, hes determined at least. Wrong but determined.

[kuddlesworth9419]

So.

[Doobeedoo]

Saw this coming. 

[Founders]

Do we need events like this anymore? Companies could just as easily host a stream (as they do anyway) outlining what they have coming out without a live audience at the event. Personally, I don’t even bother watching the events anymore, I just wait and get the news from the tech channels I follow.

[Commodus]

8 minutes ago, Founders said:

Do we need events like this anymore? Companies could just as easily host a stream (as they do anyway) outlining what they have coming out without a live audience at the event. Personally, I don’t even bother watching the events anymore, I just wait and get the news from the tech channels I follow.

It's not so much the announcements as the education and networking.  Developers can easily ask questions and share ideas with fellow creators.  Not that those are completely impossible when remote, but it's considerably harder.

[LoboTechnician]

Sad to see, but understandable. I guess we'll have double the tech to look forward to in 2021, if society is still intact that is.