Google I/O 2014 Rumors Round-Up: Android 4.5, Nexus 8, Android TV, Project Ara, And More

With Apple's WWDC 2014 ending in a couple of days, the ball will soon roll over to Google as it prepares for its I/O conference later this month.

In case you have not been reading enough news bits lately, the I/O Conference will be held on June 25 and 26 with several software and hardware announcements expected from the search giant. 

However, for the past few months there have already been rumors surrounding the event, which focuses on a number of hardware projects. 

Android 4.5

While most of the things we will cover here are hardware, let's just get this lone software update done. Rumors are claiming that Google would announce version 4.5 of Android, and will be named Lollipop. In a report TechRadar, the timing is already right as the average duration between two Android versions is 5 months. 

Android TV

For the past couple of years, Google has been trying its best to promote its Android TV, and while it has not been launched, the company certainly wants to gain some foothold right away. Unfortunately for Google, the Android TV is a direct competitor of Chromecast as far as functions are concerned. Once the company finds a unique feature of Android TV that it will 'sell' to customers, then it would surely make its debut in the Google I/O 2014. 

Project Ara

A lot of smartphone geeks have been waiting for an update about this project since PhoneBloks introduced the concept almost a year ago. And in previous Google events, there have been a great amount of work put in this project in order to meet expectations. We still have to wait until before the end of the month to see what this $50 base phone can offer to the market. 

Nexus 8

The Nexus 8 is slowly fading due to the number of 'other' projects currently being worked on by Google. However, it is mainly because of Android Silver which the company announced several weeks back that would replace the Nexus lineup when it comes to 'pure Android experience'. In this year's Google I/O event, we expect the Nexus family to make one last hurrah with the release of the Nexus 8.