When some 7,000 software developers descend on Google Inc.’s annual I/O conference starting Wednesday, they’ll be hoping to hear what the tech giant has coming next, from the upcoming Android O mobile operating software to new features for its Home smart speaker, its Daydream virtual reality system and more.

This year, the rumors about what Google will announce at the sold-out conference have been especially sparse. That’s partly because Google introduced a lot of new hardware, which gets the most attention, not only a year ago but also last October at another event. But the technologies Google highlights at I/O are a good signal of what’s coming next from one of the tech industry’s top leaders.

The main events, which are being held for the second year in a row at the Shoreline Amphitheatre less than a half-mile from the Googleplex, will be livestreamed on the Google developers page starting at 10 a.m. PDT Wednesday. Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai (pictured at last year’s I/O) no doubt will kick off the festivities, followed by a series of other executives in the relatively short 90-minute keynote.

Pichai’s main theme since he became CEO in late 2015 has been the primary importance of AI and machine learning, declaring last year that Google would be an “AI first” company. No doubt he will extend that theme into more products and services this year.

Despite the glut of existing hardware, it’s still possible there could be a surprise new device. Unlike last year, when the only giveaway to developers was a Google Cloud Platform credit, the company this year is promising there will be a hardware giveaway. In the past, giveaways have included new phones, tablets, smart watches and Chromebooks, though there’s no obvious candidate for new hardware among those.

One possibility: a Google Home digital assistant, for which the company needs much more developer support for skills or apps, such as a calling capability, which Amazon.com Inc. just added to its Echo devices. Another possibility: Google’s WiFi system. Or perhaps both of those in one.

Here’s what else to look for at the conference:

Android O

Not surprisingly, the eighth major version of Google’s mobile operating system tops the list of expected products the company could introduce, and certainly will talk a lot about – and not just because it’s a given for a developer conference. Although the company introduced a developer version of Android O in March, it wasn’t even available to consumers willing to try it out, so it’s expected that Google will at least lay out the details of the coming release.

Google has already provided some hints of what’s in store, such as better battery life from more careful management of what apps do in the background, the ability to snooze notifications, and a picture-in-picture capability for video. If information isn’t announced at the 10 a.m. PDT Wednesday main keynote, more details on O could come at a one-hour developer keynote at 1 p.m. or a one-hour What’s New in Android session at 2 p.m.

It seems likely that Android O will be released in a full beta or at least that Google will announce a near-term date. Most Android users will have to wait a long time before it’s baked and distributed by carriers, which are quite slow to get their customers on the latest version. Google last week took a step toward fixing that issue Friday with the announcement of Treble, a modular base for Android.

Google also might reveal the name behind the code-name, no doubt extending the longtime sweets theme (Android N became Nougat, for instance), but it usually waits until actual shipping to do that, likely in the summer. Oreo seems to be a crowd favorite, but your guess is as good as anybody’s – actually, it’s probably better than some.

Home and Assistant

The company’s smart speaker and the artificial-intelligence-driven digital assistant were introduced a year ago at I/O, so it’s possible we’ll see a new Home, though rumors have not been flying about it. More likely, Google will announce new capabilities for Assistant, the smart helper that powers it.

It also won’t be surprising to hear about new partners, such as device makers incorporating it, and key apps. Indeed, it announced Monday that it’s joining with Audi and Volvo to ship car systems running Android along with Assistant. One rumor also has Google announcing an Assistant app for Apple Inc.’s iOS, which would be a shot across Siri’s bow.

The company certainly needs to build up more momentum for both Assistant and Home, which face an increasingly entrenched Echo and Alexa from Amazon.com Inc., as well as Microsoft Corp.’s Cortana. This is a key battleground for Google, because if these digital assistants really catch on, they could start to supplant Google’s cash cow, the ads that run on its search results.

Virtual and augmented reality

The Daydream virtual reality headset was one of the marquee product promises a year ago, and Google delivered it at an event last October that included the two Pixel phones and Google Home. Although VR is in a trough of disillusionment, few people think it won’t take off at some point, probably when compelling content emerges as Moore’s Law makes truly capable headsets cheap enough.

In fact, Google has begun to address the content issue. Last week, it bought Owlchemy Labs Inc., maker of VR games such as Job Simulator, saying it will focus on “developing new interaction models across many different platforms.”

Augmented reality no doubt will get attention as well at the 9:30 a.m. PDT keynote Thursday, which is focused on both VR and AR. Google may announce new devices using its Project Tango AR technology, which overlays images onto the real world. The company also could demonstrate “mixed reality” technology that mixes AR and VR, as Microsoft did at its Build developer conference last week.

Fuchsia

Google surely doesn’t want to usurp Android or even its Chrome operating system, but this mysterious new real-time operating system, which came to light last year, could get some play. It’s not at all clear what the Fuchsia OS, which isn’t based on Linux, might be for, perhaps larger-screen tablets or Chromebooks or maybe the long-awaited fusing of Android and Chrome. But last week a user interface came to light, suggesting it might be just a little closer to a public announcement.

Photos

Google likely will announce a Shutterfly-type services that allows its Photos users to print out coffee-table photo books, according to a report today from Bloomberg.

Android Auto

Google preempted itself on Monday with the Audi and Volvo announcement, but it will be showing off a preview of the system at I/O.

All that’s surely not all, given scheduled sessions on what’s new in everything from Google’s Play store and Android TV, Wear and Instant Apps to the mobile web and payments – not to mention Google’s penchant for surprise. That’s why, if you care about where Google’s going next, it’s worth tuning into the keynotes Wednesday and Thursday.

There are a couple of things you probably won’t see, though – for one, new Pixel phones. There are rumors aplenty about the Pixel 2 phones, running Android O of course, but given that the first of Google’s high-end smartphones debuted last October, new ones won’t come out until this fall.

Also, don’t expect a lot of cloud news. Google’s big Cloud Next show was in March, and it introduced a huge array of new services. So it’s probably way too soon for much of anything significant to come out here, despite sessions involving the Google Cloud Platform, such as its role in the Internet of Things.

Photo: Robert Hof