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A new tweet from the official Wear OS Twitter account is teasing an update tomorrow at I/O 2021 to Google’s frequently forgotten smartwatch operating system. Google has even suggested that the developer conference will feature an entirely new version of Wear OS on the I/O Adventure page, the “virtual sandbox” for trying the products Google will announce at the conference, 9to5Google writes.

Wear OS has been on a long and bumpy journey up until this point — with new features, but not the dramatic rethinking of the platform that it may need. In the last year, Google has added a new keyboard, support for third-party Tiles (Wear OS’s answer to glanceable widget-like information), and improvements to performance. But the last major design change to Wear OS — other than the addition of Tiles — came in 2018. If anything, Google’s tease is a welcome sign of life.

Both Google’s acquisition of Fossil’s smartwatch tech in 2019 and its plans to acquire Fitbit in 2020, reignited the hope that it would also acquire a renewed interest in wearables as a concept. The process of absorbing Fitbit in particular was drawn out for the health data privacy concerns that came with it, but the deal was ultimately approved in 2021.

In the meantime, Google’s other wearable partners kept the platform on life support. Fossil’s watches — like the 2019 Gen 5 and 2021 Gen 5 LTE — were frequently limited by the subpar performance of Qualcomm’s smartwatch processors. Mobvoi took a different approach with its 2021 TicWatch Pro 3, by skinning Wear OS, layering in an extra display, and filling the watch with a suite of custom apps, but still ran into some inherently Wear OS-type issues.

But back to the hope on the horizon: Google is teasing a new Wear OS version, and there are rumors of some hardware to back that up — Samsung is reportedly dropping its Tizen OS in exchange for using Google’s software on its next smartwatches. With a big powerful new partner, a wearable team of its own, and the possibility of Android 12’s rumored new visual design coming to Wear OS, it suddenly seems like Google might have a plan for your wrist. We’ll have to watch this week to see how promising that plan actually is.

Google I/O kicks off Tuesday, and even though it’s a developers conference, it’s likely we’ll see some major product announcements, including more details on Android 12 and possibly Pixel hardware. The company skipped I/O last year due to the pandemic, so there’s a lot to catch up on. 

How to watch Google I/O

Google I/O is entirely virtual this year and free for everyone to attend, running May 18 through 20. The opening keynote starts at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET on May 18. Google has also published an official schedule for keynotes and breakout sessions. To sign up for Google I/O, you just need to sign in to your Google account and register for the event. 

Here’s everything we expect to see at Google I/O.

Android 12 updates

Android 12 could bring the biggest visual change to the operating system in years. Leaked screenshots emerged earlier this year showing a new interface, widgets and privacy features.

While the first developer beta released in February had a lot of changes under the hood, there were a few hints in the Settings app pointing to a complete redesign on the way. Referred to as “Material NEXT” in a leak from XDA Developers, we may see changes to the lock screen, notifications panel and a new theming system.

It’s likely Google will announce the public beta of Android 12 at Google I/O, so we could see the first official look at Android’s new paint job, too. The timing of I/O also roughly lines up with Google’s schedule shown below for Android 12 beta releases. 

Read more: Everything else we’re expecting in Android 12.

Pixel Watch, Pixel Buds A-Series, WearOS

We’ve been hearing rumors about a Pixel Watch for years. Could Google I/O finally be the event to showcase Google’s first branded wearable? A leak in April from Jon Prosser showed a circular watch likely powered by a new version of WearOS. The renders show a watch without a bezel around the screen, no physical buttons, interchangeable watch straps and indications the watch will have a heart rate sensor.

This is also the first major Google event since acquiring Fitbit. It seems unlikely that we’ll see new hardware as the Fitbit Luxe was just announced, but Google could announce broader integration of Fitbit within the Google ecosystem, or even in WearOS itself.

Another WearOS rumor from Korean news outlet MT points to the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 running Google’s operating system instead of Samsung’s own Tizen, which we might hear more about during I/O.

Google may have already accidentally leaked the newest Pixel Buds in an email to Nest users in April, followed up with an accidental tweet from Google’s own Android account in May. Just like the “A series” of Pixel phones, the Pixel Buds A may cost less than the original Buds that currently sell for $180. The leak also showed a new mint green color, and the tweet said the earbuds will support the new Fast Pair feature for quick Bluetooth device pairing on Android.

It seems highly unlikely we’ll see the Pixel 5a announced at Google I/O, given that there’s currently a global chip shortage and the company also issued an official statement saying the phone would be released later in the year to quash rumors of its cancellation. The Pixel 4a was released in August 2020, so given that timing, it makes sense for Google to save the 5a announcement until later in the year.

The other wildcard could be Google’s rumored mobile processor. Codenamed Whitechapel, it may be developed in conjunction with Samsung and make its debut in the upcoming Pixel 6. Again, it’s unlikely we’ll see that phone announced at I/O, but announcing the chip could give some heads-up for developers.

Google Assistant and smart home products

Google I/O has had some show-stopping demos in the past, like when the Google Duplex AI had a natural phone conversation with a real person to make a hair appointment. While we don’t have any leaks pointing to exact capabilities coming to the Google Assistant, maybe we could hear news of the new Assistant coming to more Android devices, not just Pixel phones. 

An official blog post also said to expect new features and new product announcements in smart home. Google just launched the $99 Nest Audio toward the end of 2020, so maybe it could get some new features, or we could see a new version of the Nest Hub Max.

There’s also speculation about an updated Chromecast, thanks to an FCC filing that appeared in March. 

We don’t hear much about Sharp’s smartphones these days, largely because they’re only available in Japan and a select few other regions. However, the company has just unveiled a new model, the Aquos R6, that’s loaded with interesting tech, as Engadget Japan has reported. That includes a Leica-branded camera with a very large sensor that raises a few questions about Leica’s relationship with Huawei. 

Sharp collaborated with Leica to create a 20-megapixel camera with a 1-inch sensor, one of the largest available on any smartphone. It worked with Leica on the entire camera system, including the sensor (likely built by Sony), 19mm f/1.9 wide-angle lens (35mm equivalent), and image quality features. The 7-element lens design even earned Leica’s vaunted “Summicron” branding, which supposedly lets you shoot with less distortion. However, the Aquos R6 has just a single rear camera, so zooming (from wide to telephoto) is done digitally, not optically. 

Sharp’s collaboration with Leica is rather interesting, because rumors cropped up yesterday that Leica was ending its relationship with Huawei, though both companies previously denied this. Given the new Sharp collaboration, however, Leica is no longer exclusive to Huawei anymore, at the very least. Whether it will also work with other camera companies like Xiaomi, as is rumored, remains to be seen. 

The Aquos R6 has a screen to match the camera, too. The 6.6-inch, 2,730 x 1,260 HDR screen puts out up to 2,000 nits of brightness — the highest available on any smartphone, Sharp claims. To hit that number, Sharp said it developed the OLED display using its IGZO tech, though it’s not clear exactly how that works. To avoid rapid battery drain from such a bright display, Sharp supposedly developed a system to reduce the refresh rate to 1Hz when a still image is displayed. 

Another nifty feature for security conscious folks is the dual-fingerprint system. The Aquos R6 is apparently one of the first smartphones to use Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic Max fingerprint authentication system, first announced in 2019. The significantly larger area makes for easier fingerprint identification, while also allowing users to log in with two fingerprints simultaneously for extra security. 

Other specs include a Snapdragon 888 process, 12GB of RAM, 128 GB of expandable storage and a 5,000 mAh battery to support that huge screen and battery. There’s no word on price or availability, but you won’t likely be able to get one in the US. 

SNK and developer TiMi Studios have released the first gmaeplay trailer for Metal Slug Code: J, the upcoming yet-to-be-named game in the classic arcade franchise for iOS and Android.

A release date for Metal Slug Code: J has yet to be announced.

Watch the trailer below.

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It wasn’t the biggest of Mass Effect 3’s missteps, so you’d be forgiven for having forgotten all about it, but BioWare’s trilogy did us all dirty when it spent 2.9 games building up the mystery of what Tali the Quarian looked like only to reveal…she looked like stock art of a sexy human lady.

The fact Tali, the only Quarian we ever see without a mask on, was shown to be basically a human with white eyes (above) at the end of Mass Effect 3 was a crushing disappointment to fans, who had grown accustomed to being able to “romance” more alien aliens. It was also just weird…why would someone who wears a mask and helmet 99.99% of the time bother/tolerate growing long hair?

However with a chance to change things with the Mass Effect Legendary Edition remasters, Bioware have done just that, replacing the notorious stock art image with something a little less “Getty”.

Tali is still shown to be very human-like—which I’m sure will still upset some Mass Effect fans—but now has her mask on, and in general is looking a lot more like she is posing for a regular photo, and not a still from a country music video.

(For what it’s worth I still really like this early idea from Matt Rhodes, one of the artists who worked on the original games).

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Apple Says Tile Trackers Sold Poorly in Apple Stores

Earlier last month, Spotify, Tile, and Match (owner of Tinder), testified at an app store antitrust hearing spearheaded by the U.S. Senate. During the hearing, Spotify called Apple’s App Store “an abusive power grab,” while Tile said Apple uses its platform to “unfairly limit competition for its products.” Now, in response to their testimonies, Apple’s vice president and chief compliance…

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition project director Mac Walters has confirmed that Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer could be added to the collection in the future if the demand is great enough.In an interview with CNET, Walters said that he would never “say no” to Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer making a return after its omission in the Legendary Edition.

“I would never say no to that — we want to see what kind of reception the Legendary Edition gets and what the demand for the multiplayer is,” Walters said. “And then we’ll ask ourselves if we have the resources and time to bring it up to the quality level we and fans want.”

In our interview with Walters prior to release, he mentioned that the decision to leave Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer out of the Legendary Edition came to to “knowing where to draw the line.”

Have you played Mass Effect: Legendary Edition?

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“It obviously had a lot of challenges,” Walters explained. “Everything from what you do with crossplay, because that’s kind of an expectation now; what you do with people who are still playing multiplayer now — how do you honor that, how do you bring them in, can we somehow bridge that gap? And of course these aren’t insurmountable challenges, there are things that we can do to fix that problem and get multiplayer in there.

“But when you look at the amount of effort that it was going to take to do that, it was easily commensurate if not greater than uplifting all of Mass Effect 1, and I think our focus was on the single-player experience.”

Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer was a co-op experience that allowed players to team up to take on Reapers, Cerberus, Geth, and Collector forces. Progress in the mode also earned that player rewards in the Galaxy at War system that influences the outcome of Mass Effect 3’s story.

FYI: Galaxy at War has been rebalanced in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition in light of multiplayer and the companion app being available.

For more on Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, check out every important choice and consequence you can make in the three games, where our review of the collection is, and our guide to all the possible romances in the space adventure.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Just ahead of Google I/O, which gets underway on Tuesday, a new leak purporting to be a preview of what’s coming during the annual developers’ conference gives some insight into what Android 12 might look like. A new video from Jon Prosser shows what appear to be slides from a presentation of Android 12.

The first slide sets up what to expect: “A beautiful new experience,” “Stronger privacy and security protections,” and “All of your devices work better together.”

The usual caveats about leaked materials apply, of course; there’s no guarantee this is what the final interface will look like, or how much may be announced during I/O. But the most interesting slide in Prosser’s video shows what appears to be a new user interface for Android 12, including a new media widget, a brightness toggle, a weather widget, an analog clock widget, a snooze/dismiss toggle, and stacked notifications (in the lower right corner of the screen grab):

Jon Prosser/Front Page Tech

Previous leaks of Android 12 have shown stacked widgets, which look similar to the Smart Stacks introduced in iOS 14. We’ve also seen earlier leaks via XDA Developers that showed new themes and a conversation widget for Android 12. And Google’s own developer previews of Android 12 have included a lot of small tweaks and developer-focused features, while hinting at some significant UI changes that have been rumored, including the stacked widgets and a new lock screen with larger clock text.

Prosser shows a what he says is a video from I/O that shows updated notifications, a new keyboard design, and a new lock screen with a larger clock, which seem to confirm the earlier leaked info.

If the details in the latest leak roundup are accurate, Android 12 could be the biggest overhaul of the OS in several years. We’ll find out more in a few days when the annual I/O conference kicks off.