While we eagerly await the arrival of the next Android 14 developer preview sometime this month, we're also getting our earliest hints on the next big event in the world of smartphones. This afternoon, Google released a puzzle teasing the eventual invite for Google I/O 2023. Thanks to some assistance from thousands of players across the world working together, we now know exactly when I/O is set for this year: May 10th, 2023. You can register at Google's official website.

This year's puzzle consisted of six input-output games (get it?), each with a clue that needed to be decoded. Some of them were simple enough — one early puzzle essentially tells you to enable the first and third switches through some clever wordplay. Others, not so much. While some of the clues gave mixed up directions, one simply read "Third times are a charm (±1)," which, personally, left me completely stumped.

What you would see after solving one of the individual puzzles.

As players worked together to solve each puzzle, meters for each individual task filled up. Each solved solution could also be dragged and dropped into groups, which automatically updated the output to the right of the page. This year, Google allowed non-players to follow along at home, giving viewers from around the world the ability to "observe" rather than participate.

Finally, after an afternoon of clues and binary codes, Google gave us the answer. Google I/O is set for May 10th, where the company is likely to unveil the Pixel 7a, formally announce release information for the Pixel Tablet, and give a detailed introduction to Android 14. We might even see teases towards the Pixel 8 series and the ever-rumored Pixel Fold, if recent history is any indication. Strangely, this year's invite only has a single date on it, rather than spanning over a couple of days as in years past. It could point to a smaller overall conference, though most people around the world likely just tune into the main keynote anyway.