We are so excited to announce the winners of the Google I/O 2026 Writing Challenge!
We asked you to explore the announcements from Google I/O 2026 and share your thoughts and firsthand takes. Wow, you delivered. The quality and depth of submissions genuinely impressed our team. From hands-on walkthroughs to bold opinions on what the announcements really mean for developers, the entries were thoughtful, original, and packed with insight.
Thank you to everyone who participated. Your writing helps make this community one of the best places on the internet to learn what's actually happening in tech.
Now, let's celebrate our five winners! š
š Congratulations Toā¦
@vrushali_dev_15 wrote a standout deep-dive into AppFunctions ā Android's new API for exposing app capabilities directly to AI agents. With 10 years of Android experience behind the lens, this post goes far beyond the surface announcement to map out the full architectural shift this signals and what developers should be thinking about right now, even before shipping a single AppFunction.
@vicente_junior_dev did something rare: actually tested the thing. Running Gemini 3.5 Flash across 3 real production PRs, including a CVE fix, the post documents what the model caught. Grounded, honest, and exactly the kind of first-person experimentation we love to see.
@toboreeee gave developers a practical heads-up on something that could easily slip by: Gemini CLI deprecating on June 18. Rather than just reporting the news, the post walks readers through exactly what to do before the cutoff. Genuinely useful and well-timed.
@tahosin spotted what most I/O coverage missed entirely: the Managed Agents API, buried in a 90-second demo. After two days of hands-on testing, the post delivers a clear-eyed breakdown of why this low-key announcement might matter more than all the Gemini headlines combined.
@rinisvs made the case that through all the Gemini and cloud buzz, the real story of Google I/O 2026 was local AI. With an insider's perspective, this piece cuts through the hype and lays out why on-device intelligence may be the most consequential long-term thread running through the entire event.
Prizes
Each winner will receive:
- $200 USD
- DEV++ Membership
- Exclusive DEV badge
All participants with a valid submission will receive a completion badge ā keep an eye on your DEV profile!
What's Next?
Check out our current game challenge:
Happy Coding! š
Top comments (20)
Congrats @vrushali_dev_15, @tahosin, @toboreeee, @vicente_junior_dev, @rinisvs!!! Great work! :D
I am on time @jess lol
Congrats to all the winners! š @jess quick note while you're here: my OpenClaw Challenge prize invoice is now 14 days overdue in the Ramp system. I've completed everything on my end and have been following up for weeks. Could you help nudge the accounting team? Thank you
Ah, I thought I was alone in this!
@jess: please let us know if there is any issue with the payment system!
DEV has been a lovely community for a very long time.
I'm sure most of us will be totally understanding of reasonable delays if we are kept in the loop.
All the best ā¤ļø
@dannwaneri @fm - sorry for the delays here. We recently onboarded with a new accounting firm and are still trying to figure out our workflow with them. It is looking like our payments could take up to Net 45-60 once someone is officially set up in Ramp. We'll be updating the FAQs for this with future winners so expectations are set but you all got caught up in our process where it wasn't clear how quickly payments could be turned around. Thanks for your continued patience.
Thank you for the clarification, Jess.Really appreciate you responding. I'll hang tight. š
Ah! That's all I needed. A transparent follow up ā¤ļø
Wow, excited and grateful about the win !! Thank you judges for hosting such a fun challenge, and congrats to all the other winners. Kudos to all writers !!!šļø
Winning was exciting, but reading the other entries was just as valuable. What stood out to me is that the strongest posts didn't just recap announcements, they explored the implications behind them. That made this challenge feel less like a writing contest and more like a collective effort to understand where developer tools are heading next.
Congrats to all the winners and everyone who participated. Also, thanks to the DEV team and the judges for looking beyond popularity metrics and rewarding original thinking and practical analysis. It means a lot.
Congrats everyone! Great job! š
Congrats to @vrushali_dev_15 + @vicente_junior_dev + @toboreeee + @rinisvs + @tahosin šļøš
All 5 new winners! Nice! š„°
@jess Can you please clarify the winner selection criteria?
As mentioned earlier, the winner would be chosen based on the highest likes and engagement. However, the final results don't seem to align with those criteria. If likes and engagement were the deciding factors, it would be great to understand how the winners were actually selected.
This doesn't feel fair to many participants who put significant effort into increasing engagement. Looking forward to a transparent explanation.
Engagement scores are tie breakers only
If engagement scores were only tie-breakers, then please explain this result.
Just compare my posts with the winner's posts. Most of the winner's posts have around 6ā10 likes, while my posts have significantly higher engagement, views, and likes ā in some cases more than 20 times higher.
If engagement was considered at all, the outcome doesn't make sense. I'm not questioning the winners personally, but the selection process should be transparent and consistent with the criteria that were communicated to participants.
Right now, it genuinely feels unfair.
@zenrishi our judging criteria were as follows:
This is consistent across all our challenge materials.
Congratulations to all!
Congrats winners šš
Congratulations to all the winners š