Microsoft confirms Build 2018 will start a day before Google IO

Microsoft will host its 2018 annual Build developer conference on May 7 through May 9 this year in Seattle, Washington, infamous Microsoft leaker ‘@h0x0d’ on Twitter first claimed – now, Microsoft has confirmed the date.

Update: This story has been updated since it's original publishing to reflect the most recent developments. The original story – save for Microsoft's confirming tweet newly added – is found below.

That’s just a day before the start of Google’s IO 2018 developer conference in San Francisco, set to run May 8 through May 10.

The news of the potential dates for Microsoft’s event first came to light through a promotional image seemingly obtained and shared by ‘@h0x0d’, a famed Microsoft leaker on Twitter. This leak was then corroborated by The Verge, which simply reported the news as an official announcement albeit without any verifiable source.

What does this all mean? We now know that Microsoft and Google are going to be fiercely competing for not only developer attendance but for their respective fair share of the tech news cycle on those days.

We also doubt that this was done intentionally, as these events are mapped out and planned months of in advance of any public announcement – intentional or otherwise.

As for what to expect, we’ll likely get in-depth previews of features to be released in the next late 2018 release of Windows 10, as what we now know as the Spring Creators Update could launch a month or more in advance of Build 2018, like the Creators Update of 2017 preceded its respective Build conference by about as much time.

If the past few Build conferences are anything to go by, don’t expect to see any flashy new hardware at Build 2018 – this conference is normally reserved for the developers, not the customers.