The modern world's evolved to embrace connectivity. We live in cities, we work in offices (or at least, we used to), and so many of our interactions are driven by this urge to keep connecting with others. That's absolutely true of our devices as well, and for as great as a smartphone is on its own, it's nothing compared to the role it can play in a greater ecosystem of connected wearables, computers, media systems, and even vehicles. Now at CES 2022 Google's only talking about making all these connections stronger, more feature-rich, and easier to set up.

Google's got a lot to share today, and we're going to be looking at developments across a bunch of different product types. A nice chunk of these concern Android Auto and vehicle integration with Google services. We get an update on work towards using your phone to not just unlock your car, but also securely share that virtual key when you need to. We're also hearing about some new Motorola hardware for wireless Android Auto, and the latest from partnerships with companies like Volvo.

Good connectivity is driven by ease of access, and no one likes unnecessary roadblocks preventing them from using their stuff together. To that end, we're learning about what's coming next from Fast Pair, helping your accessories work as seamlessly with Chromebooks and TVs as they do with your Android phone.

Chromebooks, phones, and tablets alike are also picking up new connected integration with smartwatches, letting you unlock all your gear through the presence of your Wear OS device.

Some of the coolest-sounding advancements are in audio, and Google's working on a way for your Bluetooth headphones to automatically jump between sources as content demands it. Along with some nifty processing for spatial audio effects, we should see this land in the next few months.

We're also hearing about Google's latest partnerships, like working with HP, Acer, and Intel to bring Fast Pair to Windows PCs, or extending Chromecast built-in to Bose speakers.

That's a lot to take in, and we don't blame you for feeling a bit overwhelmed. But maybe more than that, we're mainly feeling excited about this expanded connectivity, and all these ways the stuff we use today is only going to get better over the months to come.