Key Points
- Google launched its latest Pixel smartphones with enhanced AI features, breaking tradition by announcing them in the summer.
- New AI features include searching information within screenshots and an overlay function for using the Gemini chatbot across apps.
- The event highlighted Google’s focus on making AI more practical and accessible daily as it competes with Apple’s upcoming AI-enhanced iPhone.
- The new Pixel 9 series includes the base model, Pixel 9 Pro, and foldable Pixel 9 Pro Fold, with prices starting at $799.
Google has unveiled its latest lineup of Pixel smartphones, emphasizing deeper integrations of artificial intelligence (AI) technology as it pushes to bring AI-driven features to its hardware. The launch event, held at Alphabet’s Bay View campus in Mountain View, California, departed from Google’s usual autumn announcement schedule, showcasing the company’s urgency to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vice president of devices and services, highlighted the company’s commitment to making AI genuinely useful in everyday life. “There have been so many promises, so many coming-soons, and not enough real-world helpfulness when it comes to AI, which is why today we’re getting real,” Osterloh said, emphasizing that Google is fully immersed in what he called the “Gemini era.”
The new Pixel smartphones have several AI-powered features unique to the Pixel series. One notable addition is a feature allowing users to search for information stored in screenshots, a function not available on Android devices. Additionally, Android users can now access Google’s chatbot, Gemini, as an overlay on top of other apps, enabling them to ask questions or generate content without leaving the current application.
This event’s timing is significant as it precedes Apple’s anticipated iPhone launch in September. Apple is expected to introduce its own AI enhancements under the “Apple Intelligence” banner. These include generative AI-powered features within native applications and a ChatGPT integration developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI.
During the event, Google employees showcased live demos of new Gemini functions, including a voice conversation feature. However, a demo attempting to cross-reference a concert poster with the calendar app encountered difficulties, requiring three tries and two devices to function properly. This highlights the challenges of integrating AI seamlessly.
The new Pixel 9 smartphones come in several variants, with the base model featuring a 6.3-inch display and starting at $799, a $100 increase from the previous model. The lineup includes the Pixel 9 Pro, which boasts enhanced camera features, a larger 6.8-inch display, and the foldable Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL are set to begin shipping later in August, while the Pixel 9 Pro and the foldable model will ship in September. Preorders for these devices opened immediately following the event.
