Google Unveils Upgraded Pixel Phones to Boost AI Integration

Google’s new Pixel smartphones have more AI built in. The company wants to be the leader in AI-powered consumer tech and is working harder than ever to stay ahead of Apple and other competitors.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., August 13 – Google, part of Alphabet, released a new line of Pixel smartphones on Tuesday with deeper AI integrations. The company is racing to build AI into its hardware. One of the added Pixel-only features is the ability to search for information stored in screenshots. Google’s chatbot, Gemini, can now answer questions or generate new content on Android.

Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vice president of devices and services, said, “There have been so many promises and coming-soon, but not enough real-world usefulness when it comes to AI. That’s why today we’re getting real.”

“We’re fully in the Gemini era,” he told engineers, executives, analysts, and reporters at Alphabet’s Bay View campus in Mountain View, California, where the event was bigger than usual. Google broke another rule by announcing the newest Pixel smartphones in the summer instead of the autumn, as the company had done with every Pixel device since it first came out in 2016.

Avi Greengart, lead analyst at Techsponential, said, “I’ve been to a lot of Google events, and this was one of the most complete and well-planned.” He said that Google had shown that it was the leader in AI. Google is trying to keep up with its competitors by adding AI features to its consumer products faster than it can. The event’s earlier date comes before the planned launch of a new iPhone in September.

In June, Apple announced that many of its devices, including the newest iPhones, would be getting updates that would add “Apple Intelligence,” a bunch of generative AI-powered features in native apps, and the ability to work with ChatGPT, a chatbot created by OpenAI with backing from Microsoft.

Google employees showed off several new features for Gemini, including a voice conversation feature. However, it took three tries and two devices for Gemini to be able to connect a picture of a concert poster to the calendar app. The Pixel 9 with a base screen size of 6.3 inches will cost $799, which is $100 more than the previous model.

Someone from the company said that this and the 6.8-inch Pixel 9 Pro XL will start shipping later in August. On September 1, the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will be available. Some things on the Pixel 9 Pro are different, like the better camera.

Linn Huang, an IDC analyst, stated, “The two things that consumers are looking for AI to do right now are organization which spans across communications, calendaring, and managing my life better than I can, and then content creation.” “I think Google nailed both.”

IDC says that as of the second quarter of 2024, Google has less than a 1% share of the global smartphone market. This is because Google has only entered a few markets and focuses on higher-end price ranges, leaving it far behind Samsung’s (005930. KS) market share of 18.9% and Apple’s market share of 15.8%. With a 4.5% share, Google is the fourth-largest smartphone maker in the US.

Google has leveraged the Pixel line to showcase its advancements and expand the developer community for the Android operating system, a platform that companies such as Samsung utilize. More than 80% of smartphones around the world have Android installed.

Google Expands AI-Powered Products

Android is one of many platforms where Google is competing with other companies to add AI to products that people will want to buy. It showed off a bunch of improvements to its main products, like its search engine, in May.

Engineers at the company changed the Pixel’s exterior design and added better cameras, as well as Google’s new Tensor G4 chip. The Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Buds Pro 2 wireless earbuds both got new versions from Google on Tuesday.

Google also added a feature known as “Loss of Pulse.” The feature uses algorithms to check if a user’s heart has stopped beating so that they can call 911. People in the UK and the EU will be able to use the feature.

Google and Peloto, a fitness company known for its stationary bikes, also announced a content partnership on Tuesday. People who subscribe to Google’s Fitbit Premium service will be able to access a library of Peloton’s training classes.