By Kenrick Kaye and Max A. Charney
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Alphabet Inc.'s Google on Tuesday unveiled a new lineup of Pixel smartphones with deeper integration of artificial intelligence technology as it pushes forward with efforts to build AI into its hardware.
The upgrade includes a Pixel-exclusive feature that lets you search for information stored in screenshots. Android users can also summon Gemini, Google's chatbot, as an overlay on top of another app to answer questions or generate content.
“We've seen a lot of promises and coming soons when it comes to AI, but not enough real-world utility, which is why we're seeing reality today,” said Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of Devices and Services at Google.
“We are fully in the Gemini era,” he told engineers, executives, analysts and media attending a larger-than-usual event at Alphabet's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California.
The event also bucked another tradition: The latest version of its Pixel phone was announced in the summer, rather than the fall, as Google has done with every version of the device since its 2016 launch.
“I've been to a lot of Google events, and this one wasn't just the most elaborate, it was the most complete,” said Avi Greengart, principal analyst at Techponential, who said Google proved it was at the cutting edge of AI.
The earlier event is Google's latest effort to keep up with competitors by incorporating AI capabilities into its consumer products, and comes ahead of Apple's planned September launch of new iPhones.
Apple announced in June that its devices, including the latest version of the iPhone, would receive an upgrade that includes “Apple Intelligence,” a set of AI-powered generative features within native applications, and integration with ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI.
Google employees showed off some live demos of Gemini's new features, such as voice conversation capabilities, but an attempt to use Gemini to cross-reference a photo of a concert poster with a calendar app took three tries and two devices to succeed.
The base Pixel 9 model with a 6.3-inch display will start at $799, $100 more than its predecessor. That model and the 6.8-inch Pixel 9 Pro XL will start shipping in late August, according to a company spokesperson. The Pixel 9 Pro, which has extra features like a better camera, and the foldable Pixel 9 Pro Fold will ship in September.
The new gadget will be available for pre-order starting Tuesday.
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“Take better control of your life”
“There are two things consumers expect from AI right now: One is organization — communication, calendaring, basically managing my life better than I can — and the other is content creation,” said IDC analyst Lin Huang. “I think Google has done both well.”
According to IDC, Google will account for less than 1% of global smartphone shipments as of the second quarter of 2024, far behind Samsung's 18.9% and Apple's 15.8%, partly because Google operates in fewer markets and focuses on higher-priced segments.
In the United States, Google's market share of 4.5% makes the company the fourth-largest smartphone maker.
The Pixel series also allows Google to show off advancements to its Android operating system and foster a developer ecosystem around it, which device makers like Samsung use and is installed on more than 80% of smartphones worldwide.
Android is one of the front lines as Google battles rivals to incorporate AI in ways that are easy for consumers to use, and in May it unveiled a series of upgrades to its core products, including its search engine.
The company's engineers have redesigned the Pixel's look, upgraded the camera, and added Google's new Tensor G4 chip.
Google also announced a new version of its smartwatch, the Pixel Watch 3, and wireless earphones, the Pixel Buds Pro 2, on Tuesday.
Google has also added a “missing pulse” feature to the new Pixel Watch, which uses an algorithm to determine if a user's heart has stopped and allows emergency services to be contacted. The feature will be available in the UK and the European Union.
Also on Tuesday, Google and Peloton, the fitness company known for its stationary bikes, announced a content partnership that will give subscribers to Google's Fitbit Premium service access to Peloton's library of workout classes.
(Reporting by Kenrick Kai and Max A. Charney in Mountain View, California; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Matthew Lewis)
