Google in a single day unveiled a line-up of latest Pixel smartphones with deeper integration of its synthetic intelligence know-how.
The upgrades embrace a Pixel-only function that lets customers seek for data saved in screenshots. Android customers can even now pull up Gemini, Google’s chatbot, as an overlay on prime of one other app to reply questions or generate content material.
“There have been so many guarantees, so many coming-soons, and never sufficient real-world helpfulness on the subject of AI, which is why at present we’re getting actual,” mentioned Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vice chairman of gadgets and companies.
“We’re totally within the Gemini period,” he informed engineers, executives, analysts and media attending the bigger-than-usual occasion at Google’s Bay View campus in Mountain View, California.
The occasion bucked one other custom: the newest variations of its Pixel smartphones have been introduced within the northern hemisphere summer season quite than within the autumn as Google has performed with each iteration of the gadget since its launch in 2016.
“I’ve been to a whole lot of Google occasions and never solely was this one of the crucial elaborate, however it was one of the crucial full,” mentioned Avi Greengart, lead analyst at Techsponential. He mentioned Google demonstrated that it was on the forefront of AI.
The sooner timing of the occasion is Google’s newest bid to maintain up with rivals in injecting AI options into its consumer-facing merchandise and comes forward of Apple’s deliberate launch of a brand new iPhone in September.
Pricing
In June, Apple introduced that gadgets together with its newest model of iPhones would get upgrades that embrace “Apple Intelligence”, a slew of generative AI-powered options inside native purposes, and an integration with ChatGPT, the chatbot developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI.
Google workers showcased a number of reside demos of latest Gemini capabilities, equivalent to a voice dialog function, although an try to make use of Gemini to cross-reference an image of a live performance poster with the calendar app took three tries and two gadgets to run efficiently.
Pixel 9, the bottom 6.3-inch show mannequin, will retail at a beginning worth of US$799, which is $100 greater than the earlier mannequin. This and the 6.8-inch Pixel 9 Professional XL will start transport later in August, an organization spokesman mentioned. The Pixel 9 Professional, which comes with added options like a greater digital camera, and the foldable Pixel 9 Professional Fold will ship in September.
The brand new devices can be found to preorder on Tuesday. Google doesn’t promote its smartphone portfolio in South Africa and the corporate has not communicated any change to that coverage for these newest devices.
“The 2 issues shoppers are AI to do proper now are organisation — and that’s throughout communications, throughout calendaring, principally handle my life higher than I can — and content material creation,” mentioned IDC analyst Linn Huang. “I feel Google nailed each.”
Google holds lower than 1% market share in international smartphone shipments as of the second quarter of 2024, in line with IDC. It trails far behind Samsung’s market share of 18.9% and Apple’s market share of 15.8%, partly as a result of Google has entered fewer markets and is concentrated on higher-end worth segments.
Within the US, Google’s 4.5% share makes it the fourth-biggest smartphone maker.
The Pixel line has additionally allowed Google to point out off advances and spur the developer ecosystem round its Android working system, which is utilized by gadget producers like Samsung. Android, globally, is put in on greater than 80% of smartphones.
Android represents one in every of a number of frontlines the place Google is battling rivals to embed AI in ways in which shoppers will use. In Could, it debuted a swath of upgrades to core merchandise like its search engine.
The corporate’s engineers redesigned the Pixel’s exterior and included digital camera upgrades in addition to Google’s new Tensor G4 chip.
Google introduced new variations of its smartwatch, the Pixel Watch 3, and Pixel Buds Professional 2 wi-fi earbuds on Tuesday as effectively.
Google additionally added a “Lack of Pulse” function to the brand new Pixel Watch. The function makes use of algorithms to find out whether or not a person’s coronary heart has stopped and might contact emergency companies. The function will likely be out there within the UK and the EU.
Additionally on Tuesday, Google and Peloton, the health firm recognized for its stationary bike, introduced a content material partnership during which subscribers to Google’s Fitbit Premium service would achieve entry to a library of Peloton’s coaching courses. — Kenrick Cai and Max A Cherney, (c) 2024 Reuters
