Google launches enhanced Pixel phones in bid to leverage AI tech

Alphabet’s Google on Tuesday unveiled a lineup of new Pixel smartphones with deeper integrations of its artificial intelligence (AI) technology as it races to incorporate AI into its hardware.

The upgrades include a Pixel-only feature that lets users search for information stored in screenshots. Android users can also now pull up Gemini, Google’s chatbot, as an overlay on top of another app to answer questions or generate content.

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

“We’re fully in the Gemini era,” he told engineers, executives, analysts and media attending the bigger-than-usual event at Alphabet’s Bay View campus in Mountain View, California.

The event bucked another tradition: Google announced the latest versions of its Pixel smartphones in the summer rather than in autumn, as it had done with every iteration of the device since its launch in 2016.

“I’ve been to a lot of Google events and not only was this one of the most elaborate, but it was one of the most complete,” said Avi Greengart, lead analyst at Techsponential. He said Google demonstrated that it was at the forefront of AI.

The earlier timing of the event is Google’s latest bid to keep up with rivals in injecting AI features into its consumer-facing products and comes ahead of Apple’s planned launch of a new iPhone in September.

Apple announced in June that devices including its latest version of iPhones would get upgrades that include “Apple Intelligence,” a slew of generative AI-powered features within native applications, and an integration with ChatGPT, the chatbot developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI.

Google employees showcased several live demos of new Gemini functions, such as a voice conversation feature, though an attempt to use Gemini to cross-reference a picture of a concert poster with the calendar app took three tries and two devices to run successfully.

Pixel 9, the base 6.3-inch display model, will retail at a starting price of $799, which is $100 more than the previous model. This and the 6.8-inch Pixel 9 Pro XL will begin shipping later in August, a company spokesperson said. The Pixel 9 Pro, which comes with added features like a better camera, and the foldable Pixel 9 Pro Fold will ship in September.

The new gadgets are available to preorder on Tuesday.

Pixel manages my life better

“The two things that (consumers are) looking at AI to do right now is organization — and that’s across communications, across calendaring, basically manage my life better than I can — and then the other thing is content creation,” said IDC analyst Linn Huang. “I think Google nailed both.”

Google holds less than 1 per cent market share in global smartphone shipments as of the second quarter of 2024, according to IDC. It trails far behind Samsung’s market share of 18.9 per cent and Apple’s market share of 15.8 per cent, in part because Google has entered fewer markets and is focused on higher-end price segments.

In the US, Google’s 4.5 per cent share makes it the fourth-biggest smartphone maker.

The Pixel line has also enabled Google to showcase its advances and spur the developer ecosystem around its Android operating system, which is used by device manufacturers such as Samsung. Android is installed on more than 80 per cent of smartphones globally.

Android represents one of several frontlines where Google is battling competitors to embed AI in ways that consumers will use. In May, it debuted a swath of upgrades to core products such as its search engine.

The company’s engineers redesigned the Pixel’s exterior and included camera upgrades as well as Google’s new Tensor G4 chip.

Google also announced new versions of its smartwatch, the Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Buds Pro 2 wireless earbuds, on Tuesday.

The search giant added a “Loss of Pulse” feature to the new Pixel Watch. The feature uses algorithms to determine whether a user’s heart has stopped and can contact emergency services. The feature will be available in the UK and the European Union.

Google and Peloton, the fitness company known for its stationary bike, also announced a content partnership in which subscribers to Google’s Fitbit Premium service would gain access to a library of Peloton’s training classes.

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