Google unveiled its next generation of Pixel phones on Tuesday, providing the maker of Android software a head start on the next iPhone in the race to bring more artificial-intelligence services to devices that have become people's constant companions. The showcase held near Google's Mountain View, California, headquarters took place two months earlier than when the company typically rolls out the next models in its Pixel phone line-up, which made its debut eight years ago, the AP reports.
Although Pixel phones still represent a sliver of worldwide smartphone sales, they are still closely watched because they serve as Google's platform for demonstrating the latest advances in the Android operating system that powers virtually every phone not made by Apple. And Google left little doubt that the Pixel 9 phones are meant to be a vessel for the AI technology that is expected to reshape the way people live and work, just as smartphones in general have done over the past 15 years.
- "We are obsessed with the idea that AI can make life easier and more productive for people," Rick Osterloh, a Google senior vice president who oversees the Pixel phones, said Tuesday. This generation of phones will be the first centered around the Gemini technology that's become the focal point of Google's push into AI.
- Just as Apple is aiming to do with Siri, Google has designed its Gemini assistant to be more conversational, providing it with a range of 10 different human-like voices. It's able to handle even more tasks, especially if users are willing to give it access to email and other documents.
- In on-stage demonstrations Tuesday, the Gemini assistant speaking in a voice called "Ursa" was able to come up with helpful ideas for a fun way to use invisible ink when asked to come up with creative ideas.
- But the Gemini assistant also stumbled when shown a picture of a poster for singer Sabrina Carpenter, and when asked to let the questioner know when she was performing a concert in the area. After coming up blank on the first two requests, the Gemini assistant provided the requested information.
- The Pixel 9 phones also will feature "Magic Editor," AI technology capable of completely transforming pictures by quickly and seamlessly adding a person who wasn't in the original photo, or by altering the photo's landscape or background.
- The more advanced Gemini Assistant will require a monthly subscription that will be free for one year for all buyers of the next Pixel 9 phones, which will begin shipping Aug. 22 before becoming more widely available next month. The standard Pixel 9 will sell for $800, a $100 increase from last year, while the Pixel 9 Pro will sell for $1,000 or $1,100, depending on the size. The next generation of a foldable Pixel phone that Google introduced last year will sell for $1,800.
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