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Google unveiled a variety of new hardware products during its Made by Google event at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters on Tuesday.
The devices, which include its Pixel 9 lineup, complete with the foldable Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Pixel Watch 3 (with new health and safety features), and Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds, arrive roughly a month ahead of Apple’s annual iPhone event.
Google (GOOG) almost certainly scheduled the show to get in front of Apple’s (AAPL) yearly hype train, ensuring its products are top of mind for at least a few weeks. But, in some ways, selling hardware isn’t exactly the main point of the search giant’s newest devices.
Sure, Google isn’t going to sneeze at any sales. That said, the big reason behind the company’s hardware effort is to showcase its AI chops.
Google spent a large chunk of its event, ostensibly about its new phones and accessories, providing an in-depth overview of how its generative AI-powered Gemini platform will serve as a smart assistant that’s actually, well, smart. We’re talking about doing everything from summarizing your phone calls to helping you plan for a trip.
That’s not to say that Google’s new hardware isn’t top-notch; on the contrary, not only are its phones sleeker this time around, they’re also packed with the kind of high-powered cameras, processors, and displays that, on paper, make them formidable opponents for any Android competitor, let alone Apple’s iPhone. And the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is shaping up to be one of the most interesting foldables to date.
But all of that takes a back seat to Google’s efforts to beat back Apple, Microsoft, and any other competitors as it seeks to claim its crown as the AI king.
It’s all about the AI
Google’s Pixel line of products historically features some of the most impressive smartphones and watches on the market. But Google isn’t looking to become the world’s top device retailer. It’ll leave that to its Android partners, including Samsung and Motorola, and Apple.
Instead, the company uses its hardware to show off its software capabilities. It’s done this for years via its Pixel phones and, before that, its Nexus line of devices, giving consumers and other Android manufacturers a better understanding of how its various services and platforms come together to provide a uniquely Google experience.
And now, with its Pixel 9 phones, Google is angling to prove that its AI software is second to none. It’s doing this by putting Gemini, its generative AI-powered virtual assistant, front and center. Now when users say, “Hey, Google,” or long-press their phones’ power buttons, they’ll bring up Gemini rather than the company’s old Google Assistant.
Gemini promises a number of new, intriguing possibilities, including being able to easily pull information from other apps via app extensions. Right now, the company is focusing on its first-party apps, including Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Calendar, and will integrate extensions into YouTube Music, Keeps, and Tasks in the future. The idea is for Gemini to “talk” to your apps so that you don’t have to.
For example, Google says you’ll be able to ask Gemini to check your Gmail for the time and location of your friend’s surprise birthday party. The assistant will then pull the evite from your Gmail and provide you with all of the relevant information without you ever having to open the app. You can then ask Gemini to tell you how long it will take to get to the party, and it will pull up an estimate along with the route to take there via Google Maps.
Take a picture of a concert poster, and you’ll be able to ask Google if you can make the show when the artist is in town. Google will then check your calendar to see if you have any conflicting events and let you know if you’ll be able to make it or not.
In another example, Google showed how a user could watch a clip of someone crocheting flowers on YouTube and then ask Gemini to teach them to crochet the same kind of flowers. Or, if you’re planning a trip to London and watching a travel vlog about the city’s restaurants to find the best to visit, you can ask about all of the locations the video mentions and add them to Google Maps so you’re ready with a host of dinner options when you land.
Chatting with Gemini, for a price
Google is also rolling out its Gemini Live service to iPhone and English Android users with Gemini Advanced subscriptions in the coming weeks. The feature is built into Gemini and allows you to speak to the assistant in real time as if you’re having a conversation with someone over the phone.
It’s difficult to tell how well these options will play with consumers. Sure, I can see asking Gemini to grab info from my Gmail or get directions in Maps, but I’m not too sure I’m likely to talk to Gemini Live any more than I talk to the Google Assistant or Apple’s Siri now, which is sparingly.
I generally use both assistants to do little more than check the score of last night’s Mets game or set a timer for whatever I’m cooking in the oven. And to subscribe to Gemini Advanced, I'd need to sign up for a Google One AI Premium account for $19.99 per month. Sure, that includes 2TB of cloud storage and Gemini for Gmail and Google Docs. But that’s still a pricey proposition.
All of this comes just a few short weeks before Apple rolls out its iPhone 16 lineup, its first line of iPhones since it announced its Apple Intelligence service at its WWDC event in May.
Like Gemini, Apple Intelligence is meant to work across your various apps and services, providing you with AI writing tools, summaries of emails and text message threads, and deep app integrations that can pull data from your emails and calendar. Apple is also launching a smarter version of Siri with a new look and less robotic voice.
There’s still no guarantee that any of these generative AI features will be a hit with consumers or that they’ll work as advertised. After all, there are plenty of instances of gen AI apps going awry. But if Google has its way, and Gemini lives up to expectations, its Pixel phones will act as the springboard to help turn it into the next big thing among Android users. And maybe win over some Apple fans too.
Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
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