Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google on Tuesday unveiled a lineup of new Pixel smartphones with deeper integrations of itsartificial intelligence 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-soons, 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: the latest versions of its Pixel smartphones were announced in the summer rather than in autumn as Google 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 (AAPL.O), opens new tab planned launch of a new iPhone in September.
In June, Apple announced 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 (MSFT.O), opens new tab 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.
