AI was the headline act this Tuesday when Google introduced its new Pixel 9 smartphone line and Android 15.
It was all AI all the time at Made by Google 2024 in Silicon Valley, where the company brought new capabilities of Gemini, its next-generation AI chatbot, to Android, including an AI assistant to ask questions about anything on a phone screen.
Another feature, called Circle to Search, lets consumers circle something on their phone, like a show, and share relevant search information with others. The share feature will be available next month.
Google also unfurled Gemini Live, a “mobile conversational experience” that lets phone users chat with Gemini on any topic.
Meanwhile, the new lineup of Pixel smartphones — Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and new Pixel 9 Fold — come with deeper integrations of AI that include a Pixel-only feature that lets users search for information stored in screenshots.
A new Magic Editor feature, Reimagine, allows Pixel users to choose an object in a photo, and then transform it into anything with a prompt. A new screenshot app, what Google calls “Gemini Nano,” generates a title and summary for each screenshot. Finally, Pixel Studio, a new app for AI image generation, transforms text-based prompts into images.
The AI onslaught is part of a push to embed AI in Google devices and services. In May, for example, the company unveiled upgrades to core products like its search engine.
Of course, AI-powered smartphones can only improve Google’s standing in the worldwide smartphone market, where it had less than 1% of shipments in the second quarter, far behind leaders Samsung Electronics (19%) and Apple Inc. (16%), according to market researcher IDC.
AI tools have been demonstrated on Pixel, and several are available from Android makers like Samsung Electronics. They include the ability to remove, move or edit individual elements of a photo; move expressions between photos; and clean up audio recorded in a video. Additionally, there are tools for transcribing audio; summarizing information from web pages and emails; and searching based on a screenshot or highlighted portion of the screen.
Google’s hardware announcement comes several weeks before rival Apple’s September extravaganza. The iPhone maker, which is lagging Google in AI development, plans to unveil four iPhone models — the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – according to Bloomberg and other news outlets. Apple intelligence is expected to play a major role in the rollout.
On Tuesday, Google officials repeatedly mentioned the importance of security for its AI features, a heavy nod to consumer data in play.
