Google's next big hardware event is scheduled for August 13 at 10am PST, roughly two months earlier than its usual mid-fall Made By Google event, and it's notable that the company will unveil its latest flagship device, the Pixel 9, ahead of the iPhone 16. Apple's latest products are due to be unveiled in September.
Google hasn't offered a justification for the change — perhaps things are too noisy now, less than a month before the strangest presidential election in modern U.S. history — but the company certainly has a lot to discuss with Gemini, too, and the new device will almost certainly unveil significant new generative AI capabilities ahead of the rest of the Android space.
One tradition that Google has continued this year is the pre-event device reveal, which, while it inevitably takes some of the excitement out of the room before a big event, has proven to be an effective way to generate excitement during the summer consumer electronics lull. Earlier this week, Google unveiled two new devices, the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Fold, the two most premium products in the series.
A phone made for the “Gemini Era”
Image credit: Google
Both feature the tagline “(foldable) phones built for the Gemini era,” and are the latest in a long history of AI-themed tech events. Gemini took center stage at Google I/O in May, but the developer-focused event featured more news focused on laying the groundwork for the company's AI ambitions.
In fact, Google has been intentionally keeping its consumer hardware offerings away from its developer conference, unveiling the lower-priced Pixel 8a just days before the event. Notably, the most interesting consumer Android AI feature this year didn't debut on a Pixel device at all: Circle to Search first appeared on Samsung's Galaxy S24 back in January.
Apple unveiled its own AI at WWDC in June with the launch of Apple Intelligence. Apple doesn't have the AI ​​generating power of Google or OpenAI, but that's why it decided to partner with those companies.
Apple's approach in this space is to go small and squeeze as much performance out of the device as possible, and Google has taken its own step in that direction with the Gemini Nano, a significantly smaller model that made its way into Pixel 8 devices with an update last month.
In recent years, Google has made clear its ambitions to grow the Pixel series from its long-standing second-tier position in the Android market. The company has produced its own mobile chips for several generations of devices to date. Combined with all the R&D that's gone into Gemini, could this be the moment the Pixel finally breaks away?
Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro Fold
The Pixel 9 Pro was one of two teaser videos the company released earlier this week, and as expected, Gemini was on screen for significantly longer than the hardware. 20 of the video's 30 seconds are spent asking GenAI to write a “goodbye letter” to your old phone for “something magical.”
It's, you guessed it, the Pixel 9 Pro. Rotate it 180 degrees to reveal the camera bar, and no more camera bars. Google has incorporated the camera bar into the Pixel design language, but this prominent visor is enough to make even Cyclops blush. The bar no longer spans the entire back of the device, but the camera bump juts out at a sharper angle.
Google's latest foldable phone video is virtually identical, except here the screen opens up to reveal the words “Oh hi, AI,” before closing to showcase the back of the device. The design language is similar with the camera bump, but the foldable phone is off-center and the lenses are stacked.
Google's choice of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold over the Pixel Fold 2 likely signals deeper integration into the base Pixel line. The company may finally be positioning the Pro Fold as a truly premium device in the line, which remains priced below the likes of Samsung and Apple despite the $100 price increase that came with last year's Pixel 8 release.
The company ended up opting for caution with the first Pixel Fold, which launched last summer at a steep $1,799. But that starting price has dropped significantly since then, and you can buy one directly from Google for $1,300. We recommend waiting a few weeks to see what Made by Google has in store for you, though.
Google is set to launch four Pixel devices – the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Premium. All the devices will be powered by the company's latest in-house chip, the Tensor G4, and will run Android 15.
Android 15
The latest beta version of Android 14 (Beta 4) was released last week, and while some features were previewed at I/O, the final release will have to wait until the event on August 13. Codenamed “Vanilla Ice Cream” (the name of this fun dessert is still in use internally), the latest version of the mobile operating system brings new features and UI tweaks.
Highlights already announced include improved multitasking and satellite connectivity, while Private Space is a sort of incognito mode on the device that adds authentication requirements for sensitive information, and an improved Doze mode should improve device battery life.
What about assistants?
Questions about the fate of Google Assistant have loomed large over the past few Gemini updates. It's clear that Google wants its homegrown GenAI to eventually take over Android's most pressing tasks, but it remains to be seen whether it will replace Assistant entirely or enhance it like Apple did with Siri.
While users can currently rely on Gemini as their primary assistant if they wish, Google ultimately made the right decision and held off on replacing the Assistant entirely.
The Assistant played a more central role at last year's Made by Google event, which also included the Google Home/Nest announcement, but as excitement around smart home devices has waned, the company has taken its foot off the gas, and the arrival of Gemini could bring some much-needed energy back to the space.
Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Buds Pro 2
Image credit: Google
The smart home sector may be in a slump, but Google has been pretty bullish on wearables since acquiring Fitbit in 2020. The Pixel Watch 3 is likely to hit the stage at the August 13 event, as will the Pixel Buds Pro 2.
“Made by Google” launches on August 13th at 10am PST, so stay tuned for more details.