Google has taken the battle with its competitor, Apple, a notch higher by launching smartphones that mix artificial intelligence more profoundly with its operating system. The newly-released smartphones present features powered by AI including an exclusive tool to Pixel that enables individuals to edit themselves into photos and an onsite ability that helps users to save key data that the Gemini AI assistant can easily retrieve using a screenshot. Analyses of Pixel screenshots make the image content searchable, thereby permitting users to effectively store and systematise data.
The feature Add Me gives permission to users to capture an original photo, pass their phone to another person who can then take a picture of you and then add you to the main photo, processing the entire portrait into one frame.
Another feature, Magic Editor, will propose how to automatically adjust photos or offer cropping suggestions to optimise photo quality. Users can insert new items, like more lush grass or wild blossoms, to alter an image.
The Pixel 9 is furnished with Pixel Studio, an application that formulates images from text prompts. While it can use various styles that consist of animation photos to video game visuals, it won’t alter images of individuals.
The Pixel 9, 9 Pro, the larger-screen 6.8-inch Pixel 9 Pro XL and the new Pixel 9 Pro Fold will have the new features.
The devices come with the Tensor G4 processor; the Pro models are equipped with 16GB RAM to support advanced AI aspects, which is an improvement from the previous year’s models. The G4 is the inaugural model to operate Gemini Nano with Multimodality, an ability that helps the phones comprehend several types of content ranging from text and photos to audio.
Gemini has the capability to encapsulate video content from YouTube, use screenshots to extract data and design calendar meetings, and construct documents with a specific tone.
Echoing Google’s dedication to AI, Rick Osterloh, the senior VP of devices and services at Google stated, “We are steadfast believers that AI has the potential to make our lives more straightforward and boost productivity. It is essential to get this right since devices are what we use on a daily basis.”
Mr Osterloh criticised businesses that have tantalised customers with impending AI capabilities, which have not yet materialised, observing the prevailing doubt surrounding AI’s true potential. “There’s a surplus of hollow promises and AI ‘coming soons’ but there’s a deficiency in practical, real-world applications,” he stated, adding that focusing on the tangible is the aim of the current time, which he dubs the ‘Gemini era.’
Google’s upcoming Pro devices will feature Gemini Live, a product revealed at Google I/O earlier this year, offering a more human-like interaction with Gemini through verbal exchanges via mobile phones or Pixel Buds. The feature includes the ability to pose sequential queries, incorporate additional requests and interruptions in a manner akin to typical human dialogues. Initially, it will be English-only but will be expanded to other Android devices by different manufacturers.
Google persists in promoting the Pixel phone’s visual prowess, emphasising its high-quality imaging and video capability. The Pro variants will possess a trio of rear cameras and a superior 42-megapixel selfie camera. Google has incorporated sophisticated video functions, applying its Super Res Zoom to videos for the first time and launching Video Boost, a feature that elevates videos to 8K.
Users will benefit from a one-year Google One AI Premium Plan bundled with the phone, introducing them to more potent AI capabilities. This includes AI functions within productivity applications like Google Docs and Gmail, able to summarise documents and craft emails with a tone adjustment feature.
At its Made by Google event, the company unveiled the new devices along with a new range of products such as ear buds and watches. The new Pixel Buds Pro 2, equipped with the Tensor A1 chip for superior audio processing that adjusts to your surroundings, are a major upgrade. They’re designed for working out, and smaller than the previous model.
The Pixel Watch has also been updated, adding an additional 45mm size option to the collection. To get ahead of AI smartphone competitors, the tech behemoth has moved the timing of its annual event from October to this week.
Analyst Ben Woods from CCS Insights has voiced his optimism about the future performance of Google’s Pixel team, following their latest update. He believes the popularity of Pixel devices will persist, given their expanding accessibility across various global markets and their constantly increasing sales, particularly in North America and Europe. Although these products are currently aimed towards a fairly niche audience, the reach is gradually extending.
In 2023, Pixel phones accounted for around 1% of worldwide smartphone sales and 5% in the US according to an analysis conducted by CCS Insights. Despite operating within a niche market, Google’s future in this space hangs in the balance. The corporation has been channelling resources into AI technology for a considerable period; however, it was somewhat unprepared for the unexpected reveal of Open AI’s ChatGPT, giving the competition a head start.
Google has successfully launched numerous AI integrations for their devices over recent years, which includes potent photo editing software and a newly designed helper, Gemini. More so, Google’s partnership with Samsung has resulted in smart tool integration within Galaxy AI, such as the “circle to search” function and the aforementioned photo editing suite.
Nevertheless, Google is also preparing for emerging competition from Apple, as the tech giant is poised to launch Apple Intelligence in the upcoming weeks.
Woods purported that Google’s long-term triumph is hinged upon presenting the practical benefits of AI, instead of merely hyping it as a trending word. In order to justify Pixel purchases, especially in a climate where smartphone sales appear to be slowing down as customers cling to their devices longer, Google must narrate relatable and comprehensible use-cases.
To conclude, Woods anticipates the ‘Add Me’ group-photography feature to be pivotal in the overall promotion strategy for Pixel 9. Furthermore, he stated that the diverse array of AI-powered features are vitally important to Android smartphones’ competitive edge, especially with the impending release of Apple Intelligence.