“Our aim is to try to make AI helpful for everyone,” says Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vice-president of devices and services, as he tries to distil decades of research and billions of investment into one simple goal.
At the annual Made by Google event, the focus is usually on the devices but this year, there was one overriding question: what can AI do for us?
It makes sense. While generative AI has been viewed as an interesting new toy since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022, the real-world applications for such technology has been somewhat lacking. And although the tech giant appeared to be caught on the hop by OpenAI’s announcement two years ago, it is determined to avoid missing out on the next wave of demand.
And so we come to Google’s Gemini era. In the past couple of months, big announcements by both Apple and Google have seen the mobile platforms try to integrate AI technology, making it something that is more appealing to consumers. Apple has already shown off Apple Intelligence, focusing on how its customers can take advantage of AI while still keeping a grip on privacy.
For Google, the centrepiece is Gemini, both the chatbot on its phones and the models that power it.
[ Google takes on Apple with new phones, tighter AI integrationOpens in new window ]
“I think we’re just at the very, very beginning of what’s probably the biggest computing paradigm shift in our lifetime, certainly in the last decade or so,” said Osterloh. “We’re starting to see some of the technology really bear fruit in terms of great capability for users.”
Google may have been trying to get ahead of its rival too. Apple usually unveils its devices in September, alongside the release of the new mobile operating system that powers them. Google traditionally has held its event the following month.
“The timing of this event came as a surprise,” said CCS Insight’s Ben Wood. “Google likely felt that with the recent unveiling of Apple Intelligence, Apple’s iPhone launch next month will focus on why it has ‘the best phone for AI’. Google’s earlier launch potentially allows it to announce features first and claim leadership in use case development and deployment in this highly strategic area.”
Where Google and Apple differ is that while the latter will focus solely on software for its own devices, Google is working as both hardware maker and platform provider. At last week’s event, the Pixel and its new capabilities were showcased, but the focus was firmly on Android and what AI could do for the platform as a whole.
Even the on-stage demonstrations featured rival phonemakers’ devices, showing that when it came to AI, Google isn’t just considering Pixel.
But the Pixel is the ideal opportunity for Google to showcase the potential of its technology as it envisaged it, rather than waiting for other manufacturers to put their spin on it.
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The new Gemini-powered Pixel 9 is pitching itself as the ultimate assistant, organising your calendar, making sure you get to where you need to be on time and retrieving important information on request. It’s a simple concept, but an effective one.
“The two things that [consumers are] looking at AI to do right now is organisation – and that’s across communications, across calendaring, basically manage my life better than I can – and then the other thing is content creation,” said IDC analyst Linn Huang. “I think Google nailed both.”
The AI industry is littered with false starts and empty promises; Google was keen to differentiate itself from the noise that had gone before and prove that rather than talking about all the features it was planning for the future, it had some features that users would get now.
“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,” Osterloh said at the launch.
That included Gemini Live, the chat interface for Google’s AI that allows you to interact with the AI in a conversational format, AI-enabled photography that will reframe shots and offer greater editing capabilities and video technology that will boost resolution to near 8K.
There were a couple of exclusives for Google’s own phones. Pixel Screenshots organises, analyses and extracts information from screenshots on your device, making it easy to find details on things you may have saved to your phone. Pixel Studio creates images from text prompts, although there are some limitations on what it will do, such as generating pictures of humans.
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Add Me, meanwhile, uses AI and computational photography to merge two photographs and get everyone into the one photograph. For example, if you are trying to take a family shot, but don’t want to hand over your phone to a stranger, you can take the initial group shot, and then pass the camera off to another member of the group to line up a second photo. The software then combines the two into a single image. No one gets left out, and there isn’t a selfie stick in sight.
The Pixel phone is still a niche device, trailing rivals Samsung and Apple, and accounting for about 1 per cent of the global smartphone sales according to figures from CCS Insights. But that could change with the closer integration of AI.
The phones have shipped with a higher-power processor and more RAM, and there are plans to extend at least some of the AI capabilities to existing devices in the market. Pixel’s product manager, Shenaz Zack, said the plan was to get features to older devices, but “at a performance and a quality that can be sustained by the device”.
In other words, older devices may struggle but Google will bring at least some of the features to them.
The Pixel line-up now includes the 9 Pro XL, a larger-screened device that taps into a market on which both Samsung and Apple have already capitalised. Combined with the extended support period – Pixel phones will receive software and security updates for seven years – it could be enough to lure more consumers.
“Although Pixel products still cater for a niche audience, their reach is growing as they become available in more markets and sales continue to grow positively in regions such as North America and Europe,” said CCS Insight’s Ben Wood.
[ Made by Google: Everything unveiled at its’ annual hardware showcaseOpens in new window ]
“Given the focus on AI, ongoing success will be dependent on Google explaining the tangible benefits that AI delivers rather than using it as a buzzword. Google’s storytelling must offer relevant and understandable use cases to help consumers justify investing in Pixel products, especially at a time when sales of smartphones are slowing as consumers hold on to their devices for longer.”
Google is facing a tougher run in the folding-phone market. The second generation of its Pixel Fold, the 9 Pro Fold, has had some early positive feedback, Wood said. But it is still a small market, with Samsung already establishing itself with its own Fold, and other companies such as Oppo also trying their hand at the foldable phone. Wood says it is a “relatively small addressable market” that is “increasingly overcrowded”.
Outside of the Android eco system, Google has made further strides in implementing AI in its regular products, including expanding AI Overviews – an AI-generated summary of search results displayed ahead of the traditional web links to content – in its search queries to six new countries. It was initially rolled out to all US users in May following a limited trial of the technology.
That hasn’t been a smooth path either. Google had to roll back some of its AI-powered search capabilities after it made some rather strange recommendations to users – glue pizza sauce, anyone? – and publishers have also felt the repercussion of the AI search world, with a notable decline in organic search traffic and an accompanying fall-off in revenue.
There is also the matter of closer regulation to take into account. EU users will not be included in the AI Overview rollout, for now at least, as companies try to get to grips with how the new technology will live alongside regulations in the region. Apple also said it would delay the introduction of Apple Intelligence features in the EU, which is expected to hamper sales somewhat.
But for now, Google is ploughing ahead with its plans for AI. “We’re using AI everywhere. Now you’re starting to see areas where it really has a big impact; it really is changing how you interface with the phone completely,” said Osterloh. “We’re fully in the Gemini era.”
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