The Japan Times - Google unveils latest Pixel phones packed with AI

Comedian Jimmy Fallon hosted a launch event in Brooklyn that blended Google product pitches with stars such as The Jonas Brothers band and Stephen Curry of the Golden Gate Warriors basketball team.

"This is exciting," Fallon, host of NBC's "The Tonight Show," said in an opening monologue.

"It's like a Taylor Swift announcement for nerds."

The line-up of new products included a foldable phone, improved Pixel smartwatch, and ear buds all synced to work with AI and each other.

"Pixel continues to be the best way for people to try out the latest bleeding-edge AI from Google," product manager Tyler Kugler said during a briefing with journalists.

Pixel phones claim a scant portion of a high-end smartphone market ruled by Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi, but custom Google hardware is an opportunity for the internet giant to highlight what is possible with its Android mobile operating system and the Gemini AI assistant.

While Samsung routinely ranks as the world's top smartphone seller, its products run on Android software.

"Initially, Google Pixel devices were designed as a technological showcase to limit Android fragmentation and accelerate innovation," said Forrester principal analyst Thomas Husson.

"Ten years later, the strategic challenge is still not to become the market leader, but to demonstrate the value of Google's integrated ecosystem."

- AI competition -

The tactic promises to promote use of Google's platform by handset makers and is a spin on the way Apple ties together its iPhones and other devices with its software.

Meanwhile, with Apple seen as lagging in the fierce AI race, Google has touted all-out efforts to integrate advanced AI throughout its offerings as it competes with powerhouses such as Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft.

"Its positioning remains premium and its market share is less than 5 percent, but in the age of AI, it is a true laboratory of innovation," Husson said of the Pixel smartphone line.

It is also "a means of countering Apple's integrated hardware-software-services strategy while remaining a strategic partner for Samsung and the Android ecosystem," Husson added.

AI built into new Pixel phones lets Gemini AI assistant look through the cameras to "see" what users see, answering questions or providing tips about locations, objects or situations, according to Kugler.

Google is not the only one putting AI in phones. South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung has made AI a centerpiece of its Galaxy smartphone line and recently released a new Galaxy Z Fold7.

Google's product team described the new Pixel Watch 4 as a redesigned experience that marks the biggest update to the line.

Features include smartwatch fitness tracking fine-tuned to distinguish between activities such as walking, bicycling, or tennis. The Pixel Watch also enables users to command Gemini AI assistant from one's wrist.

Gemini detects the mood of whoever is speaking to it and adjusts its responses accordingly, and can even "look" through the phone camera to offer photo suggestions, according to the Google team.

AI was also used to add 100x telephoto lens capability to Pixel smartphone camera.

Pixel 10 prices start at $799, with the Pixel Pro Fold model starting at $1,799.

S.Yamada--JT