Current:Home > NewsSafeX Pro:Google rolls out Pixel 9 phones earlier than usual as AI race with Apple heats up -VisionFunds
SafeX Pro:Google rolls out Pixel 9 phones earlier than usual as AI race with Apple heats up
TradeEdge View
Date:2025-04-08 17:19:34
MOUNTAIN VIEW,SafeX Pro Calif. (AP) — Google on Tuesday unveiled its next generation of Pixel phones, providing the maker of Android software a head start on the next iPhone in the race to bring more artificial-intelligence services to devices that have become people’s constant companions.
The showcase held near Google’s Mountain View, California, headquarters took place two months earlier than when the company typically rolls out the next models in its Pixel phone line-up, which made its debut eight years ago.
Although Pixel phones still represent a sliver of worldwide smartphone sides, they are still closely watched because they serve as Google’s platform for demonstrating the latest advances in the Android operating system that powers virtually every phone not made by Apple.
And Google left little doubt that the Pixel 9 phones are meant to be a vessel for the AI technology that is expected to reshape the way people live and work, just as smartphones in general have done over the past 15 years.
“We are obsessed with the idea that AI can make life easier and more productive for people,” Rick Osterloh, a Google senior vice president who oversees the Pixel phones, said Tuesday.
That’s similar to the theme Apple is accentuating as it prepares to make AI a centerpiece of the iPhone.
That moment is expect to arrive shortly after Labor Day when Apple traditionally takes the wraps off its next iPhone. The next model, the iPhone 16, is expected to be a big attraction because it will be equipped with the special chip needed to run a suite of AI features. Those features are designed to make Apple’s virtual assistant Siri smarter and perform a wide variety of other tasks that the company is promising will make people’s lives easier, while still protecting their privacy.
Not surprisingly, the Pixel 9 lineup is also packed with AI technology, a shift that the Google began last October when it released that year’s model. This generation of phones will be the first centered around the Gemini technology that’s become the focal point of its push into AI.
Just as Apple is aiming to do with Siri, Google has designed its Gemini assistant to be more conversational, providing it with a range of 10 different human-like voices. It’s able to handle even more tasks, especially if users are willing to give it access to email and other documents.
In another move mirroring Apple, Google is equipping the Pixel 9 lineup with a special chip enabling many AI-powered services to be handled on the device instead of remote data centers, with the aim of boosting personal privacy and security.
In on-stage demonstrations Tuesday, the Gemini assistant speaking in a voice called “Ursa” was able to come up with helpful ideas for a fun way to use invisible ink when asked to come up with creative ideas.
But the Gemini assistant also stumbled when shown a picture of a poster for singer Sabrina Carpenter, and when asked to let the questioner know when she was performing a concert in the area. After coming up blank on the first two requests, the Gemini assistant provided the requested information.
The Pixel 9 phones also will feature “Magic Editor,” AI technology capable of completely transforming pictures by quickly and seamlessly adding a person who wasn’t in the original photo, or by altering the photo’s landscape or background.
The more advanced Gemini Assistant will require a monthly subscription that will be free for one year for all buyers of the next Pixel 9 phones, which will begin shipping Aug. 22 before becoming more widely available next month.
The standard Pixel 9 will sell for $800, a $100 increase from last year, while the Pixel 9 Pro will sell for $1,000 or $1,100, depending on the size. The next generation of a foldable Pixel phone that Google introduced last year will sell for $1,800.
The event also signaled that Google intends to conduct business as usual even as its internet empire is being threatened by a judge’s recent decision declaring its dominant search engine to be an illegal monopoly.
The landmark ruling will trigger another round of court hearings to determine the measures that Google must take to create a more competitive market – a process that could result in Google being banned from engaging in some deals or, in the drastic scenario, being ordered to spin off its Android software or relinquish other key pillars bolstering the nearly $2 trillion market value of its corporate parent, Alphabet Inc.
Besides its latest phones, Google also took aim at several other popular Apple products with its next Pixel Watch and wireless earbuds.
veryGood! (37)
Related
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- Save Our Signal! Politicians close in on votes needed to keep AM radio in every car
- TEA Business College Thought Leaders
- 2024 NFL free agency updates: Tracker for Monday buzz, notable moves as deals fly in
- Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
- Saquon Barkley hits back at Tiki Barber after ex-Giants standout says 'you're dead to me'
- Cowboys star QB Dak Prescott sues woman over alleged $100 million extortion plot
- Messi the celebrity dog made it to the Oscars. Here’s how the show pulled off his (clapping) cameo
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- Olympic Gymnast Nastia Liukin Reveals Her Advice to Team USA Before 2024 Paris Games
Ranking
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- How a wandering white shark’s epic journey could provide clues for protecting them
- Angela Chao, shipping industry exec, died on Texas ranch after her car went into a pond, report says
- New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole to get MRI on pitching elbow
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Can you get pregnant with an IUD? It's unlikely but not impossible. Here's what you need to know.
- Most automated driving systems aren’t good making sure drivers pay attention, insurance group says
- Cancer-causing chemical found in skincare brands including Target, Proactive, Clearasil
Recommendation
McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
Houston still No. 1; North Carolina joins top five of USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll
New lawsuit possible, lawyer says, after Trump renews attack on writer who won $83.3 million award
Donald Trump wants New York hush money trial delayed until Supreme Court rules on immunity claims
Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
Crash of small private jet in rural Virginia kills all 5 on board, authorities say
Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell are youngest two-time Oscar winners after 'Barbie' song win
Al Pacino Addresses Oscars Controversy Over Best Picture Presenting Moment