Google employees showcased several live demos of new Gemini functions, such as a voice conversation feature, though an attempt to use Gemini to cross-reference a picture of a concert poster with the calendar app took three tries and two devices to run successfully.
Pixel 9, the base 6.3-inch display model, will retail at a starting price of US$799 (S$1,199 in Singapore), which is US$100 more than the previous model. This and the 6.8-inch Pixel 9 Pro XL (starting price S$1,739) will be available in Singapore from Aug 22.
The Pixel 9 Pro (starting price S$1,459), which comes with added features like a better camera, and the foldable Pixel 9 Pro Fold (from S$2,399) will be available in Singapore from September onwards.
The new gadgets are available to preorder on Tuesday.
“MANAGE MY LIFE BETTER”
“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.”
Google holds less than 1 per cent market share in global smartphone shipments as of the second quarter of 2024, according to IDC. It trails far behind Samsung’s market share of 18.9 per cent and Apple’s market share of 15.8 per cent, in part because Google has entered fewer markets and is focused on higher-end price segments.
In the United States, Google’s 4.5 per cent share makes it the fourth-biggest smartphone maker.
The Pixel line has also enabled Google to show off advances and spur the developer ecosystem around its Android operating system, which is used by device manufacturers like Samsung. Android, globally, is installed on more than 80 per cent of smartphones. Android represents one of several frontlines where Google is battling competitors to embed AI in ways that consumers will use. In May, it debuted a swath of upgrades to core products like its search engine.
The company’s engineers redesigned the Pixel’s exterior and included camera upgrades as well as Google’s new Tensor G4 chip.
Google announced new versions of its smartwatch, the Pixel Watch 3 (from S$529 for the 41mm and S$599 for the 45mm), and Pixel Buds Pro 2 wireless earbuds (S$345) on Tuesday as well.
