By Kenrick Cai, Max A. Cherney
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California -Alphabet's Google on Tuesday unveiled a lineup of new Pixel smartphones with deep integration of its artificial intelligence technology as it rushes to infuse AI into its hardware.
The event at Alphabet's (NASDAQ: ) Bay View campus in Mountain View, California, carried out a tradition that Google has always kept for the Pixel – its flagship smartphone launched in October 2016 – to announce a new version in the fall.
The timing is Google's latest bid to keep pace with rivals injecting AI features into consumer-facing products and comes ahead of Apple's (NASDAQ: ) planned launch of a new iPhone in September.
In June, Apple announced that devices including its latest version of iPhones will receive improvements including “Apple Intelligence,” a series of AI-powered features within native apps, and integration with ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by OpenAI supported by Microsoft.
“We've seen a lot of AI announcements in short bursts. I don't think you want to stay in it for long if you're Google,” said IDC analyst Linn Huang.
The new AI integration announced on Tuesday includes a Pixel-only feature that allows users to search for information stored in screenshots. Android users can also now drag Gemini, Google's chatbot, as an overlay to another app to answer questions or create content.
“There's been a lot of promise, a lot coming soon, and not enough real-world support when it comes to AI, so today we're getting real,” said Rick Osterloh, Google's senior vice president of devices and services. “We are in full Gemini season.”
Employees showed several live demos of Gemini's new functions, such as the voice chat feature, although an attempt to use Gemini to crop a concert poster image with a calendar app took three tries and two devices to work successfully.
The Pixel 9, the base 6.3-inch display model, will sell for a starting price of $799, which is $100 more than the previous model. This and the 6.8-inch Pixel 9 Pro XL will begin shipping later in August, a company spokesperson said. The Pixel 9 Pro, which comes with more features like a better camera, and the foldable Pixel 9 Pro Fold will ship in September.
The new gadgets are available for pre-order on Tuesday.
Google has a market share of less than 1% in worldwide smartphone shipments as of the second quarter of 2024, according to IDC. It trails closely behind Samsung's 18.9% market share and Apple's 15.8% market share, according to IDC. That's because Google has entered a few markets and focused on higher price segments.
In the United States, Google's 4.5% share makes it the fourth largest smartphone market, according to IDC.
But the Pixel line also allowed Google to showcase developments and foster a developer ecosystem around its Android operating system, which is used by device manufacturers such as Samsung ( KS: ).
Android represents one of the few areas where Google is fighting competitors to embed AI in ways that consumers will use. In May, it released a number of improvements to key products such as its search engine.
The company's engineers redesigned the exterior of the Pixel and included improvements to the camera and Google's new Tensor G4 chip.
Google announced new versions of its smartwatch, the Pixel Watch 3, and the Pixel Buds Pro 2 wireless earbuds on Tuesday.
