Google has officially unveiled its Pixel Fold smartphone, along with the Pixel 7a phone and the new Pixel Tablet, as part of its latest I/O showcase event.
The new hardware devices were largely as expected, with Google having leaked a few details ahead of the event, but we can now add a few extra details, along with a release window and pricing. In addition, there are also a lot more updates and upgrades to look forward from its Android 14 platform and wider range of software solutions, with Generative AI leading to all manner of tricks and treats that could make your life a whole lot easier.
The Google Pixel Fold
Leading the hardware solutions, at least when it comes to the pre-launch buzz (not to mention pricing) is the Pixel Fold smartphone – Google’s first foldable phone. It features a 5.8-inch FHD OLED display on the front for your standard phone-style use, and then opens up to reveal a 7.6-inch 2208x1840 display when unfolded (in a 6:5 aspect ratio). It supports HDR with up to 120Hz, and unsurprisingly comes with a few neat additions, including laying claim to the not-exactly hotly contested title of the thinnest foldable on the market.
The Pixel Fold includes what Google calls ‘Continuity’ to enable you to transition the content when you move from the front screen to the larger unfolded display. In addition, that full-screen effect can be broken down into two separate displays for a little multi-tasking, be it split down the middle, or on a slider should you want a primary display with more of a secondary sidebar. Another example shown involved watching a YouTube video at the maximum size, before rotating the phone to automatically place the video in the top half of the display and changing to bottom half to a control panel with access to other related features. The hinge can also act as an animation prompt for your lockscreen, with images adapting to incremental movements of the fold.
As for a few other specs, the Pixel Fold uses Google's Tensor G2 processor and features a 48MP rear camera, a 10.8MP ultrawide and telephoto camera, a 9.5MP front camera, and an 8MP inner camera. It can shoot 4K up to 60fps (except for the inner front camera which is limited to 30fps), runs Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, and boasts a battery life of “beyond 24-hours”. As for the all-important release information, pre-orders are open now with the Pixel Fold priced at £1,749 ($1,799) and is due to start shipping next month. As an incentive, US and UK early adopters may be able to claim a free Pixel Watch with their order (currently retailing for £339), while the UK store is also offering up to £400 off “with eligible phone trade-in”.
The Google Pixel 7a and Pixel Tablet
At a rather more affordable price point and with a more immediate release date, the new Pixel 7a phone is available to buy from today, priced at £499 ($499). As you might expect, the reduced price compared to the original Pixel 7 (currently at £599) suggests a few things have been trimmed down, but it uses the same Tensor G2 chip as the Pixel 7 Pro, and features a 6.1-inch FHD OLED display. It also packs a 64MP rear camera, with a 13MP ultrawide and front-facing cameras with 4K at 60fps on the rear and 30fps on the front. It also comes with a few incentives, with the UK store offering up a free pair of Pixel Buds A-Series, and up to £220 for those eligible phone trade-in, which could almost half the price.
As for the all-new Pixel Tablet, that also makes good use of the G2 chip, along with an 11-inch LCD display. It comes with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage, and both an 8MP front and rear camera. One neat feature is the new Charging Speaker Dock, which very much lives up to all three elements of its name. The tablet can be placed onto it as a second stand (there’s a fold-down stand also built into the rear of the device), where it can act as both a hub and a charger – and if it wasn’t already obvious, there’s an integrated 43.5mm full-range speaker to boot.
The Pixel Tablet also features Chromecast built-in, so you can seamlessly swap content with your new Pixel phone. It also uses Hub Mode to offer up varying additional uses, such as transforming into a canvas for photos when locked and docked, or doubling up as a controller or an entertainment device, with the likes of Google Meet and your everyday content streaming. The Pixel Tablet is open to pre-orders now, priced at £599 ($499) – rising up to £699 for the 256GB version – and is due to start shipping next month. There were no added incentives on the UK store at the time of writing, but you can head there for more detailed specs on this and the rest of the line-up.
Generative AI, Android 14 and more
While the hardware might be headline news for this particular website, there was also a LOT of talk about AI upgrades across the wider Google portfolio. While this might be both exciting and terrifying in varying degrees to many people, there’s no doubting that Google has some very interesting updates coming to its many software solutions in the near future.
A lot of the talk in the I/O showcase was about expanding its Generative AI to offer up even more support to your everyday use cases, supported by the impending arrival of Google’s PaLM 2 large language model (LLM). The ‘Help Me Write’ function that began life as a few simple one-touch replies to text messages, is expanding into more detailed responses, tailored to suit your preferred tone, and with short or more elaborate responses – and this extends into Gmail, where you can effectively get Google to write your messages for you from just a few basic prompts, along with other similar use cases in Workspace and Google Cloud.
An improved AI system is also set to be implemented into Google Search with an upgraded Search Generative Experience (SGE). The event showcased a new integrated results page that leads with a more comprehensive solution or key considerations to your search request at the top of the page, along with the most relevant links. If you punch in a long series of words, it can break things down into the various components, and also gives you the options to add in follow-up questions to expand or fine-tune the search without having to start over.
Other upcoming additions set to be added in the coming months include Google Maps getting a new Immersive View for Routes, to generate a 3D birds-eye view of any planned trips. Meanwhile Photos is getting a new Magic Editor function, to essentially expand the Magic Eraser with bonus PhotoShop skills to further edit images, and even add missing elements to your pics to create the perfect shot. Google’s Bard ‘conversational AI’ is also being greatly improved with PaLM 2 and wider compatibility, and new languages on the way.
There’s also a new Duet AI for Workspace and Cloud to offer extra AI-inspired collaboration and expertise to help create potentially great content from just a few keystrokes or voice commands. Plus, on the wider Android front, Google announced that Whatsapp would be bringing its first smartwatch app to Wear OS, along with an updated Find My Device service, and its Unknown Tracker Alerts helping to possibly fix a problem of the tech’s own making.
On a cheerier note, there’s more customisation options on the way, with Magic Compose letting you choose a tone and style to help edit and write messages based on a few keywords. You can even do likewise with Generative AI Wallpaper, letting you generate your very own unique backdrops based on whatever you can think to ask of it. Alternatively, you can use emojis to create your own novelty imagery or use the new Cinematic Wallpaper to add 3D and motion to photos for a more interactive home screen.
While there is always going to be an ongoing argument surrounding the use of AI-created content over the more traditional methods, Google has stated a “bold and responsible” mantra. This includes adding metadata and watermarks to help label any such content as being ‘AI generated in Google’, with other tools to help you identify potential misinformation – not that it won’t still be an issue, of course.
However, with this ever-expanding array of software support helping to add even greater functionality to its all-new hardware line-up, these are exciting times both for Google and its many users. So, if you’re one of them, and have your eye on any of these new products and upgrades – or not – then do share your thoughts in the comments.
SOURCE: Google (via I/O event, blog and store)
IMAGES: Google