Google launches new devices and upgrades to Gemini in the Made by Google event, including the new Pixel 9 series and the second model of their foldable phone. Many of the reveals are impressive, yet there may be a few things to consider about some of them.
Gemini is now Live
Google's response to OpenAI's Advance Voice mode is Gemini Live, as revealed in the Made by Google event. With Google Live, users will be able to have conversations in real time with Gemini, just like they would with a person. And that includes interrupting Gemini while it is speaking without having to press a button.
“With Gemini Live [via the Gemini app], you can talk to Gemini and choose from [10 new] natural-sounding voices it can respond with. You can even speak at your own pace or interrupt mid-response with clarifying questions, just like you would in any conversation.” Google describes it in a blog post.
It is indeed a useful feature to be able to interrupt these bots mid-conversations. There are usually those times when what you're getting isn't satisfactory, or perhaps you forgot to include an important detail in the first request.
Interestingly, you can even use Gemini Live hands-free. Conversations with Gemini can continue in the background—say, when you're in another app—or with the screen locked.
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Gemini Live is multimodal—yet, least. In the Google I/O Keynote in May, they teased Gemini Live being able to process text, images, and video at the same time as a multimodal AI. That is, you could point your camera at anything and have Gemini process what it sees and respond to your requests about what it's seeing live. Google says multimodal input will come later in the year.
To be able to use Gemini Live, however, one needs the $20 monthly Google One AI Premium subscription, which is the same as OpenAI's Advanced Voice mode, which requires an active ChatGPT Plus subscription and a capable Android. iOS users have to wait.
It's nice to see more and more features roll out for Google One AI Premium users. And there's more worth their subscription to come in the following weeks. For example, Android users will soon be able to use Gemini over any app and ask questions about what's on their screen.
Gemini is also gaining new integrations with Google services (or “extensions,” as the company prefers to call them) both on mobile and the web. In the coming weeks, Gemini will be able to take more actions with Google Calendar, Keep, Tasks, YouTube Music and Utilities, the apps that control on-device features like timers and alarms, media controls, the flashlight, volume, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and so on. TechCrunch
The Pixel 9 Series and Pixel 9 Fold Pro
The new Pixel 9 series was launched in the Made by Google, along with the Pixel 9 Fold Pro. They have significant upgrades compared to the previous series, with the phones generally having better displays, the Tensor G4 processor, better cameras, and an even better body design with a little more mass.
The differences between the Pixel 9 phones are mostly in the screen resolution, size, and battery capacity. They all share the same processor, the Tensor G4, main camera specs of 50MP, and an ultrawide camera of 48MP, with only the base phone (Pixel 9) not having a telephoto camera.
There aren't that many hardware differences between the Pixel 9, 9 Pro, and 9 Pro XL, which each cost $799, $999, and $1,099. But they are packed with on-device AI features that allow for faster AI processing.
Google's second foldable phone is the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The previous fold was called Pixel Fold, but it's understandable that they wanted to keep it in line with the 9 series and called it Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
It's much thinner, has a much better screen, and has a clearly obvious camera bump on the back. It can be tricky to make phones very slim and give them really powerful cameras. It costs $1,799, which is the same price the Pixel Fold was when it was launched last year.
And there is now a 'Made You Look' feature that tricks kids into looking at the camera and smiling for photos.
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More AI-powered apps and devices
There is now a screenshot app that will collect all screenshots into one place on the phone, and users will be able to'search' for a screenshot using the AI features. And there is also the Add Me feature in the camera app that allows people to basically add themselves to images they weren't present in.
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All images by Google