After months of silly rumor-mongering and wondering why Google was debuting its Pixel family earlier than expected—a full two months earlier than expected—the company has finally revealed all that is new with the Pixel 9 family of smartphones. It’s not one, two, or even three models of new phones. There are four new Pixel phones, two new Pixel watches, and a pair of Pixel earbuds.
Google also made a considerable todo about new and updated AI capabilities it added to the Android operating system across its hardware lineup, even spending part of the Made by Google keynote demonstrating the Pixel’s Gemini-infused abilities. Here’s a quick rundown of what Google touched upon in its keynote and all the new hardware it announced today. Note that all the Pixel 9 hardware has varying on-sale dates.
The end for Android? Okay, I’m being hyperbolic, but Google spent a portion of its Android hardware event talking about how Gemini would become a significant part of the operating system. Even Sameer Samat, President of the Android ecosystem, admitted the company is well on the way to building the entire OS with AI at the core. You can forgive me for saying that we should be saying Sayonara to the Android we once knew.
In truth, it will just be Android with a more prominent AI footprint. Gemini will be able to read and see everything you do—Google promises the sensitive stuff is processed on-device with the latest Gemini Nano models—to become the Google Assistant we’d alw.