Due to a recent DOJ decision, Google’s lucrative relationship with Apple’s iPhone is in jeopardy, and that means the Pixel is even more important than ever to the company’s success. In 2024, it seems like the company will be leaning into AI. It’s got the Pixel 9 Pro with plenty of Gemini AI features, plus the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The company’s also launching a new Pixel Watch 3 as well as the Pixel Buds Pro 2.
The Pixel Watch 2 and later are getting Gemini Personalization, allowing the AI assistant to learn from past conversations and connected Google apps. The 3 and on also get new double-pinch gesture controls, while the 4 gets a performance bump to raise-to-talk. A similar September update is rolling out to Pixel phones too.
[Google Pixel Watch Community]
Now the “Pause Point” option Google launched on the Pixel 11 is rolling out to more devices, across Android 17 QPR1, and for Pixel hardware going back to the Pixel 6. The new Android 17 update also increases the use of background blur and adds a new Quick Settings tile that points to your notes app, among other updates.
This month’s Pixel Drop puts Scam Detection in more places, and comes with a long list of fixes.
The 2023 Android tablet has seemingly been discontinued. Its online Google Store page is gone, and there’s no longer even a “Tablet” section in the menu. The Pixel Tablet was most notable for the included dock, which turned it into a smart home hub, but never received a follow-up.
Senior reviewer Victoria Song leads a Vergecast roundtable with editors Dominic Preston and Cameron Faulkner to talk about the Pixel 11/Pro/Fold and the Pixel Watch 5. We discuss if HiLight is a LowLight, whether we miss the temperature sensor, and if the Watch 5’s GPS truly beats Garmin and Apple. And stay tuned for more camera discussion on Friday’s Vergecast.
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Subscribers, head to our AMA page and leave any question that’s on your mind about Google’s new Pixel 11 phones, be it the plain 11, the 11 Pro, or the 11 Pro Fold. Oh yeah, the Pixel Watch 5, too. We’ll be answering them at 3PM ET.
8
Verge Score
Sandwiched between the 10A and the Pro 11, the regular Pixel 11 is a good value, thanks mostly to compelling features.
8
Verge Score
A great foldable with IP68 and a reliable triple camera, trapped in a shape everyone else seems to be moving on from.
Forget HiLight and Proactive Assistance. The Pixel 11 Pro is at its best with focused new tools that actually work.
Most of Google’s products are still manufactured in the country, but Nikkei Asia reports that all production of Pixel phones, watches and earbuds will leave China starting in 2027. Google started this exodus in 2019, shifting to building production capacity in Vietnam and India instead, as have Apple and Microsoft in recent years.
We live blogged almost 90 minutes of a show that was, honestly, better than expected. Our video team cut it down to eight.
We’re ready for some bad jokes during Google’s celebrity-packed live show.
The Made By Google keynote, hosted by Trevor Noah, kicks off at 6PM ET. Stay tuned to this website starting at 5:30PM for our live blog. Victoria Song will be there live, with Jay Peters, Jake Kastrenakes, and myself following remotely. Let’s see what happens.
Samsung’s online-exclusive “Pistachio” version of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 looks great, and has apparently been selling well. But I’m a much bigger fan of Google’s Pixel 11 finish by the same name. It looks a lot closer to the color of a good pistachio gelato, unlike whatever minty nonsense Samsung is up to.
It’s not a brand-new set of earbuds, but in addition to a new olive color, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 will get a firmware update that can improve ANC based on how the buds sit in your ears. Expect the update to roll out sometime in September.
We’re talking offline Gemini, proactive AI suggestions, better GPS maps, insulin resistance trends, and a $50 price hike.
Google’s new Camera Looks feature will do less computational photography — and that’s a great thing.
More helpful features, less AI slop.
Just like the orange and grey special edition of the Fitbit Air we got in May, a new leak shows the Pixel Watch 5 with a similar band, suggesting Steph Curry will be lending his name to more Google gear.
Several leaks have already given us a good idea of what Google’s upcoming smartwatch launch will probably look like, but now some new marketing images shared by Evan Blass also show what features we can expect. Check out Android Authority’s breakdown of the “Ask Gemini” integration and health features shown in the leaks.
9to5Google uncovered code in the Google Contacts app that suggests you’ll be able to give your favorite contacts a “glow color” that appears on the Pixel 11’s built-in light when they call. Based on the code, you might get to choose from blue, cyan, green, orange, pink, purple, teal, white, or yellow.
Leaker Evan Blass shared what appears to be marketing materials for the Pixel 11 Pro XL, and it shows the upcoming device in a peachy shade of pink. If the leaks are true, the Pixel 11 might come in a bunch of fun colors this year.
In a new video on Monday, you can catch brief and shadowy glimpses of the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, which is set to be fully revealed at an event on August 12th.
But the phone’s design has already leaked, if you want to see it ahead of time.
Leaker Evan Blass posted what appear to be marketing renders of the Pixel 11 Pro, including a few showing off an excellent matte gray / black model. In the renders, it looks great.
Apple is also rumored to launch a gray / black option for this year’s Pro lineup. But the shade on this Pixel 11 Pro might be hard to top.
Saw this on 9to5Google. Bad name, IMO. I prefer the previously-rumored “Pixel Glow” is better.
[9to5Google]
