Google’s Pixel 9 Pro: Pioneering the Future of AI Smartphones

Next week, Google will unveil the Pixel 9 family of smartphones at its highly anticipated “Made By Google” event. This annual event provides Google with a platform to showcase its vision of what a smartphone should be. Last year’s Pixel 8 series introduced new displays, enhanced cameras, updated software, and the custom-designed Tensor Mobile chipset.

These innovations allowed Google to position the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro as pioneers in AI-driven smartphones, setting the standard for how generative AI would be integrated into mobile technology. With that benchmark now established, Google is poised to build on this success, reinforcing its perspective on smartphone AI and solidifying its position at the forefront of artificial intelligence.

This week, Google’s focus will shift from defining the market to consolidating its leadership. The Pixel 9 series is expected to showcase several AI tools that have already been demonstrated on the Pixel platform, with similar features appearing across various Android devices. These tools include the ability to remove, move, or edit individual elements of a photo, transfer expressions between images to create the ideal composite and enhance audio recorded in videos.

Additionally, AI tools for transcribing audio, summarizing content from web pages and emails, and searching based on screenshots or selected screen areas are part of the suite. AI also offers features like spam call screening, real-time translation while traveling, and suggestions for replies and topics during phone interactions.

These capabilities first appeared on the Pixel 8 series before spreading throughout the ecosystem. For instance, Google’s “Circle to Search” feature initially debuted on Samsung’s Galaxy AI platform, which incorporated many Pixel features and introduced some of its own. Other manufacturers followed suit with their AI tools, and chipmakers ensured that support for AI routines was integrated into their hardware.

The upcoming Pixel 9 launch is set to emphasize these advancements, introducing new AI features that are expected to be a significant part of the offering.

Update: Monday, August 12 – In addition to potential rebranding to “Google AI,” Lifehacker has identified three possible new AI tools that could debut at tomorrow’s event:

• Add Me: This feature may use AI to insert additional people into photos.
• Studio: Likely an AI image generator.
• Pixel Screenshots: This tool might scan your screenshot library and turn it into an easy-to-search database.

These features are anticipated to require the newly named Tensor Mobile G4 chipset, which will debut with the Pixel 9 series. In comparison, Apple is adopting a similar strategy with its iPhone 16 platform, limiting its Apple Intelligence suite to either the latest models or the high-end iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max from the previous year.

It’s common for Android manufacturers to introduce AI services with new handsets or chipsets before extending them to older models. Samsung, for example, launched its Galaxy AI for the Galaxy S24 series earlier this year and has since extended these features to older Galaxy S models and is working to include them in the Galaxy A35 and A55 handsets.

While the new features in the Pixel 9 series may drive sales, they are expected to become available across the entire Android platform, reinforcing Google’s vision of AI-powered smartphones.

Update: Sunday, August 11 – The challenge posed by Apple’s iPhone in defining generative AI for the 2024/25 smartphone season will hinge on the adoption of new handsets and the availability of software. Gurman has confirmed that four iPhone models will be revealed in September: iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. However, the potential for increased sales and broader uptake of these new models is uncertain.

Apple’s generative AI tools, known as Apple Intelligence, are expected to be available only with the new iPhone 16 models and not backported to existing iPhones, except for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Without significant hardware upgrades, Apple may struggle to expand its user base for AI features. According to Apple’s latest financial projections, the company does not anticipate a substantial sales boost.

Apple’s delayed entry into AI smartphones may find it challenging to shift the focus of generative AI discussions away from Google and its Android partners. The Pixel 9 launch, two weeks after the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro releases, will highlight the generative AI capabilities that Apple has yet to introduce. Apple’s first significant opportunity to discuss AI for the iPhone came at its Worldwide Developer Conference in June.

The Apple Intelligence software will not be available immediately upon the iPhone 16’s release. Instead, it will be introduced with a limited set of tools in an October iOS update, a basic ChatGPT implementation by the end of the year, and the full suite showcased at WWDC, expected in the first half of 2025. This timeline indicates that Apple still has work to do to catch up with the first generation of AI smartphones, while Google continues to advance with the second generation, shaping the future direction of AI in mobile technology.