Made by Google event 2024 — the 5 biggest Pixel 9 and Pixel Watch 3 questions
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There's not often a ton of mystery heading into Made by Google hardware events about what kind of devices the company is going to announce. Whatever details Google doesn't reveal on its own through teaser videos, rumor sites are more than happy to fill in on their own with leaked renders, alleged spec sheets and other information to give everyone a pretty good idea of what to expect.
Indeed, the upcoming Made by Google event — taking place this Tuesday (August 13) at the company's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters — has very few unknowns when it comes to what Google will likely announce. The company has already shown off the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro Fold in videos, which means we can also expect to see the standard Pixel 9 at the event. Rumors have built a pretty solid case that there will be two versions of the Pro in different sizes, and all signs point to the Pixel Watch 3 and new Google earbuds being part of the mix, too.
There could be some surprises in terms of announcements, but that's a pretty full agenda just featuring the products that Google has confirmed or that rumors have all but verified. So what's left to discover?
Plenty as it turns out. We may have a pretty good idea of what Google's going to announce, but there are still some key details that need to be filled in. Here are the biggest questions surrounding the Pixel devices we're likely to see when Made by Google gets underway at 10 a.m. PT/ 1 p.m. ET on August 13.
Can Google take back the AI spotlight?
Google used to be without peer when it came to packing AI features into it flagship phones. Since switching to its own Tensor chips with the Pixel 6 lineup, AI-powered features have been as big a part of the Google Pixel story as the excellent photo processing features the brandis also known for.
But rival phone makers are muscling in on the AI scene. Samsung's last two major phone launches — the Galaxy S24 lineup in January and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 foldables last month — have made Galaxy AI capabilities their central focus. Apple may be behind the competition when it comes to AI, but the first Apple Intelligence features are now available in preview form, with a full slate of capabilities rolling out to select iPhones well into 2025.
In other words, the Pixel is no longer the only game in town when it comes to AI. So how does Google respond?
Pixel 9 rumors about potential AI features hint at a number of intriguing additions. It's expected that the new Pixels will add the ability to record phone calls and then provide transcriptions of those recordings. An Add Me feature will supposedly insert the person capturing a group photo into the shot. The Pixel could gain the ability to search for screenshots you've taken by the content within the screen grabs. And you have to figure that the Gemini chatbot will be integrated into the new phones somehow.
Expect to see demos of these rumored features and whatever else Google winds up adding to the Pixel 9's bag of tricks. But what I'll be paying attention to is how Google presents these new AI tools. At the heart of the controversy over Google's Olympics ad where Gemini is tasked with writing a fan letter was a sense that AI was being touted for tasks that really should be left to our own creativity. Google needs to sure that it understands that AI is best when it offers to speed up tedious tasks or enable seemingly impossible tricks, not as a stand-in for our ability to communicate and create.
How will the Tensor G4 perform?
By now, we know not to expect best-in-class performance from Google's Tensor chips — that's not really the deal for this system-on-chip, which uses its Tensor engine to fuel all the AI capabilities we've detailed above. Still, the gap between Google's phones and the best Android phones when it comes to performance needs to be addressed in some way.
Consider that when we posted our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra benchmarks, that Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered phone doubled the Geekbench 6 single-core test result of the Pixel 8 Pro and its Tensor G3 silicon; the multicore result was more than 150% better. Even on a real world test like transcoding a movie with Adobe Premiere Rush, the Galaxy S24 Ultra finished the task 9 seconds faster than the Pixel 8 Pro.
Worryingly, reports claim the Tensor G4 is only a minor upgrade on the Tensor G3, which suggests the performance gap with phones using top-of-the-line Qualcomm silicon might grow even more. We're hoping at least to see the Tensor G4 become more power efficient so that the Pixel 9 phones can last longer on a charge — that's been an area where past Pixel flagships have also lagged behind the competition.
Where does the Pixel Watch fit into the smartwatch scene?
Just as the Pixel phone hopes to steer consumers away from Samsung's Galaxy flagships and Apple's iPhone, the Pixel Watch needs to stand out in a world where the Galaxy Watch and Apple Watch command all the attention. The Made by Google event is Google's chance to make that case for the Pixel Watch 3.
It seems pretty clear that the Pixel Watch 3 will come in two sizes, with a 45mm XL version joining the standard 41mm watch. We'd also expect the latest watches to work with Google's Find My Device network and to run on Wear OS 5, which means new fitness tracking features.
But after the Galaxy Watch 7 emerged this summer boasting new AI-powered wellness features that paint a pretty full picture of your health and fitness, we're wondering if the Pixel Watch 3 has anything comparable up its sleeve. Right now, the best smartwatch for Android comes from Samsung, and if Google wants to remain in the conversation, the Pixel Watch 3 had best offer more than just a larger display.
How can the Pixel 9 Pro Fold improve upon the Pixel Fold?
The original Pixel Fold came out in the middle of 2023, but rather than release a follow-up in that same time frame this year, Google held off on an update. Instead, its second stab at a foldable phone is joining the Pixel 9 lineup, a decision Google probably made so that the new foldable could also run on a Tensor G4 chip.
We liked the Pixel Fold when it came out, but subsequent foldable phones from Samsung and OnePlus have surpassed it. We're looking to see what Google does for an encore and whether it can address some of the criticism of its original device. That would mean shrinking the bezels on the interior display for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but we'd also like to see the phone do a better job of making sure that apps look good on that big screen.
With Google, though, all things eventually return to AI. The likely presence of a Tensor G4 chip means new AI-powered features for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. But will any of them be optimized to take advantage of the phone's two displays or its form factor? That's something Samsung managed to do with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, taking advantage of the internal and cover displays to optimize the AI-powered interpreter mode, just as an example. Hopefully, Google has something similar in the works where an AI-powered feature can help make this phone's foldable design more compelling.
Can Google's phones avoid price hikes?
Phone prices are on the rise. Apple upped the cost of its iPhone 15 Pro Max last fall, and Samsung followed suit with the Galaxy S24 Ultra at the start of the new year. Both of Samsung's new foldables also cost $100 more than their predecessors.
The pressure's on Google to buck that trend, especially after the price of the Pixel 8 series rose from the previous generation. A Pixel 9 rumor tips some models to cost more than their predecessors, at least in Europe, so we may not be able to avoid price hikes completely. But one of the ways Google has distinguished itself from other phone makers in the past is to charge less for its flagship devices. We'll be on the edge of our seats Tuesday to see if history can repeat itself.
