By Mark Gurman and Vlad Savov | Bloomberg
Google is set to take on Apple Inc. with its new range of Pixel phones, which now bear a striking resemblance to iPhones.
In this year’s launch of the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, Google has increased the prices by $100 each, bringing them closer in price to Apple’s equivalents. The new Pixel phones feature flat-edged screens and face identification for payments, similar to Apple’s latest offerings.
The Pixel 8 Pro is priced at $999, placing it on par with the iPhone 15 Pro, while the Pixel 8 matches the pricing of the iPhone 14 at $699. Google’s product manager, Patrick Hennessey, claims that the new devices provide more value for money, with enhanced displays and cameras that continue to outperform expectations.
This launch is Google’s latest attempt to penetrate the market. While its Android operating system powers the majority of smartphones worldwide, Google’s own hardware only accounts for a small fraction of total sales. According to Counterpoint Research, Google had a meager 3% share of smartphone shipments in the US during the second quarter, in stark contrast to Apple’s dominant 55% share.
Despite its struggles, Google has been selling phones under its own brand for over a decade. The introduction of the first Pixel in 2016 marked a deeper commitment to its hardware efforts. Despite limited commercial success, Google’s camera and AI features have received praise. Last year, the company expanded its portfolio with the Pixel Watch, further bolstering its hardware ecosystem.
Apple has been a trailblazer in raising smartphone prices, and it recently increased prices yet again by discontinuing cheaper storage options for its latest iPhone 15 Pro Max, pushing the price up to $1,199. In contrast, Google has managed to gain some market share with its more affordable models, which are typically released in the middle of each year. In Japan, the company’s market share grew sixfold this summer compared to the previous year, as cost-conscious users were swayed away from iPhones.
The new Pixel phones boast updated cameras, displays with flat edges (a design feature Apple introduced with the iPhone 12 in 2020), and a promise of seven years of operating system and security updates. Internally, they come equipped with the third generation of Google’s in-house Tensor processor, which includes advanced image processing capabilities specially fine-tuned by the company.
The Pro model features a 6.7-inch screen, matching Apple’s largest offering, while the base model has a slightly smaller 6.2-inch screen compared to last year’s equivalent. Both phones provide increased brightness, and the base model also offers an improved refresh rate for smoother scrolling and enhanced gaming graphics.
Google has also addressed security concerns by improving its face unlock feature. Users will now be able to unlock banking apps and confirm transactions via face identification, similar to Apple’s Face ID feature introduced in 2017.
Google is also introducing on-device generative AI, enabling the devices to generate text and video content based on simple prompts. This technology will be integrated into the new Pixel Pro phones, allowing Google’s foundation models to run directly on the devices themselves.
“We worked closely with our research teams across Google to take advantage of their most advanced foundation models and distill them into an efficient version that can run on our flagship Pixel,” said Rick Osterloh, the devices chief at Google’s Pier 57 office in New York.
According to Osterloh, this approach will enable the Pixel 8 Pro to perform tasks such as generating concise summaries of recordings or suggesting smarter reply options. Additionally, the new on-device generative AI image model will intelligently sharpen zoomed-in photos.
The first generative AI feature, an enhanced magic eraser that allows users to remove unwanted details from photos, will be available on the new Pixel Pro 8. The rest of the generative AI features will be rolled out beginning in December.
The Pixel 8 Pro features a matte back, another design element reminiscent of the latest iPhones. It also includes a temperature sensor that can be used on objects as well as foreheads. Google revealed that it is in talks with the US Food and Drug Administration to obtain certification for this feature.
The new Pixel Watch 2 features a faster Qualcomm Inc. chip and a lighter aluminum frame, reducing the device’s weight by around 10%. The watch boasts an improved heart rate monitor, rapid charging, a skin temperature sensor, and features such as fall detection and the ability to quickly call emergency services—all of which are similar to the offerings of the Apple Watch.
The Pixel Watch 2 is priced at $349 without cellular features and $399 for cellular versions that can operate independently of a smartphone.
Meanwhile, Google’s Pixel Buds Pro wireless earbuds are receiving a software update that incorporates some of the features found in Apple’s latest AirPods Pro software. This includes clearer calls, noise reduction for the recipient of the call, automatic pause of music playback when the wearer starts speaking, improved latency for gaming, and two new color options: white and blue.
–With assistance from Davey Alba.
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