MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — For many watching Google's I/O developer conference this week, the big draw is a full breakdown of the company's broader AI plans.
While some of these products, like the folding phone and the home-focused hybrid tablet, are firsts for Google, they aren’t completely novel.
Traditional Android tablets made by companies like Samsung have existed almost as long as Android itself has, though Google stopped making its own nearly eight years ago. Meanwhile, folding smartphones first burst onto the scene in 2019, and have slowly been creeping into the mainstream ever since.
These new devices also arrive at a critical time for Google, a company deeply invested in AI research forced to play defense against new (and unexpected) rivals like OpenAI and Microsoft. It’s not clear what role — if any — Google gadgets like these will play in furthering the company’s AI plans.
For now, though, Google hopes that features powered by AI and machine learning can give these products an edge the next time you go gadget shopping. Here’s what you should know about the devices Google is trying to sell you on.
Pixel Fold
What it is: Google’s first smartphone that folds in half, arriving next month
How much does it cost? $1,799 to start
What does it promise? A great camera and a design that means it’s easier to use (or tuck into a pocket) when closed
More than a quarter of smartphone owners in the United States are “highly likely” to upgrade to a foldable model next, according to a survey conducted by Counterpoint Research.
That leaves Google — long an also-ran in the U.S. smartphone market — with an opportunity. And thankfully, the company’s first attempt at a folding phone feels very different from the others you can buy right now.
For one, this book-style foldable isn’t as awkward to use as some models. The Fold has a 5.8-inch external screen, and it’s proportions are pretty close to traditional smartphone screens. Rival models from Samsung, for example, have taller and slimmer displays on the outside, so sending text messages and browsing the web can feel a little awkward. Thankfully, that’s not the case here.
It doesn’t hurt that the Pixel Fold is noticeably thinner than other Samsung options, either. At last: a folding smartphone that won’t feel super awkward in your back pocket.
When open, the Fold’s internal 7.6-inch screen is bright and easy on the eyes — it’s more than nice enough to take in your daily allotment of YouTube videos and e-books, not to mention running two apps side by side. The big bezels around the sides of the screen don’t look great, but they’re pretty comfortable places for your fingers to rest on when holding the phone.
For better or worse, the Fold — like the much cheaper 7a — uses the same Tensor G2 processor as the company’s Pixel 7 phones, released last October. In our experience, that means the Fold should be plenty fast for daily use, if not quite as speedy as some other premium phones. For most people, though, the AI features Google uses this chip for — from improving the sound of your phone calls to automatically tweaking photos captured by the Fold’s three rear cameras — may be worth the trade-off.
The catch: Where do we start?
At nearly $1,800, the Fold is plain out of reach to many. Sure, it’s not alone there — Samsung’s premium Galaxy Z Fold 4 costs the same — but even luxe traditional smartphones cost hundreds less. And because the Fold physically bends in half, there’s a great chance of some kind of physical failure over time. (Brian Rakowski, vice president of product management at Google, told The Post the Fold’s hinge mechanism has been tested to survive more than 200,000 bends.)
Apart from its folding design, Google’s pricey new phone also mostly sticks to familiar territory — we haven’t seen much so far that sets it apart from other Pixels and other foldables. Google may well develop more standout tricks for the Fold down the road — we know the company is working on an “interpreter mode” for Google Translate that uses both screens for in-person translations — but it feels like a lot of the same in a new package for now.
Pixel 7a
What it is: a new, midrange smartphone
How much does it cost? $499
What does it promise? Google’s most thoughtful software features, on a budget.
With the Pixel 7a, Google mostly stuck to its usual playbook: it took last year’s Pixel 7, kept most of its important guts, made its shell out of cheaper materials, and planned to sell it for less.
This time, Google made one surprising change to the formula: it stuck a higher-resolution main camera sensor in the back, so expect slightly more detailed photos. Apart from that, though, this is Google’s attempt at making some of its hallmark Pixel features, like Magic Eraser for photos, smart call screening, and a tool for quickly navigating customer service phone trees available to a wider audience.
That may all sound a bit basic, and perhaps it is. But after living with the device for about a week, I never really felt like I was missing out on anything more expensive devices offered.
The catch: In the past, Google’s A-series smartphones were mostly known for one thing: their seriously aggressive price tags. Earlier models routinely debuted for less than $500, which made them easy recommendations for smartphone shoppers on tighter budgets. This one isn’t quite as cheap, and faces stiff competition from rival Samsung devices.
Pixel Tablet
What it is: Google’s first new Android tablet since 2015
How much does it cost? $499
What does it promise? Double duty as a portable screen and smart home machine
Sure, you could stick Google's new 11-inch Pixel Tablet into your bag and tote it around for a day — it's sleek and boasts a screen bright enough for outdoor reading or Netflix bingeing. But that's not where the company thinks the Tablet will spend most of its time.
Instead, they figure it’ll mostly live at home — and perhaps perched on an included dock that charges the tablet and plays audio through a built-in speaker. (Naturally, it sounds a lot better than just listening through the tablet’s speakers cranked up, though it’s worth noting you can’t use the dock as a stand-alone Bluetooth speaker or anything.)
When it’s sitting on that dock, the Tablet basically becomes an even bigger version of the company’s Nest Hub screens, offering quick access to streaming media, your smart home gadgets, Google’s ever-ready Assistant.
We didn’t get to try this one for very long, but that quick change trick is enough to make this one of the more clever takes on a tablet we’ve ever seen. It doesn’t hurt that buying a Pixel Tablet costs less than one of Google’s Nest Hub Max displays and a separate, nice tablet, either.
The catch: For a long time, Android tablet apps left something to be desired — even ones Google made itself. The company is working on that, and says it’s updating many of its own tablet apps, but we’ll have to see how many other Android developers follow suit.