Today was the big day for Google’s hardware…the Made By Google extravaganza. So what all did they show? Well, for starters, the Pixel 9 line now has 3 phones in the common form factor, plus a folder. There is a base Pixel 9 with a 6.3 inch screen, a Pixel 9 Pro XL rocking a 6.8 inch screen, and a new Pixel 9 Pro with a smaller 6.3 inch screen like the base model. All have an oval-shaped cam bump, and run Google’s next gen G4 Tensor chip. Theverge.com reports that Google is touting better battery life and a new satellite SOS feature like Apple and Samsung have. The base 9 gets a $100 price bump, now starting at $799. The Pro XL is $1099. Both phones will ship August 22nd. The Smaller Pixel 9 Pro will be available in September. The 9 Pro Fold is thinner and taller than last year’s folder…the displays are 6.3 inches on the outside, and 8 inches on the inside. The Fold also uses the G4 Tensor chip. The Pixel 9 Pro fold is $1799 and it ships September 4th. 

The new Pixels run Google’s Gemini AI assistant, which will find info for you within apps or you can just ask it questions. There are two new apps from Google…Pixel Screenshots, which uses on-device AI to let you search for info in saved screen shots, and Pixel Studio, a text-to-image generator. You also get som AI image editing tools. 

Besides the handsets, Google bowed the Pixel Watch 3, with a larger 45 mm screen option. You can still get the 41 mm size. The watch 3 has a new ultra wideband chip and brighter display. The smaller Watch 3 starts at $349 with Bluetooth, and the 45 mm model starts at $399. Both Watches are available September 10th. 

Google is also rolling out Gemini Live to Gemini Advanced subscribers. We reported on this from the Google A/I meeting in May. The new voice chat option lets you ask Google’s AI assistant questions out loud, and it will respond using your choice of 10 different voices. Just like ChatGPT’s voice assistant, Gemini Live will let you talk conversationally, and you can even interrupt it mid-sentence.

Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds are smaller and lighter, but they now have 11 mm drivers and a new Tensor AI chip that Google claims improves active noise cancellation. The Pixel Buds Pro 2’s start at $229, up from $200 for the predecessor. They have 8 hours of playback with ANC active, and you get up to 30 hours with the charging case. The Buds 2 ship September 26th. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.