Google is pitching its new Pixel 8 Pro as the “first phone built for the generative AI era”. The aggressive push to incorporate generative artificial intelligence features in the device itself could be the secret sauce for Pixel to better compete with Apple’s iPhone 15 and other flagships. "The ability for us to deliver the computing power you need where you are is super important. That’s why it's important that we can perform our AI features on your smartphone, rather than you needing to pull out a laptop or perform tasks on another connected device," explains Soniya Jobanputra, Director of Product Management at Google. Google’s premium Pixel 8 smartphones are getting a bunch of new AI features running on-device, all thanks to the Tensor G3 chip. The G3 is Google’s in-house custom chip, which allows the company to take advantage of intelligence and machine learning and add features that improve things like the phone’s camera or voice calls. "We want to process your information on your device and reduce latency to provide you with faster responses. For these reasons, we aim to move our models to the device rather than having everything run in the cloud,” Jobanputra tells indianexpress.com on the sidelines of the India launch of the Google smartphones. At its Made by Google event, the tech giant announced several AI-focused features that will be coming to its Pixel phones over the next couple of months. These include the Magic Editor, which uses generative AI to reposition and resize a subject. Additionally, there's a new Audio Magic Eraser tool that allows users to erase distracting sounds from videos. Another tool called Video Boost offloads some processing to the cloud and enables Night Sight Video. Zoom Enhance, exclusive to the Pixel 8 Pro, lets users pinch to zoom in about 30 times after taking a photo to focus on and edit a specific area. Google is also integrating the capabilities of its Bard AI chatbot into Google Assistant. "These AI features are made for everybody," says Jobanputra. "When we are designing Pixel phones and Pixel features, we are building things for everyone. That's why we make some of our features available to everyone in photos with our editing tools,” she said, responding that not every generative AI feature will target creators. Big Tech is racing to incorporate artificial intelligence features into its core product lines. Generative AI, which enables users to compose essays or create images on command, promises to add a new dimension to apps and products, and Google is determined not to be left behind. Experts assert that large language models (LLMs) like the ones powering OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard AI chatbot are fundamental technologies upon which many popular consumer-oriented products and services will be built. Companies such as Microsoft and Google want to control LLMs to maintain their market dominance. "When we look at AI, it's not about 'Oh, what's the fancy new tech we can put in the phone?' It's about 'What's the new feature that's going to help our users be a better version of themselves?' And that's what we're designing into our phones," said Jobanputra. The 6.3-inch Pixel 8 and the 6.7-inch Pixel 8 Pro come with brighter displays and a new camera system. They are also receiving seven years of OS upgrades, a significant improvement from the three years of OS upgrades and five years of security support that Google promised for its previous flagship devices. This nearly rivals iPhones, known for receiving multiple years of OS upgrades. The Pixel 8 Pro, which competes with the iPhone 15 Pro, is priced at Rs 106,999, while the base Pixel 8 costs Rs 75,999. Google is also bringing the Pixel Watch 2 smartwatch to India which offers features like stress tracking. Although these upgrades are mostly incremental, Google hopes the AI improvements and enhancements in cameras and screens might appeal to premium Android smartphone users in India. However, analysts are skeptical about how well the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro will be received in India, largely due to the high price tags of these devices and the lower visibility of the Pixel brand in the world’s second-largest smartphone market. “Pixel’s strategy for the Indian market would be to strengthen its position in the Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 smartphone segment with its lineup of devices like 6A and 7A,” said Abhilash Kumar, Industry Analyst-Wireless Smartphone Strategies at Tech Insights. “With its Pixel 8 series lineup, Google is targeting developed markets like North America, some of the developed Western European countries, Japan, etc., more than India.” Kumar expects Google could achieve success in India if it manages to assemble the Pixel smartphones in the country, which may lower the prices and help the company better compete with players such as Apple and Samsung in the premium smartphone market.
