Google’s I/O event this year was jam-packed with new product launches and an in-depth introduction to its new generative AI offerings. The star of its new set of device was, perhaps, the new Pixel Fold, a veritable rival to Samsung’s foldables powered by a Tensor G2 chip. Like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, it opens like a book so you can fully use its 7.6-inch display, though it also comes with a 5.8-inch external display. It’s now available for pre-order and will set you back $1,799 when it starts shipping in June.
The company has also unveiled its new mid-range phone, the Pixel 7a, that will cost you $499. In addition, the Pixel Tablet is now available for pre-order for the same price. You can use the 11-inch tablet as a smart home display with Google Assistant and Chromecast when it’s attached to its speaker dock. On its own, it can last for 12 hours, and while it doesn’t come with a stylus, it does support third-party pens.
But the most important and relevant unveiling of the event was the company’s PaLM 2 AI language model, which is the technology behind its Bard AI chatbot and which will power new features across its products. Bard will soon have the ability to decipher images in your queries and respond with images in turn — it’s now available without a waitlist in 180 countries. Gmail will have the ability to craft responses to emails for you, while Photos is getting a Magic Editor that can move objects in your pictures. You can get a glimpse of all Google announcements in a condensed version of its I/O keynote above.
