Google’s Pixel 9 Launch Event Was a Great Ad for Rival Android Phones [CNET]

And that’s a shame, because this hardware lineup deserves to be more than an afterthought.

Tuesday was the day we knew, thanks to teasers and leaks, that we were getting new Google hardware — phones and probably wearables, including headphones. But 20 minutes into the company’s Made by Google event, there was no sign of the new Pixels anywhere.

Instead, we’d seen three of the Pixel’s Android rivals — the Samsung Galaxy S24, Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Motorola Razr — which Google used to demo its Gemini AI features. Even though Google has well established partnerships with these phone-makers, this was unusual for an event ostensibly about the Pixel 9. If you didn’t know what you watching, you’d think this was an ad for Google’s hardware partners, not the launch of its latest, greatest phones.

By giving AI top billing ahead of its new hardware, Google reiterated the point it made during I/O, its developer conference held in May. That is, that AI is the most important product for tech companies these days. It also felt to some extent like a do-over. At I/O, its two-hour session about Gemini was terse and confusing. These demos, on the other hand, were much clearer and more practical than those at I/O — they’re what they should’ve been the first time around.

They were so good, that if you’d tuned in not knowing what to expect from Google, you might have been tempted to buy a Samsung phone for its Gemini features, rather than a phone from the Pixel 9 lineup, which finally made an appearance around the 25-minute mark. As a result, the excitement around these new devices didn’t dominate at this event, and that’s a real shame.

Google’s phones have always been in the shadow of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy series, even without playing second fiddle to them during their big annual refresh. It’s not as though they’re not worth your consideration — the Pixel 9’s predecessor, the Pixel 8, was one of our most highly rated phones last year. Our complaints mainly focused on the AI features, which based on what we learned during the back half of the event, look as though they’ve been much improved for 2024.

If Google had talked about Pixel first, there’s absolutely no reason that it couldn’t have used its own phones to show off the latest Gemini demos. The reason it most likely didn’t was that it needs its partners more than ever — especially Samsung. In the age of AI, the battle with Apple enters brand-new territory, and having popular allies capable of challenging the world’s biggest phone-maker will make all the difference. 

But even though software developments are where the biggest leaps are being made in mobile right now, let’s hope Google’s hardware doesn’t get lost in the mix as the company bids for AI supremacy. Not everyone who uses Android wants or can afford a top Samsung phone. Competition in the hardware space means better and more choice of devices for us all. The Google Pixel Watch 3 is much sleeker than Samsung’s smartwatches, and makes a compelling alternative to the Apple Watch.

“Made by Google” might mean Gemini more than it means Pixel these days, but Google’s hardware deserves to be more than an afterthought to anyone looking for a new Android phone.