What to Expect from the Made by Google Event: Pixel 8 Series, Pixel Watch 2, Pixel Buds, and More

Google’s electric-paced Made by Google event, which unveiled the new flagship smartphones Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel Watch 2, new colorways for Pixel Buds, various AI-powered features, Bard’s integration with Google Assistant, and a small teaser for Android 14, lasted for one hour and twenty minutes. Despite the absence of Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Rick Osterloh, SVP, Devices & Services at Google, took the lead and presented all the upcoming offerings for consumers, set to be available from next week. If you missed the event, don’t worry, as you can catch up on the 10 major announcements that were made.

10 things announced at the Google event

1. The event started with a quick look at the Pixel Buds, which are now available in new color options. And then we moved on to the first product launch of the day – the Pixel Watch 2.

The Pixel Watch 2 has an improved design with a more durable cover glass, and the company claims it uses 100 percent recycled aluminum materials. Compatibility with last year’s Pixel Watch bands remains, ensuring versatility. It now has a new quad-core processor for improved performance and an extended battery life of 24 hours on a single charge. Plus, you can charge the Pixel Watch 2 for 12 hours of use in just 30 minutes.

2. Pixel Watch 2 Security Features: The Pixel Watch gets a new security feature called Safety Check. This feature allows users to share their location with emergency contacts after a timer expires without logging in.

This feature can be useful for people who find themselves in potentially dangerous situations, such as walking alone at night or hiking in a remote area. If the user does not log in with the timer, their emergency contact will be notified of their location.

3. Google Pixel 8 design: The Pixel 8 is described as an evolution of the Pixel 7 design, with a smaller size and more sculpted edges. The smaller size is a little frustrating. No curved screen either. But honestly, it’s a good design decision.

The Pixel 8 Pro has a matte glass back that emphasizes high-quality colors. Pixel Buds Pro will also come in new colors to match the new Pixel phones.

4. Google Pixel 8 Display Upgrade: The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro get new displays that are significantly brighter than the Pixel 7’s display. The Pixel 8’s display is said to be 42 percent brighter, while the Pixel 8 Pro’s display is said to be even brighter, with a peak brightness of 2400 nits. The refresh rate of both screens varies from 1 to 120 Hz.

The Pixel 8 Pro also gets a new temperature sensor on the back. This sensor can be used to measure the temperature of objects, and Google is applying for FDA permission to use it to measure the temperature of the human body as well.

5. Tensor G3 Chipset: Google has announced the Tensor G3 chip, which includes several significant upgrades over the previous Tensor chip. The most significant upgrade is to the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), which now uses twice as many machine learning modules as the first Tensor chip. This means that Tensor G3 can perform machine learning tasks much faster and more efficiently than its predecessor.

In addition to the TPU upgrade, the Tensor G3 also has several other improvements, such as a faster CPU and GPU and more efficient power management. This makes the Tensor G3 a more powerful and efficient chip overall.

6. AI Features in Pixel 8 Series: Pixel 8 gets several new language recognition and Call Assist features powered by Tensor G3 chip.

• Dictation language recognition: Pixel 8 can now recognize the language you’re speaking in dictation and switch between languages automatically. This is a useful feature for people who speak multiple languages.
• Read web pages aloud: Pixel 8 can now read web pages aloud with the press of a button.
• Natural Voice for Call Screen: Pixel 8’s Call Screen feature now has a more natural voice for answering calls. This makes the call sound more human and less robotic.
• Faster spam detection: Pixel 8’s Call Screen feature can now distinguish spam calls from important calls faster.
• Call Assist transcriptions: The Pixel 8’s Call Assist feature can now transcribe calls in real time. It can even answer calls and show you in real time what the answer was so you can still answer the call if you want to.

7. Google Pixel 8 Best Take Camera Feature: Best Take uses artificial intelligence to combine and combine expressions from different photos to create the perfect group shot. So you can take 5 different pictures of different members of the group looking good, and then it will combine them all.

8. Assistant with Bard: Meet Assistant with Bard, a new personal assistant that combines personal assistance with creative abilities to see, hear and suggest things based on your life.

It can generate things for you based on your natural language requests. For example, you can ask Assistant with Bard to create a grocery list for a meeting in Google Docs or suggest the best route for a hike when you’re walking a small dog.

Assistant with Bard is rolling out to select testers soon, and will be available to everyone on a voluntary basis over the next few months.

9. Google Pixel 8: It has a 6.2-inch Actua display that impresses with its 120 Hz refresh rate, 1,400 nits and up to 2,000 peak brightness. Under the hood, the Google Pixel 8 features a 50-megapixel PD wide main camera, complemented by a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and a 10.5-megapixel selfie camera. It has a 4,575 mAh battery and supports fast charging.

The Pixel 8 is powered by the Tensor G3 processor, which promises not only speed but also better efficiency compared to its predecessor, the Tensor G2 found in the Pixel 7 series. With 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB storage options, the Pixel 8 promises a smooth and lag-free user experience.

Google Pixel 8 starts at $699 (Rs. 75,999 in India). It is available in 128GB and 256GB storage variants. Google offers Pixel 8 in Hazel, Obsidian and Rose colors.

10. Google Pixel 8 Pro: It has a 6.7-inch Super Actua display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The screen now supports a peak brightness of 2400 nits. Under the hood, the Pixel 8 Pro gets a new Tensor G3 SoC with a Titan M2 Security co-processor and 12GB of RAM. Google has promised up to 7 years of operating system and security updates for the smartphone.

It has a triple camera setup at the back with a primary 50-megapixel Octa PD wide-angle camera, a 48-megapixel Quad PD ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 48-megapixel Quad PD telephoto camera. The latter camera supports up to 30x Super Res zoom and 5x telephoto optical zoom. There is a 10.5-megapixel selfie shooter on the front.

Google Pixel 8 Pro starts at $999 in the US and Rs. 1,06,999 in India. It comes in three storage variants – 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. Google offers the Pixel 8 Pro in Obsidian, Porcelain and Bay Blue colors.