Key products and announcements from the Made by Google 2022 event

Article by Gadjo Sevilla  | Oct 7, 2022
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Key products and announcements from the Made by Google 2022 event
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Smartphones
Wearables
Tablets
United States

Google product news roundup: This year’s Made by Google event expanded the company’s Pixel offerings with new smartphones, a smartwatch, and a tablet/smart display designed to create an ambient computing experience in users’ lives.

Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro: The latest Pixel phones offer incremental spec and feature updates over last year’s models, but they’re also cheaper and smarter.

  • The Pixel 7 ($599) and the Pixel 7 Pro ($899) are priced below comparative Samsung and Apple devices, which could help Google increase market share. Google has sold around 30 million Pixel phones since 2016, per IDC. In comparison, Samsung shipped 10 times this number in 2021 alone. 
  • Google is expanding availability of Pixel 7 to 17 countries; the Pixel 6 was available in 13.
  • Key features are derived from the Google Tensor G2 chip, which enhances photos, videos, and improves security features.
  • Google has partnered with TikTok, Snap, and YouTube to develop the Pixel 7’s HDR video capabilities, indicating an interest in social media creation.
  • The company doubled down on experiences, like Pixel Call Assist, which has been used to screen 600 million spam calls, and Direct My Call, which navigates business call menu systems.

Pixel Watch: The result of collaboration between Google, Samsung, and Fitbit, the Pixel Watch marks the company’s entry into fitness wearables.

  • Starting at $350, the Pixel Watch is available in Wi-Fi and 4G-LTE versions.
  • The circular smartwatch is heavily focused on fashion, with a slew of watch faces and bands.
  • Google is leveraging Google Assistant as a key component of the Pixel Watch. It also integrates Google Maps, Google Wallet, YouTube Music, and Fitbit Premium.
  • Fitbit integration is apparent with on-device machine learning for heart rate and sleep tracking.
  • The Pixel Watch’s pricing and features make it direct competition with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 ($310). Fun fact: The Pixel Watch is powered by a Samsung Exynos 9110 SoC. 

Pixel Tablet: Unlike competitors like the Apple iPad Pro or Microsoft Surface Pro, Google’s Pixel Tablet is shying away from pro users and offices and focusing on homes—smart homes that is.

  • Coming in 2023, the Pixel Tablet will run on the same Tensor G2 chip as the Pixel 7 phones.
  • The company is working with developers to redefine Android for larger displays.
  • An optional speaker dock will convert the Pixel Tablet into an 11-inch smart display for home use. Google is pitching this as a hub for smart home control.

Ambient aspirations: It’s evident that Google is selling more than individual consumer electronics—it’s pitching a wider ecosystem of services and experiences.

  • Rick Osterloh, SVP of devices and services at Google, stressed “immersive ambient experiences,” and “personal intelligence” hinged on Android, AI, and Google Tensor.
  • Google Assistant and manifold Google services are no longer trapped inside a smart speaker. You can wear Google on your wrist or carry it in your pocket.
  • Pixel products will extend beyond personal communications and computing and into smart home and IoT applications with little to no user input.

(Source: Google)