Google's AI Magic: A Pixel 9 & Gemini Deep Dive

TL;DR

Google's Pixel 9 isn't just a phone; it's an AI-powered creative suite. With on-device Gemini and mind-bending photo editors, Google is betting big that intelligent software is the future. #VentureStep #GooglePixel #AI

INTRODUCTION

A simple question has begun to circulate among tech enthusiasts and creators: What is a photo? ¹In an era where artificial intelligence can not just enhance but completely alter reality, the line between a captured moment and a created one is becoming increasingly blurred. ² This is the central theme of Google's latest product announcements, where software magic is taking center stage over raw hardware specs.

In this episode of Venture Step, host Dalton Anderson unpacks the groundbreaking announcements from the "Made by Google 2024" keynote. ³ Drawing on his experience with the Pixel ecosystem, Dalton explores how Google is leveraging its dominance in AI to carve out a unique identity in a marketplace dominated by Apple and Samsung. This isn't just about a new phone; it's about a fundamental shift in how we interact with technology.

From the jaw-dropping capabilities of the new Magic Editor to live, on-device conversations with Gemini AI, this episode dissects the features that Google believes will define the next generation of mobile computing. ⁴⁴⁴Dalton provides a detailed breakdown of the entire Pixel 9 lineup, the Pixel Watch 3, and other new hardware, all while asking the critical question: Is Google's AI-first strategy compelling enough to be a game-changer? ⁵⁵⁵⁵

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• AI is the Core Product: Google is positioning its AI capabilities, particularly the on-device Gemini Nano chip, as the primary reason to buy a Pixel, moving beyond just listing hardware specifications. ⁶
• Redefining Photography: Features like the advanced Magic Editor and "Add Me" are transforming photo editing from simple tweaks into full-blown AI-generated scene creation, challenging the very definition of a photograph. ⁷⁷
• Live Demos as a Power Move: Google's choice to conduct live AI demos, despite minor hiccups, signals a high level of confidence in its technology compared to competitors' pre-recorded presentations. ^8888888
• The TSMC Dilemma: A potential switch from Samsung to TSMC for chip manufacturing next year presents a compelling reason for some buyers to wait for a significant performance leap in the Pixel 10. ⁹⁹
• Flipping the Script on Customer Service: The "Hold for Me" feature within Call Assist puts the user back in control, making call centers wait for you instead of the other way around, showcasing a practical, everyday use of AI. ^{10101010101010}

FULL CONVERSATION

What Is a Photo in the Age of AI?

Dalton: Welcome to Venture Step Podcasts where we discuss entrepreneurship, industry trends, and the occasion book review. Today we are going to be asking ourselves a profound question that has been recently coined over the last year and a half, two years: what is a photo? ¹¹ So many tech reviewers have been jokingly saying this because things are heating up.

a photo doesn't necessarily mean that it was the exact moment that was captured and it's becoming a lot more accessible with this new magic editor app that pixel came out with on their pixel nine devices. ¹²

Dalton: Magic Editor will allow someone to completely alter their photo. ¹³I have Magic Editor on my Pixel 7 Pro, and I can remove people or things from photos, and then AI will go through and scrub it, copy the textures of surrounding areas, or fill in textures and make some best guesses using AI. ¹⁴ And it's pretty legit. You can't really tell that I did that in most scenarios. ¹⁵For general edits, like if you're at the beach and there's someone in your photo and you want to remove them, fine. ¹⁶You're at a park and someone is there, good to go. ¹⁷You could be at a museum and someone's in your art photo, you can remove them, no problem. ¹⁸

Google's Hardware Journey: From Software Giant to Pixel Contender

Dalton: Today we're discussing Google's recent keynote, the 2024 "Made by Google" event. ¹⁹If you're not familiar, "Made by Google" is typically done during the summertime and showcases what Google's rolling out for their new iterations of products. ²⁰In recent years, Google has had a large emphasis on Pixel, launching the Pixel Buds, the Pixel tablet, and the Pixel Watch. ²¹The Pixel 6 was when they established a definitive branding and effort from Google to grow and carve out a brand identity. ²²

The big thing about Pixel when it originally came out was its camera was so much better than everyone else. And even though their processor wasn't as good, the camera was better because of Google's AI capabilities. ²³

Dalton: As far as hardware, Pixel has always lagged because Google is more of a software company. ²⁴So you get an amazing software experience with fewer bugs and great apps versus hardware, which Apple and Samsung have had years and years head start on. ²⁵With the Google Pixel 6, they redesigned their whole branding. ²⁶ They went with this visor camera bar that had a retro feel and bright colors. It was really unique and caught a lot of people's eye. ²⁷The 6 kind of took off, and then I jumped on the bandwagon and got the 7, which has been amazing. ²⁸It's definitely nowhere near as popular as Samsung or Apple, especially in the U.S. where Apple dominates about 70% of the marketplace.

The Big Bet: On-Device AI with Gemini Nano

Dalton: We'll start with the AI stuff as I feel like AI is a big push from Google. ³⁰I also feel that it's uncharted territory, as this is pretty much the first phone that's coming with an AI chip just to run AI on it. ³¹The chip's going to have Gemini Nano running natively on your phone, which will enable quite a few features that are, in my opinion, fairly cool and useful. ³²Over time people will become more accustomed and understand what they find useful from these AI agents or apps. ³³

This is pretty much the first phone that's coming with an AI chip just to run AI on it. ³⁴

Dalton: Pixel is the first phone to have an AI chip; they started that on the 8 and now on the 9. ³⁵It is uncharted territory for sure, as we really don't know if it's going to be a good play or a bad play. ³⁶To make these chips, they have to be developed years in advance. ³⁷There's a whole bunch of infrastructure things that are fairly risky if it doesn't play out. ³⁸ Once you get to the point of putting it into a device like the Pixel, you're pretty far. There's not a lot of going back. ³⁹They might find that AI-enhanced capabilities on-device for mobile is a way to win over customers from the Apple ecosystem to the Android ecosystem. ⁴⁰

Live Demos: Why Google's Confidence Matters

Dalton: That's not the proposition right now, but we'll go through some of the stuff that they demoed. They did it live, which I think is a big deal because OpenAI and Anthropic have recorded demos. ⁴¹ Those aren't live. Apple's demos are not live. ⁴²They don't have the confidence to go on stage with their device and do a live demo. ⁴³ Yes, Google had issues with their live demo. On one of their demos, it took them two tries, and then they switched to a different device. ⁴⁴They were getting a whole bunch of hate on these demos failing. ⁴⁵

What other AI group is having live demos? Like Google's the only one that is doing live demos. ⁴⁶

Dalton: Everyone else uses this pre-recorded thing that is supposedly live, but it's not a live demo. ⁴⁷ That says something about the confidence in their development of these apps and features. They're so confident that it's going to work, they're going to do it live. ⁴⁸Some of the features that OpenAI has demoed with their recorded demo, they still haven't come out with, and it's been like three months, which is forever in AI time. ⁴⁹

A Live Conversation with Gemini AI

Dalton: I mentioned earlier that the AI chip will run Gemini Nano, and they're saying that it's 2X more efficient, which is great for battery life and speed. ⁵⁰One of the coolest things I saw in the demo is they had a YouTube video, and the person doing the demo asked, "Hey, can you identify all the foods that this person was eating in the video?" ⁵¹ They just dropped in the link to Gemini. Gemini went through the video, extracted all of the information, and came back maybe a second and a half later with all the foods the person consumed. ^52525252 It was pretty quick.

Dalton: Something that's also really cool is this thing called Gemini Live. ⁵³ We're doing this live here. Hey, Gemini, you're live on this podcast episode. It is called Pixelated Dreams. I would like you to talk about the Pixel Studio. Can you give us some information on how the Pixel Studio is going to work? ⁵⁴

Gemini: Pixel Studio sounds really awesome. It uses Google's super powerful AI tech to turn your words into images. 55You could describe a fluffy cat riding a dinosaur through space and it'll create a bunch of cool images for you. 56It's great for brainstorming ideas or just playing around with your creativity. 57You should be able to try it on the AI Test Kitchen. 58

Dalton: Can you tell us a little bit more about the Pixel Buds? There's a feature on here that you can have hands-free Gemini conversations. What's that about? 59

Gemini: Pixel Buds are awesome. They have this new feature called Hands-Free Gemini Conversations, which lets you talk to your Gemini Assistant without even touching your phone. 60So if you're driving or cooking and need help, just say, "Hey Gemini," and start talking. 61Gemini will help you out. 62

Dalton: Okay, so that was Gemini Live, actually live. ⁶³ Gemini Live is going to be a feature that you'll be able to have on your phone, on-device, and it will never leave your device. It's going to stay on your phone, private. ⁶⁴Now you'll be able to summon Gemini and have a live conversation, which is way more powerful than the Google Assistant. ⁶⁵

Smarter Conversations: The Evolution of Call Assist

Dalton: They also demoed a research analyst feature. They asked the AI agent to go and research scholarships that are readily available for a specific major. ⁶⁶

...the research analysts came back within, I think, like four minutes or something like that for something that would take me or yourself like five hours to get... ⁶⁷

Dalton: One of the key features when Pixel first came out was this thing called Call Assist. ⁶⁸ Pixel has a feature where it blocks scammers from calling. If you call my phone and you're a random number, it's going to screen you with a robot. ⁶⁹The robot's just going to say, "Hey, you're calling Dalton Anderson. What's the purpose of your call?" ⁷⁰So I have this gatekeeper on all these random calls. ⁷¹Then they also had this other thing called Hold For Me, which allows you to navigate these call trees. ⁷²

The script has been flipped on the call centers and they are the ones who have to hold. ⁷³

Dalton: The big thing is once I find out where I want to go, I don't hold for the call center; the call center holds for me. ⁷⁴This feature is being improved by offering call summaries, which they're calling Call Notes. ⁷⁵It will jot down a transcription and a recording of the call, with notifications to both parties. ⁷⁶So if you're in the car talking to your boss, you can record the call and have a transcription that you could search for, which is very useful. ⁷⁷

From Imagination to Image: Exploring Pixel Studio

Dalton: The Pixel Studio thing is that studio the Gemini live agent talked about, where you can imagine things, similar to Meta's imagine feature. ⁷⁸ You can type in words, and it will make images for you. This is in the mobile app, and you can use screenshots as stickers. ⁷⁹You could take a screenshot of a photo of your friend and add them into the studio and do wonky things with them, which is pretty cool. ⁸⁰

AI-Powered Photography: 'Add Me' and Magic Editor

Dalton: One thing that they added for cameras, which is sick, is this "Add Me" feature. ⁸¹If you have a group photo, instead of asking people to take a photo for you, you could take a photo of your friend group. ⁸²Then you have one of your friends take the photo with you in it and everyone else out, and it adds you into the photo, and you can't tell that you weren't actually there. ⁸³ It's crazy good. The stuff they did in live demos looks great. ⁸⁴

Dalton: And then there's this thing called Magic Editor, which is something that is crazy where you can edit the photo and just do whatever you want. ⁸⁵What they demoed was this photo of this person, and the photo was positioned incorrectly, cutting off his shoe. ⁸⁶It asked it to reframe the photo, and it repositions the photo perfectly, regenerates the shoe perfectly, and regenerates all the grass. ^87878787Then they went a step further and said, let's turn this grass into wildflowers. ^88888888Then they altered the sky and added in a hot air balloon. ⁸⁹ The difference between the original photo and the photo with the flowers and the hot air balloon is just night and day. It doesn't look fake or overly done. ⁹⁰

Breaking Down the New Hardware: Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro

Dalton: Moving past AI features, we are now transitioning to devices. ⁹¹There's the Pixel 9, the Pixel 9 Pro, and the Pro XL. ⁹²They're really emphasizing the same camera quality and same chip; the differences are like RAM and some photo features. ⁹³You have 12 gigs of RAM on the 9 and on the Pro you have 16. ⁹⁴They're using the Tensor G4 chip. ⁹⁵The price for the Pixel is $799, the Pixel Pro is $999, and the Pixel Pro XL is $1,099. ⁹⁶Other than RAM, night sight video, screen brightness, and optical zoom, there isn't much difference. ⁹⁷If you're not going to utilize those features, then I think the Pixel 9 is a pretty good deal versus the Pro. ⁹⁸

The Big Question: To Buy Now or Wait for TSMC Chips?

Dalton: So what are some caveats of purchasing a 9 this year? ⁹⁹Well, there have been substantiated reports of them switching from Samsung as their chip manufacturer to TSMC, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. ¹⁰⁰Those chips are a generation ahead of Samsung. ¹⁰¹That's the same company that manufactures Apple's chips. ¹⁰²That's potentially a reason why you wouldn't want to purchase a 9, because when Google shifts to TSMC, their chips are going to be way more powerful. ¹⁰³

Pixel Fold: A Tablet and Phone in One

Dalton: The Pixel 9 Pro Fold comes at a crazy expense; it's $1,799. ¹⁰⁴ I feel like that is pretty expensive, but then I was thinking about it. A phone like a Pixel 9 Pro is $999. ¹⁰⁵If you subtract that off the price, you're essentially paying $800 for a tablet. ¹⁰⁶So you're getting a two-for-one. ¹⁰⁷If you split them out, it's pretty reasonable in my opinion. ¹⁰⁸It's completely redesigned, much thinner, and sleeker. ¹⁰⁹

Beyond the Phone: Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Buds Pro 2

Dalton: Switching to the Pixel Watch 3, it's pretty cool. I think it sits in a weird spot, though, because it's not a Fitbit and it's not a Garmin; it's a smartwatch. ¹¹⁰For the majority of their demo, they really emphasized workouts and integration with Fitbit and these AI features for workout generation and readiness scores, which is exactly what Garmin does. ¹¹¹It just seemed like they were really pushing this fitness tracker piece, but it's not a fitness tracker, it's a smartwatch. ¹¹²

Dalton: The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are the new Pixel Buds. ¹¹³One of the big features was this hands-free conversation with Gemini, where you'll be able to summon Gemini and have a live conversation with the AI agent. ¹¹⁴It's going to have increased battery capabilities, some new colors, and it's going for $229. ¹¹⁵

Final Thoughts and Trade-In Deals

Dalton: The keynote was mainly comprised of device demos that entailed AI. ¹¹⁶

The main selling point of Pixel devices currently is the photo capabilities, which is best in class, and AI. ¹¹⁷

Dalton: So if those things interest you, then Pixel might be pretty good for you. ¹¹⁸That being said, if you want to pick up a Pixel, you can pretty much pick one up for free depending on your current phone's specs. ¹¹⁹I have a Pixel 7 Pro, and they're offering me $600. ¹²⁰They have a $200 store credit if you pre-order. ¹²¹And they're offering one year of Gemini AI Advanced, which is $20 a month. ¹²²If you have all those things, you could potentially get a phone for free. ¹²³

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Google
• Pixel (Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel Fold)
• Gemini (Gemini Nano, Gemini Live, Gemini AI Advanced)
• Magic Editor
• Made by Google
• Apple
• Samsung
• Nvidia
• OpenAI
• Anthropic
• YouTube
• AI Test Kitchen
• TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company)
• Garmin
• Fitbit
• Disney
• Nest Thermostat
• Google TV Streamer (Chromecast)
• Android 15

INDEX OF CONCEPTS

Dalton Anderson, Google, Made by Google 2024, Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel Fold, Pixel Buds, Pixel Tablet, Pixel Watch, Pixel Watch 3, Magic Editor, Gemini, Gemini Nano, Gemini Live, Gemini AI Advanced, AI Test Kitchen, Call Assist, Scammer Shield, Call Screening, Hold For Me, Call Notes, Pixel Studio, Add Me feature, Made You Look feature, Tensor G4 chip, Android, Android 15, Apple, Samsung, Nvidia, TSMC, OpenAI, Anthropic, YouTube, Nest Thermostat, Google TV Streamer, Chromecast, Garmin, Fitbit, Disney, Adobe Vision, Adobe Atmos