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Google’s Gemini AI model took center stage Tuesday at the company’s Made by Google event, where the tech giant also introduced a range of new Pixel 9 phones, along with a smartwatch and earbuds. Executives taking the stage mentioned Gemini 115 times during the 80-minute presentation.
The chatbot itself was mentioned, as well as the following Gemini products:
- Gemini Advanced, the $20-per-month subscription service that provides access to Google’s latest AI model, Gemini 1.5 Pro
- Gemini Assistant, the AI assistant on Pixel devices
- Gemini Live, the conversation interface for Gemini
- Gemini Nano, the AI model for smartphones
There were also repeated references to the ‘Gemini Age’.
An example of this:
“We’re fully in the Gemini era, with AI baked into almost everything we do at Google, across our entire tech stack,” Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vice president of platforms and devices, said at the event in Mountain View, California. “It’s all about giving you the most helpful AI.”
Google executives also touched on the theme of helpful AI, as they highlighted how they believe AI will change the way we use our devices. That comes as competitors like ChatGPT maker OpenAI are also trying to convince us to talk to chatbots and let AI do more of the heavy lifting in search and other everyday activities, like checking dates on a calendar or messaging a friend. In Google’s case, more powerful devices mean we can do more with generative AI than our laptops and tablets can. But as Google’s Dear Sydney ad mishap during the Paris Olympics demonstrated, there’s still a gap between what we’re willing to do with AI and what tech companies think we want from AI.
While we got a taste of most of Tuesday’s Gemini news during Google’s I/O developer event in May, there were two new hardware-specific updates worth noting:
Faster processing to feed Gemini on Pixel
Generative AI can produce impressive results when creating images and composing emails, essays, and other texts, but it requires a lot of power. A recent study found that generating a single image with an AI model uses as much energy as charging your phone completely. This is typically the kind of energy you find in data centers.
But when Pixel 8 devices shipped in October, Google introduced its first AI-specific processor. This powerful silicon chip enabled generative AI on-device — “on-device” meaning the processing happens on your phone, not in some far-flung, expensive data center. The Tensor G3 processor was the first. Now we have the Tensor G4, developed with Google’s AI research lab DeepMind to help run Gemini on Pixel 9 devices, powering everyday activities like creating and streaming video with less drain on the battery.
Google to call to action Tensor G4 is “our fastest, most powerful chip ever.” That means 20% faster web browsing and 17% faster app launches than the Tensor G3, according to Shenaz Zack, senior director of Pixel product management.
She noted that the TPUs in the Tensor G4 can generate a mobile output of 45 tokens per second. This means that:
TPUs Are tensor processing units. They help speed up generative AI.
Tokens are chunks of words. AI models are like readers who need help, so they break text down into smaller chunks — tokens — so they can better understand each chunk and then the overall meaning.
One token is the equivalent of about four characters in English. That means the Tensor G4 can generate about three sentences per second.
The Tensor G4 is the first processor to run the Gemini Nano multi-modality model, the on-device AI model that helps your Pixel 9 phone better understand the text, image, and audio input you give it.
Google also upgraded the memory in its Pixel 9 devices — up to 12GB and 16GB — to help generative AI run fast and keep the phone moving forward. At least until the next big thing comes along.
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View all photosEye-free access to Gemini
Like the Pixel 9 family, the new Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds feature a processor called the Tensor A1 chip, which also powers AI capabilities.
Think of the earbuds as another audio interface for Gemini — minus the screen. You can ask for information via your email, as well as prompts, reminders, and song recommendations, but you can’t take photos or ask questions.
To have a conversation using Gemini Live while wearing your Pixel Buds Pro 2, first say, “Hey Google, let’s talk Live.”
There’s one caveat: You’ll first need a Google One AI Premium subscription. This $20-per-month plan provides access to Google’s latest AI models, as well as Gemini inside Google properties like Gmail and Docs, along with 2TB of storage.
Google is offering anyone who buys the Pixel 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, or 9 Pro Fold now a free 12-month subscription to the Google One AI Premium plan.
“I asked Gemini different kinds of questions than I would if I had my phone in front of me. My questions are much more open-ended,” said Sandeep Waraich, product management lead for Google Wearables, about using Gemini Live on the Pixel Buds Pro 2. “There are more walks and conversations, longer sessions that are much more contemplative than not.”
That may be true, but as my CNET colleague David Carnoy pointed out, it’s like wearing Mentos candies in your ears while asking those various questions.
