To say the Google I/O 2023 keynote was packed would be an understatement. Google unveiled a flurry of new Pixel devices as well as the latest versions of Android and other platforms. It also won't surprise you to hear that AI was everywhere — this was Google's big chance to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT. Don't worry if you missed something during the event, though, as we've got all the biggest announcements from the event.

Pixel Fold

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

There's no doubt that the (previously confirmed) Pixel Fold was the star of the show. Google's first foldable phone features the same Tensor G2 chip as the Pixel 7 Pro, but opens like a book to reveal a 7.6-inch display. There's a 5.8-inch external display, and the cameras are only a slight step back between the 48-megapixel main camera, 10.8MP telephoto and ultra-wide lenses and an 8MP internal shooter. This is also one of the thinner foldables at 0.48in when closed. It's available for pre-order today and will sell for $1,799 when it arrives in June.

Pixel 7a

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Google's budget (really, mid-range) phone just got a significant upgrade. The Pixel 7a sports the same Tensor G2 as its pricier Pixel 7 counterparts while adding features that were sorely missed on earlier A-series models, such as a smooth 90Hz display, a 64MP main camera and wireless charging. You can order it today for $499, or $50 more than its predecessor.

Pixel Tablet

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Google first teased the Pixel Tablet a year ago, and it's finally ready to ship its return to Android-powered slates. As mentioned last fall, this is really a hybrid 11-inch smart display. It can sit in a speaker dock to serve as a Google Assistant hub and Chromecast device, but detaches when you're ready to watch videos or check your social feeds. It's powered by the same Tensor G2 as the Pixel 7 and offers a healthy 12 hours of battery life. You can expect pen support, too. It's available to pre-order today for $499.

Android 14

Google

Google fully unveiled Android 14 at I/O. The major revision includes upgrades you saw in the previews, such as custom sharing features as well as stricter security, but also adds iOS 16-style lock screen customization complete with "cinematic" wallpaper that makes subjects stand out. You'll see likewise see AI-generated wallpapers that are cued to images and art styles. Google will release the new OS late this summer, and is expected to deliver the upgrade to Pixel users first.

Wear OS

Google

Google is still committed to improving its Wear OS smartwatch platform following last year's overhaul. At I/O, the company introduced long-sought native watch apps for Gmail and Calendar that let you manage your messages and schedules from your wrist. WhatsApp is coming to Wear OS, too. Google also released its first developer preview for Wear OS 4, a major update that promises improved battery life and performance, simple watch backups and more accessibility. All the new software arrives later this year.

PaLM 2 AI model

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

In some ways, the most important announcement at I/O is for tech that sits behind the scenes. Google has unveiled a PaLM 2 AI language model that will underpin more than two dozen of the company's products, including Bard. It's faster and more efficient, and can run locally on mobile devices. It's more adept at handling multiple languages and can generate JavaScript and Python code.

Search Labs 

Google

Among Google's many, many AI-related introductions are three test features available through Search Labs. A Search Generative Experience provides automatically-generated overviews, exploration pointers and follow-ups. Code Tips will even offer programming snippets and advice. Add to Sheets, meanwhile, lets you plug search results into spreadsheets.

Bard

Mojahid Mottakin on Unsplash

Google is rapidly expanding Bard's capabilities. On top of using PaLM2, the generative AI chatbot will soon let you include images in your queries, and bring pictures into its responses. It will also integrate Google apps (such as exporting to Docs and Gmail) as well as partner products like Adobe Firefly (for turning ideas into images). More importantly, it'll be much easier to use Bard in the first place — Google is dropping the waiting list and making Bard available in English to more than 180 countries, along with support for Japanese and Korean.

AI in Photos and Workspace

Google

Like it or not, Google is putting generative AI in many of the apps you use. To start, Photos is getting a Magic Editor that can move subjects, add content and even replace the sky. The experimental feature will be available on some Pixel phones this fall.

Generative AI will also be available across core Workspace apps through Duet AI. Gmail on mobile will help you write messages. Slides will help you create background images using text descriptions. AI in Sheets will analyze your data, while Docs will offer "assisted writing." Even Meet will use the technology to create unique video call backgrounds.

Everything else

Google

There were numerous important updates across Google's other products. Project Tailwind is an AI-driven personal notebook. The redesigned Home app is now available to everyone, with Matter support coming to iOS users in the weeks ahead. Find My Device will soon support a wider range of hardware, and detect unknown trackers to help catch stalkers. Google Maps, meanwhile, is bringing Immersive View to routes.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

Generative AI really is everywhere. It's used to make social media avatars. It can help debug code. It can even ask nosey neighbors to be a little more polite to each other. Now, Google is hoping to use it to encourage app developers to expand their use of custom store listings on the Google Play store. New features announced at Google I/O will give developers will access to AI-powered tools that will help them create new listings and convert their existing app listings into multiple languages.

App developers could already create up to 50 custom store listings, but Google hopes these new tools will make managing them easier. To start, it's introducing a store listing groups feature that allows developers to craft a base listing for their app, and then modify specific elements to tailor it to a specific audience demographic or event. Potential users visiting your app's store listing from YouTube might see one set of screenshots, while visitors from another country might see a different series of images, as well as an app description in their native language.

The new AI-powered features seem designed to make that easier. The AI helper, for example, can take developer prompts highlighting a key feature or marketing theme, and spit out ready-made text to help a user craft a targeted Google Play Store listing. There's also a new machine translation tool that can help developers quickly list their app in 10 different languages.

Although most of these new features were built to help developers find and expand their audience, there's at least one new tool being rolled out to average users: AI-powered review summaries. Google says the feature should "help users learn from each other" about what makes an app "special at a glance." Even this is designed to help apps gain more reach, however: at launch it will only help summarize positive reviews in English.

After confirming its existence last week, Google has formally introduced the Pixel Fold, its first stab at a foldable phone. Like past foldables, the new Pixel has a vertical hinge that lets it unfurl like a book. When it's folded, you get a more traditional form factor with a 5.8-inch display. Open it up, and you get a wider 7.6-inch screen for multitasking or watching videos. Both OLED panels have 120Hz refresh rates, and the device runs on the same Tensor G2 chip found in last year's Pixel 7 line. Google is pushing the phone's thinness (12.1mm folded, 5.8mm when not), battery ("over 24 hours") and weight (10 oz) as particular selling points. It also claims that the near-gapless hinge is built to last over time.

We'll have to review the Pixel Fold before we can speak to that. For now, though, we've laid out how the Fold compares on paper to the most prominent book-style foldable on the market today: Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4. Yes, specs can't tell the whole story with a form factor like this, and both Samsung and OnePlus are expected to launch new foldables in the coming months. But if you want a sense of what the Pixel Fold's $1,800 starting price will get you, here's a quick rundown. The phone is available to pre-order now and will ship in June. For more impressions, check out our initial hands-on.

Google Pixel Fold vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

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After confirming its existence last week, Google has formally introduced the Pixel Fold, its first stab at a foldable phone. Like past foldables, the new Pixel has a vertical hinge that lets it unfurl like a book. When it's folded, you get a more traditional form factor with a 5.8-inch display. Open it up, and you get a wider 7.6-inch screen for multitasking or watching videos. Both OLED panels have 120Hz refresh rates, and the device runs on the same Tensor G2 chip found in last year's Pixel 7 line. Google is pushing the phone's thinness (12.1mm folded, 5.8mm when not), battery ("over 24 hours") and weight (10 ounces) in particular as selling points. It also claims that the near-gapless hinge is built to last over time.

We'll have to review the Pixel Fold before we can speak to that. For now, though, we've laid out how the Fold compares on paper to the most prominent book-style foldable on the market today: Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4. No, specs can't tell the whole story with a form factor like this, and both Samsung and OnePlus are expected to launch new foldables in the coming months. But if you want a sense of what the Pixel Fold's $1,799 starting price will get you, here's a quick rundown. The phone is available to pre-order now and will ship in June. For more impressions, check out our initial hands-on.

Google Pixel Fold vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

Google is ready to give Android tablets another go. Nearly five years after launching the ill-fated Pixel Slate, the company has fully taken the wraps off its latest large-screen device, the Pixel Tablet. Google had teased the device a couple of times over the past year, but now it's official: This is a 10.95-inch tablet that doubles as a Nest Hub-style smart display with an included speaker dock. That dock also charges the tablet, and the slate itself runs on the same Tensor G2 SoC you'd find in a Pixel 7 phone. 

The Pixel Tablet starts at $499 and is available to pre-order starting today, with shipping starting next month. We'll have a full review in the future, but for now, we've laid out how the device compares on the spec sheet to a couple popular alternatives in Apple's 10th-gen iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab A8. The $599 iPad Air and $630 Galaxy Tab S8 are notable options here, too, but since the Pixel Tablet is really two devices in one, we've stuck to sub-$500 options below. You can read our initial hands-on for more impressions.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

Prior to today's I/O event, Google confirmed the leaks and rumors about the existence of its first foldable smartphone with a teaser video on YouTube. We now know the full specs and pre-order details for the $1,800 handheld. Starting now, you can pre-order the Google Pixel Fold through Google's store front, and units should begin shipping sometime in June. And when you pre-order, Google will thrown in a free Pixel Watch too. 

Like the 7-series Pixel phones, the Pixel Fold will feature Google's Tensor G2 SOC and come with 12GB of RAM and either 256 or 512GB of storage. The claimed battery life extends beyond 24-hours and supports both wireless charging or 30W fast charging. Google says it's the thinnest foldable phone on the market, measuring a half-inch thick when folded.

The exterior features an always-on, 5.8-inch OLED display with up to 1550 nits of brightness and 120Hz refresh rate. It's covered in the same Gorilla Glass Victus as the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro — but it's the interior screen that's getting most of the attention. The 7.6-inch, 120Hz folding display is facilitated by a custom, dual-axis steel hinge and foldable Ultra Thin Glass with a layer of protective plastic. There's just enough friction within the hinges to enable different views when propped up in tabletop mode.

The Pixel Fold has a total of five cameras: an 8MP inner camera, a 9.5MP selfie cam on the front screen, and three cameras across the rear bar, including a telephoto lens, an ultrawide lens and a 48MP camera with a half-inch sensor. The multiple screens and cameras will enable features like split screen productivity, tripod-free astrophotography and real-time translation during face-to-face conversations. 

We'll have full reviews of the foldable soon. In the meantime our senior reviews writer, Sam Rutherford was able to do a quick hands-on with the Pixel Fold and thinks it's a fitting rival for Samsung's foldables. You can get it in either black or white and pre-orders placed now should ship near the end of June.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

Google's announced the Pixel 7a — and made it available for immediate purchase — during its annual I/O conference. Like other A-model Pixel phones, this is a budget version of what came before, namely the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. At $499, it's $100 cheaper than either of its siblings but manages to meet or exceed many of their specs. It has a similar design, uses the same Tensor G2 processing chip, and offers 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage like the base model Pixel 7. The 7a also matches the water resistance and display refresh rate of that phone, but has a larger battery and higher-res cameras. One key difference is the smaller screen, measuring 6.1 inches versus the Pixel 7's 6.3-inch display.  

We know it stacks up nicely against other current-model Pixels, but how does it compare to other budget-model phones? It's a little pricier than either the iPhone SE or the Galaxy A54 and falls between the two on battery capacity, screen size and number of cameras. The Pixel 7a beats both of its competitors on base-level memory and is also the only budget model to use the same processor as its top-end, flagship counterpart. Here are the specs for each phone side-by-side so you can see which one makes the most sense for you. 

Google Pixel 7a vs. Apple iPhone SE vs. Samsung Galaxy A54 

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Google says Wear OS’ time in the doldrums is over and, two years after it approached Samsung to help bail out the platform, it’s now the world’s “fastest-growing” wearable ecosystem. At its I/O 2023 keynote on Wednesday, the company laid out the roadmap for several improvements arriving in the coming months. That includes tighter integrations with Google Home and Nest, the long-awaited launch of a full Gmail and Calendar app, and the first news about the next-generation of Wear OS.

Probably the most asked-for feature coming to Wear OS is access to Gmail and Calendar from the wrist. At some point “later this year,” users will be able to access key features on their watch including triaging and offering quick responses to the missives in their inbox. Similarly, in Calendar you can check your schedule, RSVP to invites and update tasks and to-do list items. And if you’re ensconced within Google’s smart home ecosystem, you’ll soon be able to use your watch to see who rang your Nest doorbell, and remotely unlock your door.

As part of today’s keynote, Google also wanted to highlight the big-name third parties that have thrown their weight behind Wear OS. That includes WhatsApp, which recently started beta testing its app for the platform which will offer standalone messaging support. Similarly, Spotify is launching new tiles to trigger a new podcast episode or start a DJ session, while Peloton has recently updated its own Wear OS app to enhance tracking support and let users view their weekly workout progress from their wrist.

Google also wanted to show off its Watch Face Format, built with Samsung, in order to make it easier for developers to create watch faces for Wear OS devices. The key selling point is that the system itself will handle the hard work, making it easier for less-experienced users to use. That includes optimizing the face for rendering and battery performance, letting designers focus on the actual design part of the job.

Of more interest, however, is the news that Google is launching the emulator and developer preview for Wear OS 4. The company says that, when it launches “later this year,” users should expect to see improved battery life and performance. In addition, there’s a promise of new accessibility features including a faster and more reliable text-to-speech engine. There’s also new backup and restore support to make it easier to swap their watch (or phone) without a lot of awkward fiddling. We can expect to learn more about this, and everything else Google is showing off, in the coming months.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

Given how important smart home devices have become, it’s not a surprise that Google has a lot of updates to its Home app and how Android users can interact with those devices. The most significant update is to the aforementioned Google Home app for both Android and iOS — it has been completely redesigned and will be available tomorrow.

The app has been in preview since last fall, and Google says they’ve been iterating on it significantly based on user feedback. The new design incorporates a familiar five-tab view along the bottom of the screen: favorites, devices, activity, automation and settings. The favorites tab is the default view and lets you pin interactive tiles to the view for devices, actions and automations you use the most.

For example, it can automatically show you a view from a Nest camera, let you adjust specific lights or change the temperature in a specific room. It’ll also pop up media controls when you have an active video or audio stream playing on one of your devices. A bar at the top of the screen also shows “spaces” that are commonly used, like climate, WiFi control, cameras and lights. This makes it quick to jump right into adjusting those settings across your home.

Devices, as you might expect, shows everything you have connected, organized by room. The activity tab lets you see how things have changed with your devices, like your thermostat’s activity over time or camera events. It also contains an inbox that pulls together notifications in one place. Cameras specifically are getting a big improvement here, specifically in terms of performance. Google says cameras are 38 percent faster to show you a live feed in the new app, and accessing clips is 29 percent faster.

The automation tab is the default spot for for building routines that work across multiple devices, and you can schedule them there or active them on the fly. Finally, the settings tab was rebuilt to simplify and bring all controls you need into one place. Google called the old experience fragmented and said that centralizing these tools was a key part of the update.

Google also has some big news around support for the Matter smart home standard. Most significantly, the Google Home app for iOS now has Matter support, which means you can set up and manage Matter-compatible devices in app on your iPhone. Google says this will go live in the “coming weeks” and will require iOS 16.5. There are also new controllers in the Home app for more than 60 apps, which should make it easier to control more devices in the Home app itself.

Along with these app updates, the Google Home app is finally coming to Wear OS — you’ll be able to see your favorites on your wrist and scroll through your rooms to make adjustments as needed. You’ll also get camera notifications on your Wear OS watch with an animated preview of what just happened, so you can see that someone just delivered a package, for example. The Wear OS app will be available on May 15th.

The Home app is also getting updated to work better with tablets. It’s a smart time to do that, given the Pixel Tablet is arriving very soon. Naturally, it’ll take better advantage of a large screen and work in both landscape and portrait orientation. There’s also a new “home panel” that’ll come to both the Pixel Tablet and Pixel smartphones — this will let you do common actions like view a camera, adjust a thermostat or turn on your lights without even going into the Home app. And when the Pixel Tablet is docked, that Home panel will be accessible by anyone so they can adjust things in the house as needed.

Google also has some good news for people who own older Nest Cam devices. The first generation Nest Cam Indoor and the Nest Cam Outdoor will finally be able to be transitioned from the old Nest app to the new Home app. That’ll happen in July, and you’ll need to be using the public preview of the Home app. Google says the transfer takes about 10 minutes, and then all the data and feeds from those cameras will be available in the same app as the rest of your smart home devices.

As is often the case with Google, the timeline for all these updates varies — but the biggest change is easily coming to the Home app itself, and that’ll be available tomorrow. Get ready to mash that “update my apps” button.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

I’ve been using some version of the Galaxy Z Fold as my daily driver for the last three years. So, I’ve been waiting a long time for someone to come along and give Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold line a real challenge – especially in the U.S. where we can’t buy stuff like the Oppo Find N2. And after years of rumors, this summer that might finally happen when Google releases the Pixel Fold.

Google’s foldable phone features a different design than most. It has a wider 5.8-inch exterior screen with a 17.4:9 aspect ratio. This makes a huge difference, giving you a more usable screen on the outside allows the Pixel Fold to function like a more full-featured device before you ever open it up. In comparison, Galaxy Z Fold 4’s small cover screen feels like it's designed mainly for doing simple tasks like looking up directions or responding to texts. And in your hand, the Pixel Fold’s wider dimensions make it feel different too. It’s shaped more like a Passport than Samsung’s skinnier baton–like handset.

On top of that, the Pixel Fold’s heft is somewhat deceptive. Weighing 10 ounces or 283 grams, it’s actually heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 4 (263 grams). However, because of its super slim design that measures less than 6mm thick when open (or 12.1mm when closed), it doesn’t feel nearly as dense. Then on the outside, Google created what it claims is the most durable hinge on any foldable yet. But to me the clever thing is that, by pushing all the moving parts as close to the outside of the device as possible, there’s less of a gap between the two halves of the phone, resulting in an almost completely flat device when closed.

As for its flexible main screen, we’re looking at a big 7.6-inch 2208 x 1840 OLED display with bright vivid colors. Now yes, there is a crease, and I can’t wait for the day when device makers can banish them for good. But at least on the Pixel Fold, it looks slightly less pronounced compared to some other devices. That said, the bigger differences are that Google’s foldable features slightly larger bezels and a wider landscape orientation by default, which is better for watching videos without rotating the phone. And instead of an under-display sensor like Samsung uses, Google has opted for a more traditional interior camera located in the top right corner.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Aside from its design, where things get really interesting is the Pixel Fold’s software and multitasking features. Even though I’ve only had a few minutes with it thus far, I love how snappy and responsive it feels. Switching from the front to the interior screen is super smooth, and I must admit the way Google syncs the movement of bird’s wings on the wallpaper with the position of the screen is a really nice touch. It even seems like Google has learned from Samsung a bit like with the inclusion of a disappearing taskbar that you can summon by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.

Google also says more than 50 first-party apps have already been optimized to run on devices with large screens like the Pixel Fold. You can see this in apps like Youtube, which automatically switches to a special UI when the phone is bent in half. And while Samsung offers similar tweaks in apps on the Z Fold line, it’s really nice to see continued development for adaptive UIs as they are going to play a huge part in making the next generation of foldable devices really shine. Google even showed off a new Interpreter mode that uses both the inside and outside screen at the same time, which works with the phone’s speech recognition so that people can see two different languages get translated in real-time.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Moving on to photos, despite the challenge of finding room for camera sensors in a phone this thin, you still get essentially the same great experience that we saw on the Pixel 7 Pro – including that 5x telephoto zoom. That’s really nice to see compared to the Z Fold 4, which doesn’t have nearly as good sensors and lenses as the S22 Ultra. And just like Samsung, Google included some nifty modes that allow you to shoot photos when the phone is half open or use the rear camera and the front screen at the same to capture super detailed selfies. Sure, these use cases are a bit niche, but they’re really nice for taking group shots without needing to carry a little mobile tripod around.

Finally, rounding out the Pixel Fold’s specs are a list of very premium components. We’re talking a Tensor G2 chip, 12GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage and 120Hz refresh rates on both screens. You also get a side-mounted fingerprint sensor built into its power button, support for wireless charging and IPX8 water resistance, which remains a real rarity among foldable phones.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Unfortunately, the Pixel Fold also sports a very premium price of $1,799. I was really hoping to see the cost of big foldable phones come down a bit now that they’ve been around multiple generations, but considering that’s basically the same cost as a Galaxy Z Fold 4, it’s hard to be too mad. Long-term durability is another concern. It took Samsung several generations to create a foldable phone that can really survive daily use (and even now things aren’t perfect). And while I’m sure Google has learned a lot from Samsung’s mistakes, only time will tell how the first foldable Pixel will hold up.

In the end, one thing that really struck me is that, when I had a chance to talk to some of the Pixel Fold’s engineers, they told me that this phone represents Google’s best efforts to put its own spin on a big fancy foldable phone. And while I’ve only had a brief time to play around with it so far, I definitely get it. Between its wider screens and design, there’s no way you’re getting this confused with Galaxy Z Fold. But more than that, I like that Google didn’t cut corners with the Pixel Fold’s camera while also cramming more optimized UI layouts and features derived from Android 12L.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Now if you’ll allow me to throw one last comparison in the mix, in a lot of ways, I feel like the Pixel Fold is an even more refined version of what I wanted the Surface Duo to be. It’s got a similar shape thanks to its sleek design, but with an extra display on the outside and way better software. And as a longtime user of big foldable phones, I can’t wait to test this thing out for real sometime later this summer.

Pre-orders for the Pixel Fold go live today on May 10th with official sales slated to begin sometime in June.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.