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Okay, let’s cut the cap; Google’s next Pixel event is going to have a heavy emphasis on AI. That’s not surprising; the company has been unveiling some powerful AI tools during its events for years before the AI boom of 2022. But, Google, along with other companies has gone plumb loco over AI, and it’s to the point where entire events are surrounding the technology. It’s even that way for some of the recent hardware events we’ve seen. Still, Google, please don’t make the next Pixel event like the last Galaxy Unpacked!
To recap, Korean tech giant Samsung held its latest and greatest Galaxy Unpacked event. During the event, it unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, along with other devices. This was a pretty big event, but the company made it clear that it prioritized AI over meaningful hardware upgrades.
Samsung dedicated much of the event to talking about Galaxy AI, and that’s something that we expected. It introduced us to the Galaxy Ring, the Galaxy Watch Ultra, and the Galaxy Watch 7. The Galaxy Ring’s segment was under three minutes long and the Galaxy Watch 7’s was less than one minute. The Galaxy Watch Ultra was the only segment that actually felt like a Galaxy Unpacked event because we heard about hardware advancements.
However, the main focus was still AI, and this was made worse by the fact that Samsung skipped over actual useful hardware improvements brought to the Galaxy Z Fold 6. For example, the outer display is a bit wider than the Galaxy Z Fold 5 which has a slight, but palpable difference to the usability. Also, this phone is now dust-resistant.
Those are great things to talk about, especially the dust resistance. However, Samsung DIDN’T talk about them. Instead, we heard about how Galaxy AI can enhance your experience. It was pretty disappointing.
Hopefully, the next Google Pixel event won’t be like Galaxy Unpacked
So, that leads us to the next major tech event happening this year. Google, surprisingly, decided to move its Pixel hardware event to August rather than waiting for October. At the time of writing this article, we know for certain that Google is going to announce the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. If the company clues us in on more devices, then we’ll update this article accordingly.
If all companies have been going crazy over AI, Google has gone absolutely psychotic. AI makes up much of the company’s identity, and we’ve seen it basically make events a showcase for its new AI tech. So, it’s no little-known fact that Google is going to introduce some new AI goodies. That’s fair, we’re all excited to see how Google’s AI is going to A). augment the Pixel experience and B). compete with Apple Intelligence.
But, the last Galaxy Unpacked event shined a light on something scary: the typical hardware event might be going away. Instead, they might be replaced with AI announcements delivered in a Trojan horse painted to look like hardware announcements. So many companies are seeing the utility of generative AI, and they’re also seeing the potential revenue inflow.
But, the tech community, at least the hardware-obsessed portion of it, is already tired of hearing about AI. People still like to see innovations in design, more power, neat mechanisms, better displays, etc. It’s a bummer watching a hardware event and hearing about AI, AI, and More AI.
Here’s the thing, the Pixel hardware was already leaked
Google has a pretty tough job impressing us this year. For the past several months, we’ve been seeing a ton of leaks and renders of the new Pixel 9 series, and the company just confirmed the new devices a few days ago. So, we’re all going to be acting surprised during the event.
Since we already know what the device is going to look like, there won’t really be much left in the event to be surprised about. This means that Google has two options; it could either surprise us with some legitimate hardware improvements or just make the event all about AI.
If the company does the latter, then we should expect other companies will follow. In Samsung’s defense (in sort of a twisted way), the company kept the design largely the same. There were some other things that it could have talked about like the larger outer display and the dust resistance; however, the device still maintained much of the same identity as the Z Fold 5.
Google, on the other hand, revamped the design of its phones. It brought a new design language. That’s something to talk about. We want to hear about the long road the company took to develop this design. We want to hear some BS about how it shaved off some percent of the body to make it lighter. Anything! Sure, we’ll scoff and roll our eyes, but it shows that the company takes pride in its hardware achievement.
If Google chooses to ignore the hardware innovations in lieu of AI talk, then that’d make it evident that major brands only care about AI now. The 30-second teasers for the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold both led with AI. They started with a person typing in Gemini and THEN we saw the phones. The taglines were “Oh hi, AI.” That’s pretty sad. The Pixel 9 phones don’t look half bad, but Google made it all about AI.
Predictability is the enemy
One of the main issues with making the Pixel event all about AI is the fact that we’d expect it. We expected it with Galaxy Unpacked, and it was worse than we thought. Also, we expected it with Google I/O this year. If the next Pixel event is just an AI showcase, even with a meaningful hardware upgrade, then what about the next one? We’re certain that the Pixel 10 series will retain the design Google is introducing with the Pixel 9. If this next event is a snooze-fest with new hardware, then what about the next one?
We already know that Google’s Pixel phones have great AI, but how long will tech enthusiasts fly out to events that they know will be boring? Imagine flying out to get your hands on a device that’s the same as last year except for a few AI features that are just going to trickle down to other devices in a few months.
Right now, we’re still feeling out this new AI world we’re in. Thus, we don’t know how much AI people can take, and we don’t know how willing people are to accept AI innovations over new hardware. Google, Samsung, and a bunch of other companies probably think that the community wants that, but when are major corporations in tune with what the community wants?
AI is poised to be a massive cash cow for major companies, so they’re going to shove it down our throats. But, they need to realize that people can only take so much AI.