Besides the early event this year, Google’s use of “magic” to tease the Pixel 9 Pro is what stands out to me.

To date, the most widely used assistants have let you interact with phones via voice commands. The utility of being able to use your mobile device hands-free is obvious. 

Not all that long ago, cameras on a phone were still a crazy idea and the ones that did exist were bad. But, nowadays, nearly every phone has a camera, and nearly every single one is at least pretty decent. So what does it take to make one that’s great?

Item trackers for your smartphone are not a new concept, but Apple changed the game with its AirTag by making all of its devices work as a network for finding the tracker. Android finally has that same functionality and the hardware to use with it, but I can’t help but feel that the Find My Device network is being held back.

App store screenshots for preinstalled applications exist in a liminal space. If something is already on your phone, just open and try the software to get a feel for it. At the same time, people might be hesitant to use something they didn’t actively choose/download.

This is the least important part of Fitbit’s absorption into Google — seriously, where is the dark theme — but I hope its logo and brand identity survives. I’m specifically referring to the arrow logo comprised of dots, lowercase “fitbit” wordmark, and soothing green/teal color palette.  

Pixie first came to light in December. The Information revealed the existence of an AI assistant that will be exclusive to Google’s Pixel devices.

AI Overviews have barely been out for a week and things are already going off the rails. And, the painful part of it all is that Google has already shown that it knows how to make AI in Search truly helpful, it’s just not doing that with AI Overviews.

It was the addition of a “Notifications” tab this week that broke the camel’s back for me. The Google app on Android is in desperate need of a redesign. 

As I said in 2022, Google Calendar is my favorite first-party app for Android tablets and foldables. Following an update detailed at I/O 2024, it retains that top spot for me. 

Originally, my interest in Google came down to how I think it does cool-to-wild things with technology in an accessible/affordable manner that nobody else is doing.

Google Search is effectively a bridge between users and content on the web nowadays, but volatility in Search has led to many smaller websites seeing steep dropoffs. As Google I/O approaches, will anything at the event provide a ray of hope?

At the moment, there are two mainstream wearables: smartwatches and headphones. Smart glasses will be a third when display technology sufficiently advances. The Humane Ai Pin shows the path for a possible fourth wearable form factor, but it’s buried beneath questionable core design decisions and hubris.

Google should standardize when it kills products and major features instead of doing it sporadically throughout the year. The current approach, especially for the average user, is too hard to keep track of, and contributes to the perceived — deserved or not — sense of impending doom with Google services.

A new Chromecast is coming. If you look around at what folks want from it, it’s all about performance and speed. Basically, a lot of folks want a high-end Chromecast, but it doesn’t seem like Google is planning for that, and it seems unlikely they ever will.

This is the least important part of the next 4K Chromecast — RAM, then storage (fight me in the comments below), but I don’t think “Chromecast with Google TV” is a good name/brand by any stretch.

My technological “how often do you think about the Roman Empire” is the double twist shortcut introduced with the Moto X that would launch the camera from anywhere, including when the screen is off.

Since the beginning of March, Google Wallet has seen a somewhat uncharacteristic flurry of updates with both new features and behavior changes.

To coincide with the Android 12 push and Material You, Google introduced a pair of weather widgets for Pixel in 2021. With the Android 15 Beta, the exclusive Pixel nature of these weather widgets has been enshrined.

The past year has seen an explosion of AI tools and software, but over the next couple of months, we’re also going to be seeing a lot more AI hardware. Personally, though, I’m just wondering if any of it will become anything more than novelty.

Now Playing on the Pixel is my favorite example of ambient computing that we have right now. Dating back to the Pixel 2 and 2 XL in 2017, it shows what song is playing on the always-on display, lockscreen and notification shade without requiring you to do anything. It’s “better than instant.”

In short order, the explosion of generative AI technology has changed the way we read and write for one another, especially in journalism and blogging. While the many AI tools all appear to be useful on the surface, I fear we’ve lost our human connection along the way.

I feel like a broken record at this point, but amid new leaks of the Pixel 9 this week, there are many still asking Google for a “Mini” device, forgetting that small phones are dead.

I wish Gmail and Google Calendar were built for consumers instead of businesses. That shift could make the suite of apps infinitely more useful. They are already vital in day-to-day use, but the target audience feels more like employees of a company than anybody else.