Surprise Google Event Planned for August

Google has announced a surprise event, where some suspect the company will announce the new Pixel 9.

In a teaser video, Google titled “AI… meet IX at Made by Google,” the I and X in Pixel remain as the other letters fade away, symbolizing the Roman numeral for the number nine. Then, it outlines what look like the edges of a smartphone. Beyond that fairly overt clue, Made at Google is where the company unveiled the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro smartphones last October, as The Verge points out.

The Made by Google event will occur on August 13, and the keynote begins at 1 PM ET (10 PM PT). There, the tech giant will “showcase the best of Google AI, Android software, and the Pixel portfolio of devices,” according to an email from Google. Since last year’s event also included the announcement of the Pixel Watch 2, the next generation of the wearable could make an appearance as well.

With the artificial intelligence race in full swing after picking up momentum last year, it’s no surprise Google’s invite email gave the technology a shout out. So far, Google’s shown off its Gemini AI model — most recently at its I/O event — to mixed results, to say the least. Still, just about every smartphone maker is making its own moves to bring AI to the devices, whether that be for simplifying tasks, revamping photo editing, or giving users easier access to AI chat models like Chat-GPT.

But given that Google just showed off some of these tools at its I/O keynote, it’ll be interesting to see how the Pixel expands beyond what users have already seen. When those features were first announced, they were Pixel exclusives. Now, though Pixel users still have more access without the need for a subscription, the AI tools have been rolled out to numerous Android devices. The Made by Google event could see more features to give the Pixel is cutting edge back.

For Android fans wondering if the timing is a bit early, it is. The Verge noted Google’s past issues with leaks coming out before the official event, so moving up the date may be the company’s effort to prevent the issue from happening again.

Image credits: Google