Google launches "Pixel Fold," the first foldable mobile phone with a 7.6-inch screen, starting price of 1,799 dollars.
Pixel Fold is the Google's most expensive smartphone yet. (Photo by Kazuyuki Okudaira)
On May 11, 2566, Nikkei Asia News Agency Reportedly, Google launches Pixel, the first foldable mobile phone. at the annual developer conference on Wednesday. To compete for the group leadership position when Samsung in the global smartphone market is shrinking.
On the hardware side, Google launched its first foldable smartphone, the Pixel Fold, which is its most expensive phone yet. The device opens up to a 7.6-inch screen and is powered by Google Pixel's Tensor G2 chip. The foldable starts at $1,799 and is available for pre-order.
The launch comes amid a slowing economy that has weakened consumer demand. Global smartphone sales fell 14% year-on-year to 280.2 million units in the first three months of 2566, according to US market researcher Counterpoint. It's the Pixel's core market. Shipments were down 17% year-over-year in the period. due to weak demand
The Pixel Fold takes aim at Samsung, which sold nearly 12 million of the 14.2 million foldable phones shipped worldwide in 2565, according to market analyst Canalys. In an April survey by Counterpoint, Samsung was the top-earning brand. Foldable phones are most popular with 46% of respondents. This is followed by Apple with 39% and Motorola with 6%.
At Wednesday's event, Google also unveiled the Pixel Tablet, which has been launched since October. The Pixel Tablet will come with a speaker charging dock that can turn the tablet into a smart home device.
The company also launched a new budget phone, the Pixel 7A, with the same upgraded Tensor G2 chip used in the premium phones Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, giving Android devices better and improved security. Improved camera functionality: Both the Pixel 7A and Pixel Tablet start at $499.
Artificial intelligence was also announced at the event. This includes AI-powered updates to search, cloud and maps. including next-generation language models This is because it faces increasing competition from Microsoft-backed startups like OpenAI.
This is the first year that Google I/O has returned to Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California, since the pandemic began. Google CEO Sundar Pichai kicked off the event by introducing updates to Gmail, Google Photo, Google Map and other software products That will include artificial intelligence to make it easier to use and add various functions.
“Seven years into our journey as an AI-focused company, we are at an exciting turning point.”
Google, the search engine market leader in the U.S. and the rest of the world, saw its position as the answer source on the internet challenged by OpenAI's ChatGPT generative AI software when it launched late last year. Google responded quickly, unveiling the Bard AI chatbot on February 6 at its I/O event on Wednesday. The company announced how Bard can help with tasks like coding, adding that the chatbot will now be available in Japanese and Korean first. And versions will be released in 40 different languages. The updated Bard will be powered by PaLM 2, the latest version of Google's large language model in response to OpenAI's GPT4.
Dan Ives, Managing Director at Wedbush Securities, said: “This could be a pivotal moment in the AI battle, with Google and Microsoft going head-to-head for market share across multiple sectors. including native cloud applications, devices and conversational AI,” said Dan Ives, Managing Director of Wedbush Securities.
