Google Pixel 7a was announced at Google I/O 2023 on May 10th. The new Pixel A series smartphone was accompanied by a number of other products from Google. The company announced its first foldable phone, the Pixel Fold. The Pixel Tablet eventually launched in the US and a few other markets after being unveiled at last year’s I/O. Google also announced Android 14, which now brings features from the company’s generative AI. Additionally, Bard, Google’s ChatGPT rival, is now available in over 180 countries, including India. As obvious as it seems, Google I/O 2023 was the scene of numerous announcements.
On this week’s episode of the Gadget 360 podcast Orbital, Editor-in-Chief Jamshed Avari and Deputy News Editor Siddharth Suvarna join moderator Pranav Hegde – that’s me – to discuss all the major announcements made at Google I/O 2023.
We start with the Pixel 7a, Google’s new Pixel A-series smartphone in India. The Pixel 7a is priced at Rs. 43,999 in India for the sole 8GB + 128GB storage option. For the price, the handset offers many upgrades over the previous model. It features an IP67 rating, a smoother 90Hz AMOLED display, a new 64MP dual rear camera setup and a Tensor G2 SoC. We’ve talked about how the Pixel 7a’s hardware upgrades complement the smart software features a Pixel is known for. Jamshed also highlighted some of the new Android 14 features coming to the Pixel 7a.
We then moved on to the Pixel Fold and saw that the design is a cross between the Oppo Find N2 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. The foldable phone isn’t coming to India for launch, but you never know, Google might surprise its customers here. We also talked about how the Pixel Fold could set the tone for Android OEMs now that Google is working on optimization tools for foldable phones.
Next is the Pixel Tablet. Siddharth, who was a Pixel user, said he didn’t find a “wow factor” in the Pixel tablet, instead highlighting its advantages such as a slim design, four speakers, an 11-inch display, etc. However, with those by Google By promoting ecosystem products, the Pixel tablet could increase interest in the world of Android tablets.
We ended up talking about Google’s AI-related announcements, including some smart features that will be coming to multiple Google apps. Of course, no Google I/O is complete without mentioning the latest Android update, in this case Android 14.
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