During Alphabet Inc.’s ‘Made by Google’ event on Tuesday, the tech giant’s new AI assistant, Gemini, experienced two consecutive glitches during a live demonstration. The demo aimed to highlight Gemini’s new features on Android, including integration with Google Calendar, Tasks, and Keep. However, presenter Dave Citron faced an awkward moment when Gemini failed to respond to a simple question about his calendar availability for an upcoming Sabrina Carpenter concert. After briefly loading, Gemini reset twice, causing a momentary pause in the presentation.
Citron attempted to lighten the mood, and after the third try with a different device, Gemini successfully completed the task, drawing relief from Citron and cheers from the audience.
Despite the AI mishap, Google unveiled a range of new products, including the Pixel 9 Pro XL, a high-end smartphone with a starting price of $1,099. Alongside the Pro XL, Google launched the Pixel 9 and the Pixel 9 Pro, both slightly smaller than their larger counterpart. The Pixel 9 stands out with its vibrant pink color option and a starting price of $799, while the Pixel 9 Pro is priced at $999.
The search and advertising giant also introduced its latest foldable innovation, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, claiming it to be the thinnest foldable smartphone yet. This device is available for a starting price of $1,799.
Google also announced the availability of the Pixel Watch in two sizes – 41mm and 45mm. The Pixel Watch 3 starts at $349.99 for the 41mm Wi-Fi model and $449.99 for the LTE version, while the 45mm variant is priced at $399.99 for Wi-Fi and $499.99 for LTE.
Furthermore, Google unveiled its newest Pixel Buds model, featuring AI-powered features, improved noise cancellation, enhanced call clarity, and the ability to detect in-person conversations (similar to Apple’s Conversation Awareness setting). The new Pixel Buds, priced at $229.99, also boast a new twist-to-adjust stabilizer to prevent the buds from falling out.
As of this writing, Alphabet’s Class A shares and Class C shares were slightly down, reaching $162.69 and $164.52, respectively. However, both Class A and Class C shares showed gains during the regular session, rising by 1.51% and 1.21%, respectively, according to Benzinga Pro data.
