Google I/O 23: Bard AI in 180 countries to Pixel Fold, updates from keynote

On the hardware side of things, Google announced a foray into new form factors with the global unveiling of Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet

Google I/O 2023 kicked off with a keynote event on May 10 in which the US-based search engine giant made announcements related to its advancements in the field of artificial intelligence such as generative AI, language models, conversational AI, and more. Besides, the company announced a new update coming to Android. On the hardware side of things, it announced a foray into new form factors with the global unveiling of Google Pixel Fold and Google Pixel Tablet. Google also launched an A-series smartphone in the Pixel 7 line, the Pixel 7a. Below are the key updates from Google I/O 2023 keynote event:

PaLM-2 language model

Google introduced PaLM-2, its latest general-use large language model that can generate natural language for various tasks and domains. PaLM-2 is based on the Transformer architecture and has 1.5 trillion parameters. It supports 100+ languages and has key strengths in coding, mathematics, and medical knowledge. Google said the language model builds on the progress made by two of its research teams, the Brain team, and DeepMind.

Google Bard: Expands to over 180+ countries, including India

Google also announced updates for its AI-powered chatbot, Bard. Now powered by PaLM-2, Bard now knows 20 programming languages, has a dark mode, and can prompt users with images from Google Search and knowledge graph. Bard can now generate, explain and debug code in 20+ programming languages. It now has the export function available, which would enable users to pull Bard’s responses into Gmail and Google Docs. Extensions support is coming soon for Bard to get things done tapping into services from across the web. Bard will soon be available in Japanese and Korean, and support the top 40 languages soon.

AI in Google core apps

Google added AI features to its core apps such as Gmail, Maps, and Photos. Gmail is set to get a ‘Help Me Write’ feature that can generate e-mails based on user prompts and previous messages. Maps to get an ‘Immersive view for routes’ feature that can overlay directions and information. The Magic Eraser feature in Google Photos is set to get updated and it would be called Magic Editor.

Google Pixel Fold

Google unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the Pixel Fold, powered by the Tensor G2 chip and Android 13. The Pixel Fold has a 7.6-inch OLED display (unfolded) and a secondary 5.8-inch OLED display (folded). The Pixel Fold costs $1799 and it will be available only in the US, UK, and Germany.

Google Pixel Tablet

The Pixel Tablet sports an 11-inch display and runs on the Tensor G2 chip and Android 13. The Pixel Tablet comes with a charging speaker dock that turns it into a smart display. The Pixel Tablet is available in select countries at $499. It comes bundled with the charging speaker dock accessory.

Google Pixel 7a

Of the three Pixel devices, it is the Pixel 7a that is available in India for purchase. The other two devices, Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet are not coming to the country on an immediate basis. Nevertheless, the Pixel 7a smartphone sports a 6.1-inch screen with 90Hz refresh rate, protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Made of recycled material, the smartphone is IP67 rated for water and dust resistance. The camera-focused smartphone has a dual-camera set-up on the back, featuring a 64MP primary camera sensor with optical image stabilisation and a 13MP ultra-wide-angle sensor. Like its elder siblings, the phone comes with Night Sight, Photo Unblur, and Magic Eraser features. It is offered in 8GB RAM and 128GB on-board storage, and Charcoal, Sea, and Snow colours. The Pixel 7a is priced at Rs 43,999.