This Week in Tech: From Google's Pixel 9 Leaks to OpenAI's GPT-4 Concerns

ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech news stories from Google's Pixel 9 reveals to OpenAI's GPT 4-o concerns

This week Google wowed us with its Made by Google event, which introduced us to four Pixel phones including the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, a new smartwatch, new earbuds, and (of course) plenty of Gemini AI updates to sink our teeth into. We were also exposed to major VR headset leaks from Meta and Pico, and Apple's iPhone Air was rumored as a slim alternative to its usual smartphones. To get up to speed on all of this, scroll down for a round-up of the week's biggest tech news, and we'll see you next weekend for another quickfire roundup. This week Google wowed the world with Gemini Live at its Made for Google event, where it launched gorgeous new Pixel 9 phones. The new AI-powered version of its digital assistant can now converse with you on complex topics, knows what's in your calendar, and can tell you what Jane asked you a week ago in an email. It also has ten different voices for you to choose between, so you can start to have a much more personal relationship with your phone. Other new AI features include manipulating your photos in Pixel Studio, so you can add things that weren't there originally, like the sun, a tree, or even a spaceship. As if that's not enough, Gemini can also do all your research for you now, producing a Google Doc with sources, references, and links. Homework will never be the same! Google took a big design swing with its latest line of Pixel 9 phones. The camera arrays are still bold, but instead of bands, we get islands, and instead of curved backs, we get a look across the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL that has more in common with Apple's iPhone design aesthetic than ever before. Google upgraded the power across the line, moving from the Tensor G3 to G4 and adding a lot more RAM. They're all joined by the completely redesigned foldable, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It's super thin and has a huge 8-inch flexible screen inside. Of course, the big story of all these phones may be how they use all the new Gemini AI features like Add Me for photos and Gemini Live. We spent time with all these phones (and these cool AI features) and came away impressed, but we won't know for sure if they're a must-buy or must-upgrade until we review them all. To wearables, the new Pixel Watch 3 revealed at the Made By Google event is bigger and better than ever. A new 45mm model sits alongside the existing 41mm model, with a 40% larger screen that can reach up to 2,000 nits of brightness. Both watches pack advanced running metrics, Wear OS 5, all-new watch face complications, and Fitbit Premium's Readiness score, now free from its paywalled shackles. Unfortunately, it's not all good news for Fitbit: its smartwatch ranges, Versa and Sense, have been axed. Fitbits are back to being slim, band-size trackers like the Luxe and Inspire, while the Google Pixel Watch will be the only smartwatch series sold by Google going forward. RIP. Alongside new Pixel phones - including the mouthful that is the Pixel 9 Pro Fold - Google also dropped a new pair of earbuds, and we got the chance to go hands-on. The new Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 aims to roll with other high-end earbuds with active noise cancellation, long battery life, and a $229.99 / £219 / around AU$379 price. However, the biggest chance might not be a more natural default playback or the ability to take to Gemini in your ears when connected to the right phone. It's the fact that Google dramatically shrunk the size down from the first generation for an earbud that is way more cozy, sticks out from your ears less, and does a much better job delivering a passive seal. Oh, and they come in two really fun shades: Peony or Wintergreen. We're eager to spend more time with them and jam out to artists like Bruce Springsteen and Olivia Rodrigo, but for now, head over and read our full first impressions. This week was a big one for VR headset leaks. We got a look at the "Final Design" of the all-but-confirmed Meta Quest 3S - a cheaper alternative to the Quest 3 that's a sort of Quest 2.5, which Meta itself has leaked the existence of twice - which looks bulkier than we want but could come with an all-new action button that is either programmable or serves as a way to quickly swap between VR and MR. We'll probably find out more at Meta Connect on September 25 and 26. Then there was the Pico 4S, with leaks suggesting it's instead a high-end model - with the leaker saying in some regions it'll be called the Pico 4 Ultra. If it's real, it would be Pico's answer to the Meta Quest 3, which would be exciting. The Pico 4 was a solid Meta Quest 2 rival, only let down by software; if the Pico 4S (assuming it's real) can claw back points in this area, it could be the first true Quest 3 alternative (ignoring Meta's other headsets) - especially since it has more RAM making it more powerful. We'll just have to wait and see how the real thing shapes up when and if it's announced officially. This week, OpenAI revealed that it is observing users developing feelings for its ChatGPT bot. They are using language that you'd normally only use with friends or loved ones rather than a gadget. It's also concerned that human-to-human interactions might be affected by users' ability to interrupt the AI -- something that's rude in normal conversations. Additionally, a new update for GPT 4-o was rolled out. However, because it doesn't have a tentpole new feature to point to, OpenAI doesn't know how to explain how the upgrade makes ChatGPT better -- which could be an issue other AI makers run into in the future, too. How do you effectively quantify the usefulness of AI? If not solved soon, these issues might be extra bad news for AI makers. Skeptics are pointing to these unintended negative side effects and AI's black box nature as reasons it needs to be more highly regulated. But we'll have to wait and see if any government bodies take action or if AI development will stay in the wild west a little longer. A lot of people will be thinking about upgrading to the iPhone 16 next month. But some new rumors this week may have derailed those plans - or at least thrown them up in the air, so to speak. According to reliable Apple commentators, the company is planning to launch a new iPhone Air model next year, alongside the iPhone 17. This super-slim model will apparently sit somewhere between an iPhone 17 and 17 Pro in price and act like the MacBook Air of Apple's phone lineup. We don't know about you, but that sounds like a good excuse to not splash upwards of $799 / £799 / AU$1,499 on a new phone this year...

With the Pixel 9 official, Galaxy S25 rumor season kicks off in this week's top Android news

With the Pixel 9 series going official, the Android Police news crew gets to hand the reins over to the review and how-to teams for the bulk of our coverage going forward. Here in the newsroom, our attention now turns to Android 15's imminent release and Galaxy S25 rumors in the lead-up to an announcement in early 2025. Forward, never backwards and all that. But this week wasn't just about hardware -- Gemini AI had a busy last seven days, too. And the availability of older Google Phones went on a bit of a roller-coaster ride, so buckle in as we recap one of the busiest weeks of the year in Android news. Last Week's Roundup Google sure is looking a little evil in this week's top Android headlines Illegal monopolies, backroom deals, and more ads 2 Pixel 9 hardware goes official Google's Pixel 9 flagships were shown off with an all-new design, selfie cam autofocus across the board, and a new entrant in the lineup (but no Android 15, sadly). There's a new 45W power brick sold separately, but the phones themselves still only accept up to 27W of juice, meaning they'll charge no faster with it than the Pixel 8 would. Except for the Pixel 9 Pro XL, that is -- this is the only model that Google gave 37W charging capabilities, so it's the only one to get the fastest charging speeds. The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold was introduced as the successor to the Pixel Fold, and it brought a bigger screen and longer software support at the same price point. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 made their debut with even more AI smarts and the first-ever Google Tensor-branded audio chip. And the Pixel Watch 3 arrived with a new, larger model in tow, sporting an industry-first Loss of Pulse Detection feature that could genuinely be a lifesaver. Main Story Google's Pixel 9 flagships go official with a new model that suffers from shrinkflation Pixel 9, 9 Pro, and a more expensive 9 Pro XL are here 1 Galaxy S25 rumor season kicks off If you're more interested in what Samsung has to offer than you are in Google's hardware, these next four or five months are for you. With the Pixel 9 launch in the rearview, Galaxy S25 rumor season is now officially upon us, and it's here a little early, in part thanks to Google bumping its announcement date forward. The first Galaxy S25 leak we saw this week dealt with the design of the Ultra model: the one and only Ice Universe shared a mockup of the phone's screen and bezels, and the most noticeable difference is a set of rounded corners that don't quite take things to iPhone levels, but still drastically change the look. And according to the latest rumor, that's not the only thing set for a shakeup -- Samsung is reportedly considering changing its model names for the larger Galaxy S variants, with the S25+ potentially called the S25 Pro, and the S25 Ultra possibly being renamed to the S25 Note. Main Story Samsung could shake up its Galaxy S25 model names Is it time for a Note-orious comeback? 1 Older Google products are on life support Last week's announcement of the Google TV Streamer marked the end of the Chromecast era, with Google shifting focus away from the popular smart TV dongle and towards its new set-top box. While the Streamer ships with Android 14, Chromecasts are still stuck on Android 13. But at least we learned Google hasn't abandoned Chromecasts yet and appears poised to bring Android 14 to the device eventually. Meanwhile, immediately after the Made By Google event, we noticed Pixel 7 models and the original Pixel Fold were no longer available on the Google Store. Since then, Google has come out and said it plans to continue selling Pixel Folds in the future once stock is available, but it was surprisingly silent about the Pixel 7. Main Story Google says it hasn't given up on the original Pixel Fold just yet The foldable will be back up for sale soon Gemini takes a major step forward Gemini AI capabilities were used as a framing device for Google's Pixel 9 sales pitch -- first, the company hyped up its AI platform and the recent growth it's seen, then Google showed how the Pixel 9 fit into that platform. In doing so, the company announced some significant improvements to its AI chatbot, like the fact that it can now run some Google Assistant Routines or that Gemini-powered AI Overviews have gone global in Google Search. And Google seems to be serious about these features, pushing them out the door while hype levels are still high. Case in point, Gemini Live was announced on Tuesday and included in a Project Astra tease during the keynote, and then by Thursday, it had already started hitting phones. But it isn't all coming right away -- at the end of its keynote, Google teased a feature called Research with Gemini, which it hopes will finally make the tool a "true AI assistant," but this one isn't expected until "the coming months." Main Story Gemini Live has started landing on phones only days after reveal A Google One AI Premium plan is required 5 Android 15 is still on the way On late Tuesday after the event, Google quietly released Android 15 Beta 4.2. There wasn't much to it -- only bug fixes, really -- but that in itself is newsworthy. As we had heard in a rumor during the lead-up to the Pixel 9 event, Google's new phones did not launch with its new OS version per tradition. But that same rumor had pegged Android 15 for a September stable launch, and with only minor bug fixes showing up in the changelog, it appears that things are still holding to schedule. Main Story Google releases Android 15 Beta 4.2 with more bug fixes The company is not yet done squashing bugs