Category: google

Google announces 21 winners of the second annual You’re the Business competition

Google, Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the Local Enterprise Offices (LEO) are today announcing that they have selected 21 SME’s from across Ireland to secure a truly unique, money- can’t-buy prize as part of the You’re The Business campaign. Now in its second year, You’re the Business is a training and mentoring programme that aims to accelerate Irish SME growth through digitalisation.

In addition to the training, You’re the Business features a competition element to recognise and reward

SMEs that have demonstrated a commitment to digital at different stages of their growth journey – from

those who have launched a website, through to those who are just starting to export. Entrants were asked to submit a video no longer than 2 minutes in duration, detailing what their business means to them and an example of how they have used digital to drive / grow / enhance their business.

Winners will receive a digital support package from Google which includes €1,000 Google ads credit, as

well as one on one consultations with experts that will help them to further develop and grow their

business. The selected businesses are invited to attend a celebratory event at Google’s The Foundry

later this year.

An additional prize of a video creation kit was awarded to Jasmine Feehan, founder Dóchas Design Studio, for demonstrating great efforts in promoting their business online. Speaking about the competition, Jasmine said:

“I entered the You’re the Business Competition with hopes of expanding my digital expertise, growing my business online and advertising outside of social media. Developing the Dóchas Design Studio website and social media channels has allowed me to give a real sense of personality and brand identity to the business online. Without having a brick and mortar store, becoming familiar with website development and social media marketing has been essential to the success of Dóchas Design Studio and growing an online community.”

Speaking about their win, Sofie Rooney, co-owner and founder of winning SME Chimac, the Dublin-based Korean fusion chicken and sauce company, said:

“We’re so delighted to be a winner of this year’s Google You’re The Business competition. Whether it’s promoting our restaurant to potential customers, or reaching new markets with our Korean inspired sauces, Chimac has always used digital media as a targeted tool that enables us to speak directly with existing and potential customers  As we move into 2024, Google’s support package of advertising funds and expert mentorship will play a key role in our strategic planning and marketing strategy.”

Cera Ward, Managing Director of Google Ireland said:

“In Ireland, over 90% of all enterprises stand within the SME bracket. SMEs like Chimac and those we are celebrating today are an integral part of the economy generating employment and providing services across the country. Business owners know that in order to reach Irish consumers, 90% of whom are active online, they need to ensure their online presence is at its best.  You’re the Business helps SMEs to do just that, through training that is available on our dedicated site. We’;ve been proud to partner with Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices in the delivery of the You’re the Business programme and I want to congratulate Chimac, Dóchas Design Studio and all the winners announced today, I look forward to seeing how they use this prize to support continued growth.”

Richard Murphy, head of LEO Support and Coordination Unit at Enterprise Ireland said:

“The role of digital in the evolution and growth of any SME has never been so keenly felt than over the past number of years. Companies have had to become more agile and digitally adept to survive and thrive. Opening up and sharing Google’s expertise in digital with SMEs across Ireland is a huge step forward in helping these companies to maximise their online presence and growth potential. Many congratulations to the winners announced today. We wish them continued success and look forward to supporting them as they grow both here in Ireland and hopefully internationally in the years to come.”

The foundation of You’re the Business is a digital upskill program. It is a Google initiative developed in

partnership with EI and the LEOs that delivers on-demand training online, e-learning courses, and tools

and other resources to SMEs in Ireland to help them upskill digitally.

For further information on the winners and the You’re The Business initiative, please visit: g.co/yourethebusiness

Winning SMEs:

Google.org extends support to Barnardos to help make the internet safer for children

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, has announced that it is extending its support to children’s charity Barnardos by providing an additional $1 million of grant funding to promote safe internet use for children and teens across Ireland.

The announcement follows the success of the initial Online Safety Programme launched by Barnardos in 2019 with €1 million in grant funding from Google.org. Over the past five years, more than 3,000 workshops in 700 schools across Ireland have reached over 90,000 students, and delivered over 2,000 parent workshops on online safety nationwide.

The new grant will enable Barnardos to extend the programme to children aged between 10 and 15 and will address new areas including AI. The new programme will also see Barnardos working in collaboration for the first time to help shape the programme with Webwise, leading online safety organisation and Media Literacy Ireland, Ireland’s media literacy network.

Speaking at the launch, Mindy Brooks, Senior Director, General Manager for Kids and Families, Google said:

“The internet is laden with opportunity and promise for young people, but education on how to confidently and safely explore the online world is crucial. Our work with Barnardos has been incredibly impactful across primary schools in Ireland. It’s important that we continue to collaborate to develop the correct tools and training for both young people and their parents to ensure ongoing education. This new grant from Google.org empowers Barnardos to not only reach more young people but also to roll out innovative solutions to emerging issues.”

Suzanne Connolly, CEO, Barnardos said:

“Over the last five years we have seen high levels of engagement with our Online Safety Programme supported by Google.org. The workshops have been very well received with 85% of children stating they found the workshops useful and 98% of teachers stating they would recommend the programme to other schools. This new grant allows us to extend both the reach and scope of the Online Safety Programme. We are especially excited by the collaboration with Media Literacy Ireland and Webwise, which will allow for a first of its kind co-creation of materials between different organisations.”

With this grant Barnardos plans to expand its current Online Safety Programme to include:

  • Collaboration with Webwise and Media Literacy Ireland in the design and delivery of its Online Safety Programme

  • Development of a virtual programme for delivery online to significantly increase the scale and reach of the programme

  • Adapting the existing Online Safety Programme for an older audience and delivery within secondary schools for students in 1st to 3rd years

  • Adapting the programme for use in youth and community settings as well as schools

  • Designing a Crisis Incident Response to provide advice and practical support to schools where a significant incident of online bullying or abuse has occurred

  • Organising conferences on topics of interest and engage in research to further the charity’s understanding of issues surrounding online safety and digital literacy

The grant was announced today at the Google “Growing Up in the Digital Age” Summit, which convened experts from industry, academia, government and civil society to discuss how young people can be protected, respected and empowered online. The summit was hosted by the Google Safety Engineering

Center (GSEC) in Dublin.

The Online Safety programme will be rolled out in secondary schools from September 2024 to complement our ongoing work in primary schools. A virtual programme will be rolled out in 2025. Schools can contact Onlinesafety@barnardos.ie for more information or to enquire about booking a workshop for their school.

The next chapter of Google’s Gemini era

Today, Google made a series of announcements marking the next chapter of our Gemini era — with new names, new products and new ways to experience their most capable AI.

Gemini is evolving to be more than just AI models. It supports an entire ecosystem — from the products that billions of people use every day, to the APIs and platforms helping developers and businesses innovate.

The news below.

A new name for Bard 

Our mission with Bard has always been to give users direct access to our AI models, and Gemini represents our most capable family of models. To reflect this, Bard will now simply be known as Gemini.

Gemini — Advanced 

You can already chat with Gemini with our Pro 1.0 model in over 40 languages and more than 230 countries and territories. And now, we’re launching Gemini Advanced to help people easily collaborate with the best of Google AI.

Gemini Advanced will give users in more than 150 countries and territories access to Ultra 1.0, our largest and most capable state-of-the-art AI model, better at highly complex tasks like coding, logical reasoning, following nuanced instructions and collaborating on creative projects. It’s currently available in English, and we’ll expand to more languages over time.

Introducing a new subscription for the Gemini era

Gemini Advanced is available as part of our brand new Google One AI Premium Plan for $19.99/month, starting with a two-month trial at no cost. This plan gives the best of Google AI and our latest advancements, along with all the benefits of the existing Google One Premium plan, such as 2TB of storage. In addition, AI Premium subscribers will soon be able to use Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Slides, Sheets and more.

Building next-gen AI boldly and responsibly

We continue to take a bold and responsible approach to bringing this technology to the world. And, to mitigate issues like unsafe content or bias, we’ve built safety into our products in accordance with our AI Principles. Before launching Gemini Advanced, we conducted extensive trust and safety checks. You can find more detail in our updated Gemini Technical Report.

Google announces 21 winners of the second annual You’re the Business competition

Google, Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the Local Enterprise Offices (LEO) are today announcing that they have selected 21 SME’s from across Ireland to secure a truly unique, money- can’t-buy prize as part of the You’re The Business campaign. Now in its second year, You’re the Business is a training and mentoring programme that aims to accelerate Irish SME growth through digitalisation.

In addition to the training, You’re the Business features a competition element to recognise and reward SMEs that have demonstrated a commitment to digital at different stages of their growth journey – from those who have launched a website, through to those who are just starting to export. Entrants were asked to submit a video no longer than 2 minutes in duration, detailing what their business means to them and an example of how they have used digital to drive / grow / enhance their business.

Winners will receive a digital support package from Google which includes €1,000 Google ads credit, as well as one on one consultations with experts that will help them to further develop and grow their business. The selected businesses are invited to attend a celebratory event at Google’s The Foundry later this year.

An additional prize of a video creation kit was awarded to Jasmine Feehan, founder Dóchas Design Studio, for demonstrating great efforts in promoting their business online. Speaking about the competition, Jasmine said:

“I entered the You’re the Business Competition with hopes of expanding my digital expertise, growing my business online and advertising outside of social media. Developing the Dóchas Design Studio website and social media channels has allowed me to give a real sense of personality and brand identity to the business online. Without having a brick and mortar store, becoming familiar with website development and social media marketing has been essential to the success of Dóchas Design Studio and growing an online community.”

Speaking about their win, Sofie Rooney, co-owner and founder of winning SME Chimac, the Dublin-based Korean fusion chicken and sauce company, said:

“We’re so delighted to be a winner of this year’s Google You’re The Business competition. Whether it’s promoting our restaurant to potential customers, or reaching new markets with our Korean inspired sauces, Chimac has always used digital media as a targeted tool that enables us to speak directly with existing and potential customers  As we move into 2024, Google’s support package of advertising funds and expert mentorship will play a key role in our strategic planning and marketing strategy.”

Cera Ward, Managing Director of Google Ireland said:

“In Ireland, over 90% of all enterprises stand within the SME bracket. SMEs like Chimac and those we are celebrating today are an integral part of the economy generating employment and providing services across the country. Business owners know that in order to reach Irish consumers, 90% of whom are active online, they need to ensure their online presence is at its best.  You’re the Business helps SMEs to do just that, through training that is available on our dedicated site. We’;ve been proud to partner with Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices in the delivery of the You’re the Business programme and I want to congratulate Chimac, Dóchas Design Studio and all the winners announced today, I look forward to seeing how they use this prize to support continued growth.”

Richard Murphy, head of LEO Support and Coordination Unit at Enterprise Ireland said:

“The role of digital in the evolution and growth of any SME has never been so keenly felt than over the past number of years. Companies have had to become more agile and digitally adept to survive and thrive. Opening up and sharing Google’s expertise in digital with SMEs across Ireland is a huge step forward in helping these companies to maximise their online presence and growth potential. Many congratulations to the winners announced today. We wish them continued success and look forward to supporting them as they grow both here in Ireland and hopefully internationally in the years to come.”

The foundation of You’re the Business is a digital upskill program. It is a Google initiative developed in partnership with EI and the LEOs that delivers on-demand training online, e-learning courses, and tools and other resources to SMEs in Ireland to help them upskill digitally.

For further information on the winners and the You’re The Business initiative, please visit: g.co/yourethebusiness

Winning SMEs:

Google Ads is fully rolled out to advertisers in the US and UK

Google have just announced that conversational experience in Google Ads is fully rolled out to advertisers in the US and UK and it will be rolling out globally to all English language advertisers over the next few weeks.

The conversational experience was first announced last year and helps businesses of all sizes build better Search campaigns through a chat-based experience. After months of testing, we’re excited to bring this to more advertisers around the world.

Some of the highlights are

  • This is the first of many Gemini integrations for Google Ads.

  • All advertisers need to do is enter their website and Google AI will generate relevant ad content, including creatives (images, headlines, descriptions) and keywords.

  • Advertisers retain full control over which assets are ultimately deployed as part of their campaign and they can iterate on the generated content via the chat function.

  • All images created with generative AI in Google Ads, including conversational experience, will include open standard metadata and be invisibly watermarked with SynthID.

For smaller businesses, the conversational experience is especially helpful at scaling creative and more easily building high-performing campaigns, while larger agencies may find it useful to quickly deploy and test campaign concepts before rolling them out more broadly.

Find out more on the blog post from Shashi Thakur, VP & GM in Google Ads here: Put Google AI to work with Search ads.

Minister Michael McGrath launches This City Works, marking the expansion of Google’s Local Employment Task Force

Minister Michael McGrath TD was joined by Adaire Fox-Martin, Head of Google Ireland in St Andrews Resource Centre, Pearse Street in Dublin to announce the launch of This City Works, a newly expanded programme that helps long-term unemployed people to find sustainable employment solutions.

The launch of This City Works represents the next stage in the evolution of Google’s Local Employment Task Force. Established in 2020 by Google’s Community Affairs team in collaboration with local community employment, training and education services, the Employment Task Force aims to find sustainable employment solutions for long-term unemployed people and provide them with training, education and development opportunities.

The task force is made up of a diverse coalition of community experts who are identifying ways to drive inclusive economic growth in Dublin. Members include St Andrews Resource Centre Employment and Training Hubs, Ringsend Community Services Forum, Inner City Renewal Group, The Anchorage Project, Ringsend & District Response to Drugs, Irish Nautical Trust, Department of Social protection, Dublin City Council, the Fair Play project, City of Dublin Education Training Board and Google Ireland. This year, the task force welcomed two new members; the Dublin Port Company and Dublin Waste to Energy. In recognition of the expanding partnership the Employment Task Force is today rebranding to the name – This City Works.

Attendees at the event had the opportunity to meet community representatives and participants in the current Employment Task Force as well as seeing a video showcase of programme case studies.

Speaking at the event, Michael McGrath TD, Minister for Finance said:

“The impact that has been made by Google’s Employment Task Force is truly commendable. This is a unique programme, one that has been driven by the local community for those who live there. I am delighted to officially announce the launch of This City Works today, representing the expansion of the Task Force. I want to thank Google and all of the expert partners for their continued commitment to this important work.”

Adaire Fox-Martin Head of Google Ireland said:

“I am proud to be here today as we expand the Employment Task Force and see it evolve to This City Works. Google has been part of the Ringsend and Pearse Street community for over 20 years now, and we remain committed to helping create meaningful, sustainable and long-term employment for members of our local community. Today’s announcement is testament to the positive impact that this programme has, and I want to commend those involved, our community partners, those in Government and most importantly our participants – it is a joy to recognise the potential and to celebrate the achievements of this group.”

Also announced today was the creation of a dedicated website for This City Works at this cityworks.withgoogle.com. Created by Google, the site is a one stop shop for job seekers and those seeking to enhance their skills or change career path. The site also provides information for businesses seeking staff or for those curious about training and support services in their community.

Blake Hodkinson Director of Further Education – City of Dublin Education Training Board and Employment task force representative, said,

“This City Works is an important initiative, one that brings together people, businesses and community groups to provide support like mentoring and skills training to local unemployed people. I am delighted to be here as we mark the expansion of the programme and would like to officially welcome our two newest members, the Dublin Port Company and Dublin Waste to Energy. This City Works is a fitting new name for this programme, the positive impact we see in the local community is remarkable, this initiative works!”

Created and enabled by Google, This City Works is an initiative that is driven by the local community and made up of Google representatives, community based training employment and education services, local businesses, Dublin City Council and the Department of Social Protection. Today’s announcement follows a commitment of over €500,000 by Google in 2021 at the launch of the Employment Task Force and a further €300,000 funding provided by Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google in 2022.

Google Ireland host Kinia Educator TechFest

Google Ireland is hosting the Kinia Educator TechFest, a unique event that brings educators
together with the aim of increasing access to digital and STEM skills for young people, on Tuesday, November 14th.
This marks the second year of the event, which focuses on future skills, diversity, equity and access to digital learning
for young people across Ireland.

The event, which will take place in The Foundry at Google’s Dublin HQ, is open to all teachers, youth workers and
those in Ireland working with children in a teaching or youth development role through either English or Irish.
Organised by Kinia, an education non-profit charity and social enterprise, the event will feature panel discussions,
keynote speakers, industry professionals, educators, and youth representatives, covering themes which include:
“Addressing the skills gap,” “AI – the future and impact on education” and “Building inclusive careers and
learning pathways”.

Keynote speakers at this year’s event include ICT professional and entrepreneur Victoria Nxumalo, founder of AI
Ireland Mark Kelly, and founder and CEO of Mint-Tek Siobhán Ní Chofaigh. Educators attending the event can also
take part in two free skills-building workshops focused on the areas of AI, VR, green technology, smart energy, MoJo,
robotics and podcasting.

The event will also feature the launch of the updated Kinia Academy, an online community learning space, which will
enable educators to learn at their own pace while taking part in funded training opportunities with Kinia.
Marianne Checkley, CEO of Kinia, said “Educators in all youth settings work incredibly hard to make sure that no
young person is left behind in an increasingly complex and digital future. We want to celebrate their commitment to
professional development and creative learning at this event, inspiring the next wave of technology skills and giving
them a space to connect with peers and learn from other experiences.”
Victoria Nxumalo, founder and executive director of girls In STEM Trust, said: “The future of work will form the
basis of a great discussion at this year’s event. It will also be immensely interesting to explore the skills both educators
and young people will need to equip themselves with in preparation for jobs that will inevitably exist over the next few
years as AI and other 4IR technologies continue to evolve.”
For more information about the event, please visit: https://kinia-educator-techfest.zohobackstage.eu/event

New Google Maps updates: Immersive View for routes and other AI features

Over the past few years, Google Maps has transformed how people interact with the world with features like fuel-efficient routing and Live View to help you orient yourself when walking with augmented reality. Today with the power of AI, Google are announcing even more updates so you can confidently plan and navigate trips, make sustainable choices, and get quick inspiration for things to do.
Chris Phillips, VP & General Manager, Geo gives us the details..

Know before you go with Immersive View for Routes

Google Maps provides over 20 billion kilometers of directions every day. And with AI, we’re reimagining how you plan your trips before you go. At I/O this year, we announced Immersive View for routes, an entirely new way to preview every step of your journey — whether you’re driving, walking or cycling. This week, Immersive View for routes starts rolling out in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paris, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Tokyo and Venice on Android and iOS.

Say you want to bike along the water to the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Just request cycling directions, then tap the Immersive View preview to see your route in a stunning, multidimensional view from start to finish. You can prepare for each turn as if you were there with detailed, visual turn-by-turn directions, and use the time slider to plan when to head out based on helpful information, like simulated traffic and weather conditions. That way, you can easily avoid riding during rainy weather or heavy traffic.

All of this builds on our  work for Immersive View for places, which uses AI to fuse together billions of Street View and aerial images so you can know what a restaurant or landmark is like before you go. Now developers can also create their own immersive experiences with the launch of Photorealistic 3D Tiles in Google Maps Platform this week.

Easily understand your surroundings with Lens in Maps

Google Maps also makes it easier to understand your surroundings once you get somewhere — like if you’re exiting a subway station and need to orient yourself or if you’re scoping out a new neighborhood and need to find the nearest coffee shop. Lens in Maps (formerly called Search with Live View) uses AI and augmented reality to help you quickly acclimate yourself — whether you’re navigating a new city or discovering local hidden gems.

Simply tap the Lens icon in the search bar and lift your phone to find information about nearby ATMs, transit stations, restaurants, coffee shops and stores. In our biggest expansion of this feature yet, starting this week Lens in Maps is coming to more than 50 new cities including Austin, Las Vegas, Rome, São Paulo and Taipei.

Navigate with confidence with a more detailed map

Today, hundreds of millions of drivers depend on Google Maps’ helpful information about real-world conditions, like nearby crashes or upcoming traffic jams.

Soon, the navigation map will reflect the real world even more accurately. In addition to updated colors throughout the map, you’ll see more realistic buildings to help you better orient yourself – like if you’re driving downtown and need to understand where you are during the final stretch of your ride. And on highways, where some of the trickiest driving maneuvers often happen (like that annoying exit that requires you to quickly cross multiple lanes), you’ll see improved lane details to help you feel prepared. These updates start rolling out in the coming months in 12 countries, including the U.S., Canada, France and Germany.

In the U.S., you’ll soon see if there are HOV lanes along your route so you can make a more informed decision about how to get to your destination. And in Europe, our AI-powered speed limit information is expanding to 20 countries so you can stay safe even when it’s hard to spot speed limit signs on the road. Both features start rolling out on Android, iOS, and for cars with Google Built-in in the coming months.

Reduce charging anxiety with even more EV information

If you’re an electric vehicle driver, you may be familiar with charging anxiety. Whether you’re on a road trip, commuting to work, or heading across town, there’s nothing worse than not knowing where you can charge mid-trip.

Starting this week, building on our capabilities in cars with Google built-in, EV drivers on Android and iOS will now see even more helpful charging station information, including whether a charger is compatible with their vehicle and whether the available chargers are fast, medium, or slow to help you find the charging station that best meets your needs. And since 25% of all chargers in the U.S. are down at any given time, you can also see when a charger was last used to help you avoid wasting time heading to a broken charger. These updates start rolling out globally on iOS and Android this week wherever EV charging station information is available.

EV charging information will also be available to developers on Google Maps Platform in the Places API, so companies can show real-time EV charging station information in their websites and apps.

Find inspiration for things to do with new ways to search

Sometimes you know exactly what you want to do, but aren’t sure where to go. Search in Google Maps is evolving to give you even more answers to your questions, help you discover things to do, and find inspiration in a whole new way.

Now, when you search in Maps for specific things like the best place to find “animal latte art” or “pumpkin patch with my dog,” you’ll get photo-first results of what you’re looking for. These results are based on the analysis of billions of photos shared by the Google Maps community — all done with AI and advanced image recognition models. With this visual list of places, you can discover new spots that match exactly what you’re looking for. Just scroll through the results, tap on a photo to learn more, and navigate right there. This new way to search in Maps starts rolling out in France, Germany, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. this week, and we’ll expand to more countries over time.

And for those times when you’re starting from scratch and have no idea what to do — like when you magically have a free weekend — you’ll soon see better-organized search results to spark your imagination. So if you’re in Tokyo, you could search for “things to do” to see thematic place suggestions like “anime”, “cherry blossoms” or “art exhibitions.” Tap on the places that interest you to learn more, and even save the options to a list if you want to check them out later. Thematic results for activities and dining roll out globally on Android and iOS in the coming weeks.

Google Maps is transforming how people explore and navigate, and AI continues to play a pivotal role in bringing how we’re building innovative experiences for people around the world. To learn more about how we use AI, check out this deep dive about how AI and imagery bring Immersive View to life. 

Google announces the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro

It our is that time of year when everyone awaits to see what the latest is form Google and we have a slew of new products in store this years as expected and again features galore on the new handsets which are the ones I carry the most as my daily drivers. Google have announced not only new phones but a new watch following up from last years wearable which we also look forward to checking out. Stay tuned for more on the Pixel devices and cases here on site and our YouTube channel. Meet Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, engineered by Google and built with AI at the center for a more helpful and personal experience. These phones are packed with first-of-their-kind features, all powered by Google Tensor G3. And they’ll get seven years of software updates, including Android OS upgrades, security updates and regular Feature Drops. Take a closer look at the new phones — everything from the beautiful design and new sensors to updated cameras.

A polished look made for your everyday

Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are elegantly designed with softer silhouettes, beautiful metal finishes and recycled materials.

Pixel 8, with its contoured edges and smaller size than Pixel 7, feels great in your hand. It has a 6.2-inch Actua display, which gives you real-world clarity and is 42% brighter than Pixel 7’s display. Pixel 8 features satin metal finishes, a polished glass back and comes in Rose, Hazel and Obsidian.

Pixel 8 Pro’s 6.7-inch Super Actua display features our brightest display yet. So even in direct sunlight, you’ll love how true-to-life your Ultra HDR images look. It also has a matte glass back with a polished aluminum frame and comes in three colors: Porcelain, Bay and Obsidian.

And on the back of the Pixel 8 Pro, a new temperature sensor lets you quickly scan an object to get its temperature. Use it to check if your pan is hot enough to start cooking or if the milk in your baby’s bottle is at the right temperature. We’ve also submitted an application to the FDA, to enable Pixel’s Thermometer App to take your temperature and save it to Fitbit.

More camera improvements

Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro feature powerful, upgraded camera systems for stunning photo and video quality, plus game-changing editing tools.

Every camera on the Pixel 8 Pro has been upgraded, starting with the main camera that captures better photos and videos in low-light settings. The bigger ultrawide lens delivers even better Macro Focus, the telephoto lens captures 56% more light and takes 10x photos at optical quality, and the front-facing camera now has autofocus for the best selfies on a Pixel phone.

And Pixel 8 has the same updated main camera, plus a new ultrawide lens that enables Macro Focus.

The camera app has an intuitive, redesigned interface, letting you quickly find and capture content in your favorite photo and video modes. And for Pixel 8 Pro, you’ll have access to Pro Controls, giving you more creative control of the Pixel Camera with settings like shutter speed, ISO, 50 MP photos throughout the zoom range and more.

We’ve all been in that situation where you have the perfect group photo, but someone isn’t looking at the camera. Best Take uses the photos you did take to get the photo you thought you took. To make that happen, an on-device algorithm creates a blended image from a series of photos to get everyone’s best look.
Magic Editor in Google Photos is a new experimental editing experience that uses generative AI to help you bring your photos in line with the essence of the moment you were trying to capture. You can reposition and resize subjects or use presets to make the background pop — all with just a few taps.
Audio Magic Eraser lets you easily reduce distracting sounds in your video, like howling winds or noisy crowds. This first-of-its-kind computational audio capability uses advanced machine learning models to sort sounds into distinct layers so you can control their levels.

Later this year, Pixel 8 Pro will get Video Boost, which pairs Tensor G3 with our powerful data centers to apply cutting-edge processing to your videos. It adjusts color, lighting, stabilization and graininess, and the result is stunning videos that look true to life. Video Boost also enables Night Sight Video on Pixel for better low-light smartphone video quality.

Features to help you save time and get things done

Now you can quickly get more context and dive deeper into a webpage. With Summarize, Pixel can generate a summary of a webpage, so you can quickly understand the key points. And your Pixel can even read aloud and translate webpages for you so you can listen to articles on the go.

Pixel is even better at understanding the nuances of human speech, so you can talk to it more naturally to get things done. If you take a pause or say “um,” it will wait until you’re done before responding. Use your voice to quickly type, edit and send messages, even if you speak multiple languages.

And with improved AI, Call Screen now helps you receive 50% fewer spam calls on average. It will silently answer calls from unknown numbers with a more natural-sounding voice to engage the caller. It’s also smart enough to separate the calls you want from the calls you don’t. And soon, Call Screen will suggest contextual replies for you to tap to quickly respond to simple calls, like appointment confirmations, without having to answer the phone.

7 years of updates to keep you and your personal information secure

Google Tensor G3 works with the Titan M2 security chip to protect personal information and make your Pixel more resilient to sophisticated attacks. And now, Face Unlock on Pixel 8 meets the highest Android biometric class, allowing you to access compatible banking and payment apps like Google Wallet.

With Pixel, you receive exclusive features and updates that keep your phone getting better over time. For the first time, we’re providing seven years of software support for Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro — including OS upgrades, security updates and regular Feature Drops.

See more