This week, Google made waves with a series of announcements at a star-studded Made by Google 2025 event, which included the likes of Jimmy Fallon and Steph Curry. In aggregate, the announcements paint a picture of how Google expects its flagship AI model family Gemini to be deployed at home (e.g. Gemini for Home) and on the go (e.g. Pixel 10, Pixel Watch, Pixel Buds).

One of the biggest developments was Gemini for Home – a new voice assistant for smart speakers and displays (replacing Google Assistant) that some are calling the “Google’s biggest smart home play in years.” It will start rolling out in Oct 2025, with both a free tier and a $10/month Gemini Advanced subscription option. (Industry watchers expect new devices to roll out alongside the release.) Users can still use “Hey Google” to activate their device/assistant but the experience will be “fundamentally new.”

Gemini for Home will offer users smarter answers to quick research questions, as well as more capable actions in response to requests (e.g. “turn off the lights everywhere except my bedroom” or “dim the lights and set the temp to 72 degrees”). It can respond to more ambiguous queries framed in natural language, like “play me that song from Bruno Mars and Rosé.” Users can initiate a “Gemini Live” back-and-forth conversation by saying “Hey Google, let’s chat,” enabling more complex discussions (e.g. “my dishwasher isn’t draining, can you help me troubleshoot?”)

Gemini for Home goes head-to-head against Amazon’s upgraded Alexa Plus assistant, which rolled out earlier this year and is already in millions of households. Google has been signaling a serious push in the smart home this year – with the Google Home extension in the Gemini app (Jan 2025), allowing 3rd-party smart-home players to tap Gemini’s capabilities through Google’s Home APIs (May 2025), and new features in its Google Home app (Jun 2025).

Causing an even bigger splash was the new Pixel 10 series ($799 Pixel 10, $999 Pro, $1199 Pro XL, $1799 Pro Fold). Google’s new AI phones come with features that are tempting even long-time iPhone users. The Pixel 10 has Google’s custom-built Tensor G5 chip from TSMC, produced under a performance-enhanced 3nm process node (N3P). Compared to G4, the G5 offers a 34% faster CPU and 60% faster TPU. Most of the Pixel 10 phones have 30+ hours of battery life (the Pro Fold has 24+ hours).

These efficiency gains allow Google’s Gemini Nano model to run on-device, enabling a host of new AI features like real-time translation on live calls (Voice Translate). The Pixel 10’s AI isn’t just reactive to user’s needs – it is also proactive. In one WSJ technology writer’s opinion, “For iPhone users including me, the most jealousy-inducing feature is Magic Cue.” Magic Cue uses what it knows about the user’s inbox, calendar, text messages, and even screenshots to surface information at appropriate times (e.g. flight itinerary when calling an airline, calendar when making plans via text, maps just before a dinner reservation). The Gemini Live voice mode offers longer conversations, and combined with Visual Overlays, allows the AI to see through the camera lens and provide guidance (e.g. using street signs in a foreign country to provide parking help).

The Pixel 10’s camera upgrades are particularly notable. For the first time, the base Pixel 10 includes a telephoto lens, bringing a triple-lens system with 5x optical zoom and 20x Super Res digital zoom for long-distance shots. The Pixel 10 Pro and Fold go further, offering 100x zoom aided by AI-powered detail refinement (Pro Res Zoom). For aspiring filmmakers, all Pixel 10 models can shoot video at a cinematic 24 fps.

AI features like Camera Coach give real-time guidance on framing/composition; Auto Best Take blends the best facial expressions from bursts for group shots; Add Me can add the photographer into a group shot; and Ask Photos can edit the shot (e.g. fix lighting, change framing, remove object, make it look “better” or “more professional”). All phones embed C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) metadata by default, providing AI-origin transparency for edited images. Given that the base Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro are the same price as the Pixel 9, Apple’s iPhone 17 reveal in a few weeks could be anticlimatic.

Google also debuted the Pixel Watch 4 (Wi-Fi and LTE versions; $349-499), which has a 25% longer battery life of 30-40 hours and can charge from 0-50% in just 15 min. The watch uses the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Wearable Platform and Google’s next-gen AI co-processor (which is 25% faster using half the power). Users can use Raise to Talk to interact with Gemini on the go.

The new Pixel Watch is designed for active people. The LTE version has standalone emergency satellite messaging (e.g. location-sharing, SOS) for off-the-grid hikes. Its AI features includes better sleep-tracking, skin-temperature sensing, more accurate route-tracking, bike stats in real time, and automatic workout tracking, which join Google’s other health and fitness tools (e.g. ECG assessment). Google is also rolling out a Gemini-powered personal health coach in Oct 2025, available with the Pixel Watch as well as Fitbit smart watches and trackers (Fitbit Premium). The coach uses data from the watch/tracker sensor and from other devices (e.g. smart scale, glucose monitor) to adjust workout plans, provide sleep coaching, and track progression against goals.

Google also launched the Pixel Buds 2a ($129) and Pixel Buds Pro 2 ($229) , with a twist-to-adjust stabilizer for a secure fit, Active Noise Cancellation, Clear Calling, Transparency Mode, spatial audio, access to Gemini via “Hey Google” or a press/hold gesture, and up to 10 hours of listening time (longer with the case). The Pixel Buds Pro 2 specifically offers improved noise cancellation, Adaptive Audio (adjusting volume based on background noise), Loud Noise Protection, head-tracking for the spatial audio, swipe to control volume, longer battery life, and wireless charging. Both the Pixel Buds 2a and the Pixel Buds Pro 2 use Google’s Tensor A1 chip, which was purpose-built for audio-processing.

The Pixel family’s share of the smartphone market is tiny – just 3% (800K units in the US in Q2 2025) vs. 49% for Apple. Even Google’s SVP of Devices & Services says the Pixel may never be a “giant player” – although it may become the latest status gadget. In any case, the Pixel is an increasingly compelling showcase of Google’s Gemini models – including for potential distribution partners (e.g. phone OEMs, wireless carriers, browsers). (Gemini will become a native option in Apple’s iPhones later this year, alongside OpenAI’s ChatGPT.)

Google is seeking to orchestrate an AI-native ecosystem. The unifying thread across home, phone, watch, and earbuds is Gemini – AI that is cross-device and interwoven throughout users’ lives, separate from hardware or even OS. While AI is certainly coming to other novel devices, we may be reaching an era where annual device refreshes are reflecting more changes on the inside than the outside. Whereas Apple maintains continuity through iOS/macOS, Google’s continuity will come from Gemini knowing the user’s personal context across devices.

The announcements this week aren’t just painting a picture of Google’s direction – it’s also hinting at what ambient, pervasive AI will eventually look like. For instance, in the future, most photos will be AI-edited to some extent, even if it’s just minor improvements. AI will power new features and tools, but it will also become a connective tissue – a personalized intelligence layer that moves with the user. It also suggests that the AI players that are trusted by users to hold their most intimate personal data will be advantaged.

On the other hand, AI players that are unable to win users’ trust – because they are small or foreign or otherwise not viewed as trustworthy – may struggle to gain traction. Furthermore, as AI rises in importance as a cross-device fabric, we may see devices and hardware interfaces transition into becoming more of a commodity.

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