Pixel 8 Pro, Cool AI, and everything else from the Google Pixel event

Although most of the announcements have previously leaked (all the Pixel 8 news below), Google had a surprise of sorts in store. It integrates Assistant and Bard AI together. During the demo, Google showed Assistant pulling details from a party invitation in Gmail. Ask where the party is, and Bard Assistant can tell you the location and tap on Google Maps for directions. While you could ask for directions in the past, Assistant can now pull the address from other contexts.

You can chat with Bard to create a meal plan using your grocery list and export it to Google Docs or Gmail without a keyboard or copy and paste. There’s no release date yet, but Google says Assistant with Bard will be coming soon to Android and iOS.

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– Matt Smith

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There is a temperature sensor on the Pro model as well.

The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro look very similar to their predecessors, with a few key differences. The regular Pixel 8 is a bit smaller, making it easier to use with one hand. Meanwhile, the Pro model features a new matte look, upgraded cameras, and an interesting temperature sensor. Across the Pixel 8 series, we get the company’s Tensor G3 processor and, in particular, seven years of Android and security updates, so you may be able to keep your flagship Pixel device for a lot longer than before.

The Pixel 8 Pro’s new temperature sensor sounds like a gimmick (and maybe it is?), but in the stale and tired world of smartphones, we’ll take anything different. To take a reading, you’ll have to launch the new Temperature app and select the type of body you’re trying to measure. Google is awaiting FDA approval to enable the Pixel 8 Pro to take body temperature readings.

The price of the new Pixel 8 starts at $699, which is $100 more than its predecessor, while the Pixel 8 Pro costs $999, which is $100 more than the Pixel 7 Pro.

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Company president Brian Chesky also revealed that Airbnb is considering car rentals.

Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, told… Financial Times The company will go “a little beyond its core business” starting next year. Chesky wants Airbnb to expand its focus and currently plans to move toward long-term rentals. The service does offer month-to-month rentals, but apparently only 18 percent of total nights booked in Q2 2023 are coming from stays longer than 30 days. Chesky believes the company can do more to generate interest in long-term bookings.

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The company has also launched a redesigned app.

Patreon has announced a broad rebranding of its platform with a series of updates. It includes providing more ways for supporters to follow their favorites while incorporating more free content from creators. Creators can now let people join in for free sharing of content and updates for non-paying members, while (optionally) hiding things like early access to podcasts or videos behind a paywall. They can also use a new business tool to sell individual pieces of content such as recordings, videos, and downloadable files.

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The three focus areas this year are personalization, control, and accessibility.

Google is rolling out the public release of Android 14. As always, Pixel users will be able to download the new version of the operating system first on supported models (Pixel 4a and later). Samsung, OnePlus, and other Android device makers will be able to access the update later this year. Deeper customization is a major focus this time around. You’ll be able to choose from a variety of lock screen templates. You’ll have more ways to customize your wallpaper thanks to the addition of creative AI capabilities. Select a text prompt and the AI ​​will prepare a relevant image for you.

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