Google Workspace, your most secure choice in productivity suites, will be getting even more secure. That's the message driving Google's announcement today of 11 new features and capabilities for its Workspace service.
Citing a 38% year-over-year rise in cybersecurity attacks in 2023, coupled with an average cost per data breach of $4.3M, Google revealed a variety of new security enhancements, some now in preview, others coming later in the year.
Also: Ransomware attacks broke records in July, mainly driven by this one group
It's unclear which Workspace plans will gain these new features. Google did mention that some are intended for their biggest customers, but whether the rest of these filter down to SMB services is unclear at this time.
And with that, let's run down the full list of new capabilities:
Zero-trust and DLP
The idea behind zero trust is that security extends beyond the first password login. Never trust. Always verify. For example, if someone manages to break into your network, they're still blocked from getting to internal resources on the network.
DLP, aka data loss prevention, refers to services that prevent the theft of data from a network.
Also: The best VPN services right now: Expert tested and reviewed
In that context, Google is introducing new zero trust controls and DLP capabilities for Workspace.
AI-powered classification and labeling for Google Drive: As in Gmail, labels can be applied to documents in Google Drive. With this new feature, some labels will be applied automatically, based on conditions specified by admins. Automatic labeling sets up the documents for further controls within Workplace. This feature is now available in preview.
Context-aware DLP controls in Drive: Some to-do list managers can be set to deliver pop-up notifications for specific to-do items at specific locations. For example, if you have a to-do item to get rockfish while at the grocery store, as soon as you walk into the store, the notification fires. The new context-aware controls for Drive work like that. Admins can set different levels of security based on context. These might include device location, device type, security status, user role, and more. This feature will be available for preview later this year.
Extended DLP controls in Gmail: While Google was unclear about exactly what controls these might be, they are intended to prevent the sharing of sensitive information. Perhaps these will include controls for forwarding messages, or practicing messages in certain contexts. (For example, some messages can only be read at work.) That's speculation on my part, though, since Google hasn't elaborated at all on this capability. This will be available for preview later this year.
New digital sovereignty controls
Digital sovereignty describes the idea of geographic location for data governance. For example, does your data live on servers in the US or in Europe? Where do the keys live? This is important when it comes to data security laws, and the laws of various governments about what can be shared or subpoenaed by entities outside the original corporate owner.
Also: Check your SSDs: What to know about the SanDisk/Western Digital data loss disaster
Google says it's going beyond data residency with digital sovereignty controls. Here are the four capabilities they're introducing.
Client-side encryption enhancements: Client-side encryption (CSE) is exactly what it says: encryption on the local device before it goes to the server. The idea is that if the data is locked down before reaching the network, it's secured. Google is introducing a wide range of CSE enhancements, including support for mobile apps like Calendar, Gmail, and Meet, setting CSE defaults based on organizational units, and more. Because this is a laundry list of enhancements, some are available now, while others will show up over time.
Specify the location of encryption keys: New partnerships with Thales, Stormshield, and FlowCrypt enable Workspace customers to choose which country's servers house their encryption (and decryption) keys.
Choose where your data is processed: Currently, Google supports your ability to choose where your data is stored -- in the EU or US -- when it's just being stored. Now, Google says you'll also be able to choose where your data is processed (that is, where the CPUs that chunk your data live). This is expected to be previewed later this year.
Choose which region supplies Google support techs: Admins can currently specify that Google customer support access be limited only to US-based personnel. Later this year, Google will preview a feature that allows customers to limit Google customer support access to technicians based in the EU instead.
Cyberthreat prevention
Google is introducing a series of capabilities designed to get out in front of cyber threats.
Mandatory 2-step verification: Here's a fascinating stat from Google's blog: Two-step verification results in a 50% decrease in accounts being compromised. That's a huge upside benefit for a relatively simple security tactic. In this set of announcements, Google has stated that "select administrator accounts" of resellers and large enterprise customers will be required to add two-step verification to their accounts. Look for that to begin later this year.
Multi-party approval for sensitive administrative actions:
Google has realized that it's probably not good to put unchecked, godlike powers in the hands of any single system administrator. As such, Google, later this year, will be adding the requirement that a second admin approve certain sensitive actions. This not only protects against mistakes, but against actions by a single compromised admin.
Also: This AI-generated crypto invoice scam almost got me, and I'm a security pro
Protecting sensitive actions in Gmail: Although Google is very reticent about providing details at this time, the company has stated that it's beginning to preview the use of AI-powered defenses to block sensitive actions such as email filtering or forwarding. (Whether that will prevent George in accounting from being able to send "I'm hungry, I'm going to lunch" to the entire company for the fifth time this month remains to be seen.)
Exporting logs to Chronicle in a few clicks: Chronicle is Google's security operations suite. Google is making it easier to send Workspace logs to Chronicle for more in-depth analysis. The feature is available to preview now.
Some Google security stats
Google also provided some statistics to showcase the benefits of its services:
That last stat is interesting. While the report does show a 50% savings, it's a 50% savings compared to the worst-ranked alternative solutions. There are other solutions with similar insurance cost estimates to Google's.
Also: The other shoe finally dropped on my Google Enterprise cloud storage plan
And there you are: Eleven new features from Google, available sometime this year or next. They'll be available to enterprise customers, and possibly smaller business customers. Better security is in the offing, and it will get here when it gets here, but it will get here.
You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly update newsletter on Substack, and follow me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.
Google announced today new cybersecurity defense controls that will allow security teams to thwart social engineering attacks like phishing targeting Workspace users and prevent account takeover attempts.
Prominently among these new capabilities is the ability to add an additional layer of protection that requires sensitive Google Workspace actions to be signed off by two admins.
After multi-party approval is enabled and configured on a workspace, admins must have at least one other admin confirm critical changes.
"Once it's been implemented, when an admin initiates a highly sensitive action like a 2SV settings change, any other admin can approve," Google Workspace Director of Product Management Andy Wen told BleepingComputer.
"With this initial framework release, we currently are supporting just 2SV settings change and expanding this capability to other actions based on admin feedback."
The company plans to preview multi-party approval for sensitive Google Workspace actions in the upcoming months.
Starting later this year, the company also plans to require mandatory 2-Step Verification (2SV), also known as two-factor authentication (2FA), for specific enterprise administrators.
"Compromised administrator accounts can have an outsized impact, and 2SV can result in a 50% decrease in accounts being compromised," Google's Yulie Kwon Kim and Andy Wen said.
"Starting later this year, in a phased approach, select administrator accounts of our resellers and largest enterprise customers will be required to add 2SV to their accounts to strengthen their security."
Google is also expanding its AI-powered Gmail defenses to cover more sensitive email actions, including message filtering and forwarding. This capability is now available in preview.
Lastly, Google Workspace now has an expedited pathway for exporting logs to Chronicle, Google's cloud-based Security Operations Suite. This will allow security teams and admins to export Workspace logs quicker to further Boost threat response time.
"Social engineering attacks, such as phishing, are one of the most common entry points for data breaches," Kim and Wen said.
"Threat defense controls in Workspace help customers prevent, detect, and respond to social engineering and other identity-based attacks before they emerge.
Earlier this month, the company announced that it would soon make it easier to remove explicit personal images and personally identifiable information from search results using a privacy-focused tool announced in May 2022 that rolled out in September.
Google also explained how Android malware can slip into the Google Play Store with the help of a tactic known as versioning that enables malicious actors to evade the store's review process and security controls.
The room hummed with giggles and mutters of “one, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war,” as a few dozen educators thumb-wrestled their way through a presentation on systems thinking.
Sound strange? Imagine, then, doing it with your students to illustrate how preconceived notions can influence actions. Instructor Joan Yates, project manager for systems thinking in the Catalina Foothills School District in Tucson, Arizona, asked the teachers to thumb-wrestle for one minute with the goal of getting the most pins as possible.
Most took that to mean the goal was to win. After all, a game requires a winner – right? In systems thinking, the answer is: Not necessarily. Yates pointed out that her instructions were to get the most pins; to actually get the most, the participants should have cooperated and taken turns getting pins, without a winner.
The exercise is just one example of how teachers can introduce systems thinking concepts to students. It’s an approach that incorporates instructional tools to enhance learning about literature, history, current events, and science, and uses exercises to train students to think differently.
In a nutshell, Yates says, systems thinking considers the relationship between the parts of a system, and the “dynamics those relationships produce.” A system can be anything – a novel, a historical event, a culture, a scientific formula. All are made up of different pieces that form the “system.” In systems thinking, you look at the whole of something, the individual parts of that whole, how those parts make the “whole” what it is, and how one action to a piece of the system can affect the entire thing.
Change those habits
Systems thinking in education helps develop students who can understand the value of other opinions, and see things from a different perspective, Yates says. Introducing mental modeling, which is ingrained assumptions that ultimately influence how we see things and what we do, can be a good place to start.
The thumb-wrestling exercise, and others, such as asking students to fold their hands or cross their arms in the opposite way they normally do or walk up stairs starting with the opposite leg, encourages students to throw off their own mental models. They have to step out of their comfort zones and try new ways of looking at things.
Yates says it’s important to take time to do these physical activities because the more senses that are engaged, the more likely someone will retain the material and really get out of those comfort zones. “It shocks people,” Yates says. “It discombobulates people enough that they physically feel. It gets them on more than one level. You increase the likelihood that someone will retain it, the more senses you engage.”
Systems thinkers also develop certain “habits,” or ways of approaching problems and situations. The Waters Foundation, which supports systems thinking in schools, has 13 habits. If you use some of the systems thinking lessons and tools, students will start to develop these habits, but you can introduce them specifically.
The habits of systems thinkers include: considering long and short-term consequences of actions (such as, if you have money, thinking both about what happens if you spend it immediately and if you put it in the bank); recognizing there might be unintended consequences to your actions; identifying the circular nature of complex cause and effect relationships (the bee buzzing around the flower is a system, where the bee needs the flower and the flower needs the bee); and looking at things from different angles and perspectives.
Tools for teaching
Practicing systems thinking in schools can be a big or small thing. In Yates’ Arizona district, systems thinking is integrated into all the classrooms, beginning in kindergarten. But there are a number of tools individual teachers can use to give their students the benefits of a systems thinking approach.
Useful for literature and social studies classes in particular is the “ladder of inference.” It helps students understand how they and others get to certain conclusions or form certain opinions (their own mental models). Literally a ladder, it starts at the bottom rung with what you know about yourself and works up: first you notice certain things, then you add your own meanings to what’s around you, then you develop beliefs based on those meanings, and finally, you doing something because of your beliefs. It’s a reinforcing loop, since the beliefs you develop are based on your personal experiences, and your beliefs affect what you notice about things and the meanings you apply.
Use that ladder to analyze why a character does something. Take any character – say, Huck Finn – and start with what you know about him, what he does and notices in the story and how his experiences and background affect what he does. It’s a great way for students to understand how cultural and other experiences shape a character and why they might behave peculiarly, Yates says. Social studies teachers also can use this to study a character in history.
A behavior over time graph is another systems tool to increase understanding. Simple line graphs that can be used with kindergartners on up, they look at what is changing and how it is changing. In English class, students do this in response to practicing by examining how a character or situation changed over the course of several chapters. In social studies, a current events teacher can use it to give students an understanding of how a world event unfolds. Take a newspaper article on a global issue and ask students to create a graph to illustrate the events in the story and what happened.
Creating a deeper understanding
Systems thinking isn’t just about the tools to help students see the world with a better lens; it also can give them a greater grasp of why things happen a certain way. Things are circular in systems thinking, and recognizing the complex nature of cause-and-effect relationships can help students understand why things happen.
One practice useful for students is called “fixes that fail.” Fixes that fail loops start with a problem and a solution to that problem. But rather than solving the problem, the solution creates an intended consequence, which reinforces the problem, perhaps making it even greater.
Students can use this to examine the Vietnam war, for instance, showing how the United States’ actions led to greater problems rather than solving the original one. Yates says many current and historical events can fit into fixes-that-fail loops. Teachers also can have students look at global events in which bad fixes were avoided.
Using systems thinking approaches in the classroom creates students who can see from another perspective and look deeper to why world events play out in certain ways. “If students develop those habits of thinking systemically, and they look at any global issue, they are going to ask different questions,” Yates says. “They are going to ask questions with a broader perspective.”
When students leave her Arizona school district, Yates says, she hopes they take this way of thinking into everything they do.
Author: Alexandra Moses
Discussion questions:
Do you use systems thinking in your classroom, and what benefits to students have you seen? How easy or difficult is it for them to throw off those mental models?
I’ve been thinking about a rumor that I’ve seen showing up in tech headlines lately – that Apple is working on a larger version of the iPad (dubbed “iPad Pro”) that is allegedly on track to be released in Fall 2014. While I haven’t been paying particular attention to rumors (with the exception of Mark Gurman’s original reporting), the idea of a larger iPad reported by the tech press thus far strikes me as an odd proposition. As someone who uses the iPad as his primary computer, I wanted to recollect past instances of this rumor and reflect upon the consequences that such device (and way of thinking) could have on the iPad line, iOS, and consumers.
Though I’m sure that older versions of the larger iPad rumor could be found by spending more time on Google, the first report I found dates back to May 2013 and originated from ETNews. Here’s how MacRumors reported it as “sketchy”:
Apple is working on a new, larger iPad with a display measuring 12.9 inches diagonally, compared to the 9.7-inch display on the current full-size iPad. The larger iPad, which the site apparently in all seriousness says would be called “iPad Maxi”, would launch in the first half of 2014 and be intended to target the ultrabook market as well as increase utility for digital textbooks.
12.9 inches, somewhat aimed at the educational market, shipping in the first half of 2014. In July 2013, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple had asked its suppliers for display prototypes measuring “slightly less” than 13 inches, which would be in line with the 12.9 inches previously claimed by ETNews:
People at Apple’s suppliers said it asked for prototype smartphone screens larger than its current iPhone in latest months, and has asked for screen designs for a new tablet measuring slightly less than 13 inches. Whether the designs will make their way to market is unclear, but they could lead to Apple phones and tablets that are larger than the current 4-inch iPhone 5 and 9.7-inch iPad.
In December 2013, everyone’s favorite rumor source, Digitimes, reported that Apple was working on a “large-size tablet”, possibly replacing the 11-inch MacBook Air with a device aimed at the educational market:
Apple’s large-size tablet will be manufactured by Quanta Computer, and was originally expected to adopt either 12.9- or 13.3-inch panels, with latest rumors indicating that 12.9-inch has a better chance to be picked, the sources noted.
Which brings us to two weeks ago, when analyst Patrick Wang issued a widely-reported research note in which he claimed that Apple is working on a larger iPad focused on the enteprise market with a “hybrid” design that could merge a laptop and a tablet, powering apps with a new A8 CPU. According to Wang, such device will be released in late 2014.
But Wang predicts that Apple wouldn’t just simply release a larger iPad — he sees the company using the additional screen real estate to create a hybrid-style device that could serve as both a tablet and a notebook, and would make the iPad lineup more appealing to business customers.
Speculation about a large tablet functioning as a hybrid device isn’t new to tech blogs and isn’t certainly new to Apple. According to Jobs’ official biographer Walter Isaacson, Apple had tablet prototypes with a keyboard attached to the screen before settling on multitouch and what ended up being the original iPad design:
The tablet project got a boost in 2007 when Jobs was considering ideas for a low-cost netbook computer. At an executive team brainstorming session one Monday, Ive asked why it needed a keyboard hinged to the screen; that was expensive and bulky. Put the keyboard on the screen using a multi-touch interface, he suggested. Jobs agreed. So the resources were directed to revving up the tablet project rather than designing a netbook.
And while patents aren’t a meaningful metric to understand Apple’s product direction, that’s not to say that the company hasn’t patented designs that illustrate, say, a computer with a detachable screen.
But we don’t need to look at biographies or patent applications to understand what Apple used to think about touch interactions with laptops: at the “Back to the Mac” event in October 2010, Steve Jobs famously dissed the act of touching a computer’s screen as “ergonomically terrible”, citing arm fatigue and the fact that “touch screens don’t want to be vertical”. Apple tried the hybrid “touch computer” or “desktop tablet” approach internally, and ultimately decided against it. Neither was great.
I’d typically discard the tech press’ indulgence in this particular rumor as the byproduct of a widespread belief that Apple needs to constantly reinvent existing product categories to survive; it’s easy to see why a bigger, convertible iPad that turns into a laptop and vice versa can be appealing to those seeking constant reinvention in lieu of refinement. The “bigger iPad” rumor has been picking up steam in the past year, with different sources agreeing on a specific screen size (12.9 inches), a possible release date (late 2014), and the focus on market segments, albeit with conflicting reports (enterprise or educational; hybrid or just a larger screen).
From a hardware perspective, the iPad is a multitouch display that you hold in your hands. With a larger model, Apple would need to adapt or alter the iPad’s existing resolution to fit the new screen, and Rene Ritchie has already considered Apple’s options at iMore.
I’ve been pondering the nature of this rumor and how, exactly, a bigger “iPad Pro” would work. Rumors couldn’t settle on a single scenario, and neither can I.
Option A: It’s Just A Bigger iPad
The obvious candidate would be an iPad Pro with a larger screen and no exclusive hardware or software features. Just like the iPad Air and iPad mini are essentially the same device with a difference in weight and size, the iPad Pro would be an addition to the iPad family with no major internal or software changes.
Apple could position the three iPad sizes as “best” for consumers interested in an extremely portable iPad (mini), the general-purpose iPad (Air), and the larger iPad for creatives, students, and other professional users (Pro). Apple could market the extra screen space as an ideal companion to textbooks (bigger pictures, more content on screen), photo and video editing, and creation apps for digital artists. Businesses that employ the iPad as a cash register, interactive guide, or kiosk (settings where portability isn’t a factor) would likely benefit from a larger display with increased viewing area. This iPad Pro would be compatible with all the 500,000+ native iPad apps available on the App Store without requiring developers to update them for the new device; apps developed with Auto Layout and Dynamic Type would scale gracefully to the bigger display.
There’s also an argument to be made about gaming. With a 12.9-inch screen, the iPad Pro could be large enough to enable controller-based gaming from a distance without having to be really close to the screen – if you watched the promo video for the SteelSeries Stratus iOS 7 game controller, you’ll get the idea.
(12.9-inch iPad scale mockup by Chris Herbert)
On a conceptual level, I believe this is the simplest solution: it’s just a larger iPad. It would be instantly familiar to existing iPad owners looking for a bigger model and it would run every iPad app out of the box with no developer intervention needed. Developers could optimize iPad apps for the larger screen much like they already do to scale interfaces from the iPhone 5/5s down to the 4/4s – Instacast being an example. Flipboard could show more tiles on the iPad Pro; recipe apps could show larger and even multiple photos at once; Safari would show bigger webpages that are easier to read.
However, while I could see the iPad getting smaller while maintaining a usable interface, I can’t envision an iPad getting larger without deeper adjustments to the UI. Apps like Flipboard and Safari would look okay, but software like Tweetbot, Pages, or Mail would look comically large and full of wasted space if ported as is. Furthermore, I struggle to imagine how the average iPad user who doesn’t work with video editing suites, DAWs, Square registers, or 3D-rendering apps could benefit from an iPad that’s simply larger and running scaled up software.
The (extremely likely) downsides of a 12.9-inch iPad for the masses without particular software changes would outweigh the device’s potential strengths: you’d almost certainly lose comfortable one-handed usage, you wouldn’t be able to hold it with two hands for long periods of time, and, at the current resolution, the screen wouldn’t look as good as the Retina screen of the iPad Air and mini. You’d be carrying a 13-inch device that doesn’t do anything dramatically different than the much more portable iPad Air and iPad mini. I don’t see the appeal or need for Option A.
Option B: A “Pro” iPad With Substantial Software & Hardware Changes
I’m mildly intrigued by the idea of an iPad Pro that, as the invented name suggests, would target pro users with substantial hardware and software changes. The iPad Pro could be Apple’s test machine for major features that will eventually trickle down to the bottom of the iPad line towards more consumer-oriented products. After breathing new life into the Mac Pro, would it be inconceivable for Apple to target professional users on the iPad as well? Does that market exist?
Apple could make notable changes to the user experience and beef up the hardware to entice the pro audience. The 64-bit CPU of the A7 is a solid foundation to build upon, and if Apple could make that even faster without impacting battery life, while driving a larger screen and adding more RAM (needed) and a more powerful GPU in the process – at that point, interesting possibilities would open up to developers and users.
Apple likes to pride itself upon the tight integration of hardware and software that can Boost the user experience by leveraging the interplay of components and the operating system – how hardware and software can work together rather than separately just to check off items in a checklist. With an iPad Pro carrying more RAM, iOS could keep more apps alive in memory, making the multitasking experience seamless – you wouldn’t see Safari reloading tabs when you switch to it after a while and apps could store large amounts of data in RAM without being terminated.
Professional users who have been trying to record and edit podcasts on the iPad or use it as a filmmaking tool would probably accept the trade-off of a larger device in exchange for faster video and audio rendering, more RAM, increased available space on the screen for multiple controls shown at once, and overall higher performance. In the couple of stories detailed by Apple in Your Verse and Life on iPad where portability isn’t a problem, a larger, more powerful iPad Pro could be preferable to an iPad Air.
With an iPad designed for pros, the iOS multitasking experience could (and should) be enhanced with dynamic app previews (something that a few developers are already experimenting with) and inter-app communication capabilities to exchange data between apps.
Some people argue that a possible use for the 12.9-inch screen would be to show portions of multiple apps at the same time – something akin to Windows 8’s multitasking with “sidebars” attached to the side of the screen to view different sets of information simultaneously. What would be cramped on an iPad Air or mini could make sense on an iPad Pro: college students could write research papers in Pages while referencing an email or webpage, and audio professionals could monitor audio sources from different apps in real-time with two distinct panels. This old idea by Kontra – a multi-slot clipboard to store multiple bits of text or images at the same time (think Unclutter on the iPad) – would make sense as a floating widget on a larger screen, not getting in way as much as it would on an iPad Air.
I work from my iPad every day, and the idea of an iPad capable of showing multiple apps and clipboard popups fascinates me. On paper. The truth is, as much as I like to imagine how an iPad could become a more powerful productivity appliance by employing separate areas of the screen for multiple apps displayed at the same time, the idea worries me.
One of the great things about the iPad is how it politely forces you to focus on the task at hand by showing only one app at a time. When I’m in Editorial, the iPad is my automated typewriter. When I’m in Tweetbot, the iPad is Twitter in my hands. Interface layers that Apple has added over the years (banners, Siri, Notification and Control Center) walk the fine line between displaying more information and breaking the iPad’s 1:1 relationship of device-app. I fear that multiple apps – even in the form of fixed sidebars that “snap” on the screen – would do just that, adding complexity to the iPad’s experience and, most of all, introducing the notion that you have to visually manage app windows on the screen.
(Samsung Galaxy Pro, via The Verge)
Does the iPad need to end up like a Galaxy Tab Pro, turning a 12-inch display into a mess of resizable windows? Isn’t the iPad’s inherent simplicity one of the reasons that are leading us towards the gradual and inevitable demise of the PC? If the reasoning behind the 12.9-inch screen is to have room for showing more apps at once, can Apple come up with a good solution that doesn’t add confusion and complexity?
Do average users looking for a bigger iPad need something similar to Samsung’s new multiple windows feature? And if the iPad Pro is for pros, would pros actually like to constantly drag & drop windows around to rearrange them on screen?
(Jump to 1:07 to see Samsung’s window manager in action)
Let’s say, then, that Apple doesn’t think that adding a larger screen equals using it for multiple windows. Apple would Boost multitasking and inter-app communication in other ways and stick to its one app at a time approach because it’s better for customers. Faster hardware and larger screen would be the key differentiators at this point. Unlike Option A, Apple would alter iOS on the iPad Pro in ways that show off the bigger screen, such as app redesigns tailored to the device. iPhoto could always show editing tools without tucking them away in a menu; Mail could open hyperlinks in an adjacent web view and, when composing a reply, show the original message in its entirety with a wider app layout; Calendar could show two weeks back to back, and so forth. Third-party developers would build their iPad apps to make sense on the iPad Pro without looking like scaled up versions that don’t do anything meaningful with available space. Apple could release desktop-class, pro apps like Logic Pro and Aperture for the iPad, “optimizing them” (for both performance and design) for the iPad Pro.
The iPhone 5 can be considered a precedent for this. When Apple introduced the taller screen in 2012, developers had to update their apps for it, otherwise they would be letterboxed automatically by iOS. With time, developers haven’t simply made their apps extend in the vertical direction – they now tend to show different controls depending on the screen size. This is a minor case of platform fragmentation: multiple iPhone screen sizes sold to consumers, multiple resolutions to deal with for developers, slightly different app interfaces depending on screen size.
Can Apple redesign its apps for an iPad Pro without causing UI fragmentation and user confusion?
Option C: The Hybrid
The third option is, according to an analyst’s report, the hybrid. An iPad that “could serve as both a tablet and a notebook”.
Let’s ignore, for the sake of the argument, Steve Jobs’ old dismissal of touch screens used in laptops. How would a hybrid iPad Pro work? Would it run OS X and iOS side by side? That would mean Apple has perfected OS X on ARM, which would be a major platform change. The kind of change that would drastically alter the course of the entire PC industry and Intel’s relationship with Apple.
Or could be Wang envisioning a larger iPad, running iOS but capable of turning into something that looks like a MacBook thanks to a keyboard accessory? If that’s the case, how would user input work? Would the keyboard be made by Apple specifically for this device and be a detachable accessory like the Smart Cover? Or would it be a specification provided to manufacturers (like iOS 7 Game Controllers) so that Logitech, Belkin, and others could make their own iPad Pro keyboards? Would the keyboard have special keys for more functions like app switching, Notification Center, or Siri? Would users have to switch between keyboard input and touch like they currently have to with Bluetooth keyboards on iOS 7?
More importantly: is Wang thinking about interacting with iOS through a trackpad and a cursor?
Patrick Wang’s report (as relayed by AppleInsider) is awfully vague about technical details. Saying that Apple could create “a hybrid-style device that could serve as both a tablet and a notebook” is just as unclear as “a machine that could serve as both a car and an airplane”. Explained like that, it doesn’t make any sense.
Allow me to consider the remote possibility of a “hybrid device”. But first, let’s conveniently forget about that time when Tim Cook said that products based on convergence at all costs aren’t pleasing to consumers, citing as an example the famous toaster fridge:
I think anything can be forced to converge, but the problem is that products are about tradeoffs, and you begin to make tradeoffs to the point where what you have left at the end of the day doesn’t please anyone. You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator but y’know, those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user.
Or when he also added that Apple isn’t going to the convergence party:
I think even the more formal predictors outside of [Apple] are beginning to see these lines cross, and so I strongly believe that they will. Now, having said that, I also believe that there is a very good market for the MacBook Air and we continue to innovate in that product. But I do think that it appeals to someone that has a little bit different requirements.
You wouldn’t want to put these things together because you wind up compromising in both and not pleasing either user. Some people will prefer to own both, and that’s great too. But I think to make the compromises of convergence, we’re not going to that party. Others might, from a defensive point of view, particularly. But we’re going to play in both.
Let’s skip Cook’s beliefs for now and let’s imagine a hybrid device that’s both an iPad and a notebook. First off, Wang ascribes Apple’s work on such device to the willingness of targeting the enterprise market – to “make the iPad lineup more appealing to business customers”. Hasn’t the iPad been deployed or tested by almost every Fortune 500 company because it’s not a traditional notebook computer though? Is Apple lying to its shareholders when they report these stats, and to it customers when they write (on a dedicated business webpage) that iOS provides a “simple, intuitive, and engaging” experience for business users? All these companies profiled by Apple with employees holding iPads and not tethering them to a desk with a keyboard – are they insane?
What’s more likely: that analysts and rumor sites have a profound misunderstanding of the need for a hybrid device, or that Apple has staged fake profiles of invented companies using iPads, while the rest of Fortune 500 has spent the past four years asking for a hybrid?
(Microsoft Surface Pro 2, via The Verge)
Still, let’s ignore OS details, Tim Cook’s thoughts, Steve Jobs’ old views, and Fortune 500 companies using iPads (and liking them, it appears). Is there at least some merit to the idea that, when used on a desk, the iPad could use a keyboard accessory to simulate the typical notebook setup?
Kind of. With iOS 7, Apple expanded iOS’ Bluetooth framework to allow developers to add support for custom keyboard shortcuts in their apps. These shortcuts are modelled after the ones you’re used to on OS X; Apple is using them, third-party developers are using them. When I’m writing on the iPad with my Logitech Tablet Keyboard, I like the fact that some of my favorite apps support the same shortcuts they’ve always had on the Mac. Keyboard shortcuts work on the iPad, but the feature is still very much in its infancy: Apple’s implementation is inconsistent, and developers are somewhat hesitant to adopt them because of the framework’s limitations (shortcuts can only be triggered in text fields where the software keyboard would normally be shown).
Keyboard shortcuts are a nice addition but I wouldn’t consider them an early sign of Apple playing around with the hybrid idea. The main problem remains: as it stands now, it’s nearly impossible to navigate and interact with iOS without touching the screen. And that’s by design: how would you replicate pinch to zoom or tap & hold with a keyboard? Would you add a trackpad? But wouldn’t the trackpad also come with a cursor – which is exactly the kind of baggage that Apple left behind with iOS seven years ago?
I can’t imagine what Wang means by “hybrid-style” device, but I don’t think he has a clear idea either. Technical questions aside, forcing iOS onto OS X (and vice versa) or making them coexist in the same device would generate a list of compromises far longer than potential upsides. All signs seem to be pointing to a general distaste from Apple about “convergence” and devices like the Microsoft Surface.
There are two only reasonable explanations I can give to Wang’s report and other vague rumors along this line. The first one is that by “hybrid-style device that could serve as both a tablet and a notebook” Wang means a 12.9-inch iPad that has new professional apps and that comes with an optimized version of iOS for the larger screen. Essentially, my Option B.
The second one is that Apple has ordered 12.9-inch panels for a new MacBook that has a completely new design, a Retina display, but that runs OS X on an Intel chip. It’s the kind of computer that analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported last year and that I suppose most “sources familiar with the matter” may have confused with a larger iPad. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, this new MacBook could “redefine laptop computing” like the MacBook Air did.
If Apple is working on a laptop with a new 12.9-inch display, that’s a course for a different discussion.
Two iPads
I believe that Apple’s current iPad line fulfills most needs for a portable tablet device. A 12.9-inch iPad would be too large to be held comfortably and it’s unclear why Apple would prioritize desktop use over portability, which has been one of the iPad’s core design features thus far. Rumors that claim Apple is working on a “hybrid-style” device or an iPad targeted at a specific market segment (education or enterprise) sound either technically inaccurate or shortsighted to me.
When Apple increased the size of the iPhone with the iPhone 5, they reassured customers that the change wasn’t huge and that the iPhone could still be operated with one hand. But the iPad is different. In spite of the size and weight reduction, the iPad Air still can’t be a one-handed device for long writing or practicing sessions. The 9.7-inch iPad is, in my opinion, the right balance between a large screen and a device that’s just portable and light enough. Even if it weighed less than an iPad Air (and I find that unlikely), I can’t see how a 12.9-inch iPad could be portable. And I can’t see how Apple would release an iPad that’s not portable.
The improvements that Apple would advertise in an “iPad Pro” – better inter-app communication, more RAM, more versatile document management – are features that need to come to the entire iPad lineup (and iOS), not just a new screen size. To me, refining and improving iOS 7 seems more important than scaling it up for a larger iPad or introducing UI fragmentation across devices. Bringing complexity to the iPad experience with resizable windows like Samsung did with the Tab Pro is exactly the kind of decision that I hope Apple will never emulate. The iPad is great because it doesn’t try to be a MacBook.
As more people will switch to tablets as their primary computers, Apple will eventually face the challenge of users wanting to perform moderately complex tasks on iPads. It will only be natural, years from now, to have pro iPad users – as crazy as that sounds to longtime PC users. It will happen.
But why do we have to assume that “pro” means “bigger screen”? On the iPad, “portable” is more important than “big”. A device that’s portable and light can allow people to work from anywhere, at any time. An iPad that’s too big and heavy would be intimidating and bulky. The rules have been reversed.
If the logic is that “pro” will always be associated to “multiple windows on screen” – well, I think that’s flawed. With the Galaxy Tab Pro’s multitasking, Samsung isn’t imagining the future: they are attaching a steam engine to a horse.
Can’t the iPad’s shortcomings for productivity tasks be fixed through software? Is there really such a demand for a larger iPad to justify the production of a device that wouldn’t be as portable as an iPad Air/mini or run OS X anyway? The whole point of the post-PC era is to get rid of old software complexities and reimagine apps for touch interaction and direct manipulation. So far, Apple and developers have done a good job at imagining new kinds of apps that save us time and make us productive in innovative ways. Making the iPad suitable for pros is a complex problem, and I don’t think that increasing screen size or adding multiple windows will solve it. In that way, you’ll eventually end up where you started – a desktop computer – only with an inferior input system. “Pro” needs to become something totally new.
On multiple occasions, Cook said that they consider the tablet market “huge”. I don’t think that a larger iPad – laptop convergence or not – is the answer Apple and consumers are looking for, and I don’t think that a bigger screen would empower millions of people as much as a better iOS could.
Update: August 21, 2023 (03:42 PM ET): We have updated our Google Pixel 8 rumor hub with new information about the updated camera app and an easier way to transfer eSIMs.
Original: The Pixel 7 is a great phone, but it won’t be the latest and greatest from Google for much longer. Rumors suggest the Pixel 8 series will arrive sometime this fall, though no official date has been announced just yet. While there was a lot to like about the Pixel 7, it wasn’t perfect. Overheating issues, weaker battery life, and slow charging speeds were some of its most prominent pitfalls. Will the Pixel 8 series finally address these issues? We hope so!
Android Authority has covered several exclusive links in collaboration with tipster Kamila Wojciechowska, and we now have a fairly decent idea of what to expect, though several mysteries still likely remain. Let’s take a closer look at the current Pixel 8 rumors to get a better idea of what’s on the way.
Pixel 8 colors, models, and sizes
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
- The Pixel 8 will again launch with a standard and Pro variant.
- Rumored colors for the Pixel 8 include Jade, Licorice, Haze, and Peony.
- Rumored colors for the Pixel 8 Pro include Jade, Licorice, Porcelain, and Sky.
The Pixel 8 series will initially launch with two models, the standard Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro. While a Pixel 8a is possible, its future isn’t certain, and it wouldn’t launch at least until mid-2024 anyhow. This time around, the Pixel 8 is rumored to be getting a bit smaller, while the Pixel 8 Pro will get a few new tricks of its own. Each of these models is also expected to have a few different storage configurations available.
Moving onto colors, Android Authority previously revealed a few juicy details to the world. Our information suggests the Pixel 8 would launch with Jade, Licorice, Haze, and Peony. In contrast, the Pixel Pro 8 would keep the first two colors but would swap the latter two for Porcelain and Sky. We, in fact, got our first look at the Sky colorway through a leaked promo video.
Latter leaks from WinFuture leave out Jade, so it’s unclear if the colorway has since been cut or if we’re just the first with reliable reports of it. For now, it looks like the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro share half their colors but may have a few unique surprises for each.
Pixel 8 release date and price
- The Pixel 8 series will likely launch around October of 2023.
- Pricing of the Pixel 8 could start at as high as $699, as high as $999 for the Pro.
Google usually launches its flagship phones in October each year, with the Pixel 7 and Pixel 6 duos both revealed during that month. The Pixel 5 was launched on September 30, but this was the exception rather than the rule, as all previous devices launched in October. Needless to say, it’s a fair bet to expect the Pixel 8 release date to fall in September or October 2023.
Google has been rocking the cheap flagship MO for a while now, with the Pixel 6 and 7 starting at $599, while the Pro variants were priced at $899. Unfortunately, it looks like this year could be the end of underpriced Pixels. Reliable leaker Yogesh Brar suggests the Pixel 8 could be $50 to $100 more expensive than in 2022, pointing towards $649 or $699 pricing. Brar did not have any information on the Pixel 8 Pro’s pricing, but it would be reasonable to assume it would go up by about the same amount.
Another potential sign of higher pricing is that the Google Pixel 7a landed with a $499 price tag (up from $450 for the Pixel 6a). That’s just $100 away from the Pixel 7’s launch price, so we’re guessing a Pixel 8 price increase could also be on the cards. Interestingly, in a poll, our readers agreed that a small price hike for the Pixel 8 series would be understandable.
The Pixel 7 family is only available in 17 countries, while brands like Apple have devices in around 149 countries. While Google won’t be making sweeping changes to its launch regions with the Pixel 8, it looks like it will at least bring its phone to a few new places. We took a look at the Pixel 8’s warranty booklet, which we received in a tip. Comparing the list of languages against the Pixel 7, we learned we might see the additional official distribution of the phones. The added languages point to the following additional countries:
- Austria
- Switzerland
- Belgium
- Portugal
Pixel 8 design
- The Pixel 8 will see almost the same design as last year, though it will have a smaller footprint this time around.
- The Pixel 8 Pro will get a flatter design, some improvements to the camera enclosure, and a brand-new thermometer sensor.
Google totally revamped the way Pixels look with the Pixel 6 series. With the Pixel 7 series, the company only refined that design. Early renders of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro suggest there won’t be many changes this year either.
As you can see above, there are some subtle changes to the Pro. The display is flat, a first for the Pro-level phones from Google. The rear camera module has a slightly new design with all three cameras encased in one glass “pill,” unlike the “pill + circle” design of the Pixel 7 Pro. There also appears to be an additional sensor under the camera flash; we’ll get into that in more detail later, but the short of it is the Pro now has a thermometer built in.
We don’t see too many other changes to the Pro outside of these three things. Even the device’s overall dimensions — 162.6 x 76.5 x 8.7mm — barely differ from the Pixel 7 Pro’s 162.9 x 76.6 x 8.9mm dimensions. There’s also the same 6.7-inch screen size, though it’s possible the panel itself has a few surprises left.
While the Pixel 8 Pro brings a few small design changes, the Pixel 8 has almost the same design as the Pixel 7. That said, our tipster Kamila suggests it will have a smaller footprint with dimensions of 150.5 x 70.8 x 8.9mm, a notable drop from the Pixel 7 at 155.6 x 73.2 x 8.7mm.
While some of you might have hoped for more significant design changes, we honestly like the current design language and are glad to see Google keeping some consistency after playing around with a few different aesthetics over the years.
Pixel 8 display sizes and specs
- The Pixel 8 will have the same resolution and brightness as last year but will see a higher refresh rate and slightly smaller screen size.
- The Pixel 8 Pro has the same size display and refresh rate as last year but has a slightly different resolution and improved brightness.
The Pixel 8 display will see the most changes, dropping to 6.17 inches from its previous 6.32-inch display. The resolution and brightness will remain the same at 2,400 x 1,080 and 1,400 nits, respectively. In addition to shrinking a little, the new display also bumps up from a 90Hz refresh rate to a 120Hz variable refresh rate that can drop as low as 10Hz.
The Pixel 8 Pro display remains the exact same size as last year’s Pro at 6.7 inches. There’s no peak refresh rate change this time, but reportedly the Pro will have an improved variable refresh rate that can drop as low as 5Hz. The resolution is slightly different, too, at 2,992 x 1,344 vs 3,120 x 1,440. There’s also a 100-nit increase in peak brightness, bringing the Pro to 1,600 nits.
Pixel 8 camera
- The Pixel 8 and 8 Pro will both see an upgrade to the Isocell GN2 on their primary cameras.
- The Pixel 8 Pro is rumored to get an upgrade to a 64MP Sony IMX787 for its ultrawide camera.
- The Pixel 8 Pro will also get an improved time-of-flight sensor.
- The Google Camera app could see its first refresh in years.
Google has stuck with similar camera systems for two generations now, with the only real hardware change being the Pixel 7 Pro switching to a 5x 48MP telephoto camera instead of a 4x shooter. The 50MP Isocell GN1 has remained the main camera of choice for Google.
This could change in 2023, as our own exclusive Pixel 8 camera leak shows. The biggest news is the jump from the Isocell GN1 primary camera used on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 families to the newer Isocell GN2. This will provide a host of new capabilities, including 35% more light processing, the possibility of 8K/30fps video capture, and Staggered HDR.
| Pixel 7 | Pixel 8 | Pixel 8 Pro | Pixel 7 Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wide |
Pixel 7
Samsung GN1 (50 MP) |
Pixel 8
Samsung GN2 (50 MP) |
Pixel 8 Pro
Samsung GN2 (50 MP) |
Pixel 7 Pro
Samsung GN1 (50 MP) |
|
Ultrawide |
Pixel 7
Sony IMX386 (12MP) - 0.67x zoom ratio |
Pixel 8
Sony IMX386 (12MP) - 0.55x zoom ratio |
Pixel 8 Pro
Sony IMX787 (64 MP) - 0.49x zoom ratio |
Pixel 7 Pro
Sony IMX386 (12MP) - 0.56x zoom ratio |
|
Telephoto |
Pixel 7
- |
Pixel 8
- |
Pixel 8 Pro
Samsung GM5 (48 MP) - 5x zoom ratio |
Pixel 7 Pro
Samsung GM5 (48 MP) - 5x zoom ratio |
|
Selfie |
Pixel 7
Samsung 3J1 (11 MP) |
Pixel 8
Samsung 3J1 (11 MP) |
Pixel 8 Pro
Samsung 3J1 (11 MP) |
Pixel 7 Pro
Samsung 3J1 (11 MP) |
While both the standard and Pro models will see the GN2, that’s the only upgrade the standard-sized Pixel 8 is expected to receive. Meanwhile, the Pro gets a new ultrawide camera as well.
Expect a ton of camera upgrades for the Pixel 8 Pro and only one upgrade for the Pixel 8.
This time the Pixel 8 Pro will move on from its dated 12MP Sony IMX386 over to a much more usable 64MP Sony IMX787 — the same sensor as the primary camera found on the Google Pixel 7a. The telephoto should stay the same, and the thermometer feature discussed previously is also another upgrade.
Finally, the Pixel 8 Pro will also get an improved time-of-flight sensor. The device has a new 8×8 ToF VL53L8 sensor, a significant upgrade over the STMicroelectronics VL53L1 we’ve seen in previous Pixels. This should greatly Boost autofocus.
Google Camera app
Along with some new hardware, the Pixel 8 series should also include a refresh of the app that runs that hardware. The Google Camera app has looked pretty much the same since the Pixel 4 series, so it’s about time for a fresh coat of paint.
We have a whole article going over what to expect from the new Google Camera experience. Here are the highlights:
- The photo and video modes will no longer be mixed together. Now, a toggle will appear for either photo or video, and each setting will have its own modes. This will make things much simpler and more organized.
- The shortcuts to the gallery and swapping from the front to the rear cameras will be switched so each will appear in the other’s position. get ready to re-learn some muscle memory.
- A lot of the features that have been hidden behind menus will be more front-and-center. This includes the Long Exposure and Action Pan modes.
- There will be slightly different shortcuts and gestures.
Pixel 8 specs: How do the two models compare?
| Pixel 8 | Pixel 8 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
|
Display |
Pixel 8
6.15 inch OLED |
Pixel 8 Pro
6.7-inch LTPO pOLED |
|
Processor |
Pixel 8
Tensor G3 |
Pixel 8 Pro
Google Tensor G3 |
|
RAM |
Pixel 8
8GB |
Pixel 8 Pro
12GB LPDDR5 |
|
Storage |
Pixel 8 | Pixel 8 Pro
128GB, 256GB, 512GB |
|
Power |
Pixel 8
4,485mAh Li-Ion |
Pixel 8 Pro
4,950mAh |
|
Cameras |
Pixel 8
Rear:
- 50MP Samsung GN2 - 12MP Sony IMX386 ultrawide 1.25 μm, ƒ/2.2, 114-degree FoV Front: |
Pixel 8 Pro
Rear:
- 50MP Samsung GN2 - 64MP Sony IMX787 ultrawide 1.25 μm, ƒ/2.2, 114-degree FoV - 48MP telephoto lens (f/3.5, 1/2.55", 4.8x optical zoom) Front: |
|
Connectivity |
Pixel 8
2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
Pixel 8 Pro
5G (mmWave + sub-6GHz) |
|
Dimensions |
Pixel 8
155.64 x 73.16 x 8.7mm |
Pixel 8 Pro
162.9 x 76.55 x 8.9mm |
|
Software |
Pixel 8 | Pixel 8 Pro
Android 14 |
|
Durability |
Pixel 8
IP68 |
Pixel 8 Pro
IP68 certified |
|
Colors |
Pixel 8
Jade, Licorice, Haze and Peony |
Pixel 8 Pro
Jade, Licorice, Porcelain, and Sky |
Pixel 8 performance and battery
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
We’ve already spoken about the display and camera but have yet to discuss what is under the surface. Let’s start with the SoC, as we recently revealed a ton of Tensor G3 details in collaboration with tipster Kamila Wojciechowska.
WinFuture was the first to report that the Pixel 8 series will receive the next-generation Tensor processor code-named “Zuma.” This was corroborated by our own leaked Google Pixel roadmap. Like the Tensor chips before it, it’s rumored that the Pixel 8’s Tensor chip could be based on Samsung’s Exynos SoC. Specifically, the Exynos 2300, which was skipped over for the Galaxy S23 series. From what Kamila learned, we know the Tensor G3 will be equipped with a 1+4+4 CPU setup featuring a Cortex-X3 (3.05GHz), four Cortex-A715 cores (2.45GHz), and four Cortex-A510 cores (2.15GHz).
The latest Tensor G3 leak points to the Pixel 8 chip delivering major CPU and GPU upgrades.
Furthermore, our report adds that the new chipset will have Arm Mali-G715 graphics. There’s no definitive word on the shader core count here, but it’s believed we could be looking at ten cores and ray tracing support (making it Immortalis graphics).
Other notable details gleaned by Wojciechowska include MTE support for a more secure chipset, an improved TPU, AV1 encoding for the first time in a smartphone (up to 4K/30fps), and an improved GXP digital signal processor. Unfortunately, it looks like we shouldn’t expect a modem change here. That’s all we know about the SoC, though we’re certainly hoping the chipset improvements lead to a cooler experience. We’ve had problems with overheating on past Pixel models, as noted in our Pixel 7 review.
Moving beyond the processor, the Pixel 8 series has a few other hardware features that will apply to both models. Our own leak on the matter shows the Pixel 8 series could support DisplayPort through the USB-C connector. This could, theoretically, offer access to a native Android desktop mode. We’ve seen this mode before, but it’s never received a formal release.
We also have learned that Wi-Fi 7 will be featured on both phones, but only the Pixel 8 Pro will have UWB support.
As for the rest of the specs? You’ll find that the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro have a few important hardware differences, so let’s break them down a bit further.
Pixel 8 battery and other hardware
Rumors suggest the Pixel 8 will have 8GB of RAM, just like its predecessor. As for storage, our previous leaks with Kamila suggest the same sizes as before. That means you can expect either 128GB or 256GB of storage.
Thanks to our own in-house leaks, we now know the specs for the battery as well. Based on a source inside Google, the base model will offer 4,485mAh, up from the Pixel 7’s 4,270mAh battery. The battery isn’t the only upgrade; charging speeds are finally getting a small boost as well.
You can expect a boost of 4W on the Pixel 8, bringing wired charging up to 24W. Wireless charging will remain at 20W. While it’s nice to see charging speeds increase, there are plenty of phones out there with 45W and higher speeds for wired charging. This makes Google feel a little behind the times.
Pixel 8 Pro battery and other hardware
Our sources indicate the Pixel 8 Pro also sticks with the same storage and RAM configurations as last year’s model. That means you can expect 12GB of RAM and storage choices of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB of storage.
The Pixel 8 Pro will continue to target a battery size of around 5,000mAh, so don’t expect a huge change from last year. The Pixel 7 Pro had decent enough battery life, so this shouldn’t be an issue for most.
One area that is getting a small boost is charging, with wired charging going from 23W to 27W. That said, wireless charging will remain at the same 23W speeds.
Pixel 8 Pro could go ultrasonic for its fingerprint sensor
Tipster Yogesh Brar claims the Pixel 8 Pro could get an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, which would be an upgrade over all previous Pixels. Ultrasonic sensors in Galaxy S devices are considered superior to light-based versions that appear in most other phones. Brar wasn’t specific on if this new fingerprint sensor would also make its way to the Pixel 8. We assume no, as that would further emphasize the superiority of the Pro over the vanilla model.
The Pixel 8 Pro is getting a thermometer feature
In May, a leaked tutorial video revealed that the mystery sensor under the flash could be an IR thermometer. Based on the video, in order to use the sensor, you’ll need to bring the phone close to your forehead, then move it slowly to your temple. The phone provides sounds and vibrations to assist with the process. Reportedly, this sensor can also be used to measure the temperature of objects as well.
According to the leak, the data collected from the measurements is stored locally and will be handled through the Android Private Compute Core. This would mean that the data won’t end up somewhere in Google’s servers; it will only be saved directly on the phone.
Pixel 8 software
The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will be the first phones to officially run on Android 14 out of the box, which is currently in beta. The latest version of Android includes extensive improvements to accessibility features, battery optimization improvements, improved privacy features, a customizable lock screen and wallpapers, and so much more.
We imagine the Pixel 8 series will also have a few other Pixel-specific additions that go beyond the Android 14 update, though we don’t really have any substantial information on that. However, an APK teardown does suggest video improvements like a new video unblur tool. Similar to photo unblur on the Pixel 7, this feature would help to clean up blurriness, but in videos.
A leaked promo video also teased an “Audio Magic Eraser” feature that removes unwanted audio from a video clip, likely with the help of AI. It’s believed this feature would appear in both models.
Another teardown revealed Night Sight could be further improved by combining photos taken by the main and telephoto lenses to enhance the center of the resulting image. So expect at least some camera software improvements, though we imagine there will be much more than this.
Interested in what the wallpapers look like on the Pixel 8? Check out our Pixel 8 wallpapers article to learn more.
Easy eSIM transfers
Google is working on making transferring phones easier, especially if those phone support eSIM. Although this is probably not going to be a Pixel 8 or even Pixel exclusive, it’s possible the Pixel 8 would be the first Android phone with the feature. Essentially, you’d be provided a QR code that you’d scan with your new phone that would then allow you to quickly transfer your eSIM to the new handset.
Should I wait for the Pixel 8?
The Pixel 8 series will likely be some of the most talked-about phones of 2023. However, if you already rock a Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro, there might not be enough reasons to upgrade.
If you are on an older Pixel or a competitor device and are thinking about switching, we’d advise you to wait for the Pixel 8 launch. At this point, it’s only a few weeks away. Even if you decide not to go with a Pixel 8, the prices of the Pixel 7 ($418.69 at Amazon) and Pixel 7 Pro ($589.98 at Amazon) will undoubtedly drop in response. These phones are still terrific and would be a good alternative to the 2023 models.
If you are looking for something else, the next-best choice would be something from the Galaxy S23 series. The Galaxy S23 ($799 at Amazon) would be a terrific choice in place of the Pixel 8, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra ($1199.99 at Samsung) is easily a major competitor to the Pixel 8 Pro. The Galaxy S23 Plus ($999.99 at Samsung) could be a good choice for those who want something a bit in the middle.
Google stumbled out of the gate with its first attempt at wireless earbuds (which still came with a wire), but since 2017, Pixel Buds have been slowly improving. Now, for the first time, they’re getting a pro model with active noise cancellation, although it pushes Pixel Buds to their highest price point yet.
Is Google's New $1,800 Pixel Phone Worth It? | Gizmodo Review
Revealed today during Google’s I/O conference keynote address, the Pixel Buds Pro feature a more bulbous design than older models and do away with the built-in wing nubs that helped the Pixel Buds A-series stay more permanently perched in a user’s ears. Google is also going back to the two-tone color approach for the new buds, reminiscent of the Pixel Buds from 2020. The base and silicone ear tips are black, with a colored accent on the end in one of four options: Charcoal, Fog, Coral, and Lemongrass—but the colors aren’t carried through to the Pixel Buds Pro’s egg-shaped charging case.
Wireless charging is back—a feature that Google removed from last year’s Pixel Buds A-series, presumably to help them hit a $99 price point. On a single charge, the buds will stay powered for as 11 hours with fancy features turned off, or up to seven hours with ANC on, but that can be extended when occasionally popped back into the charging case. On just a five minute charge in the case, the Pixel Buds Pro will slurp enough power to run for another hour.
Battery life drops to about seven hours on a single charge with the biggest reason for users to upgrade activated: active noise cancellation. Powered by a custom processor, algorithm, and speakers that Google developed, the Pixel Buds Pro will finally help you tune out unwanted sounds either in an office environment or when stuck on a long flight. They can also be used to tune out unwanted background noises during a call, by focusing on the user’s voice through a combination of beamforming mics protected by wind-blocking mesh covers and bone conduction that detects jaw vibrations.
Complementing the ANC is a transparency mode that boosts ambient sounds to make the user more aware of their surroundings while wearing what are essentially electronic ear plugs. The Pixel Buds Pro also introduce multi-device connectivity, with intelligent automatic switching between devices when a call comes in on a smartphone—whether it’s running Android or iOS—or when a video starts playing on a connected laptop. And while we haven’t had a chance to ears-on yet, we’re also excited for a feature Google calls Volume EQ, which automatically increases the bass frequencies of what you’re listening to with the volume turned down so it doesn’t sound flat at lower decibels.
The new Pixel Buds Pro will be available for pre-order starting on July 21, and released a week later on July 28. Because they’re branded as a “Pro” offering, the price is now $200, which makes these the most expensive Pixel Buds to date. They’re still cheaper than competitor’s products like Apple’s $249 Air Pods Pro, but are $50 more expensive than Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 and twice the price of the $99 Nothing ear (1) buds. Will they sound twice as good? We’ll let you know once we get a chance to try them out.
Google said that it was creating a Pixel ecosystem, and it was not lying! You have your choice of a phone, foldable phone, tablet, smartwatch, and earbuds. Well, according to Digitimes (via Android Authority), Google could be considering a foldable tablet for the near future.
Now, this is a leak based on very little information. Thus, you should take it with a grain of salt. We’ll keep you updated on this story as more developments come to light.
Google has been playing catch-up with the likes of Samsung and Apple. Both companies have fully-developed ecosystems. As for Google, the company’s missing a Pixel computer/laptop platform.
While we’re waiting on a new Pixel Chromebook, we might have a Pixel foldable tablet to look forward to. Digitimes cites upstream supply chain resources for this news. Right now, details are scarce, so there’s not much that we can say about this mystery device.
One thing we do know is that, if Google does plan on releasing this device, it could be in our mitts rather soon. If Google launches this foldable tablet, it might reveal it as early as Google I/O 2024. If the company holds it in May of next year, then that’s 10 months away.
10 months seems like a while away, but it’s rather soon after just launching its first foldable and its first tablet. We would have expected Google to wait a few generations before making a product as ambitious as this. The Pixel Fold is a well-made device, but it’s not quite up to the standards of Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, etc.
When making a foldable tablet, the screen size multiplies but so do the durability hurdles. 7-inch foldables had their issues back in the day; now imagine an 11-inch foldable.
In any case, it will still be exciting to see. If Google pulls this off, then it could be at the forefront of a new technological frontier. The Pixel line of products isn’t known for exploring new ground in terms of hardware. They leverage Google software prowess and help preview new features that will be distributed for other Android OEMs. Maybe the company is looking to change that.
