Sundar Pichai: Fall Pixel line showcases Android 12 & ‘deep tech investments,’ touts long-term strategy

Abner Li | Jul 27 2021 - 2:08 pm PT

During Alphabet’s Q2 2021 earnings, Sundar Pichai talked quite a bit more about Google’s consumer hardware efforts than usual. The CEO teased the upcoming fall Pixel lineup, some highlights, and long-term strategy.

Pichai started by providing a recap of what Google announced at I/O 2021 in May. Besides MUM and other AI developments, he talked about Android 12 highlights like personalization and privacy. This transitioned into how Google’s fall hardware will “showcase” Android 12 and “deep technology investments.”

The latter is likely in reference to the launch of custom Google chips, codenamed Whitechapel. This is not the first time the Google CEO teased these “deeper investments in hardware.” The last mention came in October of 2020 and how he was excited about the 2021 product roadmap for finally showcasing that work.

Meanwhile, Material You will first debut on Pixel phones running Android 12. While some aspects are already live in the betas, others — like widgets and first-party apps — are not yet available.

Sundar then continued about how “Pixel remains at the heart of that long-term strategy” to “push boundaries.” He ended by mentioning the new Google Store and a tease about new products coming soon.

I’m proud of how the team continues to deliver the best of Google through our family of helpful devices, including Nest and Fitbit. You can see all of these devices at our first retail store in New York City, and l’m looking forward to seeing some new ones there soon.