At yesterday’s Made by Google 2025 showcase in New York, Google unveiled something unexpected: playfulness. Hosted by The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon in a format more like the talk show he’s famous for, the tech event included presenters and celebrity guests who didn’t look like they were delivering a script they’d been rehearsing for weeks. Everyone seemed to actually enjoy themselves as they revealed Google’s latest products.
And there were plenty of new products and other announcements to share. Following months of leaks and teases, the Pixel 10 phone lineup has now come into focus, with both specs and release dates. The Pixel Watch 4 is making leaps into more health and fitness tracking. And the new Pixel Buds 2A look (and sound) like an affordable alternative to the existing Buds Pro 2 with many of the same features and quality. And yes, AI played a big part, too, but it wasn’t the unrelenting focus of the show.
If you missed the event itself, you can catch the whole thing at YouTube or get right to the important stuff and read on for more details.
Watch this: Everything Announced at Made by Google 2025 in 7 Minutes
Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL are real
Surprise — Google announced new phones! OK, this was the least surprising part of the event, but it still feels good to finally know what exists and when it’s coming. The phones keep the same looks as the Pixel 9 series, but they’re powered by new Tensor G5 processors that Google says is more powerful and simultaneously power-efficient.
On the base Pixel 10, however, there’s a surprise just barely visible in the camera bar: a new dedicated telephoto camera that joins the existing wide and ultrawide cameras. It shares the same 5x optical zoom as the pro models, but with a lower-resolution sensor and a lens with a narrower aperture.
Preorders for the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL began yesterday and the phones will be in stores and shipping starting Aug. 28. Read our hands-on coverage of the phones here:
Pixel 10 Pro Fold opens the next chapter of foldables
Folding phones so far have had an Achilles’ hinge: small particulates like sand can get inside the case and mess things up. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is one of the first to have an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, meaning you can take your $1,800 phone to the beach. Or maybe make that the pumpkin patch, because the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is arriving later than the other Pixel 10 phones, on Oct. 9. You can preorder it now.
Pixel Watch 4 talks to Gemini and is your new health coach
The Pixel Watch 4 has new fitness options including real-time guidance while exercising. And if you forgot to start a workout, the watch (with AI help) can detect the activity in the background and remind you of it later, giving you credit for the effort you made. It’s also the only smartwatch that can detect a loss of pulse and call emergency services automatically.
The smartwatch, which comes in 42mm and 46mm sizes, also has Gemini on board. “You don’t have to repeat yourself, you don’t have to switch to a robo-voice,” said CNET’s Vanessa Hand Orellana. It also includes emergency satellite texting if you find yourself out of cellular range with a dead phone battery.
Like the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, the Pixel Watch 4 models can be preordered now but won’t arrive until Oct. 9.
The Pixel Watch 4 has a familiar design with an upgraded domed screen that’s 50% brighter than the Pixel Watch 3, with a 3,000-nit peak.
Pixel Buds 2A are more affordable earbuds
Joining the Pixel Buds 2 Pro in the market are the Pixel Buds 2A, an affordable ($130) pair of wireless earbuds that feature active noise cancellation, a smaller and lighter overall build and a twist-to-adjust stabilizer feature for setting a comfortable fit.
They’re available for preorder now in hazel and iris colors, and ship Oct. 9.
Pixel Buds Pro 2 owners will see new features
Coming in a software update next month, owners of Pixel Buds Pro 2 will be able to answer calls or send them to voicemail with a nod or shake of the head. You’ll be able to talk to Gemini live in noisy locations, and benefit from adaptive audio that applies noise cancellation while letting important sounds come through. At the other end, a new feature will protect your hearing from loud sounds.
Magic Cue is a Gemini assistant that pulls data from your correspondence
In the rollout of all the various AI technologies in the industry, the current stretch goal is “agentic” interactions with software: Having an AI that knows all sorts of details about you and can act to get the important stuff in front of you when needed. (And do it in a privacy-first way, one hopes.)
Magic Cue is Google’s implementation. It’s a new Gemini-based feature that can look through your earlier messages, emails and photos to pull details about things like restaurant reservations and flight times. Magic Cue runs on the Pixel device itself, so sensitive data stays private and not shared to the cloud.
A lot of Gemini AI intelligence is still coming soon
At the start of the event, Fallon sat down in typical talk-show format with Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of platforms and devices, to chat about Gemini and the marvels of AI. Aside from Magic Cue, which will be shipping on the Pixel 10 phones, a lot of the features and products we’ve been hearing about are still on the horizon.
“For instance, Gemini could do something like plan a team celebration dinner for 12 people tonight,” he said. “It might go find a restaurant that’ll accommodate that group. … Look for a karaoke place nearby and maybe even order custom T-shirts for the celebration.”
And when will that be possible? Fallon asked. “A lot sooner than people think,” Osterloh replied. “This kind of thing is coming this year.”
Rick Osterloh and Jimmy Fallon at Made by Google 2025.
The Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL can zoom to 100x with AI help
Pro Res Zoom on the Pixel 10 Pro phones pushes zooming far beyond what would seem to be possible with typical small cameras. Usually when you zoom beyond the optical limits of the cameras, details get fuzzy as the software upscales the image. With Pro Res Zoom, when you go beyond 30x zoom, it uses generative AI to build a sharper version. CNET’s Andrew Lanxon got both impressive and head-scratching results while taking photos in Paris using the Pixel 10 Pro XL.
The original zoomed image (left) and the Pro Res Zoom version (right).
At 100x zoom, the Pro Res Zoom feature’s generative AI turned the plane (left) into an odd bundle of sticks (right).
Camera Coach uses AI to encourage better photos
Smartphone cameras have employed AI for several years, such as identifying subjects in order to blur the background for Portrait modes or quickly snapping several shots at multiple exposures and blending them together to create well-balanced lighting throughout. Now Google is using AI to help you take better photos.
Camera Coach is a new feature in the Pixel Camera app that looks at the scene in front of the lens and generates multiple suggestions for how to improve the photo before it’s captured. To show this off, podcaster Alex Cooper brought Fallon out to be her model and sat him down on a couch. When she activated the feature, Camera Coach suggested that she move the camera closer to the subject, position his head in the upper portion of the frame, lower the camera to eye level and turn on Portrait mode.
“To all the girls that are watching, I personally know how hard it is to train your boyfriend or your husband to get that perfect shot,” said Cooper. “And now Camera Coach can just train all the boys for us.”
The Camera Coach feature helped better frame Jimmy Fallon for a portrait photo.
Don’t call it MagSafe: Pixelsnap brings Qi2 magnetic charging to the Pixel 10
The Qi2 spec includes not just faster charging but also an array of magnets on the back for connecting to accessories. Sound familiar? The presenters mentioned Apple’s MagSafe system, then paused with the realization that they probably shouldn’t have name-checked it during the Google event. On the Pixel 10 phones, it’s called Pixelsnap and should work with accessories made for Apple’s ecosystem too.
Pixel 10 phones connect magnetically to accessories, which Google calls Pixelsnap.
Gemini live translation, and the Pixel 10 will be available in Mexico
In an impressive segment demonstrating Gemini live translation during a phone call, musician Karen Polinesia announced, in Spanish and translated by the technology, that for the first time, the Pixel 10 will be available for sale in Mexico.
Musician Karen Polinesia hears a Spanish translation of what host Jimmy Fallon is saying on a live phone call.
This article is being updated; stay tuned for more.
