Anika Begay
Between unveiling its new Pixel phones and revealing AI features at its event today, Google has been throwing in a few targeted attacks on Apple. Some have been subtle, some have been anything but.
While it’s not uncommon for companies like Google to draw comparisons to competitors at big events like this, Google seemed to sprinkle references to Apple throughout its showcase. Perhaps that’s because Google has become particularly competitive in the artificial intelligence space, which Apple has only just begun to dive into.
Here are all the moments of comparison that we captured during the event.
Gemini goes “far beyond English speakers”
Introducing Gemini, Sameer Samat, president of Google’s Android ecosystem, boasted that Gemini is available in 45 languages and more than 200 countries and territories, noting its expansion to older, non-flagship Android devices as well.
Finally, Samat said that “Gemini is available globally right now, well beyond English speakers and a single market.” This final clarification appears to be a direct attack on Apple Intelligence, which is not yet widely available and will only be available to English speakers in the United States when it launches this fall.
Google will not send your data to third parties
Google also highlighted Gemini’s ability to process tasks, like using your resume in Drive to write a short bio, without offloading it to a third party. “Gemini can handle these kinds of complex personal queries inside Google’s secure cloud without sending any of your personal data to a third-party AI vendor that it may not know or trust,” Samat said.
This seemed like a clear attack on Apple, which partnered with OpenAI to build ChatGPT into Siri. When Siri can’t answer a question, it’ll get your permission to ask for ChatGPT. (Of course, Google’s system still requires you to trust Google, so it doesn’t entirely escape the same criticism.)
Google wanted to make sure you knew their demos were active
While Apple is known for putting on a lot of live events, Google events tend to be a little more laid-back. That was evident when Google’s Dave Citron took the stage to demonstrate some of Gemini’s AI capabilities, boldly announcing, “All the demos we’re doing today are live, by the way.” Google took that risk head-on, and things didn’t exactly go as planned.
After snapping a photo of a Sabrina Carpenter concert poster, Citron asked Gemini if she could check his calendar to see if he was free when she was coming to San Francisco this year. Gemini didn’t respond on the first two attempts, but finally did issue a response when Citron changed phones.
Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL arrive “without compromise”
The only difference between the Pixel 9 Pro XL and the new, smaller Pixel Pro option is size. “You can choose between the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL without compromise,” said Brian Rakowski, vice president of product management at Google. “They have the same incredible display, elegant design, premium craftsmanship, processing power, and the same Pro Pixel camera.”
Meanwhile, there are some small differences between the iPhone 15 Pro and the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max. The iPhone 15 Pro Max offers up to 5x optical zoom, while the regular 15 Pro is limited to 3x. The larger variant also comes with up to 29 hours of video playback instead of 23 hours.
Google Pixel 9 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro Max
When showing off the Pixel 9 Pro’s camera, Google directly compared it to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Google’s Kenny Sulaimon said the company “rebuilt” the Pixel 9’s panorama mode, which now supports Night Sight to improve the look of images in low-light conditions.
To demonstrate these changes, Sulaimon invited the audience to look at a view of the Tetons at night. He then immediately compared it to a darker-looking photo from “another smartphone company,” namely Apple.
