Google’s Bard AI launches Down Under as new Pixel phone, tablet announced
By Tim Biggs
Google’s AI chatbot experiment Bard has launched in Australia, will soon be able to “see” and display images, and is growing in capability thanks to its move to a new language processing system called PalM 2.
Google released its bot, which is an in-house rival to Chat-GPT and Microsoft’s Bing, as a preview in the US and UK two months ago. But overnight at its annual developer conference I/O, alongside the introduction of a new smartphone and tablet that each go for less than $1000, Google revealed Bard was now available in 180 countries.
Google’s conversational AI bot, Bard, has launched in Australia.
The company also unveiled the Pixel Fold, a flexible smartphone similar in shape to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold, but did not announce plans to make it available in Australia.
Bard’s move to a new, more capable language system means it can now write and understand more than 20 coding languages, and has advanced maths and reasoning skills, Google said. The company has also added buttons to the chatbot that allow users to send responses straight to Gmail or Docs, and plans in the future to let it work with more of its products. So, for example, a user could create a working roster or checklist in Sheets just by describing what they needed in plain language.
Soon, Bard will also become “multimodal”, meaning it will be able to communicate with text and images. For example, it might pull pictures from Google Images to help answer a query, or a user could upload a photo of their art supply drawer and ask for suggestions of what to do with the available materials.
Bard will be able to use plug-ins to access non-Google services, including Adobe Firefly, in the coming months.
And finally, Google is planning to roll out third-party plugins to Bard soon, meaning it will be able to use other services from around the web in its responses. At I/O Google announced one of these will be a partnership with Adobe, which connects Bard to Firefly for AI-generated images based on prompts.
Despite these developments, Google still refers to Bard as an experiment, and has shown reluctance to integrate it directly with its core Search product or allow it to be accessed any way other than through its dedicated web page.
“We’re trying to make it extremely clear to the users that are coming in to use Bard, that this is a stand-alone experience, that this is an experiment. We know there are limitations of large language models. Bard’s not always going to get it right,” said senior director of product Jack Krawczyk in an interview ahead of I/O.
“Launching Bard in over 180 countries is putting it into the hands of people, seeing how they’re using it in the stand-alone experience. And then learning together how we can iterate and make it the most helpful.”
But in the US, Google is introducing new generative AI “snapshots” into its search results, powered by PaLM 2. These will sit on top of the regular web results, and let you chat about your inquiry to get more specific information and recommendations.
The Pixel 7a is a less-expensive version of last year’s Pixel 7.
On the hardware front, the new $750 Pixel 7a shares many features with the $1000 Pixel 7, including the same Google Tensor processor and the same AI-powered photography features. Unlike last year’s Pixel 6a, it supports wireless charging and has a 90Hz refresh screen for smooth scrolling and animation.
In the hand it’s difficult to tell the difference between the 7 and 7a, except for the fact that the latter is slightly smaller. But in fact the 7a has a different internal design for improved durability, a plastic back instead of glass, and wholly redesigned cameras; a wide and ultrawide on the rear, plus a selfie camera that can take 4K video for the first time in an A model.
As with its last few phones in the series, Google is positioning the 7a as a less expensive way to buy something very close to its previous flagship phone, a few months before the next one (presumably the Pixel 8) is unveiled in the final quarter of the year.
The Pixel tablet comes with a magnetic stand, so it can be useful even when you put it down.
Meanwhile the Pixel Tablet is, according to Google, shaped by years of research into how people use big screen devices. It said tablets are overwhelmingly limited to in-home use, and that the use is sporadic, so people tend to leave them in drawers and find their batteries have run dry when they do want them.
As a result, every Pixel Tablet comes with a dock, which keeps the device charged, holds it magnetically so you can use it as a smart home hub or photo frame, and doubles as a speaker for music or video use.
The specs for the tablet seem to place it between Apple’s 10th Gen iPad and its latest iPad Air, and it’s priced between them too at $900. The included dock is an interesting differentiator, but on the other hand not all Android apps are well optimised for the big screen.
Google said it was working closely with partners to make sure the most popular apps ran well, and had of course ensured its own services made good use of the extra display area.
The Pixel Fold, which will be available in the US in June for $US1800 ($2670), is less thick than the Galaxy Fold and when closed is more of a traditional phone shape compared to Samsung’s tall skinny version. It has bright 120Hz screens inside and out, and a strong hinge that lets users prop it at any angle.
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