Google, the search engine giant, unveiled new smartphones, smart speakers and other gadgets at the Google Hardware Event held yesterday at the SFJazz Center in San Francisco, California. After the back to back events from Amazon and Apple, Google finally unveiled its flagship device, the Pixel 2, along with a number additions to its hardware offerings.
At the hardware launch, Google demonstrated its commitment to making new devices along with new and improved software developments. Marking its second year of manufacturing hardware, Google announced two new Pixel smartphones along with Google Home speakers, a new laptop, a virtual reality headset and wireless headphones. However, this year the focus was not on just the hardware but on a combination of software and artificial intelligence along with a major focus on the hardware side of things. Chief Executive Officer of Google, Sundar Pichai, spent the first 10 minutes explaining the use of artificial intelligence, as well as the transformation of Google into an AI first company. “It’s(AI) radically rethinking how computing should work,” he added.
The two smartphones launched yesterday, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 Xl, will both use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processors. Packed with a 4 GB RAM, the latest phones come with a 12.2 megapixel rear camera and an 8 megapixel front camera with a fixed focus. Google also introduced a pretty impressive portrait mode with its single camera. Following Apple’s footsteps, the new Pixel phones have also said goodbye to the headphone jack. While most of the hardware remains the same, the software for the phone is a combination of machine learning, artificial intelligence and contextual data meshing, which makes it a much more connected device. Pixel Buds, Google’s own wireless headphones, are the Android version of the Apple AirPods. Both the phone and the earphones can be charged using a USB-C charging cable. The new phones are available with 64 GB and 124 GB storage.
The technology giant has also come out with a new camera that uses artificial intelligence to capture soundless videos of faces and pets that it recognizes and deems “interesting.” Google Clips is a palm sized device that can capture stills, videos, or GIFs, which can be exported to phones and other devices over Wifi.
The Google Home devices were also launched in two different sizes, the Google Home Mini and the Google Home Max. Both the devices can do everything the original Google Home could, including set timers and reminders, check the weather and convert tablespoons to cups using the inbuilt Google Assistant. The main difference in the new devices is the size. While the Mini occupies the space of a candle, the Max boasts a stereo speaker with two 4.5 inch woofers. Both the devices will add more actions that surround daily routines.
Google’s laptop, Pixelbook, is a 12.3 inch device which does a complete 360 degree rotation and weighs just two pounds. This device supports Google Play and comes equipped with the Google Assistant along with a Core i5 or Core i7 processor, 16 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB of memory.
Google hyped up its hardware products this year making an impressive statement about turning hardware into a real business on a massive scale. According to Sundar Pichai, however, the future for Google is AI.
Sundar Pichai, the visionary CEO of Alphabet Inc., has officially entered the ranks of global billionaires, accomplishing this rare feat after a decade at the helm of one of the world’s most influential tech giants. Pichai’s net worth hit $1.1 billion—according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index—fueled by Alphabet’s incredible market performance and the company’s growth of more than $1 trillion in value since early 2023. Achieving billionaire status without being a founding member sets Pichai apart, highlighting his significant impact among non-founder tech leaders.
Born in Tamil Nadu, India, Pichai’s success story is rooted in humble beginnings. He spent his childhood in a modest two-room apartment, only gaining access to a telephone at age 12. A scholarship took him to Stanford University in 1993, with his family making great sacrifices for his education. After joining Google in 2004, Pichai played a pivotal role in the development of Chrome and rose steadily, ultimately becoming CEO in 2015. His leadership through Alphabet’s restructuring and his stewardship over high-growth areas like YouTube, Google Cloud, and Google Play have been critical to the company’s success.
During his tenure, Pichai has championed aggressive investments in artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure, positioning Alphabet at the forefront of technological innovation. While his annual salary sits at $2 million, the majority of his fortune stems from stock awards and financial incentives tied to performance. Pichai’s journey exemplifies the rise from modest beginnings to extraordinary success, serving as an inspiration and proving that transformative leadership and strategic vision can redefine what’s possible—even without a founder’s equity stake.
The Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation Foundation (TiHAN) at IIT Hyderabad has set a new standard in drone technology with the launch of Palyanka, a heavy payload drone designed as an autonomous air ambulance. Capable of carrying up to 200 kg, Palyanka is engineered to swiftly transport patients, medical equipment, or critical cargo across challenging terrains, bypassing traditional barriers like road congestion and remote inaccessibility. This advanced UAV operates autonomously, making it highly effective for rapid response in both urban and rural emergencies, and stands at the forefront of disaster relief operations in scenarios such as floods and fires.
Built for versatility, Palyanka doesn’t just function as an air ambulance. Its robust design enables use in rescue missions, cargo deliveries, and even as an air taxi for metropolitan connectivity. Inspired by the Sanskrit word for palanquin, the name “Palyanka” reflects the drone’s role as a safe and efficient carrier. All components, from conceptual design to IP, have been developed in-house at IIT Hyderabad, ensuring the drone meets stringent standards for durability and performance under extreme conditions.
With a development journey spanning over five years and led by Prof. P. Rajalakshmi, TiHAN’s team has transitioned from early drone prototypes to a full-scale, high-capacity solution like Palyanka. The team is now preparing pilot projects in hilly terrains and working on further enhancing the drone’s endurance with innovative heat-resistant materials. By pioneering such indigenous solutions, IIT Hyderabad’s TiHAN is transforming emergency medical services and logistics, marking a pivotal advancement in India’s urban mobility and public safety landscape.
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has announced a major reduction in its subscription prices across India, slashing fees by up to 48%. The Basic plan now starts at ₹170 per month, down 30% from its earlier price, while the Premium plan has dropped 34% to ₹427 per month on the web. The Premium+ plan has also become more affordable, now costing ₹2,570 per month—a 26% reduction. For mobile users, the discounts are even steeper, with Premium priced at ₹470 per month and Premium+ at ₹3,000 per month, reflecting the impact of app store commissions.
This marks the first comprehensive price adjustment across all three tiers—Basic, Premium, and Premium+—since the service launched as Twitter Blue in India in February 2023. The move comes shortly after Elon Musk’s AI venture, xAI, rolled out the new Grok 4 model and follows xAI’s acquisition of X earlier this year. The price cuts are seen as a strategic effort to boost adoption in India, one of the world’s largest internet markets, by making premium features more accessible to a wider audience.
Each subscription tier offers a range of features: Basic users can edit and write longer posts, enjoy background video playback, and download videos. Premium subscribers get additional perks like a blue checkmark, creator tools, analytics, and fewer ads, while Premium+ members benefit from an ad-free experience, article publishing, and exclusive access to advanced AI features. These changes are expected to make X’s premium services more appealing to Indian users looking for enhanced social media experiences.
