In between the reveal of new Pixel phones and AI features at its event today, Google snuck in a few burns targeted at Apple. Some were subtle — others far from it.
While it’s not uncommon for companies like Google to draw comparisons to competitors during big events like this, Google seemed to sprinkle references to Apple all throughout its showcase. Maybe that’s because Google has become especially competitive in the AI industry, which Apple has only just barely begun to dip into.
Here are all the moments of comparison that we caught during the event.
When introducing Gemini, Sameer Samat, the president of the Android ecosystem at Google, bragged that Gemini is available in 45 languages and more than 200 countries and territories, highlighting its expansion to older and non-flagship Android devices.
To top it all off, Samat mentioned that “Gemini is available around the world right now, far beyond English speakers and a single market.” That final clarification seems to be a direct shot at Apple Intelligence, which isn’t widely rolled out yet and will only be available to English speakers in the US once it launches this fall.
Google also called out Gemini’s ability to process tasks, such as 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 within Google’s own secure cloud without sending any of your personal data to a third-party AI provider who may not know or trust,” Samat said.
That seemed like a clear shot at Apple, which partnered with OpenAI to put ChatGPT into Siri. When Siri isn’t capable of answering a question, it will get your permission to ask ChatGPT instead. (Of course, Google’s system still requires you to trust Google, so it doesn’t entirely escape the same criticism.)
While Apple is known for carefully crafting its live events, Google events tend to be a bit more relaxed. You could see that on display when Google’s Dave Citron took the stage to demonstrate some of Gemini’s AI features, boldly announcing: “All of the demos we’re doing today are live, by the way.” Google took that risk head-on — and things didn’t go exactly as planned.
After taking a picture of a Sabrina Carpenter concert poster, Citron asked Gemini if it could check his calendar to see if he’s free when she comes to San Francisco this year. Gemini didn’t respond on the first two tries, but it eventually issued a response when Citron switched phones.
The only difference between the Pixel 9 Pro XL and the new, smaller Pixel Pro option is size. “You can choose between Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL without compromises,” Brian Rakowski, Google’s vice president of product management, said. “They have the same incredible display, sleek design, premium craftsmanship, processing power, and the same Pro Pixel camera.”
Meanwhile, there are some slight differences between the iPhone 15 Pro and the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max. The iPhone 15 Pro Max offers up to a 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.
When showing off the Pixel 9 Pro’s camera, Google compared it directly 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 low-light images.
To demonstrate these changes, Sulaimon invited the audience to look at a panorama of the Tetons at night. He then immediately compared it to a more shadowy-looking photo from “another smartphone company” — namely, Apple.
