Like the Samsung Galaxy S24 event before it, the Google Pixel 9 launch was as much a showcase for new software as it was for new hardware. Sure, Google debuted no less than seven new devices (including four new phones) at its Mountain View headquarters in California, but infinitely more stage time was dedicated to the Google Gemini features that are set to run on these devices than to the cameras, displays, or batteries under their respective hoods.
Apple, too, will no doubt place Apple Intelligence at the heart of its upcoming iPhone 16 launch, with rumored upgrades to buttons and batteries likely to play second fiddle to a smarter Siri and other generative AI tools. Software, then, now rules the roost – at least in terms of the way the best phones are marketed (how many AI-focused Samsung ads have interrupted your football game?). But this doesn’t mean hardware no longer matters.
