Google Pushes Gemini AI as Phone-First Platform
Google's new Pixel 11 lineup puts its most advanced Gemini AI features at the center, with the company arguing AI will fundamentally reshape how people use…
Google is betting that artificial intelligence will replace the touchscreen as the primary way people interact with phones. The company unveiled its Pixel 11 smartphone lineup on Wednesday, centering the devices around Gemini Intelligence—a suite of AI features designed to understand what users are doing and take action across apps without requiring manual input.
Rick Osterloh, Google's devices chief, told CNBC the shift represents a fundamental departure from two decades of phone design. "For the last 10 to 15 years, not a lot has changed in how you use laptops and mobile phones," Osterloh said. "But we think that's about to change dramatically."
Gemini Intelligence works by connecting information from messages, calendars, maps and other Google services to suggest or execute actions—checking flight availability, comparing travel options, or starting a restaurant reservation. The system operates directly inside Android's operating system rather than requiring users to open a separate chatbot interface.
Osterloh described the capability as "a totally new way to interact with a computer," one that lets users "not only to find out information but to get things done." He suggested Gemini could eventually become the primary way people use phones, laptops and other devices.
The timing puts Google in direct competition with Apple just weeks before the iPhone maker is expected to launch a rebuilt Siri powered by Google's AI models. The Pixel 11 lineup includes the base Pixel 11 model, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pixel 11 Pro Fold.
The company is also aggressively pricing AI tools to drive adoption. Google released Gemini 3.7 Flash on Tuesday, a new AI model pitched at businesses building autonomous systems that can plan tasks and complete workflows with minimal human intervention. The model showed improved performance on coding tasks including debugging and production-ready code generation.
To accelerate uptake, Google is offering Gemini 3.7 Flash at 75 cents per million input tokens and $3.75 per million output tokens through the end of the year—half the original cost of its predecessor, Gemini 3.6 Flash. The model rolled out immediately to Gemini Spark, Google's subscription-based AI agent service available to Google AI Pro and Ultra customers in more than 160 countries.
The price cut reflects broader pressure on Google to gain ground in AI. Google co-founder Sergey Brin has urged key AI staff to prioritize the Gemini model as Alphabet works to close gaps with competitors. CEO Sundar Pichai defended the company's AI strategy during earnings calls in July, addressing concerns Google had fallen behind after delaying the flagship model and losing ground in AI coding.
Last week, Google announced a leadership overhaul of its DeepMind division in which chief Demis Hassabis stepped aside for deputy Koray Kavukcuoglu. Two of Gemini's original technical co-leads quit the same week to start a competing venture.
In separate moves this week, Google also gave users the option to remove visible watermarks from AI-generated images, videos and songs. Josh Woodward, VP for Gemini, said the toggle will work for the Nano Banana, Omni and Lyria models, available in Gemini and the Flow video editor with Search support coming soon. Invisible SynthID watermarks and C2PA metadata remain embedded for content verification.
