Google wants its new devices to be ‘thoughtful’

A frame that automatically displays only the good pictures. A phone that screens telemarketer calls. And a way to more easily control the myriad connected devices in the home.

These were among the features that jumped out during a “Made by Google” press event in New York City on Tuesday. Google unveiled its latest iteration of smartphones, the Pixel 3 and 3 XL with 5.5-inch and 6.3-inch OLED displays, respectively, starting at $799. Also announced were its Pixel Slate tablet with the Chrome operating sys- tem and the Google Home Hub. But more than the devices were the ethos that appears to run through and connect them as an ecosystem: directly addressing obstacles and challenges that drive users nuts.

If Google can actually address such consumer pain points with its latest products – and we’ll have to see the proof in action – the company will go a long way toward measuring up to what Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh broadly referred to not as the “smart home,” but the “thoughtful home” comprising products that are not only intelligent but helpful.

According to Ostherloh, the break- throughs in tech come from the intersection of hardware, software and artificial intelligence.

For all its promises, setting up and controlling a smart home is hard, and it’s a problem that Amazon with its own Echo smart speaker hub also is trying to tackle.

It remains to be seen how the two stack up against each other. But the surprisingly modest-sized $149 Home Hub promises “thoughtfulness” in the way it helps you visualize the smart lights, smart thermostats such as the Nest, remote controls and other products across

the home, which you can control with a tap of the screen or via voice through the Google Assistant. You also can get a similar view on the Pixel phone.

Google says it will work across 200 million products made by more than 1,000 companies.

The previous generation of the Pixel phones had a terrific camera. With the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, Google added a machine-learning-driven Top Shot feature that will grab a burst of images when you press the shutter button. Google will then surface what it thinks is the best of those images, perhaps one in which your kid was not blinking or smiling or was looking away from the camera. There’s no need to fret about the lousy shots taking up room on your phone – those are captured in lower resolution. You won’t get a Top Shot recommendation for every picture you snap; sometimes the picture you took is just fine on its own.

Another camera feature I’m looking to try out is called Night Sight, which essentially means you can get a great shot – or so Google claims – in the dark, without having to use a flash. It will come out initially in beta.

“We can do things that anticipate what you need, and that’s really what AI is, making smart predictions based on patterns and context,” Osterloh said.

Pixel phones, despite the prevalence of the Google name and despite getting good reviews, previously haven’t sold well, though Osterloh claims they’re now “growing like crazy in the market.” Still, the gap between Google and dominant smartphones makers from Apple and Samsung is vast.

He conceded that hardware businesses aren’t built overnight.

“We’re very patient with this, and we know it’s going to take a very long time, but our mental model is if we just keep innovating and keep trying to be helpful for the user and get better every year, this is going to become a great large business.”

The AI feature I’m most jazzed about is the one that – we can only hope – will put telemarketers and spammers on edge. It’s called Call Screen, and, as its name suggests, when a call comes in from a number you don’t recognize, you can tap a screen call button that gives an automated response to the caller that tells them “you are using a screening service from Google.”

In more or less real time, you’ll see a transcript of the caller’s response and to determine if this is indeed someone you need or want to talk to. The feature, which is coming later to the entire Pixel lineup of phones, launched with the Pixel 3.

What can be more thoughtful than that?