Jimmy Fallon is a nerd. That's the only explanation possible after I witnessed The Tonight Show star and SNL alum describe, unprompted, what the "6" and "8" in IP68 signify.
It was about mid-point through the hour-plus long Made By Google presentation in Steiner Studios in Brooklyn on Wednesday (Aug 20) when Fallon explained that 6 stands for dust and 8 stands for water in reference to the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold's first-of-its-kind IP68 rating.
Granted, Fallon then took it a step too far and started describing protective capabilities that made a Google marketing rep squirm and remind the host that there "were lawyers in the audience."
This was one of the high points in a rather unusual tech product launch event. It was strange for tech media like me because Google allowed us to publish our hands on impression of the new Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, Google Pixel Buds 2a, and Pixel Watch 4, an hour before Fallon and an assortment of Google execs, influencers, podcasts, and popstars took the stage.
The low point was when Google Hardware chief Rick Osterloh promised, essentially, one more thing, and all we got was an ill-defined role for Stephen Curry as a new Performance Advisor for Google Health. Curry wasn't even there in person. Instead, we watched a video of his mildly amusing, fake job interview.
I had, for a hot second, thought we might see Android XR-powered Project Moohan or some variation of Google's latest AR glasses efforts. I hoped that we might even have some hands-on with AR glasses featuring the latest version of Gemini Live.
Just imagine how cool it would have been to see Jimmy Fallon wearing and using those things. He was game for anything, and I'm sure he would have loved it.
The lack of the really big one more thing, and that the world was reading about all Google's hardware and AI/Gemini-software updates before Fallon and Osterloh said a single word, sucked a bit of the life out of the whole affair.
Granted, I enjoyed the demos and am still blown away by the live call translations. I think Fallon was honestly tickled at hearing his own voice speak fluent Spanish on the other side of a phone call. This is a cool and powerful feature people will be talking about for a long time.
You can't go home again
Almost a decade after Google unveiled its first Pixel phone and a raft of Google Home products and features like Google WiFi, Nest devices, and Google Assistant, Google paid what I consider little attention to that side of the business.
Google may be pouring money and time into Gemini – and it should – but Google Home is increasingly feeling like a poor relation. When I switched some of my old Nest devices to Google Home (Google left me no choice), they actually lost some features.
Google Home isn't a particularly good smart home management hub, though I think it could get better with Gemini, and I am pleased that Google announced plans to put Gemini in charge of the home (with Gemini for Home). But Google didn't give us a single live demonstration of these capabilities, and so I remain unconvinced about how, as Google shifts Google Assistant out of the picture, Gemini will improve my smart home control ecosystem.
With zero Google Home, Nest hardware updates (though Google promises they're coming soon), I worry that Google is losing interest in the smart home space. I know that's not true, but Made by Google was a moment where Google could've shown us its vision for the future of AI-managed smart homes with their hardware dotted around the house and Gemini at the center.
One or two live demonstrations would've made all the difference, but we got none.
Some, though, may applaud Google for its focus. By pulling the usual, by-the-numbers product reveals out of the event, Fallon and company could focus on buzzy features and not get stuck in the minutiae of components, materials, prices, and ship dates.
This made the event, as was Google's intention, more like a TV show (there was even a TV show-style crowd warmer), and who better to host such a show than Jimmy Fallon?
He even had celebrity guests like Call Her Daddy podcaster Alex Cooper, who is tech-savvy enough to show off various AI photo features, and at the end, Nick Jonas. The singer did not sing, but he did introduce a new Jonas Brothers music video shot entirely on Pixel phones. That was fun, but I can also see that on YouTube, which Google's parent Alphabet also owns.
With zero surprises and no home tech, it wasn't a perfect unveiling, but at least we have all these cool new Pixel gadgets to admire.
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