This is what Google has said so far about its AI coming, though it remains to be seen how the novel combined Android and Pixel sectors really operate in practice.
Previously, Hiroshi Lockheimer led the “Platforms & Ecosystems” team responsible for Android (Auto, TV, Wear OS, XR, etc.), Chrome, and Chrome OS, as well as Google Photos. However, Rick Osterloh has overseen the “Devices & Services” section from the beginning.
“We can supply higher-quality products and experiences to our users and partners with the help of a unified group across platforms and devices. As we did with Circle to Hunt and Samsung, it will help us launch Android and Chrome communities and accelerate the release of the best improvements,” said Sundar Google.
There is now one combined “Platforms & Devices” team led by Rick Osterloh, who told The Verge today that AI is behind this change, and the merger “helps us to be able to do full-stack innovation when that’s necessary.”
To cultivate closer partnership, a Google DeepMind vice chairman is joining Platforms & Devices. Note the fact that the existing Google Research teams focused on mathematical images and on-device brains are “moving over to join the new organization to provide strong AI experience across platforms and devices.”
According to Osterloh, the firm’s AI section will do the research and his new team will make artificial products. He gave two examples of what closer cooperation is possible now, starting with the camera:
“You had to have thorough knowledge of all components of the program load, from the cameras to the ISPs, to the detectors. And at the moment, all the first HDR and ML models that were processing images were doing camera processing. And I believe that hardware/software/AI integration actually demonstrated how AI was completely transforming a user experience. That was significant. And it’s even more accurate now.”
The other is GPUs, allowing for faster iteration between the hardware and software team as a result of closer collaboration.
Osterloh wants to launch new products and release existing ones as the AI types improve in terms of what this may look like for end users. CEO Sundar Pichai says the new combined team “will also speed up decision-making” internally.
“We can’t resupply a new SOC into existing products,” Osterloh says. “But we can architecture for durability, and then release our software often.”
That has been the case with the Pixel 8 (Pro), and some of the AI features were introduced a few months after its launch, with more expected over the course of the phone’s life.
