Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “The Future of Smartphones with Google’s CEO”.
Hey Aaron: how are you thanks for coming all the way from Nottingham this Sunday, the CEO of Google, my son is going to be excited. I’M doing this, you watch the videos. Your review is what he cares about. Oh, my God, and he’s about to show us what the future of smartphones looks like he’s, the one who will introduce your videos to me he’s like we’re all curious. We’Ve seen Burns drastically changing every single year, so suddenly it seemed like they stopped congrats.
I heard you got to engage this year. Yes, yes, we’re planning our wedding. Now, that’s awesome! That’S it I’ve traveled halfway across the world to find out from the one person who actually does have the answers. This is going to be fun.
Have you watched any of our videos, of course yeah, which is your favorite, the pixel 7 Pro? That makes me so happy? Oh, it’s good! Okay! So what we’re really interested in is the future of the smartphone Google’s launched uh foldable phone. Why it’s a good question! We are trying to push the frontier of what’s possible at the end of the day. These are Computing devices you’re trying to do a lot with them. You want to be very productive.
You want them to entertain you giving people more functionality in a device they are carrying is what we are trying to do. Something confuses me about foldables, so I’ve got one in my pocket here. If you look at this form factor, you’ve got glass, you’ve got components. You’Ve got glass, you’ve got components, glass components.
Is this: the finished product you know, you’ve got three sets of cameras, two displays you can only ever use one at once. Is this it? Oh, it’s a good question. Look. I think it will be it for some people.
The benefits it gives will outweigh some of the trade-offs they have. They are bigger and bulkier, though this year we made it thin enough that the front screen almost is like my regular phone. So I don’t feel the trade-off when I use it, but I love when I can multitask on two apps. I love when I can put it as a tabletop, so you’re actually using a fold.
Okay, I’ve been testing a fold for a while. Now I use both there are things I’m like well. I’D rather have my regular phone. There are times I’m like.
Oh love. What the fall does so in what kind of situations would you rather have your regular phone if I’m just traveling and I’m busy in a day and all I’m doing is pulling out on quick checking email, I’m like well, I would rather take a lighter phone, but You also see this as like a transitory thing, so this isn’t the destination. This is the journey towards something in the future. That’S right, yeah! This is for people who want to live on that future event right.
It gives you these amazing capabilities, but I do think there’s more to be done here, yeah in this category as a whole, so you know the rules and so do I. I guess for you, what is the future of the smartphone, because AI has talked a lot about here. Is that the future? As far as you see it more on the software end as opposed to the hardware Innovation, I don’t think AI will will make it so much more natural and intuitive to interact which it isn’t today we’re at the early stages of all of this, but just with Natural language or when you look at something – and you want your phone to understand it – that’s the direction of where Computing will go. We’Ve always had humans adapt to Computing, which is the other way about, and AI is what will actually enable computers to actually adapt to humans.
The way we look and the way we talk us adapting to a interface in a computer you’re talking about how people have to figure out how to search for things. That’S right. We’Ve learned to type in a really unnatural way to get the answers we want, whereas it’s moving towards just being able to type the sentences. The way you would say them.
You know we see this in some Emerging Markets. If people haven’t used phones before they do a lot of their queries by voice because they don’t have this preconceived notions of how to do it, so it’s an exciting Direction, but the end form factor the future version of these phones or a pair of glasses. All that is to be played out. How does that AR glasses and stuff relate to foldables? Do you think that that’s a direct replacement? I don’t think so. I think you will have a primary Computing device in an increasingly phone sellback for people. What we are doing with the folders pushing the boundaries of what a phone can be, giving them expanded capabilities in a in a phone like form factor. You know there will be other things to go with. The phone watches are one example.
Glasses will be one down. The line, so you imagine glasses as being like an accessory to the phone at least preliminary that’s right. That is more nearer term yeah than like a fully immersive Computing device on your head all the time just because I’ve had the state of the technology is today. It’S really hard to imagine right now that being a thing yeah, that’s right! You think it’s a layoff still. It depends on uh a lot of planes today, it’s good to do this outdoors, I guess uh, but you know it depends on what, if you’re really into gaming may not be too far away where, because of the immersion, it offers it kind of meets that product Market fact, but for a general purpose, Computing device. I think we still have a while to go so Cinder said that foldables aren’t really the end destination, but the small phones are here to stay as people’s main devices, which I agree with.
We’Ve developed such deep habits with our smartphones that it’s going to be really hard for any new piece of tech to replace them, but then what is the future of phones? Okay, so AI great AI is a huge part of this picture. Now I was watching Google announce the magic editor and I literally I got goosebumps watching. I thought it was incredible and I’m so excited about it, but at the same time it does make me think.
Does any part of you worry about the inauthenticity of a photos at that point, which is why I think it’s important in the context of Google photos. This is designed for. I didn’t quite get this right.
Maybe there was an awkward bag in the middle. Let me brush it all up it’s to create memories. It’S a good question: where is the line yeah, which is why, when we talk about public images at large, we are also talking about watermarking metadata, making sure the world understands something is AI generating today, you’re, always in your personal life. If someone is coming you’re like quick, adjusting a living room to make it nice right, is it authentic or not right, you care about those things, so I think you’re just giving people the power to do that in their context of their digital memory.
But you are right, I think there is a Continuum in these things. I trust people to figure this out, there’s a lot of talk about kind of doing this responsibly, and I think it’s totally right to take it slow and not rush to the end point to do that. One of the things that I worry about is not even the fact that this AI can fall into the hands of Bad actors. But it’s more just the fact that, even in a best case situation, if AI does really well – and it does exactly what we’re trying to make it do then what happens to us as humans.
Every kid born into the world accepts every bit of technology that exists at the time when they were born, so a kid being born into the world of AI, where they can have their essays written for them have their emails written for them. What do they do? In their life like what are they, you know, we were always worried as Humanity about every new technology currently calculators. Have they made kids worse than mad or better or whatever humans are incredibly resourceful, creative resilient and and they adapt AI is definitely powerful technology. You know I once said: AISD most profound technology: humanity is working on more profound than fire or electricity or anything that we have done in the past.
So I understand the sentiment behind the question. I wonder about the same question all the time, but I think done correctly in liberate YouTube channel, whatever you want to do, and you have powerful tools to enable you to do that, how we find meaning. I mean these are deep questions, but I think we will value and cherish those human experiences if you’re a doctor, you’re spending a lot of of time, doing everything other than actually spending time with the patient and talking as it free you up, so that your time Is more spent on those moments? It’S a very hard line.
Isn’T it, but AI is developing very quickly. It almost feels like we’re chasing after it like trying to keep on top of it. I guess I worry that a school curriculum, for example, can very easily factor in the calculators Exist by just making calculated papers. How does the school factor in that people can self-write their essays? How do tools keep up with that? Well, you know you could imagine. Maybe a teacher is judging people by getting them together in a class and asking them to discuss a topic.
Well, those are all adaptations that are possible. These questions were asked about. Google search the fact you can find anything online like what does it mean to have that information? I watch YouTube all the time to learn on any topic that exists in the world. I would think that’s a good thing. You’Re now making this accessible to pretty much everyone on the world, and I think that’s good, but your point about the pace of change being very fast. I think that’s real and you have to give time for society to adapt to it and that’s going to be the tension, as we make progress here sure send us definitely a tech Optimist, but I do agree with this point. Even though there are a million ways that AI could cause societal problems, our best chance of avoiding that is to take our time developing it, I’ve got a few rapid-fired questions.
Just to finish off what phone do you use? Okay, now it’s the pixel 7 Pro okay, but I’m testing. I I use everything from a Samsung Galaxy to the new pixel phone to the iPhone. Your sim goes all over the place.
I just have extra numbers too: okay, light mode or dark mode defense. I love dark mode, but then I occasionally miss being in light mode I switch back. Then I go back and forth, I’m still on the fence: okay, but dark mode on the average yeah. If you had to pick between a bigger battery and a better camera better camera wireless charging wireless charging, but then you find that more convenient. You know: okay, it’s kind of a joke. Semi-Serious uh there’s currently a petition right now to make me one of the voices of Google assistant.
Oh, where can I hand my resume? I was so hard to say you should hand it to Bard, but you can you can send it to me later. Send it to me later so we can start them. Okay, that sounds good. I’M a good voice.
It may work out. .