Google launches Pixel 8 phones at $699 and $999, second version of Pixel Watch (updated)
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Updated 11:07 a.m.: The prices are in, with a bit of a hike. The Pixel 8 phone will sell starting at $699, which includes Pixel Buds Pro on preorders for a limited time, while the Pixel 8 Pro starts at $999, a price that includes the Pixel Watch 2 for preorders. Google is expanding Pixel support to seven years, including feature drops and security upgrades/fixes.
And with that, it's a wrap on Made by Google 2023, with the company's stock among stronger Communication Services gainers as the event finished up: (NASDAQ:GOOG) +1.6%, (NASDAQ:GOOGL) +1.5%.
Updated 10:31 a.m.: It's phone time, as the company rolls out "The next evolution of AI in your hand," Osterloh said. Notably, the base Pixel phone gets a little smaller, while the Pixel 8 Pro keeps the larger size of last year's Pixel 7 Pro.

The phones incorporate the company's custom silicon in the Tensor G3 chip. New spotlight colors include "Bay Blue" and "Porcelain."
Google is also partnering with iFixit to offer parts and guides to make its phones easier to repair. 
As for camera upgrades, the new phones have a 50-megapixel main sensor along with a better telephoto lens and selfie autofocus. Google is promising the best improvements to video performance, include low-light strength and improvements to auto-focus and skin-tone accuracy. And a video version of Google's "Magic Eraser" helps pull potentially distracting audio interruptions out of videos.
A feature drop promised for December will bring Video Boost, which will bring in cloud AI power to edit all frames in a big video -- and Google used a side-by-side comparison with iPhone video footage to take a swing at its tech rival.
Google also rolled out the "coming soon" Assistant with Bard, new integration of its large language models into its smart assistant.
Updated 10:24 a.m.: After Osterloh's general intro to the Pixel ecosystem, Google's James Park jumped into the Pixel Watch 2. The updates include more durable cover glass and a lighter housing, along with new bands including a new sport design.
Notably, for the range-sensitive, it claims 24 hours of use from a single charge, along with fast charging (a 12-hour charge in 30 minutes of charging). Park also promised more integration with Google's Fitbit app, enhanced by new AI features.
The new watch starts at $349, with preorders starting Wednesday and shipping next week. It includes six months of Fitbit Premium.
Original item: Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) set up an official launch of its new phones and the second iteration of its smartwatch at Wednesday morning's Made by Google event -- once again, a well-telegraphed confab after the company teased new hardware at its earlier I/O developer conference.
Google's phone hardware plans have evolved into one of the industry's worst-kept secrets. Following a long series of leaks, Google spent September teasing two new phones, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Meanwhile, last year's Made by Google introduced the Pixel Watch, the company's broadside against the already popular Apple Watch (AAPL), and this year brings version 2 of that wearable.
As usual, after all those leaks the key question will be the phones' price point, after a set of somewhat more substantial upgrades than in 2022.
The Pixel devices have seen "so many breakthrough features and technological firsts," hardware chief Rick Osterloh said in kicking off the event. "What I'm most proud of is how consistently we've tracked to that early vision of Pixel as the AI-centric mobile computer."
The first product out of the gate, though, was an update to the company's Pixel Buds Pro earbuds, highlighting the use of Bluetooth Super Wide Band to improve voice quality on calls, and employing artificial intelligence to help the earbuds pause audio when it detects conversation.
Stay tuned here for live updates from Made by Google.

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