What we’re excited about from the Google event

Every year, Google releases an affordable version of its flagship smartphone, and this year’s $500 Pixel 7a is our budget pick for the best Android phone. From its colorful design to its excellent cameras, the 7a hits the sweet spot of price and features.

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If you’re upgrading from an older Android phone (or considering a switch from iPhone), the 7a offers premium features like a smooth scrolling display, wireless charging, Face Unlock, and Google’s latest processor for much less than comparable phones from Apple and Samsung.

Even the best Android tablets are pretty awful. But Google’s new $500 Pixel Tablet could give Apple’s entry-level iPad a run for its money. In our hands-on time with the tablet, we were particularly impressed with its included wireless charging dock, which turns the Pixel Tablet into a smart display when you’re not using the device. Stay tuned for our full review when the Pixel Tablet is released June 20.

Foldable phones haven’t quite caught on yet, mainly because they’re way too expensive. Google’s new $1,800 Pixel Fold, due out in June, isn’t a game-changer on that front, but we do appreciate its wider design, which makes it easier to use than Samsung’s equally expensive Galaxy Z Fold 4.

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We’re still not quite convinced anyone needs a foldable, but we’re excited to do a deeper dive on the Pixel Fold next month.

But perhaps the biggest announcements of Google I/O were all about AI. Google is betting big on new features powered by artificial intelligence, like a Gmail tool called Help Me Write that composes your emails for you.

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And Google Search is about to look a whole lot different, with a new conversational mode that uses AI to generate results based on prompts you type in. These features will slowly make their way to all of us this year. 

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And if there’s anything we didn’t cover ... just Google it.