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Pixel Watch.

Google

Google on Thursday announced the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro phones and its first watch, the Pixel Watch. The devices were first teased during Google’s developer event in May, but the company used an event in New York City to provide more detail about each new product, such as what’s new, how much they’ll cost and when you can buy them.

The Pixel is gaining momentum, but it still has just a fraction of the phone market. During Alphabet’s earnings call for the first quarter, CEO Sundar Pichai said the Pixel Series 6 is the “fastest-selling Pixel ever” and said the company set an all-time quarterly sales record. The company hopes that it can carry that momentum with the new Pixel 7.

Pixel 7 Pro.

Google

Google makes most of its money from advertising and doesn’t report revenue directly from its hardware products. The company reports an “other” revenue segment, which includes hardware, Play Store, and non-advertising YouTube revenue. In the second quarter of this year, the company said it brought in “other” revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, down slightly from $6.62 billion the prior year. Conversely, Apple made $50.5 billion in iPhone revenue during its second quarter.

The Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel Watch launch Oct. 13.

Here’s what you need to know about them.

The Pixel Watch has Fitbit built in

Pixel Watch.

Google

The Pixel Watch will embed health tracking features from Fitbit, which Google acquired for about $2.1 billion.

You can use Fitbit on the watch to track workouts, how well you slept, steps taken and more. If you’ve already used a Fitbit, it will sync right up with the existing app you already have on your phone. The Pixel Watch also comes with a six-month Fitbit premium membership. The service includes access to more than 200 workouts, offers information on how sleep and heart rate trends have changed over time and more.

But, like the Apple Watch, it has smartwatch features, too. It runs the company’s Wear OS software, which allows you to download apps from the Google Play Store. And it ties seamlessly into Google’s products such as Wallet, Gmail, Calendar and Google Home. The Pixel Watch only works with Android phones.

Google says the Pixel Watch can last up to 24 hours on a single charge, which is six hours longer than the Apple Watch Series 8.

The Pixel Watch starts at $349.99 for Bluetooth and WiFi and $399.99 for 4G LTE. Like Apple’s Series 8, it has Emergency SOS. The company says it will add fall detection later this year.

Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro

Pixel 7 all colors.

Google

The $599 Pixel 7 and $899 Pixel 7 Pro are the first phones to run on Google’s new Tensor G2 chip. It shows Google is continuing to build its own chips instead of using a chip from Qualcomm, which it ditched last year when it launched the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. The Tensor processor helps enable features that Google said it couldn’t provide otherwise, such as increased camera functions, on-device translation and more.

Google said the Pixel 7 has a 6.3-inch screen that’s 25% brighter than last year’s model for improved visibility outdoors. It’ll be offered with 128GB and 256GB of storage, which is plenty for most people, though folks who need more space to save big files such as videos should consider the Pixel 7 Pro, which ships with up to 512GB of storage.

Google’s Pixels have been known to have some of the best cameras on the market in past years. We don’t know how the Pixel 7 will match up just yet, but Google says it’s made improvements.

Google bumped the resolution of the back camera up to 50 megapixels, which should offer sharper images than last year’s phones. And, despite the cheaper price, the Pixel 7 has the same front-facing, main and ultrawide sensors as the more expensive model, but doesn’t have the added zoom lens on the back.

Pixel 7 Pro colors.

Google

The Pixel 7 Pro has a few other high-end trimmings. It has more memory, which should make apps and multitasking feel faster, and has a better display with a sharper resolution and higher peak brightness outdoors. It also has a higher refresh rate, just like the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which means scrolling through websites or playing games will look smoother.

You can order the new phones and watch beginning Thursday ahead of their Oct. 13 release.

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Amazon CEO Jassy says AI will lead to ‘fewer people doing some of the jobs’ that get automated

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Amazon CEO Jassy says AI will lead to 'fewer people doing some of the jobs' that get automated

AI will change the workforce, says Amazon CEO Andy Jassy

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the rapid rollout of generative artificial intelligence means the company will one day require fewer employees to do some of the work that computers can handle.

“Like with every technical transformation, there will be fewer people doing some of the jobs that the technology actually starts to automate,” Jassy told CNBC’s Jim Cramer in an interview on Monday. “But there’s going to be other jobs.”

Even as AI eliminates the need for some roles, Amazon will continue to hire more employees in AI, robotics and elsewhere, Jassy said.

Earlier this month, Jassy admitted that he expects the company’s workforce to decline in the next few years as Amazon embraces generative AI and AI-powered software agents. He told staffers in a memo that it will be “hard to know exactly where this nets out over time” but that the corporate workforce will shrink as Amazon wrings more efficiencies out of the technology.

It’s a message that’s making its way across the tech sector. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff last week claimed AI is doing 30% to 50% of the work at his software vendor. Other companies such as Shopify and Microsoft have urged employees to adopt the technology in their daily work. The CEO of Klarna said in May that the online lender has managed to shrink its headcount by about 40%, in part due to investments in AI and natural attrition in its workforce.

Jassy said on Monday that AI will free employees from “rote work” and “make all our jobs more interesting,” while enabling staffers to invent better services more quickly than before.

Amazon and other tech companies have also been shrinking their workforces through rolling layoffs over the past several years. Amazon has cut more than 27,000 jobs since the start of 2022, and it’s announced smaller, more targeted layoffs in its retail and devices units in recent months.

Amazon shares are flat so far this year, underperforming the Nasdaq, which has gained 5.5%. The stock is about 10% below its record reached in February, while fellow megacaps Meta, Microsoft and Nvidia are all trading at or very near record highs.

WATCH: Jassy says robots that will eventually do delivery and transportation

Over time we will have robots that will do delivery and transportation, says Amazon CEO Andy Jassy

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Stablecoin issuer Circle applies for a national bank charter

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Stablecoin issuer Circle applies for a national bank charter

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), on the day of Circle Internet Group’s IPO, in New York City, U.S., June 5, 2025.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group has applied for a national trust bank charter, moving forward on its mission to bring stablecoins into the traditional financial world after the firm’s big market debut this month, CNBC confirmed.

Shares rose 1% after hours.

If the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency grants the bank charter, Circle will establish the First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A. Under the charter, Circle, which issues the USDC stablecoin, will also be able to offer custody services in the future to institutional clients for assets, which could include representations of stocks and bonds on a blockchain network.

Reuters first reported on Circle’s bank charter application.

There are no plans to change the management of Circle’s USDC reserves, which are currently held with other major banks.

Anchorage Digital is the only other crypto company to obtain such a license.

Circle’s move comes after a wildly successful IPO and debut trading month on the public markets. Shares of the company are up 484% in June. The company is also benefiting from a wave of optimism after the Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act, which would give the U.S. a regulatory framework for stablecoins.

Having a federally regulated trust charter would also help Circle meet requirements under the GENIUS Act.

“Establishing a national digital currency trust bank of this kind marks a significant milestone in our goal to build an internet financial system that is transparent, efficient and accessible,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a statement shared with CNBC. “By applying for a national trust charter, Circle is taking proactive steps to further strengthen our USDC infrastructure.”

“Further, we will align with emerging U.S. regulation for the issuance and operation of dollar-denominated payment stablecoins, which we believe can enhance the reach and resilience of the U.S. dollar, and support the development of crucial, market neutral infrastructure for the world’s leading institutions to build on,” he said.

Don’t miss these cryptocurrency insights from CNBC Pro:

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Meta shares hit all-time high as Mark Zuckerberg goes on AI hiring blitz

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Meta shares hit all-time high as Mark Zuckerberg goes on AI hiring blitz

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., during the Meta Connect event on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images


Meta shares hit a record high on Monday, underscoring investor interest in the company’s new AI superintelligence group.

The company’s shares reached $747.90 during midday trading, topping Meta’s previous stock market record in February when it began laying off the 5% of its workforce that it deemed “low performers.”

Meta joins Microsoft and Nvidia among tech megacaps that have reached new highs of late, all closing at records Monday. Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Tesla remain below their all-time highs reached late last year or early this year.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been on an AI hiring blitz amid fierce competition with rivals such as OpenAI and Google parent Alphabet. Earlier in June, Meta said it would hire Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and some of his colleagues as part of a $14.3 billion investment into the executive’s data labeling and annotation startup.

The social media company also hired Nat Friedman and his business partner, Daniel Gross, the chief of Safe Superintelligence, an AI startup with a valuation of $32 billion, CNBC reported on June 19. Meta’s attempts to buy Safe Superintelligence were rebuffed by the startup’s founder and AI expert Ilya Sutskever, the report noted.

Wang and Friedman are the leaders of Meta’s new Superintelligence Labs, tasked with overseeing the company’s artificial intelligence foundation models, projects and research, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. The term superintelligence refers to technology that exceeds human capability.

Bloomberg News first reported about the new superintelligence unit.

Meta has also snatched AI researchers from OpenAI. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, said during a podcast that Meta was offering signing bonuses as high as $100 million.

Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s technology chief, spoke about the social media company’s AI hiring spree during a June 20 interview with CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime,” saying that the talent market is “really incredible and kind of unprecedented in my 20-year career as a technology executive.”

WATCH: Meta’s AI talent spending spree

Meta escalated talent war with OpenAI

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