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Google announced its new series of Pixel smartphones, including the Google Pixel 10 Pro, which has new AI and durability features.

Google on Wednesday debuted its latest line of Pixel smartphones that prominently feature the Gemini assistant as artificial intelligence increasingly becomes the battleground where device companies compete.

The Alphabet company announced the Pixel 10 family of smartphones, saying the devices can use Google’s AI to do smart tasks, like quickly surfacing the address of an Airbnb when someone sends a text asking for it.

The Pixel 10 series includes several models and incorporates new AI and camera features. The baseline model, the Pixel 10, starts at $799 and is available in several colors. A more powerful Pixel 10 Pro starts at $999, and the Pixel 10 Pro XL with a larger screen and 256GB of base storage starts at $1,199. Google is also releasing an updated version of its folding phone, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, that starts at $1,799.

Google’s Pixel phone launch comes before Apple is expected to announce new iPhone models in September. While the Pixel typically has single-digit market share — far behind brands like Samsung, Motorola and Apple — the devices enable Google to release cutting-edge Android features without going through third-party hardware makers. The Pixel line of devices also allows Google to showcase how it believes its Android software compares with that of the iPhone.

The latest series of smartphones also have the potential to serve as a funnel for Google’s artificial intelligence services and subscriptions. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis previously described a vision for a universal assistant that “can seamlessly operate over any domain, any modality or any device.” Hassabis told employees at an all-hands meeting last year that “the products themselves are going to evolve massively over the next year or two.”

Google’s Gemini models are considered by critics to be more advanced than the models underpinning Apple Intelligence, the iPhone’s built-in AI suite.

Earlier this year, Apple delayed a big update to Siri until 2026, creating an opening for Google to secure a lead among AI-eager customers with its well-respected Gemini assistant, which can already hold a natural conversation and manage calendars and other apps. A Google Pixel 10 ad released earlier this month poked fun at Apple’s Siri delays.

“If you buy a new phone because of a feature that’s coming soon, but it’s coming soon for a full year, you could change your definition of soon, or change your phone,” the Pixel ad said.

Among the Pixel 10’s key AI features is “Magic Cue,” which Google said is an AI product that “brings a new level of personalized intelligence and helpfulness.”

If calling an airline, Magic Cue surfaces flight details “as soon as you dial,” the company says, adding that it is meant to anticipate the users’ needs and suggest “relevant information and helpful actions based on the context on your phone.”

Google released an updated version of its folding phone, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, which will cost at least $1799.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold, meanwhile, has the largest inner display among devices with foldable screens at 8 inches, Google said. The screen is built with two layers of anti-impact film for added drop protection. It also has a new “high-strength” hinge that the company says can handle over 10 years of folding.

Google touts the Fold’s “split screen” abilities which allows users to navigate to different apps on the two screens.

“Imagine planning a trip with friends by comparing flight details in one app and checking hotel availability in another,” the company said.

Already, Samsung appears to be gaining momentum with its line of foldable Galaxy Z Fold 7 phones. Analysts say Apple is expected to release its first foldable-screen iPhone as soon as 2026.

The Pixel series also incorporates Gemini Live, a Google product that allows back-and-forth chat about what the phone is “seeing” on its screen in real time. It’s built on Google’s image recognition prototype Project Astra, which the company announced last year.

For the smartphone camera, Google announced a new assistant called “Camera Coach,” that can describe the scene of a photo, offer suggestions, and recommend the best angle and lighting. It can also find and combine similar photos into one “where everyone looks their best.”

The Pixel 10 Pro phones come with a one-year subscription to Google’s “AI Pro” plan, which is typically $19 a month and gives users some extra Gemini features, priority access to AI products like NotebookLM and Veo 3 as well as extra storage.

Despite Google’s unique smartphone offerings, there haven’t been major signs that artificial intelligence has yet become a key driver of smartphone sales, or that users are deciding to switch from Apple’s platform to Android due to AI offerings. No major manufacturer has claimed the features have significantly boosted sales. But analysts say that eventually, Google could crack an AI feature that catches on among users and starts to erode Apple’s installed base. 

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How Broadcom’s big OpenAI deal fits into the data center boom and what it means for the AI trade

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Oracle CEO Magouyrk: ‘Of course’ OpenAI can pay $60 billion per year

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Oracle CEO Magouyrk: 'Of course' OpenAI can pay  billion per year

Oracle CEO, Clay Magouyrk, sits down with CNBC’s David Faber on Oct. 13, 2025.

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Oracle CEO Clay Magouyrk, one of the two people tapped last month to lead the software company, is confident that OpenAI will be able to cover the costs of the massive amount of cloud infrastructure services it consumes.

In an interview with CNBC’s David Faber at Oracle’s AI World conference on Monday, Magouyrk said “of course” OpenAI can pay $60 billion for a year’s worth of cloud resources. In July, OpenAI agreed to a five-year deal with Oracle that’s worth over $300 billion.

“Just look at the rate at which they’ve grown to, you know, almost a billion users. That’s just unheard of,” said Magouyrk, who sat alongside fellow Oracle CEO Mike Sicilia for the interview in Las Vegas.

OpenAI said last week that its flagship ChatGPT chatbot, which was publicly launched less than three years ago, now has 800 million weekly active users. In 2024, OpenAI recorded a $5 billion net loss.

Sicilia said Oracle has started integrating OpenAI artificial intelligence models into a patient portal for viewing electronic health records. Oracle acquired EHR vendor Cerner for about $28 billion in 2022.

“I’ve seen the results, and I really do think that they’re going to have a dramatic impact on industries, on enterprises of all types,” Sicilia said of OpenAI.

OpenAI rents out Nvidia graphics chips to run models through Oracle, as well as CoreWeave, Google and Microsoft. At the same time, the company is designing a custom AI processor that Broadcom will build. Earlier on Monday, Broadcom and OpenAI said they will jointly deploy 10 gigawatts worth of the new OpenAI chips.

Building out that much infrastructure requires a hefty amount of new energy.

“I think it’s a factor of time, not a factor of if we’ll have enough power,” Sicilia said.

Oracle shares rose almost 6% on Monday. The stock has gained 86% this year, lifting Oracle’s market cap close to $900 billion.

WATCH: Oracle CEO Magouyrk: ‘Of course’ OpenAI can pay $60 billion per year

Oracle CEO Magouyrk: ‘Of course’ OpenAI can pay $60 billion per year

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Quantum stocks surge after JPMorgan investing push into strategic tech

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Quantum stocks surge after JPMorgan investing push into strategic tech

Quantum computing background concept.

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The rally in quantum computing names continued on Monday after JPMorgan Chase announced it as one of the areas it would invest in as part of a new initiative.

The bank said in a release that it would invest up to $10 billion in companies across four areas: supply chain and advanced manufacturing, defense and aerospace, energy technology, and frontier and strategic technologies — which includes quantum computing.

Arqit Quantum, D-Wave Quantum and Rigetti Computing each rose about 20%, while IONQ gained 15% following the announcement. Quantum Computing stock climbed 10%.

“It has become painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products and manufacturing – all of which are essential for our national security,” said CEO Jamie Dimon in a statement.

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The initiative is part of a larger $1.5 trillion, decade-long plan, dubbed the “Security and Resiliency Initiative,” to finance and invest in industries JP Morgan deems critical to U.S. national and economic security.

As one of the 27 specified sub-areas the bank will be focusing on, quantum computing has seen gains as much as triple digits over the past month. Rigetti and D-Wave were up 175% and 130%, respectively.

Tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have shown significant interest in gate-model quantum computing, which can potentially solve problems too complex for standard computers.

Rigetti and IONQ quantum computers are accessible through Amazon Braket, a quantum computing service managed by Amazon Web Services.

In February, Microsoft unveiled its first quantum computing chip called Majorana 1, and Google announced its new breakthrough quantum chip named Willow late last year.

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