Google steers towards a positive future with its latest tech toolkit
Focusing on conscious design and minimal finishes, Made by Google launches its fourth range of hardware

Google: a brand known for turning itself into an adjective, and transforming the Internet into the intuitive beast it is today. Most recently though, our eyes have been drawn to its design initiatives, including the Made by Google hardware, which has just dropped its fourth collection.
Streamed live from New York City, inside The Shed on Hudson Yards, the keynote was presented with Google's ethos – ‘making life easier everyday’ – at the fore. During the presentation, sustainability entered conversation quite quickly. Rick Osterloh, senior vice president at Google, proudly noted the brand has been carbon neutral since 2007. Evidence of this appears in the 100 per cent recycled plastic fabrics that dress the newest digital assistant, Nest Mini – each one equates to half a plastic bottle. Spearheading the design department, head of design Ivy Ross was sure to mention that conscious efforts doesn’t hinder her meticulous aesthetic, ‘design is about solving problems for people,’ she stated at the keynote.
From the new roster of products, it’s the gaming tool that has significant design appeal. Launching with Google’s Stadia software, its all encompassing gaming platform, the console is minimal and ergonomically built. ‘We wanted the controller to be comfortable in the hands of all gamers,’ Ross says, and to reach this, the team turned to a utilitarian tool for inspiration – knives and their handles.
In the midst of reitering its mission to not let technology interupt your life but enhance it, Google presented other new wares including its latest laptop, the Pixelbook Go. The ultra thin model (13mm) is made for a nomadic lifestyle, and exists in the ‘Just Black’ and ‘Not Pink’ hues, with a satisfying rippled texture at its base for extra grip.
‘What is a simpler form than a circle?’ asks industrial designer Isabelle Olsson when discussing the design of the new Pixel Earbuds that sees the original earbuds turned wireless and given a subtle reshape. The audio instruments fit flush with the ear, allowing you to forget they’re plugged in, while AI technology controls the volume for you, altering naturally against our noise polluted environments.
In April, Google’s blockbuster Milan Design Week exhibition combined neuroscience research with design, and showed the brand merging its tech innovations with other creative realms. This continues with its most recent collaboration with Annie Leibovitz, ‘I was very impressed how I relaxed with it, and glided with it,’ the photographer stated of the new Pixel 4 and its professional snapping capabilities.
Thanks to the work of Ross and her team, the Google hardware language is now identifiable against its competitors, and with this refresher toolkit, Google continues to embed its USP: ‘Our mission is to bring a more helpful Google today.’
INFORMATION
-
Last chance to see: Sharjah Biennial 15, ‘Thinking Historically in the Present’
Built on the vision of late curator Okwui Enwezor, the Sharjah Biennial 15: ‘Thinking Historically in the Present’ offers a critical reframing of postcolonial narratives through major new commissions
By Amah-Rose Abrams • Published
-
For London Gallery Weekend 2023, the mood is hardcore
With London Gallery Weekend 2023 almost upon us (2 – 4 June), here’s our list of must-see art exhibitions
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Birkenstock celebrates its most memorable styles with colourful capsule (and matching socks)
Birkenstock marks the 40th, 50th and 60th anniversaries of the Gizeh, Arizona and Madrid sandals, respectively, with limited-edition versions
By Jack Moss • Published
-
The new Google Pixel Fold is the tech giant’s first foray into foldables
The announcement of Google’s first foldable should shake up the market for these esoteric mobile devices: how does it compare to the competition?
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Google Pixel 7a, the company’s newest mass-market model, joins an expanded Pixel eco-system
Slimmed down and slightly shrunken, the Google Pixel 7a still retains the core talents of the seventh edition of Google’s powerful phone series
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
The finest Google Doodles of all time
On 20 August 1998, a week before a two-year-old Google become an incorporated company, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were heading to Burning Man festival. To mark themselves ‘out of office’ on their email signatures, they decided to overlay the famous Burning Man stick-figure on the Google logo (which then came with a Yahoo-style exclamation mark, as if it needed to announce itself). The idea lay dormant until 2010, when then-intern Dennis Hwang (who went onto become Google webmaster, amongst other more recent titles) was tasked with decorating the logo for Bastille Day, sparking eight years of marking important moments in history with a graphic, digital ephitaph. What started as an ‘out of office’ scribble has become an artform, celebrating Calder to Kadinsky; Zaha Hadid to Mies van der Rohe.
By Elly Parsons • Last updated
-
Pixel 6 Pro is ‘premium redefined’ says Google’s Ivy Ross
Ivy Ross, Google’s vice president of Design for Hardware Products, on the design decisions behind the new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
The new Google Nest Hub is an alarm clock on steroids
Meet your new, improved and super smart bedtime companion
By Jonathan Bell • Last updated
-
Ivy Ross judges Wallpaper* Design Awards 2021
Ivy Ross, the vice president of design for hardware at Google, on the challenges of designing during a pandemic, and her thoughts on our annual Wallpaper* Design Award honours
By Pei-Ru Keh • Last updated
-
Step inside a song with Sonos and Google Assistant in London
Sound expert Sonos makes noise at a new exhibition, asking: ‘What does music really do to the mind?'
By Elly Parsons • Last updated
-
Google and Harman Kardon’s Citation 300 speaker is unfussy, powerful and convenient
By Jonathan Bell • Last updated