> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://spyglass.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Google (Again) Brings a Comedian to a Tech Keynote - URL: https://spyglass.org/google-pixel-event-trevor-noah/ - Published: 2026-08-13T21:23:29.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-17T10:34:00.000Z - Description: The 'Made by Google' event clearly isn't for me. But is it for anyone? - Author: M.G. Siegler - Tags: pixel, google, gemini, ai, android, iphone, apple, tech On the plus side, it wasn't as bad [as last year](https://spyglass.org/google-pixel-event-2025/). On the minus side, it was still pretty bad. Look, I'm clearly – *clearly* – not the intended audience for [the 'Made by Google' events](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c84y9gAY90c&ref=spyglass.org). But then again, shouldn't I be? I'm a sort of tech-obsessed user that upgrades my smartphone every year. Yes, that's been an iPhone for the past 19 years,[1](#one) but I often [tend to buy a Pixel device too](https://spyglass.org/pixel-fold-versus-iphone/) because I'm curious! Yes, that's crazy. And yes, I'm not at all a typical user. But with the cards – and devices – played right, I could, theoretically, be someone who moves to a Pixel phone as my primary device one day, *right*?[2](#two) I mean, not if I'm watching this presentation. Again, Trevor Noah was a far better MC than Jimmy Fallon was last year. But the bar was so comically low – pun actually intended – that almost anyone would have been an upgrade. Sure, my own personal preferences naturally finds Noah funnier than Fallon, but he also just seemed decidedly more chill and at ease than Fallon and, as such, a lot of his jokes landed with less of a cringey thud. Of course those jokes were almost always negated by the Google employees he was playing against as they were clearly far more worried about sticking to the script. And it's hard to blame them, they're not comedians nor actors. But they are asked to be here. It's a fucking weird strategy for a product unveiling! Again, clearly I'm not the audience. But who that audience is, I don't know. People who are fans of the various celebrities they showcased, I guess. But even then, is that really a good acquisition strategy? How much are they paying these people to hawk these products and how many purchases will it actually lead to? Clearly Google can measure this. Are they? Or are they just hoping for some kind of halo effect? Are they just hoping for more views on YouTube? What's the ROI? I would *like* to give Google credit for trying something different. This is *not* an Apple keynote. But I gave them credit for that last year. It didn't work, yet they doubled down. Again, Noah is an upgrade over Fallon, but the format just doesn't work. At least for me. And I assume for many. It still just feels like an infomercial. It's like when Meta has [tried to do keynotes](https://500ish.com/the-petal-to-the-meta-b9a06692e9a0?ref=spyglass.org) with laughably scripted "candid" conversations. But at least those were *actual* Meta employees who, [script aside](https://spyglass.org/metas-frenetic-connect-keynote/), were presumably *actually excited* about what was launching. Here, half of the presenters were actors and/or celebrities. Are they genuinely excited about new Pixel products? Maybe. But also maybe mainly because they're getting paid to be excited about them. Start the countdown to shots of them in the wild using iPhones... Again, the other half of the presenters were actual Google employees, but they were faced with the impossible task of acting against professionals. For the most part, they were actually pretty good at it, but still failed because it all just looks so scripted. *Because it was so scripted*! What is the point?! At least the events are live! (Aside from the many pre-recorded videos Noah would tee-up throughout.) As such, they do feel actually more *alive* than the last several years [of Apple events](https://spyglass.org/apple-iphone-17-event/). But again, sort of in an awkward way here. Staging aside, there was also this weird undercurrent throughout the event, highlighted by Noah again and again, which boiled down to: *we know we promised the last wave of AI was cool, but didn't really do much for you, *but this time, it's really cool**. Okay, but why would anyone buy that, quite literally, this time?[3](#three) Noah veered between seemingly improvising well – *as you'd hope!* – to awkwardly being forced to come back to the script. And again, that just serves to undermine the entire "performance".[4](#four) Is he actually excited about any of this? Even if he is, when we're asked to believe that he knows these random Google product managers well, casually sitting on the couch with them, just to catch up, it just all feels so fake.[5](#five) It's like Google doesn't quite understand what *actually* made Apple keynotes work. It's not the current, slick variety. It's the history behind them dating to when Steve Jobs would be on stage, [clearly excited](https://spyglass.org/steve-jobs-design/) and [enthusiastic](https://techcrunch.com/2009/09/17/the-importance-of-enthusiasm-in-any-product/?ref=spyglass.org) about what he was [showcasing](https://spyglass.org/made-apple-great-again/). That's what translates and what people want to see. In that regard, hiring actors to do this is the *opposite* of the point. --- **Update August 17, 2026**: As for one of the key features of the Pixel devices being shown off/touted... [The Pixel ‘HiLight’ is a LowLightWhat was Google thinking here?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/icon/Spyglass-Rings-----Multi-d473ce3f-d3dd-4be4-80f3-456560cce156.png)SpyglassM.G. Siegler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/thumbnail/KW_G_HiLite.max-1440x810-1-7aad8da3-2bfc-486b-afbe-86410713a994.jpg)](https://spyglass.org/google-pixel-hilight-lowlight/) --- 👇 ****Previously, on** ***Spyglass** **...** [Google’s Distractingly Smarmy Pixel EventNext time, let’s not use the talk show host or infomercial set?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/icon/Spyglass-Rings-----Multi-458b1e9f-a055-45ab-b2e5-de330792a1b0.png)SpyglassM.G. Siegler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/thumbnail/Screenshot-2025-08-20-at-10.25.34---PM-c2b33a1e-7f93-4550-9bd9-48f49dcd4d5e.png)](https://spyglass.org/google-pixel-event-2025/) --- 1 Yes, even for the 11 of those years that *I worked at Google*. Sorry, Google! [↩](#) 2 I can't decide if it was weird or smart to set up Alex Cooper as the Switcher-in-Residence. If it's legit, probably smart. But again, better not capture any shots of her with an iPhone! [↩](#) 3 Also, it all honestly felt decidedly AI-lite versus what you'd expect?! Then again, maybe that shouldn't be a huge surprise [at this particular moment in time](https://spyglass.org/google-deepmind-hassabis-dean-gemini/)? [↩](#) 4 The parts with his fellow South African, Noel, while obviously staged, were also by far the best of the bunch. Fun/funny banter. [↩](#) 5 Which is honestly a bit annoying when say, the ASL demo is so awesome. In ways, this felt like a *distraction* from the technology. [↩](#)