To make matters worse, the big new hardware addition, HiLight – an LED notification light on the back of the phone – is severely limited in what it can actually do. At launch, the feature lets you know who’s calling you (as long as you remember which colour has been assigned to the person in question) and shows that Google Gemini is actively listening to you. That’s it.
Luke Baker
Given that Nothing has already shown off a much better version of backlight notifications through its Glyph Light system, it beggars belief that Google hasn’t followed suit. If you were thinking that Google deserved the benefit of the doubt and that the limitations of HiLight were down to the software onboard, let me break some bad news to you. Someone has gone ahead and hacked the thing, showing that it can be used for far more than it’s currently doing.
The question now is, why didn’t Google implement this from the jump? Has the company given up when it comes to hardware? Unfortunately, I think the answer is yes.
The big AI gamble
As disappointed as I am in Google’s hardware output this generation, the same can’t be said for its software. During its big unveiling of Android 17 and all the upgrades therein, I was impressed with the way that Gemini could be used to carry out app actions on the user’s behalf.
Even smaller additions such as Pause Point felt like an intentional update that really understood what users want from a smartphone in 2026. The flip side of this is that it shows where Google’s focus is right now.
At this point, Google has pumped billions upon billions of dollars into AI and its Gemini platform, and it’s simply too far down the rabbit hole to change course. Either it goes all-in on making its version of AI the best, or admits a defeat that could have colossal ramifications for the tech industry at large. It’s not an enviable position to be in, particularly as the path that Google has charted is partly to blame for its hardware neglect in the first place.
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