Google's big hardware keynote earlier this month gave everyone exactly what August keynotes are for: a new phone lineup, a stack of on-device AI demos, and a fortnight of people arguing about whether any of it is useful or just a good way to flatten a battery. I watched it, I rolled my eyes at the bits that deserved it, and then I went looking for the one line that actually changes what I'd recommend to someone.
The AI features got the airtime, and I get why. They demo brilliantly and they're the story the whole industry wants to tell this year. But on-device cleverness is the part most likely to be quietly retired in a couple of years, so I file it under "nice if it lasts" and move on. The thing I genuinely cared about was the support commitment underneath: the promise of years of updates with dates attached. That's not a stage moment, but it's the difference between a phone and a paperweight.
Everyone's got an opinion on the keynote this week. Mine is dull and unfashionable: judge it on the update policy and the repairability, not the demo reel. The clever features are a loan. The support window is the contract, and that's the only part of any keynote I've ever been glad I read closely.