Google’s new Clips camera is an AI-powered lifelogger

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Google Clips
Google's now in the camera business.
Photo: Google

Are you the type of person who wants to log every single moment of life, but hate taking your camera out every few minutes just to take photos and videos? Well, Google has got the perfect new product for you.

It’s called Clips. The tiny little device is a camera. Only instead of packing a display and forcing you to click the shutter button, Clips does all the work of capturing moments for you thanks to the power of AI.

Google unveiled the new Clips camera at its big Pixel 2 event today, where the company also debuted a high-end Home Max speaker, wireless Pixel Buds and its first true MacBook competitor. Photography has never really been one of Google’s focuses when it comes to hardware, so the pint-size camera was one of the biggest shockers of the event.

Capturing clips with Google Clips

Google Clips
Clips is powered by AI, so you don’t have to worry about taking photos.
Photo: Google

What sets Clips apart from other lifelogging cameras we’ve seen is its ability to intelligently determine if a scene is worthy of being captured. If so, the camera automatically snaps photos and captures video. Powered by Google’s machine learning, Clips looks for good moments to capture as soon as you turn it on.

During the keynote, Google really marketed the device toward parents. It’s a great way to capture those tender moments of your kids when your hands are full. But we can also see it being used in a wide variety of cases, from sports to concerts and beyond.

All of the clips sync with your Android or iPhone via the Google Clips app. The device lights up while it’s shooting, so you know when it’s capturing footage. That should mean you won’t find any surprises when you go to view your highlight reel.

A Google Clips launch date hasn’t been announced yet other than “coming soon.” But it’ll hit stores with a price tag of $249 when it finally debuts.

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