CES 2024 is in full swing right now, and Google has made a ton of new announcements, ranging from Google Cast support for LG TVs to a new intuitive way of sending media from your Pixel phone to thePixel Tablet. But among those big announcements, one little detail went under the radar. The new 3D mascot for Android actually has an official name, and it isn’t something we’ve been calling it all along.
The green bugdroid has been Android’s identity for well over a decade and has become synonymous with Google’s smartphone operating system.It has gone through a series of changes all these years, and Google has used it quite playfully to project Android’s fun image. A few months ago,the mascot got a big visual upgrade, giving it a 3D persona so that it can be represented equally well digitally as well as in real life with those striking sculptures at Google headquarters. But even then, the company didn’t reveal (or even hint at) what the mascot is called and kept referring to it with a generic robot moniker.
But during the ongoing CES, Google finally revealed what it’s called. Theofficial announcement blog postfrom the company refers to it as The Bot (via9to5Google). While not quite a funky, anthropomorphized name we expected considering the whole new personality it gained with the last redesign, The Bot is still quite an uncomplicated name that should be easy to remember.
Like every year, this year’s CES is happening in Las Vegas as well, where The Bot also made an appearance on the grand Sphere. You could see it in many avatars on that giant igloo-shaped screen. Besides that, Google also created an AR-based guided tour of its CES booth, which is perhaps the biggest one so far at any CES, considering Google has expanded its product and service portfolio so much in the last few years.We have put together a list of everything Google has announced at the CES 2024, courtesy of our own Will Sattelberg, who is on the ground at the CES, along with AP’s Gadgets Editor Taylor Kerns, to bring you everything fun and quirky from this year’s first tech extravaganza.
Among other announcements from Google, the most notable one isthe renaming of Nearby Share to Quick Share— the latter has been a Samsung feature, but the two services are now coming together. With this merger, Google intends to expand Quick Share’s compatibility across brands and devices, and you should start seeing the change sooner rather than later. Besides that,LG TVs released 2024 onwards will ship with Chromecast built-infor casting your media from your phone to the TV.
Google Pixel 8 Pro
The Google Pixel 8 Pro is still a good deal in 2025, with plenty of software support and a premium flagship experience. The Tensor G3 is powerful enough for most tasks, and you’ll enjoy plenty of Pixel extras on Android 15. If you’re in the market for a Pixel but don’t want to pay flagship prices, the Pixel 8 Pro is worth a look.
