how to make a google classroom assignment

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Google Classroom  - Creating Assignments and Materials

Google classroom  -, creating assignments and materials, google classroom creating assignments and materials.

Google Classroom: Creating Assignments and Materials

Lesson 2: creating assignments and materials.

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Creating assignments and materials

Google Classroom gives you the ability to create and assign work for your students, all without having to print anything. Questions , essays , worksheets , and readings can all be distributed online and made easily available to your class. If you haven't created a class already, check out our Getting Started with Google Classroom lesson.

Watch the video below to learn more about creating assignments and materials in Google Classroom.

Creating an assignment

Whenever you want to create new assignments, questions, or material, you'll need to navigate to the Classwork tab.

In this tab, you can create assignments and view all current and past assignments. To create an assignment, click the Create button, then select Assignment . You can also select Question if you'd like to pose a single question to your students, or Material if you simply want to post a reading, visual, or other supplementary material.

This will bring up the Assignment form. Google Classroom offers considerable flexibility and options when creating assignments.

Click the buttons in the interactive below to become familiar with the Assignment form.

This is where you'll type the title of the assignment you're creating.

Instructions

If you'd like to include instructions with your assignment, you can type them here.

Here, you can decide how many points an assignment is worth by typing the number in the form. You can also click the drop-down arrow to select Ungraded if you don't want to grade an assignment.

You can select a due date for an assignment by clicking this arrow and selecting a date from the calendar that appears. Students will have until then to submit their work.

In Google Classroom, you can sort your assignments and materials into topics. This menu allows you to select an existing topic or create a new one to place an assignment under.

Attachments

You can attach files from your computer , files from Google Drive , URLs , and YouTube videos to your assignments.

Google Classroom gives you the option of sending assignments to all students or a select number .

Once you're happy with the assignment you've created, click Assign . The drop-down menu also gives you the option to Schedule  an assignment if you'd like it to post it at a later date.

You can attach a rubric to help students know your expectations for the assignment and to give them feedback.

Once you've completed the form and clicked Assign , your students will receive an email notification letting them know about the assignment.

Google Classroom takes all of your assignments and automatically adds them to your Google Calendar. From the Classwork tab, you can click Google Calendar to pull this up and get a better overall view of the timeline for your assignments' due dates.

Using Google Docs with assignments

When creating an assignment, there may often be times when you want to attach a document from Google Docs. These can be helpful when providing lengthy instructions, study guides, and other material.

When attaching these types of files, you'll want to make sure to choose the correct setting for how your students can interact with it . After attaching one to an assignment, you'll find a drop-down menu with three options.

Let's take a look at when you might want to use each of these:

• Students can view file : Use this option if the file is simply something you want your students to view but not make any changes to.
• Students can edit file : This option can be helpful if you're providing a document you want your students to collaborate on or fill out collectively.
• Make a copy for each student : If you're creating a worksheet or document that you want each student to complete individually, this option will create a separate copy of the same document for every student.

Using topics

On the Classwork tab, you can use  topics to sort and group your assignments and material. To create a topic, click the Create button, then select Topic .

Topics can be helpful for organizing your content into the various units you teach throughout the year. You could also use it to separate your content by type , splitting it into homework, classwork, readings, and other topic areas.

In our next lesson , we'll explore how to create quizzes and worksheets with Google Forms, further expanding how you can use Google Classroom with your students.

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• PC & Mobile

How to Create an Assignment in Google Classroom

Lee Stanton Lee Stanton is a versatile writer with a concentration on the software landscape, covering both mobile and desktop applications as well as online technologies. Read more September 22, 2021

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Google Classroom is one of the top tools for teaching online classes. If you’re a teacher, learning how to manage assignments on the platform is a great skill. In addition to creating them, you can save draft versions, copy them, schedule them to be sent later, choose which students receive them, etc.

If you’re new to Google Classroom and wondering how to make an assignment, you’ve come to the right place. This article will discuss assigning them to all or specific students as well as offer tips and tricks to fully take advantage of Google Classroom.

How to Create an Assignment in Google Classroom for Each Student

Sometimes, you’ll need to create different assignments for different students. Whether your students need extra homework, want a better grade, or received detention and need to make up a lesson, learning how to make assignments for individual students is essential. Fortunately, Google Classroom made the process easy.

How to Create an Assignment in Google Classroom for Each Student on a PC

Here’s how to make an assignment for individual students in Google Classroom:

• Go to Google Classroom .

• Select the students.

How to Create an Assignment in Google Classroom for Each Student on an Android

If you’re on the go or don’t have your computer nearby, you can use the Google Classroom app on your Android device. Although you may think it’s hard to work on a smaller screen, Google Classroom did an excellent job of making the process quick and simple.

Follow these steps to create assignments for each student on your Android device:

• Tap “All students” twice to deselect them.
• Type the names of the students to which you want to send the assignments.
• Tap “Assign” to send the assignment right away or schedule it.

How to Create an Assignment in Google Classroom for Each Student on an iPhone or iPad

The Google Classroom app is also available for iPhone/iPad users. Creating an assignment for each student can be done in several clicks. Follow the instructions below to make an assignment for individual students on your iPhone/iPad:

• Add a student by typing their name. You can select up to 100 students.

How to Create an Assignment in Google Classroom for All Students

If you’ve prepared one assignment for the whole class, Google Classroom allows you to send it to all students at once. In fact, this is the default option that you can customize if necessary. You can also choose whether you want to save it as a draft, assign it right away, schedule it for later, etc.

How to Create an Assignment in Google Classroom for the Whole Class on a PC

Create an assignment for all students in your class by following the steps below:

How to Create an Assignment in Google Classroom for the Whole Class on an Android Device

If you’re not near your computer but want to send the assignment to your students, you can use the Google Classroom app for Android. Creating and sending an assignment on your Android is just as easy as doing it on your computer.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Double-check whether the “All students” option is selected.
• Send the assignment right away, schedule it for later, or save it as a draft.

How to Create an Assignment in Google Classroom for the Whole Class on an iPhone

iPhone/iPad users will be happy to know they can download the Google Classroom app from the App Store . Navigating through the app is straightforward, so you can create assignments for all your students even when you’re not at home or near your computer.

Here’s how to make an assignment in Google Classroom for all students on your iPhone/iPad:

How to Make a Copy of an Assignment in Google Classroom

If you have one assignment for multiple classes or want to use one from previous years, the good news is you don’t have to waste time creating it from scratch. Instead, Google Classroom offers the “Reuse” option that enables you to send an existing assignment to students in other classes.

How to Make a Copy of an Assignment in Google Classroom on a PC

If you’re using a PC and want to create a copy of an existing assignment, here’s what you need to do:

• Select the class to which you want to send the assignment.

• If you want, you can change information, customize the attachments or instructions.

How to Make a Copy of an Assignment in Google Classroom on an Android Device

Google Classroom’s “Reuse” option is perfect for when you’re not near your computer and want to “recycle” an old assignment. The Android app allows you to do this in just a few clicks:

• Edit the assignment’s information if you want.

How to Make a Copy of an Assignment in Google Classroom on an iPhone

iPhone/iPad users can copy an existing Google Classroom assignment and share it with a class or save it for later. Follow the steps below to do it:

• If needed, change information or edit existing attachments.

Google Classroom Has a Lot to Offer

As one of the best online teaching tools, Google Classroom allows you to take advantage of numerous options regarding assignments. It’s available on both your computer and phone/tablet, which makes creating assignments more convenient. If you’ve already created an assignment, you can easily copy it and send it to a different class, which can be a real time-saver.

We hope this article taught you how to make an assignment in Google Classroom. Along with that, we hope you learned additional information about the app’s useful options.

Have you ever used Google Classroom? Which option is your favorite? Tell us in the comments section below.

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How To Create An Assignment In Google Classroom

Google Classroom lets teachers teach from the cloud by organizing classes, responding to writing, checking file access, and more.

How Do You Create An Assignment In Google Classroom?

by TeachThought Staff

Google Classroom is a simple digital filing system provided by Google that allows teachers to teach from the cloud by organizing classes, responding to writing, checking file access, and more. We’ve provided ways teachers can use Google Classroom in the past. Below, we provide Google’s own how-to instructions on creating assignments in Google Classroom for PC, Android, and iOS.

You can read more on Google Classroom’s support page .

Create an assignment

•  Sign-in.
• Click the class.

• Enter the title and any instructions.

Change an assignment due date or time

By default, the assignment is due the next day. To change it:

• Click the date and select a date.
• (Optional) To set a due time, click  Time  and type a time.

Add materials to an assignment

You can add attachments, such as Google Drive files, YouTube videos, or links to your assignment.

• To upload a file, click Attach, select the file, and click Upload.

• Select the item and click Add .
• Students can view file —Students can read the file, but not change it.
• Students can edit file —Students can make changes to the file.
• Make a copy for each student —Students receive an individual copy of the file that they can change.

• Click Video search .
• Type keywords in the search bar.
• Click the video and click Add .
• Click URL .
• Enter the URL and click Add .

Post an assignment to multiple classes

• Check the box next to the class you want to include.

How To Create An Assignment On Google Classroom On Android

By default, the assignment is due the next day, but you can change it.

• Tap Due date , select a different date, and tap Done .
• (Optional) Tap Time ,   select a time, and tap Done .

You can add Drive files, links, images, or Youtube videos to your assignment.

• To upload a file, tap Attach, select the file, and tap Upload .

• Delete —Remove the attachment.

• Tap Video search .
• Type keywords in the search bar.
• Tap the video and tap Add .
• Enter the URL and tap Add .

How To Create An Assignment On Google Classroom On iOS/iPad/iPhone

• Tap Due date , select a different date, and tap OK .
• (Optional) Tap Add time ,   select a time, and tap OK .

You can add Drive files, links, images, or photos to your assignment.

• To attach a photo, tap Pick photo and choose your photo. Or, tap Use camera and take a photo.

TeachThought is an organization dedicated to innovation in education through the growth of outstanding teachers.

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How to schedule assignments or assign material

Environment.

• Google Classroom

Add materials

• Go to  Google Classsroom .
• Click the class >  Classwork .
• At the top, click  Create  >  Material .
• Enter a title and a description.

Schedule materials

• To schedule the same material across multiple classes, make sure to select all classes you want to include.
• Next to  Post , click the Down arrow  Schedule .
• When you enter a time, Classroom defaults to PM unless you specify AM.
• (Optional) Select a topic for each class.
• (Optional) To replicate your selected time and date for the first class into all subsequent classes, click  Copy settings to all . 
• Click  Schedule . The material will automatically post at the scheduled date and time.

Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License , and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License . For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies . Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Last updated 2024-04-27 UTC.

Make back to school season easier with these AI features

Sep 03, 2024

[[read-time]] min read

Here’s how Google’s AI products and features can help students, educators, parents and guardians have their best back to school season yet.

Whether you’re perusing your syllabi, decorating your classroom or touring your child’s campus, back-to-school season can bring lots of excitement, and maybe a little stress, too. As three of my four kids head off to school this week, I wanted to share some of the new Google features and AI tools that can help us all make this school year successful.

For learners

With more ways to ask questions, learn new concepts and get interactive practice, these AI features provide powerful ways for students (mostly 18 and older) to deepen understanding and make learning more personal.*

• Chat with Gemini using school-issued Google accounts. We’ve heard from education institutions that privacy is top of mind when evaluating which generative AI tools to use. With additional privacy protections rolling out now, Google Workspace for Education users 18 and older can chat with Gemini knowing their data isn’t being used or reviewed by anyone to train or improve AI models. And in the coming months, we’re also bringing Gemini to teen students’ school-issued Google accounts after taking careful steps to help ensure it's safe and responsible for use in classroom settings.
• Study smarter with Gemini. Recent updates include responses from OpenStax textbooks and more opportunities for interactive practice. In Gemini Advanced , users 18 and older can upload documents and ask questions about them, and the new Learning coach Gem will provide study guidance tailored to you.
• Enhance your learning with YouTube. Now when you watch an academic video on YouTube, you’ll see relevant definitions of key concepts directly on the watch page. Our new conversational AI tool for users 18 and up makes it possible to figuratively raise your hand while watching a video to ask clarifying questions, get helpful explanations or take a quiz.
• Make materials approachable with NotebookLM. Users 18 and up can go from information to insights with the summarization features and chat functionality in NotebookLM , our note-taking and research assistant powered by AI. Now you can even upload image-based PDFs (like handwritten notes or visual diagrams), in addition to Docs, Slides, web URLs and more.
• Learn more about what you see with Google Lens . If you’re stuck on a homework problem in math, history or science, you can take a photo with Lens in the Google app to get step-by-step help, so you can learn to solve it on your own. Attending a class lecture virtually from your computer and want to find out more about an equation written on the board? Google Lens in Chrome desktop now allows you to select, search and ask questions without leaving your current tab so you can select that equation right from the video and learn more about it in the Chrome side panel.
• Understand topics faster with AI Overviews in Search : Earlier this year, we launched AI Overviews to help you find information more easily. Whether you’re studying math or art history, English or biology, you can ask questions like, “Explain the connection between lightning and thunder” and get the gist along with resources to click out and dive deeper.

For educators

AI can help give educators time back to invest in themselves and their students, while supercharging their creativity and productivity.

• Try out 30+ new Google for Education features. We recently released new AI-powered tools across Chromebooks and Google Workspace for Education to help educators make learning in school settings more personal and engaging, like bringing Gemini to Chromebook Plus and piloting Gemini in Google Classroom. With Google Classroom’s 10th birthday , we launched new features that help with reading, product integrations and data-driven instruction.
• Demystify AI with the Gen AI for Educators course. This two-hour self-paced course is designed to help teachers save time on everyday tasks, personalize instruction to meet student needs and enhance lessons and activities in creative ways with generative AI tools — no previous AI experience required.
• Personalize Gemini with Gems, custom AI experts for all kinds of topics. In a few easy steps, you can describe what you want your Gem to do and how you’d like it to respond. Gems will then help you complete tasks and reach goals based on your requests. Gems will also remember the instructions you provide, so you can access them to help save time on repetitive prompts or tackle complex tasks. Educators can create Gems for help with a variety of topics, like creating classroom lesson plans or differentiated activities for students with accommodations, or crafting emails to parents.
• Foster your students’ passion for AI and STEM. Share five tips with your students to responsibly level up their AI game. And check out the CS First Toolkit for everything you need to kickstart computer science education in fun and engaging ways for students in grades 4-8.
• Get tips on using our most popular education tools. With our Back-to-School Guide , make the most of Google tools to improve engagement, collaboration and classroom management. This guide gives you tips on using Google Workspace for Education, Chromebooks, Gemini and admin settings across apps, along with ways to keep guardians involved.
• Kick off the school year with engaging Digital Skill Lessons. The Applied Digital Skills Back to School Collection helps students get started in the classroom, express themselves, manage their well-being and stay organized, all while learning foundational digital skills. Each lesson comes equipped with easy-to-use lesson plans so you can jump right in.

For parents and guardians

These new controls and features allow families to manage their own digital ground rules and empower young learners to embrace AI safely.

• Reduce distractions during class with School time. This year, we introduced School time on Fitbit Ace LTE smartwatches . Over the next year, we’ll bring School time to even more devices including select Android phones, tablets and Samsung Galaxy Watches, enabling parents and guardians to limit their children’s device functionality during school hours.
• Help your teens navigate Gemini confidently and responsibly. Gemini has additional policies , safeguards and a teen-specific onboarding process to help protect young people from inappropriate responses. You can also explore resources together, like videos from our AI literacy video series explaining the five must-knows of generative AI and how to responsibly use AI to uplevel their learning .

Finally, no matter how you’re learning, teaching or supporting the students in your life, Chromebooks come in a variety of performance levels and price points, and they make great companions for a successful school year. Chromebooks have Google AI built in, and the new Chromebook Plus has even more next-level features powered by generative AI. Plus, schools can easily manage Chromebooks with admin tools, and parents and guardians can keep an eye on younger children’s activity with Family Link — so Chromebooks are simple and helpful to use, all school year long.

* Note that product and feature availability will evolve over time, may not be available in all markets and may not be available for users under the age of 18.

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Dive into Assignments

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Add topics to the Classwork page

This article is for teachers.

You can group assignments, quiz assignments, questions, and class materials under topics. If you don’t assign a topic, the post shows at the top of the Classwork page. You can reorder the posts under a topic and rearrange topics to follow your curriculum. Students only see topics that have published posts.

Create a topic

Go to classroom.google.com  and click Sign In.

Sign in with your Google Account. For example,  [email protected] or [email protected] .  Learn more .

• Enter the topic name and click Add .

Add a topic to assignments, quiz assignments, or questions

You can add only one topic to an assignment, quiz assignment, or question. If an assignment is posted to several classes, editing the assignment in one class doesn't update it in the other classes.

• To create a topic, click Create topic and enter a topic name.
• Click  Save .

Add a topic to class materials

You can add only one topic per post. For details on creating class materials, go to  Add materials to the Classwork page .

Filter by topic 

• In a class, click Classwork .
• To see all your posts for a topic, at the left, click a topic name.
• To return to all your topics, at the left, click All topics .

Reorder topics

  If you’re using a mobile device, click Android or iPhone & iPad above for instructions. 

When you move a topic, all its content also moves. Only teachers can reorder topics.   

• If it's not already selected, on the left, click  All topics .

Reorder posts under a topic

  If you’re using a mobile device, click Android or iPhone & iPad above for instructions.  

You can change the order of assignments, materials, and other work under the same topic. Only teachers can reorder the posts under a topic. 

Rename a topic

• Enter a new name and click Rename .

Delete a topic

Deleting a topic doesn’t delete the posts under it. Posts move to the top of the list on the Classwork page.

• Click  Delete  to confirm.

Related topics

• Create an assignment  
• Create a quiz assignment
• Create a question

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Google Pixel 9 review: This is the most polished compact flagship yet

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Pricing, specs, and availability, performance and software, should you buy the google pixel 9.

The Google Pixel 9 is the company's best compact flagship phone yet, but it also represents a decisive shift in direction for the Pixel product line. There was a time when the Google Pixel brand represented Google's view of the perfect Android operating system, and ran what was considered "stock Android." A lot has changed since the early days of the Nexus and Pixel, and the Pixel 9 wholly represents Google's new vision for its smartphone lineup. Pixel phones were once the bloat-free Android devices, but now, they're arguably more bloated with Google software than ever.

Google's pitch isn't that the Pixel 9 is the cheapest base-model flagship, or that it's the most minimalist Android phone out there. Instead, Google is betting on the fact that you'll actually want its Pixel-exclusive features that could be described as "bloat." And the company just might be right about that. I'm not much of a Gemini user, but I've loved testing out the Pixel Screenshots and Pixel Studio apps. The camera, recorder, and phone apps are more examples of default Android apps Google made its own, and for the better.

Pixel 9 Pro XL review: Google's best hardware ever, and some AI smarts too

The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL brings a major redesign that looks and feels great, but still, this phone is all about generative AI

The hardware still isn't outstanding, as my colleague Ben Sin recounted in his Pixel 9 Pro XL review, but it isn't a net-negative like it once was. The Tensor G4 processor doesn't overheat or impact daily use of your phone much, the cameras are some of our favorites, and the redesigned chassis looks stunning and premium. Throw it all together, and the Pixel 9 is the phone I'd use if I didn't want to go Pro.

About this review: I purchased a Google Pixel 9 for personal use. No company had any input in the contents of this article.

Google Pixel 9

Is this peak Pixel hardware?

Google's next lineup of flagship smartphones is here, and the Pixel 9 is the cheapest and smallest of the bunch. It starts at $800, which is a $100 increase over last year. For the extra money, you get a new Tensor G4 chipset, a redesigned chassis, and an upgraded rear camera system. There are some things you won't get, like Android 15 and faster wireless charging speeds.

• Fresh design and excellent colors make the Pixel 9 feel more premium
• Tensor 9 isn't winning benchmarks, but it's firmly "good enough" for daily use
• Pixel-exclusive software features shine once again thanks to Pixel Screenshots and Pixel Studio
• I would've loved to see a telephoto zoom lens on this phone
• Ships with Android 14, and that means it may get six years full OS updates - not seven like the Pixel 8
• Charging speeds are still slow

Ahead of its usual schedule, Google revealed the Pixel 9 at a Made by Google event in mid-August, and it released later that month. The Google Pixel 9 retails for $800, which is $100 more than the Pixel 8 and $200 more than the Pixel 7 cost at launch. However, this pricing is in line with other base-model flagships from Apple and Samsung.

The base storage is 128GB, which is getting low in 2024, and the upgrade to 256GB costs an extra $100. You can get it from the major U.S. cellular carriers, from retailers like Best Buy and Amazon, or straight from the Google Store. If you act fast, you might be able to snag a few Pixel 9 deals, though the most aggressive promotions expired when the phone officially launched.

It looks more like an iPhone, and that's mostly for the better

Everyone thinks of software as being the key selling point of Google Pixel phones, and that's absolutely true. However, Google is making a name for itself as the only big manufacturer that meaningfully changes the design of its phones each year. Apple, Samsung, and OnePlus might make a tweak or two to the design or materials yearly, but the big changes come at much longer intervals. By comparison, the Pixel 9 looks different from the Pixel 8, which is visually distinct from the Pixel 7, and so on.

Most people don't upgrade their phones year in and year out, but Google's effort here is still appreciated. This time around, the Pixel 9 ditches the fully-rounded edges of the Pixel 8 in favor of a chassis that mimics the iPhone 15 . While the aluminum rails are flat now, the edges are still chamfered to seamlessly slope into the glass back and display of the Pixel 9 in a way that will be easy on your hands.

Google is making a name for itself as the only big manufacturer that meaningfully changes the design of its phones each year.

Overall, it looks like a Pixel. The camera bar is still there, though it doesn't blend into the side rails like before and kind of looks like an Among Us impostor. I purchased the Peony colorway, and the pink aluminum is closer to a pastel shade while the glass back is closer to a bright salmon. I think Google did an excellent job with the colors this year, and the Wintergreen colorway might actually be my favorite.

I'm not a fan of having the power button and volume rockers on the same side, and they both feel a bit loose in their cavities, but this is nothing new for Pixel users. I do love that there's a physical SIM card tray. It helps that the tray is clearly delineated, and you won't mistake the SIM eject hole for a microphone. I've already had a lifetime of eSIM issues — this Pixel 9 wasn't able to be activated on my existing AT&T line via eSIM — and hope Google sticks with physical SIM for the foreseeable future.

Google Pixel 8 review: The best base model flagship of them all

The Pixel 8 brings a new chip with some very capable AI prowess, but the rest of the package is also polished and near Pro level

The dimensions of the Pixel 9 (152.8x72x8.5mm) and its 6.3-inch display make it larger than I'd like, but I'm well aware that the small phone is dead in 2024. As for the weight, it felt great in my hand coming from the hefty iPhone 15 Pro Max . With that being said, the Pixel 9 is certainly on the heavier side in its class — the Pixel 9 is 198 grams, which is a whopping 30 grams more than the Samsung Galaxy S24 (168.1 grams).

The Google Pixel 9 has an IP68 dust and water-resistance rating, and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 glass. I only had one bad drop during my review period, but managed to get a deep scratch on the Pixel 9's front glass in the first few hours of ownership. It might be a good idea to invest in a great screen protector to prevent scratches.

Smaller bezels make this OLED panel a bit easier on the eyes

Google slimmed down the display bezels to make the Pixel 9 screen pop more than last year's model, but it's still a similar Actua display under the hood. The screen now measures 6.3 inches as a result, and features a resolution of 1080 x 2424 at 422 pixels-per-inch, which is slightly less than the Pixel 8's 428 PPI. It's a good-looking OLED panel with a variable refresh rate between 60Hz and 120Hz.

The strange thing is that after turning the adaptive brightness off and setting the brightness manually, the Pixel 9 and its 2,700-nit peak brightness rating are outstanding.

For me, screen brightness is one of the most important parts of a smartphone. If I have to struggle to see what's on my screen, either inside or outside, there's a problem. Google seems to be shipping aggressive adaptive brightness software on the Pixel 9 series, because the XDA team noticed the screen dimming to uncomfortably-low levels on both our Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL units. The strange thing is that after turning the adaptive brightness off and setting the brightness manually, the Pixel 9 and its 2,700-nit peak brightness rating are outstanding.

There's a 10.5 MP, Dual PD selfie camera with autofocus in the front of the screen using the hole-punch style. Google doesn't go full Dynamic Island here, but there are a few neat animations centered around the front-facing camera, like one that appears when you use face unlock to open your Pixel 9.

Google Pixel 8 display deep dive: The best in its class

The base model finally gets a taste of premium

Google's computational photography still shines, but I still want more

I loved shooting photos with the Google Pixel 9, and it had nothing to do with any of the company's AI features. Simply snapping photos using the Pixel's default settings and computational photography profile produced impressive results. The main camera is a 50MP, Octa-PD wide camera with an f/1.68 aperture and a 1/1.31" image sensor size. Then, there's a secondary ultrawide camera that's upgraded from the one on the Pixel 8. It's now a 48MP, Quad-PD sensor with a 123° field of view.

It's nice that the ultrawide sensor is upgraded on the Pixel 9, but I'd much rather have a periscope telephoto lens instead.

It's nice that the ultrawide sensor is upgraded on the Pixel 9, but I'd much rather have a periscope telephoto lens instead. In fact, after getting used to the 5x optical zoom on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, I don't think I would daily drive a phone without a telephoto lens. Google touts Super Res Zoom — an enhanced version of digital zoom that produces better results up to 8x — as the solution here. While Super Res Zoom is passable at 2x, anything above that would be better served by true optical zoom.

Here's how photos of a baseball game turned out using the main camera (1x, left) and Super Res Zoom (2x, right):

As for the pictures that come from the Pixel's main sensor, they're excellent. Colors are bright and vibrant without feeling unnatural, and I felt many of the pictures below were good representations of what I saw with my own eyes. With that being said, computational photography and post-processing are subjective. If you liked Apple and Samsung photos more than Pixel ones in the past, you'll probably feel the same way about Pixel 9 photos.

Low-light performance was generally good, even if it was more hit or miss. In the gallery below, you'll see that I put the Pixel 9 in a few challenging situations featuring dark settings mixed with bright lights. In many cases, Pixel 9 shots looked excellent, especially when using the Night Sight mode. However, there was one situation where no combination of settings or shooting modes could help the Pixel 9 take a good picture of my Waymo driverless taxi.

Pixel phones have been historically good with portrait and macro shots, and the Pixel 9 is no exception, as you can see in the gallery below:

Overall, I've tested the camera on the iPhone 15 and the Samsung Galaxy S24, which are the Pixel 9's natural competitors until Apple and Samsung release new models shortly. I think the Pixel 9 produces better photos than both, but if you care about having great optical zoom, it might be worth the upgrade to the Pixel 9 Pro.

Samsung Galaxy S24 review: Basically a Galaxy S23 repackaged with a software update

Really, the only thing that makes the Galaxy S24 stand out compared to other phones is Galaxy AI. But even that is coming to other phones soon.

Google resolved old concerns while introducing new ones

The Google Pixel 9 still doesn't come close to matching the level of raw performance offered by Apple and Samsung flagships, and this is often shown in benchmarks each year. However, benchmarks aren't really indicative of how people will use their phones day-to-day. In that area, the Pixel 9 and its Tensor G4 processor are certainly "good enough." There's enough power for basic smartphone tasks and on-device AI processing, but the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Apple A17 Pro are decidedly faster.

Rather than bore you with a bunch of benchmarks, I'm going to give you an anecdote that sums up my experience going from the iPhone 15 Pro Max to the Google Pixel 9. In the past, Google had serious problems with performance and overheating on Tensor processors, namely the Tensor G2. This problem is resolved with Tensor G4, which builds sightly on the Tensor G3's improvements. I didn't notice a major dip in reliability or performance on the Pixel 9 compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but I did notice that the Pixel 9 ran significantly cooler.

During my week-plus review period alone, my iPhone 15 Pro Max completely shut down due to overheating on five different occasions. By comparison, the Pixel 9 didn't overheat to the point I had to stop using it even once. I live in Phoenix, Arizona, for reference, where daily high temperatures are in the triple digits. If the Pixel 9 had an overheating problem, I'd know. But it's my iPhone that surprisingly succumbs to these quirky performance limitations, not the Pixel.

For the first time in recent memory, the new Pixel isn't shipping with the newest version of Android. The Google Pixel 9 comes with Android 14 in the box and won't receive Android 15 until later. Shipping the Pixel 9 with Android 14 is an awful move by Google because it undermines the company's seven-year full OS upgrade promise. While the Pixel 8 series will receive seven full OS upgrades, the Pixel 9 series is only guaranteed to receive six because it starts with the year-old Android 14.

Android 14 'Upside Down Cake': Everything you need to know about Google's big update for 2023

Android 14 is now available on all major Google Pixel smartphones!

That's not to say that the Pixel 9 software experience is bad. In fact, Google added so many extras to the Pixel 9 software experience that it barely feels like Android 14. There's the Pixel Studio and the Google Photos Reimagine feature, which both use AI to either generate new images or shake up existing ones.

Those don't really entice me all that much, but the Pixel Screenshots feature is fantastic. It uses AI to analyze every screenshot you've taken and make them searchable using common-sense language. I wrote a full feature on Pixel Screenshots , and if you aren't interested, there are multiple ways to turn them off.

Shipping the Pixel 9 with Android 14 is an awful move by Google because it undermines the company's seven-year full OS upgrade promise.

The other big Pixel-exclusive feature is Add me , which lets you add someone into a photo using AI. It works well enough, to the point where group photos are believable, but still easy to identify as being AI-generated. It's cool, and I could genuinely see it coming in handy as a way to get everyone in the photo. If anything, the drawback here is that the person being added in is usually oddly positioned compared to the rest. Here's how my Add me test turned out:

Rounding out the software and performance section is battery life, which was passable on the Google Pixel 9. I usually got through a full day of use with heavy amounts of screen-on time, but needed to top off with more power occasionally. I tend to charge my phones while driving or sitting at my desk, and these small boosts helped my Pixel 9 last all day. Charging speed is still mediocre, supporting 45W wired and 15W wirelessly.

You should buy the Google Pixel 9 if :

• You have a Pixel 7 or older smartphone and are ready to upgrade to a new Pixel
• You want a base-model flagship with a fresh design, great cameras, and solid performance
• You need some of the Pixel-exclusive AI features on this phone

You should NOT buy the Google Pixel 9 if :

• You need a telephoto lens
• You want the absolute best performance
• You want to wait and see what Samsung and Apple have to offer

By moving up its release schedule this year, Google became the first to release its newest smartphones. That strategy paid off, because the Google Pixel 9 is the best base-model flagship you can buy right now. The real question is whether it has the chops to beat the iPhone 16 series , which is set for reveal in about a week. Then, there's the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, which is expected to debut early next year. Only time will tell how the Pixel 9 ages in this smartphone release cycle, but for now, Google is on top.

If you can live without a telephoto lens, the Pixel 9 is close enough to Pro that you probably don't need to pay more for the Pixel 9 Pro or 9 Pro XL. It's the best compact flagship right now, but we'll have to see how Apple and Samsung counter soon.

• Google Pixel

The University of Chicago The Law School

Innovation clinic—significant achievements for 2023-24.

The Innovation Clinic continued its track record of success during the 2023-2024 school year, facing unprecedented demand for our pro bono services as our reputation for providing high caliber transactional and regulatory representation spread. The overwhelming number of assistance requests we received from the University of Chicago, City of Chicago, and even national startup and venture capital communities enabled our students to cherry-pick the most interesting, pedagogically valuable assignments offered to them. Our focus on serving startups, rather than all small- to medium-sized businesses, and our specialization in the needs and considerations that these companies have, which differ substantially from the needs of more traditional small businesses, has proven to be a strong differentiator for the program both in terms of business development and prospective and current student interest, as has our further focus on tackling idiosyncratic, complex regulatory challenges for first-of-their kind startups. We are also beginning to enjoy more long-term relationships with clients who repeatedly engage us for multiple projects over the course of a year or more as their legal needs develop.

This year’s twelve students completed over twenty projects and represented clients in a very broad range of industries: mental health and wellbeing, content creation, medical education, biotech and drug discovery, chemistry, food and beverage, art, personal finance, renewable energy, fintech, consumer products and services, artificial intelligence (“AI”), and others. The matters that the students handled gave them an unparalleled view into the emerging companies and venture capital space, at a level of complexity and agency that most junior lawyers will not experience until several years into their careers.

Representative Engagements

While the Innovation Clinic’s engagements are highly confidential and cannot be described in detail, a high-level description of a representative sample of projects undertaken by the Innovation Clinic this year includes:

Transactional/Commercial Work

• A previous client developing a symptom-tracking wellness app for chronic disease sufferers engaged the Innovation Clinic again, this time to restructure its cap table by moving one founder’s interest in the company to a foreign holding company and subjecting the holding company to appropriate protections in favor of the startup.
• Another client with whom the Innovation Clinic had already worked several times engaged us for several new projects, including (1) restructuring their cap table and issuing equity to an additional, new founder, (2) drafting several different forms of license agreements that the company could use when generating content for the platform, covering situations in which the company would license existing content from other providers, jointly develop new content together with contractors or specialists that would then be jointly owned by all creators, or commission contractors to make content solely owned by the company, (3) drafting simple agreements for future equity (“Safes”) for the company to use in its seed stage fundraising round, and (4) drafting terms of service and a privacy policy for the platform.
• Yet another repeat client, an internet platform that supports independent artists by creating short films featuring the artists to promote their work and facilitates sales of the artists’ art through its platform, retained us this year to draft a form of independent contractor agreement that could be used when the company hires artists to be featured in content that the company’s Fortune 500 brand partners commission from the company, and to create capsule art collections that could be sold by these Fortune 500 brand partners in conjunction with the content promotion.
• We worked with a platform using AI to accelerate the Investigational New Drug (IND) approval and application process to draft a form of license agreement for use with its customers and an NDA for prospective investors.
• A novel personal finance platform for young, high-earning individuals engaged the Innovation Clinic to form an entity for the platform, including helping the founders to negotiate a deal among them with respect to roles and equity, terms that the equity would be subject to, and other post-incorporation matters, as well as to draft terms of service and a privacy policy for the platform.
• Students also formed an entity for a biotech therapeutics company founded by University of Chicago faculty members and an AI-powered legal billing management platform founded by University of Chicago students.
• A founder the Innovation Clinic had represented in connection with one venture engaged us on behalf of his other venture team to draft an equity incentive plan for the company as well as other required implementing documentation. His venture with which we previously worked also engaged us this year to draft Safes to be used with over twenty investors in a seed financing round.

More information regarding other types of transactional projects that we typically take on can be found here .

Regulatory Research and Advice

• A team of Innovation Clinic students invested a substantial portion of our regulatory time this year performing highly detailed and complicated research into public utilities laws of several states to advise a groundbreaking renewable energy technology company as to how its product might be regulated in these states and its clearest path to market. This project involved a review of not only the relevant state statutes but also an analysis of the interplay between state and federal statutes as it relates to public utilities law, the administrative codes of the relevant state executive branch agencies, and binding and non-binding administrative orders, decisions and guidance from such agencies in other contexts that could shed light on how such states would regulate this never-before-seen product that their laws clearly never contemplated could exist. The highly varied approach to utilities regulation in all states examined led to a nuanced set of analysis and recommendations for the client.
• In another significant research project, a separate team of Innovation Clinic students undertook a comprehensive review of all settlement orders and court decisions related to actions brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for violations of the prohibition on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices under the Consumer Financial Protection Act, as well as selected relevant settlement orders, court decisions, and other formal and informal guidance documents related to actions brought by the Federal Trade Commission for violations of the prohibition on unfair or deceptive acts or practices under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, to assemble a playbook for a fintech company regarding compliance. This playbook, which distilled very complicated, voluminous legal decisions and concepts into a series of bullet points with clear, easy-to-follow rules and best practices, designed to be distributed to non-lawyers in many different facets of this business, covered all aspects of operations that could subject a company like this one to liability under the laws examined, including with respect to asset purchase transactions, marketing and consumer onboarding, usage of certain terms of art in advertising, disclosure requirements, fee structures, communications with customers, legal documentation requirements, customer service and support, debt collection practices, arrangements with third parties who act on the company’s behalf, and more.

Miscellaneous

• Last year’s students built upon the Innovation Clinic’s progress in shaping the rules promulgated by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) pursuant to the Corporate Transparency Act to create a client alert summarizing the final rule, its impact on startups, and what startups need to know in order to comply. When FinCEN issued additional guidance with respect to that final rule and changed portions of the final rule including timelines for compliance, this year’s students updated the alert, then distributed it to current and former clients to notify them of the need to comply. The final bulletin is available here .
• In furtherance of that work, additional Innovation Clinic students this year analyzed the impact of the final rule not just on the Innovation Clinic’s clients but also its impact on the Innovation Clinic, and how the Innovation Clinic should change its practices to ensure compliance and minimize risk to the Innovation Clinic. This also involved putting together a comprehensive filing guide for companies that are ready to file their certificates of incorporation to show them procedurally how to do so and explain the choices they must make during the filing process, so that the Innovation Clinic would not be involved in directing or controlling the filings and thus would not be considered a “company applicant” on any client’s Corporate Transparency Act filings with FinCEN.
• The Innovation Clinic also began producing thought leadership pieces regarding AI, leveraging our distinct and uniquely University of Chicago expertise in structuring early-stage companies and analyzing complex regulatory issues with a law and economics lens to add our voice to those speaking on this important topic. One student wrote about whether non-profits are really the most desirable form of entity for mitigating risks associated with AI development, and another team of students prepared an analysis of the EU’s AI Act, comparing it to the Executive Order on AI from President Biden, and recommended a path forward for an AI regulatory environment in the United States. Both pieces can be found here , with more to come!

Innovation Trek

Thanks to another generous gift from Douglas Clark, ’89, and managing partner of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, we were able to operationalize the second Innovation Trek over Spring Break 2024. The Innovation Trek provides University of Chicago Law School students with a rare opportunity to explore the innovation and venture capital ecosystem in its epicenter, Silicon Valley. The program enables participating students to learn from business and legal experts in a variety of different industries and roles within the ecosystem to see how the law and economics principles that students learn about in the classroom play out in the real world, and facilitates meaningful connections between alumni, students, and other speakers who are leaders in their fields. This year, we took twenty-three students (as opposed to twelve during the first Trek) and expanded the offering to include not just Innovation Clinic students but also interested students from our JD/MBA Program and Doctoroff Business Leadership Program. We also enjoyed four jam-packed days in Silicon Valley, expanding the trip from the two and a half days that we spent in the Bay Area during our 2022 Trek.

The substantive sessions of the Trek were varied and impactful, and enabled in no small part thanks to substantial contributions from numerous alumni of the Law School. Students were fortunate to visit Coinbase’s Mountain View headquarters to learn from legal leaders at the company on all things Coinbase, crypto, and in-house, Plug & Play Tech Center’s Sunnyvale location to learn more about its investment thesis and accelerator programming, and Google’s Moonshot Factory, X, where we heard from lawyers at a number of different Alphabet companies about their lives as in-house counsel and the varied roles that in-house lawyers can have. We were also hosted by Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati and Fenwick & West LLP where we held sessions featuring lawyers from those firms, alumni from within and outside of those firms, and non-lawyer industry experts on topics such as artificial intelligence, climate tech and renewables, intellectual property, biotech, investing in Silicon Valley, and growth stage companies, and general advice on career trajectories and strategies. We further held a young alumni roundtable, where our students got to speak with alumni who graduated in the past five years for intimate, candid discussions about life as junior associates. In total, our students heard from more than forty speakers, including over twenty University of Chicago alumni from various divisions.

The Trek didn’t stop with education, though. Throughout the week students also had the opportunity to network with speakers to learn more from them outside the confines of panel presentations and to grow their networks. We had a networking dinner with Kirkland & Ellis, a closing dinner with all Trek participants, and for the first time hosted an event for admitted students, Trek participants, and alumni to come together to share experiences and recruit the next generation of Law School students. Several speakers and students stayed in touch following the Trek, and this resulted not just in meaningful relationships but also in employment for some students who attended.

More information on the purposes of the Trek is available here , the full itinerary is available here , and one student participant’s story describing her reflections on and descriptions of her experience on the Trek is available here .

The Innovation Clinic is grateful to all of its clients for continuing to provide its students with challenging, high-quality legal work, and to the many alumni who engage with us for providing an irreplaceable client pipeline and for sharing their time and energy with our students. Our clients are breaking the mold and bringing innovations to market that will improve the lives of people around the world in numerous ways. We are glad to aid in their success in any way that we can. We look forward to another productive year in 2024-2025!