Pixel 4 and everything you should know...
Google hosted its annual “Made by Google” event to launch its latest phone: The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. But spoiler alert, it wasn’t the only product in Google’s hardware and software lineup that’s getting a refresh. Google also announced updates for one of its smart speakers, mesh networking system, and several new products. Those included a pair of headphones meant to compete with AirPods, a new Chromebook, and a new gaming platform. Here is everything you need to know.
Usually, with a phone announcement, you get one or two new pieces of tech in a new phone. With the Pixel 4, Google is packin! Dubbed “the most leaked phone ever,” the device, which comes in standard and XL sizes, features a Soli radar chip to enable more secure, faster facial recognition and gesture controls. With the new phone, for example, you can wave to an image of Pikachu and have it wave back.
The new Pixel has a new more industrial design, a square camera housing and comes in three colors, black, white, and a peach-like orange. The (ehem notchless) front screen has a pretty large top bezel to house the phone’s front camera and a few new sensors. ne with most smartphones on the market but still one short of the iPhone 11 Pro's three rear-camera offering. The cameras are tucked into a square-like fixture on the top left of the device. If you’re thinking that the back of the Pixel looks similar to this back of the new iPhones— you’re right! Google is focusing on the camera too.
There are four new innovations at once: face unlock, a high refresh rate screen, a faster Google Assistant, and motion sense ( radar chip) that let’s you see facial gestures.
We are very excited about Motion Sense, these are some things it does:
Motion Sense lets you skip forward or back when music is playing, too. But the best feature is dismissing alarms and calls. When you simply reach for the phone, the volume drops when the phone sees your hand. Then you can simply wave to dismiss the call or snooze the alarm.
The face unlock will quickly unlock your phone. By the time you’ve picked up the phone and are looking at it, it’s unlocked.
More specs:
Price: $799/$899.
Display (resolution): 5.7 inches Full HD+ OLED with 90Hz refresh rate.
Rear camera(s): 12MP Dual Pixel wide and 16MP telephoto.
Front camera(s): 8MP.
CPU: Snapdragon 855 processor with Pixel Neural Core.
RAM: 6GB.
Storage: 64GB/128GB.
Google also teased new Pixel Buds, its answer to Apple's AirPods, boasting five hours on a single charge and 24 hours via a wireless charging case. The earbuds, which sit in the ear canal, come in an assortment of colors. The Pixel Buds will cost $179 when they launch next spring.
The company also introduced the new Nest Mini. In May, it announced that the Google Home and Nest teams were uniting under one smart home brand, Nest. Now the Google Home Mini speaker has been reengineered and renamed to the Nest Mini, a powerful hockey-puck-sized device that looks nearly identical to last year's model.
The Nest Mini speakers:
The new Nest Mini ($49) packs more advanced internals, including a base that's twice as strong as the original, a built-in wall mount, the ability to better hear your voice in noisy environments and stream transfers from room to room. The speaker comes with a machine-learning chip to better anticipate user commands and a revamped built-in Google Assistant. Along with a handful of new colorful fabric linings, the top is made of 100% recycled plastic bottles.