Meet the Nexus 6P, Google and Huawei’s shockingly svelte flagship
After last year’s unwieldy attempt, Google had to think a little more carefully about how its nerd-friendly Nexus line should work and feel. Rather than just offer one new phone today, Google showed off two — the Nexus 5X and 6P — meant for different subsets of people. The former? It provides enough horsepower for the masses in a body that normal humans won’t have trouble carrying (and I’ll have a deeper dive ready shortly). The 6P, on the other hand, is the more sophisticated cousin, and more impressive than it might look at first glance. Slideshow-323971
First off, it’s just as sleek and light as you’d expect a modern Huawei phone to be — the designs might be different, but you can definitely feel some of the P8’s unibody metal DNA here. In fact, it’s just that devotion to metal that drew Google to Huawei in the first place. As an Android team staffer casually mentioned while showing me the phone, Huawei is one of only a few companies that can make these unibody metal chassis at scale, and that sturdier direction is what Google was gunning for this year.
Sturdier, in this case, doesn’t mean “heavier.” Like the fantastic-in-plastic 5X, the Nexus 6P feels almost impossibly light, belying the power of the revised Snapdragon 810 with 3GB of RAM thrumming away inside. Can we real talk for a moment? It feels great. It might seem a little tricky putting a chipset with that much power into a slim metal frame, but nothing we could do with it here at the venue could make the thing overheat. Yet another nail in the coffin of those persistent rumors about the 810’s heat-management problems. Anyway, that much power should ensure the 6P runs nice and snappy, which is exactly what I experienced while I was fiddling around with the phone and testing out some of Android 6.0 Marshmallow’s newer features. Throw in a nicely saturated, 5.7-inch WQHD display that showed off some sweet, deep blues and the 6P’s broad strokes are very encouraging ones.
One of the last big question marks leading up to today’s show was the big, black bar that swallowed up the 12.3-megapixel rear camera lens. Turns out, it’s actually hiding quite a lot. I’m told that next to the camera and two-tone LED flash is the near-invisible laser autofocus module and a whole host of coils and antennas to help with connectivity. That’s the problem with metal bodies, right? Too much metal could mean WiFi, cellular or NFC signals get snuffed out, so Google and Huawei shoehorned a bunch of them behind that black plastic bar. Aesthetically it’s still a little weird, but it’s a neat engineering solution that should get the job done — we’ll bring the full low-down once we get a review unit. Same goes for the ballyhooed camera that Google and Huawei dropped into this thing; the shots we got in this dim event space were better than I’d expected, but they require even more scrutiny.
Despite spending about a half hour with the phone, I’m still a little surprised it’s a Huawei. Yes, the company makes good, well-built devices. I simply didn’t expect Google to give it a public pat on the back like this. Being tapped to build a Nexus phone is no sure sign that a company will find huge success, but it is a very nice gesture toward a company that has made many great phones without a glut of admiration.
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
Xprize challenge offers $20 million to curb fossil fuel emissions
Sadly, carbon dioxide emissions aren’t going away just yet. However, the Xprize crew would like to at least see those emissions do something besides accelerate climate change. They’re launching the NRG COSIA Carbon Xprize, a competition that will hand out a total of $20 million to teams that convert fossil fuels’ CO2 output into genuinely useful products. The 4.5-year challenge will be separated into two tracks (one for coal emissions, the other for natural gas), both of which will offer a pool of $2.5 million for hitting initial lab milestones and a $7.5 million grand prize for whoever succeeds in the real world.
This may not be the most glamorous Xprize ever, but it’s realistic: scientists are already converting CO2 into materials as exotic as diamonds. If successful, it could introduce a genuinely viable way to reduce or even eliminate emissions at ‘dirty’ power plants. While it’s not likely to undo decades of harm all by itself, it could offer a stopgap solution while the plant owners transition to clean energy sources.
[Image credit: Patrik Stollarz/AFP/Getty Images]
Source: Xprize, BusinessWire
Volkswagen will fix emissions test-cheating cars … somehow
Volkswagen is gearing up to fix the cars affected by its diesel emissions cheating scandal — though the specifics are still up in the air. The company’s new CEO, Matthias Mueller, told employees that it’ll be reaching out to customers in the next few days about getting their diesel cars retrofitted, Reuters reports. However, it’s still unclear how, exactly, VW is going to update those cars. It’ll most likely be some sort of software-related fix, since it got into hot water over software that was programmed to misrepresent diesel emissions when cars were being tested. We can expect regulators to scrutinize VW’s solution to make sure it’s actually solving the problem. It’ll also likely affect the mileage and performance of the company’s cars, which so far have been some of VW’s main selling points. Volkswagen is prepared to spend up to $7.3 billion to clean up the mess, which is getting worse the more we learn (it apparently knew about the test cheating years ago, for one).
[Photo credit: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Source: Reuters
Chromecast Audio competes with Sonos for a tenth of the price
The Chromecast Audio is pretty smart. Here’s the elevator pitch: You plug the little hockey puck in the image above into a power outlet, and then connect it to your speakers using the provided 3.5mm-to-3.5mm cable, or a third-party 3.5mm-to-optical cable or the equivalent RCA converter. Then, Google says, you’ve got a smart speaker. I checked that claim out for myself at the company’s event, and it does what it says, but I still don’t know if it does it well.
You can cast music from a number of sources including Google Play Music and — at last — Spotify. The former also acts as a good casting option for those that like to keep their music files local rather than streaming. While the regular Chromecast got a new discovery app today, the new Audio version behaves more like the Chromecast of old, which is a lot like an open version of Apple’s AirPlay. It’ll support your phone, tablet or laptop — essentially anything that runs Chrome or Android — and over the coming months multi-room support will roll out.
So… Sound quality. “Okay” tells you everything I know at this point. Problem is, I listened to all three of the setups, but I listened to them in the middle of a vast hall filled with people who weren’t about to be quiet and let me work out how good the audio quality was. So, instead of an actual opinion, I can tell you that I’ve heard Tove Styrke’s “Borderline” seven times and there wasn’t a stutter, glitch or streaming issue at all. Also I am still somehow not tired of that song.
Using WiFi streaming is a much better option than Bluetooth, both in quality and range, but the parts inside the Chromecast Audio are going to make all the difference. I asked a Google spokesperson if they could give me any more details on sound quality, and they told me the Chromecast has a “world-class DAC” (Digital to Analog Converter), but refused to disclose what company makes the part. That makes me nervous. Video processing in the original Chromecast is pretty ropey. It won’t be long until someone pulls this apart and tells us how good the DAC is, but without that information, and without even a basic subjective listening test, we’ll have to wait for a verdict on the audio quality for now.
Sonos, which is probably the leading name in home audio streaming, sells almost the exact same product as the Chromecast Audio. It’s called the Sonos Connect, and it basically turns your regular speakers into Sonos speakers. It costs $350. The Chromecast Audio costs $35, and it lets you use the apps you want to use to control your music. If Google’s got the audio quality even at an adequate level, then it’s difficult to see this not catching on.
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
Tim Cook: Apple won’t merge iOS and OS X
Now that Apple is blurring the lines between its mobile tablets and PCs with the iPad Pro, it’s tempting to imagine iOS and OS X merging into a single operating system (Windows 10-style) that works on virtually every device the company makes. You’ll want to put any such ideas on hold, though. In a chat with Box’s Aaron Levie, Apple chief Tim Cook dismissed the prospects of unifying iOS and OS X. It “subtracts from both,” he said, arguing that you “don’t get the best experience from either.” This isn’t a completely new idea from Apple (it once explained in detail why OS X doesn’t have touch), but it’s clear that Cook doesn’t feel any pressure to follow in Microsoft’s footsteps on this front.
Not that Cook and crew are giving Microsoft and its ideas the cold shoulder — just the opposite, in fact. The exec said he doesn’t believe in “holding grudges” against Apple’s frequent rival, and that the two tech giants can “partner on more things” than they compete in. Witness the slew of iOS-friendly Office updates that were unveiled in tandem with the iPad Pro and iOS 9, for example. The enterprise crowd, Cook adds, would rather see Apple and Microsoft collaborating than fighting.
On that note, the CEO contended that Apple isn’t nearly as work-phobic as it used to be. The company is big on enterprise deals (it made $25 billion in enterprise revenue in the space of a year), and that there’s no real distinction these days between personal and office-focused devices. You don’t buy enterprise smartphones any more than you buy enterprise cars, he said. We’re sure that BlackBerry won’t be happy with that last statement, but it’s hard to dispute — with occasional exceptions, software is the only thing distinguishing an off-the-shelf smartphone from a locked-down corporate handset.
[Image credit: Michael Short/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
A tour of Google’s many hardware projects
Google may have started its life as a search engine, but 17 years has seen the company steadily evolve into one that produces as many goods as it does services. It may not be running the factories itself in a lot of cases, but you can pick up more than a handful of products with the Google logo slapped on the chassis. Then there are the more outlandish devices, like self-driving cars and face-worn computers, that could alter the way we live our lives. Consider this a reminder of all the weird and wonderful things that the engineers in Mountain View spend their days working on. Slideshow-323026
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
Google introduces the Android-powered Pixel C [with hands-on]
So looks like the leak yesterday turned out true. Today, along with a handful of other exciting devices, Google announced the Pixel C – an Android-powered Pixel-branded tablet.
So what’s so special about it? Well, a lot actually. Firstly, being a “Pixel” device, we have superb build quality. It’s wrapped with an all-metal aluminum chassis.
From certain angles, the Pixel C will be familiar to Microsoft Surface users, and that’s not a bad thing. We’re looking at a modest 10.2″ sized display, which is said to be considerably bright, capable of 500 nits. The resolution is at a fantastic 2560×1800 (308ppi).
Running the show is Nvidia’s latest SoC – the quad-core X1 with Maxwell GPU and 3GB of RAM. You’ll have the option for 32GB or 64GB of on-board storage. The latest USB Type-C standard is also incorporated, along with Android 6.0 Marshmallow
But the real fancy part comes in with the keyboard attachment.
The build is just as thought-out as the Pixel C and attaches seamlessly via a very strong magnetic (you have to slide the tablet off the keyboard to separate them). The keyboard is chiclet style and has a kickstand mechanism for the tablet, which you can adjust from 100 to 135 degrees.
While the keyboard accessory is said to last 2 months on a full charge, it can also charge inductively through the tablet when they’re attached.
The Pixel C has a couple more neat tricks. The Pixel light bar isn’t just for show. When you double tap it, you’ll get a battery indicator. Also, there are 4 mics to make sure you make the most from video chatting, and they’re said to work across the room.
Being that this tablet is a “Pixel” device, you may be worried to hear about the price. Fortunately, it isn’t as exorbitant as previous Pixel devices. The Pixel C will start at $499 for 32GB and $599 for the 64GB of storage. The keyboard accessory will be priced at $149. As far as availability, Google said that the Pixel C will arrive in time for the holidays.
Are you gonna keep your eye on the Pixel C, or is it still too expensive?
*A special thanks to our own Derrick Miyao for attending the Google event and getting us a hands-on look.
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HTC will unveil its newest One smartphone on October 20
HTC on Tuesday confirmed it will announce its next One smartphone at a virtual event later this month. Scheduled for October 20, it will be revealed at a “virtual event” online, rather than in person.
As to what we will see revealed, it looks like we’re in for HTC’s first Android 6.0 Marshmallow smartphone. Rumors as of late suggest the One A9 (Aero) could be the new “hero” device. And, considering the recent report that it might launch with the latest in Android, we’re inclined to believe it even more.
Early leaked specs were initially suggesting a rather high-end experience but we later learned it may be a much more modest experience. But, that’s not necessarily a bad thing as today’s mid-range smartphones have proven to be quite adept.
You can bookmark htc.com/launch and return to it in a few weeks time, but we’ll also shoot out some reminders.
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Huawei Nexus 6P specs and details
The post Huawei Nexus 6P specs and details appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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