Here’s what you missed at the ‘Made by Google’ event
It may be time to bid a sad adieu (sadieu?) to the beloved Nexus line and hello to Google’s new Pixel phones, but we’ve still got a whole slew of fresh hardware to look forward to. In addition to the higher-end handsets, Google also unveiled the Daydream View VR headset, the Chromecast Ultra, a WiFi router, as well as the official price and availability of its Home smart speaker. Tying all of the gadgets together is the company’s AI Assistant, which you can use on the Pixels and Home, and Google promises to make it available on more platforms in future. Our senior editors Nicole Lee and Chris Velazco break down what all this new stuff means for you, and share their impressions of the new products.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Google’s fall event.
ICYMI: The selfie-obsessed can verify online ID with photos
Today on In Case You Missed It: Mastercard is introducing a way to verify online purchases, by sending a link to the user’s cell phone, which then walks them through taking a selfie and blinking on command to show they’re a real human. Meanwhile Google unleashed a slew of new products at its Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, here’s the full scoop on the new phone.
Toyota’s cute little robot is available only in Japan but sure is darling, the video is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
The first Project Tango phone goes on sale next month
Project Ara is no more, but that doesn’t mean Google’s weirder smartphone ambitions are all dead and buried. Project Tango — a push to put 3D mapping in a smartphone — is still alive and well, thanks to Lenovo. Speaking to CNET, Google’s Clay Bavor confirmed that the Phab2 Pro should be coming out next month. The phone promises to track your surroundings and then, augmented reality style, display content that looks like it’s right in front of you. With this, you could visualize new furniture in your home, or shoot aliens that appear to be coming out of the walls.
We’ve tinkered with Project Tango before. My colleague Chris Velazco, for instance, used one of Google’s developer tablets in Barcelona. Stepping inside the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, he could tap on points of interest and access additional information. A virtual path of breadcrumbs led him through the various exhibits, and a profile system meant he could pick out other visitors in the crowd — a useful feature for parents.
While intriguing, Project Tango has always felt like an R&D project, destined to fade away after a few modest prototypes. The Phab2 Pro could change that perception, however. It’s consumer hardware — not a weird, bulky tablet or accessory. The phone is large though, with a 6.4-inch display and a 4050 mAh battery buried inside. At $499, it’s also expensive. For the same money you could buy a phone that’s more elegant and powerful (the Phab2 Pro uses a Snapdragon 652). Still, it’s proof that Tango can be miniaturized without creating a truly horrific Frankenphone.
Source: CNET
Watch the Made by Google launch event in 15 minutes
Google unveiled its plan for consumer hardware earlier today, showing off Pixel phones, the Google Home hub, Google WiFi router, Chromecast Ultra and Daydream VR headset, plus its Assistant AI ready to tie everything together. We liveblogged every second of the full presentation, but if you’re in a hurry you can catch a quick runthrough of all the announcements right here in just 15 minutes, or head straight to our hands-on impressions.
With Assistant, Google is becoming a lot more like Apple
Google may have finally taken control of its hardware with the new Pixel phones, but the company’s still focusing on software. In particular: artificial intelligence. The AI-powered Assistant is an integral part of its new phones, Allo messaging app and smart speaker, making for a more uniform and useful experience across all of Google’s (and other brands’) devices. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Apple brought Siri to multiple platforms first.
Assistant brings voice control to the new Google Home smart speaker, in addition to the new Pixels, and lets you control your Chromecast playback with your voice. The goal, said the company’s CEO Sundar Pichai, is to make Assistant “universally available.” This means we can look forward to more integrations across other Google products, possibly including Chromebooks and Android wearables.
Imagine a not-unlikely future where you can use Assistant on your wrist to tell your Chromecast to pause Netflix when you go to the bathroom. You could even get rid of those Netflix socks altogether. Since Android Wear already offers built-in OK Google capability, it’s not a stretch to imagine that being supplanted by Assistant. Again, that’s similar to what Apple already allows for with Siri on Apple Watches and MacBooks. And just as Google is bringing its Android OS to televisions and (possibly) laptops, Apple has software that is the same (or very similar) across its TV, phone and tablet operating systems. It’s one platform for all devices.
The iPhone maker has long been criticized for its closed ecosystem, as Google has been hailed as a crusader for open platforms. But while Android remains an open OS, Assistant’s rollout is reminiscent of other Apple tools such as HealthKit and HomeKit, where developers get access to APIs a period of time after launch. Of course, Google doesn’t appear to have the intention of blocking access to Assistant’s code, and unlike with HealthKit and HomeKit you can build Assistant into your own hardware. But it’s worth noting that it’s implementing features in a way that’s more like its rival.
I’d be remiss if I overlooked the couple other players in the digital assistant space. Microsoft is making Cortana accessible and uniform across its phones and desktops, but it doesn’t have the breadth across product categories to take on Google and Apple. And although Amazon’s Alexa currently doesn’t exist in phones or laptops, it’s in a variety of speakers (Echo and Tap), the Fire TV and third party devices like this quirky smartwatch, and is catching up to Siri in what it can do and control.
Google’s method has one glowing difference that sets it apart: its approach to and expertise in artificial intelligence. The Assistant showcase comes after a slew of announcements about machine learning, including those around translations and image recognition, that evidence the tech giant’s commitment to AI. And while Microsoft and Amazon themselves have pretty advanced artificial intelligence, and are farther along there than Apple, Google’s history of being the world’s favorite search engine (and basically being in everyone’s business) provides a wealth of knowledge of user behavior and gives it quite the edge. It has more historical data to refer to and more information to train its machine-learning systems on, which should make it smarter, faster.
Pichai said the company intends to create a “personal Google” for everyone — a search engine-powered helper that knows exactly where all your pictures, receipts and emails are, as well as all of your upcoming events and their locations and how to get there. Although it may be later to the party than Apple was, the popularity and proliferation of Google’s services, as well as its AI prowess, could very well make Assistant the digital helper of choice.
A look back at Google’s Android flagships: the Nexus family
Android purists have always had the same response to new smartphone announcements from the likes of HTC, Samsung or LG. “I’ll just wait for the next Nexus.” And why not? For years, Google’s Nexus line served both as its official flagship products and as public reference devices for the latest in Android phones and tablets. Now, Google has replaced the brand with a new top dog: the Pixel. At first blush, it’s everything users loved about the Nexus line and more — but before we close the casket on Google’s first series of smartphones, let’s look back and talk about what made the Nexus brand so special.
For the uninitiated, the Nexus line could often be described as “Google’s iPhone,” but the truth was more complicated than that. Unlike Apple, the folks in Mountain View didn’t dictate every aspect of the device’s design — choosing instead to farm out the hardware part of the Nexus equation to a series of different manufacturers. Nexus devices have been designed and built by Asus, Huawei, HTC, Motorola, LG and Samsung. All of them were top of the line (or least great bang for the buck) at their launches. But, physically they share almost nothing in common. Google’s choice to partner with different manufacturers for each model made every Nexus unique. Not every design was a hit with fans, but the appeal of a Nexus phone wasn’t necessarily the hardware. It was software.
Buying a Nexus was a way to get the “pure” Android experience — a smartphone unsullied by manufacturer- or carrier-specific features and tweaks. If you bought a phone from Samsung, for instance, you’d either have to get used to its TouchWiz customization layer or be clever enough to flash a custom ROM to the device. Nexus phones were almost always the first devices to get updates too. Buying a Nexus meant no longer waiting months for the latest version of Android to arrive. It didn’t just take updates out of the authority of phone carriers either: Google sold Nexus phones directly to the customer. No subsidies, no contracts, just great smartphones for a good price. For phone and tablet users who wanted to be on the bleeding edge, it was a dream come true — but the brand wasn’t perfect.
In 2012, Google’s Nexus line had its first legitimate flop with the Nexus Q, an odd, media-streaming ball that simply didn’t do enough to justify it’s price. For $299, the Q streamed movies, music and TV over a myriad of high-quality connection options — but it was severely limited. Content had to be on Google’s servers to work, and more robust functionality could be had for less with the $99 Apple TV. Google quietly pulled the Q from market, eventually replacing it with the (much cheaper) Chromecast.
Earlier this year, Google started pushing for more control over the hardware aspect of the devices — aiming to create a phone that was wholly Google. Today, we know that device as the Pixel. It still has stock Android. We can still count on it to be a high-quality device. It’s almost everything we ever loved about the Nexus line… but today, a small piece of Google’s old identity dies. There’s still an extremely small chance we’ll see the name resurface in the form of a tablet, but in case we don’t — here’s to you, Nexus. You had good run.
The Google Pixel vs. the competition: Ready to rumble
We may be saying goodbye to the Nexus name, but we’re not saying goodbye to the things we’ve come to expect from Google’s premiere phones. The new Pixel still offers everything you’d expect in a flagship, including a highly-rated camera, a fingerprint sensor and the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack. But, with so many current phones offering similar chipsets, features like Google Assistant could make all the difference. We’ll take a closer look at some of the bells and whistles in our eventual review, but for now there are specs to chew over. Check out the table below to see how the Pixel measures up on paper to some of its leading competition.
Pixel
iPhone 7
Galaxy S7
LG G5
HTC 10
Pricing
$649, $749 (off-contract)
$649, $749, $849 (off-contract)
varies by carrier, starts at $650 off-contract
varies by carrier on contract; $650 off-contract
$699 (off-contract)
Known dimensions
143.84 x 69.54 x 7.31mm (5.66 x 2.74 x 0.29 inches)
138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 inches)
142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9mm (5.61 x 2.74 x 0.31 inches)
149.4 x 73.9 x 7.3mm (5.88 x 2.91 x 0.29 inches)
145.9 x 71.9 x 3.0-9.0mm (5.74 x 2.83 x 0.12-0.35 inches)
Weight
143g (5.04 ounces)
138g (4.87 ounces)
152g (5.36 ounces)
159g (5.61 ounces)
161g (5.68 ounces)
Screen size
5.0 inches (127mm)
4.7 inches (119.38mm)
5.1 inches (129.2mm)
5.3 inches (134.62mm)
5.2 inches (132.08mm)
Screen resolution
1,920 x 1,080 (441 ppi)
1,334 x 750 (326 ppi)
2,560 x 1,440 (577 ppi)
2,560 x 1,440 (554 ppi)
2,560 x 1,440 (564 ppi)
Screen type
Full HD AMOLED
Retina HD
Quad HD Super AMOLED
Quad HD IPS LCD Quantum
Quad HD Super LCD 5
Battery
2,770mAh
1,960mAh
3,000mAh
2,800mAh
3,000mAh
Internal storage
32/128GB
32/128/256GB
32GB
32GB
32GB
External storage
None
None
microSD
microSD
microSD
Rear camera
12.3MP, f/2.0, 1.55µm pixel size
12MP, f/1.8
12MP, f/1.7, 1.4µm pixel size
16MP, f/1.8, 1.12µm pixel size
12MP, f/1.8, 1.55µm pixel size
Front-facing cam
8MP, f/2.4, 1.4µm pixel size
7MP, f/2.2
5MP
8MP
5MP, f/1.8, 1.34µm pixel size
Video capture
4K at 30fps
4K at 30fps
4K at 30fps
4K
4K
NFC
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth
v4.2
v4.2
v4.2
v4.2
v4.2
SoC
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
Apple A10 Fusion
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
CPU
2.15GHz quad-core
2.23GHz dual-core
2.15GHz quad-core
2.15GHz quad-core
2.2GHz quad-core
GPU
Adreno 530
6-core
Adreno 530
Adreno 530
Adreno 530
RAM
4GB
2GB
4GB
4GB
4GB
WiFi
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Operating system
Android 7.1
iOS 10
Android 6.0
Android 6.0
Android 6.0
Standout features
Fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C
Touch ID, IP67 certified, Lightning connector
Fingerprint sensor, IP68 certified
Fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C
Fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C
Accessories
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
LG Friends: Cam, Cam Plus, Hi-Fi Plus (not available in US), VR
Not applicable
* Specs in italics are unconfirmed, but we will update as more details become available.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Google’s fall event!
The Pixel XL vs. the competition: The bigger flagships face off
Once more, Google is giving us two flagship phone sizes to choose from. But this time, the company’s releasing them under its own brand, Pixel. There are great features like Google Assistant and a new camera to check out, but how does the new XL’s hardware compare to its competition? We’ve sized up the specs of the larger Pixel versus premiere handsets like the iPhone 7 Plus, Moto Z and even the recalled Galaxy Note 7 (we hope you’ve exchanged yours by now) for a better look.
Pixel XL
iPhone 7 Plus
Galaxy Note 7
Moto Z
LG V20
Pricing
$769, $869 (off-contract)
$769, $869, $969 (off-contract)
Varies by carrier, starts at $850 (off-contract)
$624, $674 (off-contract)
Not available
Known dimensions
154.72 x 75.74 x 7.31mm (6.09 x 2.98 x 0.29 inches)
158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 inches)
153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9mm (6.04 x 2.91 x 0.31 inches)
155.3 x 75.3 x 5.19mm (6.11 x 2.96 x 0.20 inches)
159.7 x 78.1 x 7.6mm (6.29 x 3.07 x 0.30 inches)
Weight
168g (5.92 ounces)
188g (6.63 ounces)
169g (5.96 ounces)
136g (4.8 ounces)
Not available
Screen size
5.5 inches (139.7mm)
5.5 inches (139.7mm)
5.7 inches (144.78mm)
5.5 inches (139.7mm)
5.7 inches (144.78mm)
Screen resolution
2,560 x 1,440 (534 ppi)
1,920 x 1,080 (401 ppi)
2,560 x 1,440 (515 ppi)
2,560 x 1,440 (535 ppi)
Main: 2,560 x 1,440 (513 ppi) Secondary: 160 x 1,040 (513 ppi)
Screen type
Quad HD AMOLED
Retina HD
Quad HD Super AMOLED
Quad HD AMOLED
Quad HD IPS LCD (main display)
Battery
3,450mAh
2,900mAh
3,500mAh
2,600mAh
3,200mAh
Internal storage
32/128GB
32/128/256GB
64GB
32 / 64GB
64GB
External storage
None
None
microSD
microSD
microSD
Rear camera
12.3MP, f/2.0, 1.55µm pixel size
Dual cameras, 12MP, f/1.8 and f/2.8
12MP, f/1.7, 1.4µm pixel size
13MP, f/1.8, 1.12µm pixel size
Dual cameras, 16MP f/1.8 and 8MP f/2.4
Front-facing camera
8MP, f/2.4, 1.4µm pixel size
7MP, f/2.2
5MP, f/1.7
5MP
5MP, f/1.9
Video capture
4K at 30fps
4K at 30fps
4K
4K at 30fps
4K
NFC
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth
v4.2
v4.2
v4.2
v4.2
v4.2
SoC
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
Apple A10 Fusion
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
CPU
2.15GHz quad-core
2.23GHz dual-core
2.15GHz quad-core
2.2GHz quad-core
Not available
GPU
Adreno 530
6-core
Adreno 530
Adreno 530
Adreno 530
RAM
4GB
3GB
4GB
4GB
4GB
WiFi
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Operating system
Android 7.1
iOS 10
Android 6.0
Android 6.0
Android 7.0
Standout features
Fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C
Touch ID, IP67 certified, Lightning connector
Iris scanner, fingerprint sensor, IP68 certified, USB Type-C
Fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C
Fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C, 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC
Accessories
Not applicable
Not applicable
S-Pen, Gear 360, Gear VR
Moto Mods: Insta-Share Projector, SoundBoost speaker, Power Pack
Not applicable
* Specs in italics are unconfirmed.
We’ll have a hands on of the new Pixel XL for you soon, but right now click here to catch all the latest news from Google’s fall event.
By the Numbers: The ‘Made by Google’ edition
Google laid out its AI-powered vision for the future of mobile computing at its Made By Google event in San Francisco on Tuesday. The company debuted its widely anticipated (and widely leaked) Pixel phone, showed off its Daydream VR headset for the first time, unveiled the new 4K Chromecast and further expounded upon just how its Google Home smart speaker fit into a connected household. Numbers, because how else will you when the future arrives?
Click here to catch all the latest news from Google’s fall event.
UK pricing for Google’s Pixel phones, Daydream VR headset and more
A wealth of leaks might’ve taken some of the sting out of Google’s big event today, but there was quite a lot to take in nonetheless. Google spent a lot of time talking up its AI Assistant — the same one that debuted in its Allo messaging app — but who are we kidding? New hardware was the highlight tonight, and there’s a lot of it, from a pair of Pixel smartphones to a new VR headset, 4K Chromecast and more. And now it’s time to lay out how much all that new gear is gonna cost you.
Pixel
Nexus is dead, long live Pixel. Google unveiled a pair of handsets under its new Pixel brand today, the smaller of the two featuring a 5-inch screen. Simply called “Pixel,” the device is relatively well specced out, with a powerful Snapdragon 821 chip and 4GB of RAM, though it only boasts a 1080p display. Google didn’t spend much time talking about what’s inside it, however, focusing more on what you can do with it thanks to the baked-in Assistant and “best smartphone camera ever.”
The Pixel can be pre-ordered today with two storage options to choose from, as well as two colours — silver and black (no blue model, yet) — with the official launch date set for October 20th. The pricing table below outlines what Google wants for the device, and it ain’t going cheap. If spreading some of that cost over the term of a contract makes more sense to you, it’s also available to pre-order today from exclusive carrier partner EE.
| 32GB | £599 | October 4th | October 20th |
| 128GB | £699 | October 4th | October 20th |
Pixel XL
Like the Pixel but bigger, the XL model increases the screen size to 5.5 inches and the resolution to QHD (2,560 x 1,440), with a bigger battery packed into its larger frame for good measure. Also available in the same two colours and storage configs as the smaller device, the Pixel XL is also up for pre-order from Google and EE today ahead of its October 20th launch. Pricing is pretty steep, however, and just to put it into perspective, the flagship 5.5-inch, 64GB OnePlus 3 is £329.
| 32GB | £719 | October 4th | October 20th |
| 128GB | £819 | October 4th | October 20th |
Daydream View
Cardboard was previously the closest Google’s come to crafting a virtual reality headset, but the company has stepped things up today with the Daydream View. While it’s still smartphone-powered — Google’s Pixel handsets being the first to support the Daydream platform — the headset is clad in fabric for comfort and includes a motion-sensitive wand controller. Thankfully, it’s still relatively inexpensive at £69, and will be available early November.
Chromecast Ultra
Roku and Amazon have had streaming pucks and dongles that output at 4K for some time now, leaving Google a little behind the curve. The search giant has finally caught up today, though, with the announcement of the Chromecast Ultra. It does everything you’d expect a Chromecast to do, but adds Ultra HD, HDR and Dolby Vision support. It’s over double the price of previous generations at £69, mind, with no word on availability apart from a vague “soon.” In addition to Google’s online store, we’re told it’ll also be stocked by Currys PC World and Argos too.
Google Home & Google Wifi
Google finally filled us on its Amazon Echo competitor today, known only as “Home.” Nothing about the announcement was particularly surprising. Calling upon the built-it Assistant, you can ask Home all kinds of things and it’ll source information from across the web, and you can also instruct it control your other devices at home. It’s Google’s AI Assistant, confined to a WiFi speaker. Oh, and you can use it to play music too.
Google also announced a follow-up to its OnHub router today, called “Google Wifi.” Instead of a single piece of hardware, it uses multiple devices to create a mesh network to eliminate black spots. The kit also intelligently manages your devices, channels and bandwidth to get the best out of your broadband, and includes some handy parental control features to boot. Unfortunately, there’s no firm word on pricing or availability for either the Home speaker or the new router gear. We were simply told the company hopes to bring them to the UK next year, and we think you can probably expect the prices to be similar to the $129 US values, but in pounds.
Click here to catch all the latest news from today’s Google event.
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