Google launches new Pixel smartphones and Pixelbook laptop
New Pixel smartphones and Pixelbook 2-on-1 notebook were launched by Google in San Francisco.
While a swag of hardware devices were launched, the underlying theme was Google’s transition from a mobile-first to artificial intelligence-first company. AI was infused in virtually all the products that Google announced.
Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL
Google second-generation Pixel phones face fiercer competition in the market than the first generation Pixel launched a year ago. It’s claim to fame was that you get pure Android. You’re the first to get Android updates, security patches and new features. But in 2017, several other mid to high range Android handsets offer this.
In Australia, Pixel 2 not only has to compete with Apple and Samsung, but also a range of China vendors that are beginning to do well here such as Huawei, Oppo, and of recent times OnePlus.
The fact it doesn’t have a slot for a microSD card doesn’t help it’s cause.
But it has one new standout feature — you can summon Google Assistant simply by squeezing the phone And speaking your request.
You can squeeze the phone and ask it to call a friend, or at home, squeeze the phone and broadcasts an announcement over your Google home devices there.
You can set up a series of actions that take place when you squeeze the phone and speak commands. For example if you say “Google, let’s go home” when you get in your car, it might play your most recent messages, send a text to your partner that you’re coming home, and resume a podcast you’re listening to beforehand.
The HTC made Pixel is a reasonably conservative design. It has an all aluminium body with curved coloured glass.
The fingerprint sensor is still on the back, but Google says it is placed where your finger naturally would tap the rear. It says the phone unlocks faster than other handsets.
It has front facing stereo speakers which are attuned to produce balanced volume, clarity, and frequency response.
Google, like Apple, has ditched the 3.5mm headphone jack in favour of a single USB-C socket. But it supplies an adaptor for an analog earphones.
The smaller Pixel 2 has a 5.2-inch full HD OLED display and comes in three colours: blue black and white. The larger Pixel 2 XL has glass curved to the edges and a higher resolution QuadHD display with 538 pixels per inch resolution.
Google says the displays have a circular polariser which lets you seen the screen contents even when wearing polarised sunglasses.
Both phones are IP67 water and dust resistant, which is a step up from the original pixels.
Unlike newer phones by Apple, Huawei and Samsung, Google is sticking with a single rear-facing lens camera.
It uses Google’s new version of its smartphone operating system Android Oreo, Which lets you batch notifications, and supports picture-in-picture modes.
The phones have an always-on display which shows emails, text notifications and reminders without you needing to press buttons.
There’s an in-built Shazam-like music discovery feature called Favorite Song which not only identifies music but lets you add the song to your library. You can instantly watch the song on YouTube video.
The Google quick search box is now at the bottom of the screen and remains as you swipe across home screens. It returns web search results, along with contacts and apps matching your search-term.
Google heavily spruiked the Pixel 2’s single lens 12 megapixel, back facing camera which is the same on both models. While last year’s camera achieved a DXOMark rating of 89, this year’s was scored at 98.
Google says it takes a burst of shots every time you press and combines pixels algorithmically for optimal colour and contrast. All this happens instantly with zero shutter lag.
There’s a new focus mechanism and optical image stabilisation to reduce hand shake.
Google, like Apple, offers a portrait mode that blurs the background, but it’s done with one camera lens, is available on both handset models, and works with the front facing camera as well.
There’s optical image stabilisation and video stabilisation at the same time during video recording
A motion photos mode captures up to three seconds of video and applies Google’s new “fuse video stabilisation” to the result.
Google also showed off a fun feature called augmented reality stickers. You drop an animated character into a frame of a photo that you’re about to take, and the character will begin moving around and interacting with the surroundings. If you drop another character into the frame they will react to each other. You then get a short video.
In Australia, Pixel 2 will cost $1079 for a model with 64GB of storage, and $1229 for one with 128GB.
The XL model will cost $1399 (64GB) and $1549 (128GB). Preorders start October 20.
Google Pixelbook 2-in-1 notebook
Google’s new Pixelbook is 10mm thick — Google says the thinnest it has made — and weighs one kilogram. It’s a convertible laptop that can be used as a laptop and tablet and in tent mode for watching video.
It has a 12.3-inch touchscreen display, quad HD LCD display with 235 pixels per inch, and a backlit keyboard. It is configured with Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, and has up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of solid-state storage.
It offers up to 10 hours of use from a single charge, and Google says plugging it in for 15 minutes gives you two hours of battery life. You can use the Pixelbook charger with your Pixel phone.
It has what Google calls instant tethering. If it can’t connect to Wi-Fi, it will connect automatically through your phone. That may be OK in the US but could be problematic to Australian users who have limited cellular data use.
It uses Google’s Chrome OS operating system with multiple layers of security and automatic updates.
It too offers Google assistant. You can ask Pixel to play a video, and it will play it automatically on YouTube.
Google announced a pen called the Pixelbook Pen which it says offers 10 msec of latency, 60 degrees of angular awareness, and 2000+ levels of pressure sensitivity.
Apps on your phone will be available on the laptop. Some manufacturers are already bringing mobile like experiences to Chrome OS. For example, Google is working with Snapchat to bring a Snapchat experience to Pixelbook where you can edit a photo and immediately post it.
It will be available in three configuration, and in the US starts at $US999 dollars. The pen will cost $US99. It will be in stores in the US from October 31. Australian availability is not known yet.
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