Next week, on October 4th, Google will unveil its latest hardware to the world. We’re expecting a pair of new Nexus-style phones, a smart speaker, a Wi-Fi router and much more — here’s what you need to know.
Pixel and Pixel XL
The stars of Google’s show are set to be its new phones. Instead of Nexus, Google will be switching to the Pixel brand that previously adorned its laptops and the Pixel C tablet. Based on comments from Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the new Pixel phones will represent a more opinionated Google, with more special software features and a greater emphasis on hardware design than Nexus phones have typically had in the past.
The two phones will look nearly identical, differing only in their size; The Pixel will have a 5-inch 1080p display, the Pixel XL a 5.5-inch 1440p screen. Both will be made from aluminium, and have a passing resemblance to the iPhone. The one difference will be the fingerprint scanner, which is on the back like previous Nexus phones.
The Pixel phones will ship with Android 7.1 Nougat, which was released in September. They’ll have a few tweaks from stock Android, including a new launcher, circular icons and filled-in software buttons.
Inside, the phones will be quite high-end: a Snapdragon 821 processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and 12-megapixel Sony cameras.
This is matched by a premium price point; Android Police have reported that the phones will cost $649 in the US sim-free — the same as a Note 7 or iPhone 7. We’d expect a similarly high price in the UK, around £600.
Chromecast Ultra
Chromecast Ultra is a 4K-capable Chromecast, the perfect companion to 4K televisions and monitors. The Chromecast will also support HDR, although which particular standard is not yet known. It’ll cost $69 in the US, double that of a standard Chromecast — so we’d expect £60 here.
Google Home
Google Home is the company’s version of Amazon’s Echo smart speaker. A non-portable speaker for your home, with an excellent microphone, paired with the Google Assistant so it can answer queries, control your gadgets and (of course) play music. This will cost $129 in the US, so its UK price might be £119.
Google Wi-Fi
Google Wi-Fi is a powerful router, designed to be deployed in groups to ensure good Wi-Fi reception across your home. Like previous Google-backed routers, it will come with easy-to-use software that let you set it up and solve common problems from your phone.
Andromeda?
As we reported earlier this week, Google’s plan to combine its Chrome OS and Android operating systems have resulted in a new OS with the code name Andromeda. We don’t expect to see a retail device until fall next year, but it’s possible that Google could officially announce the crossover OS at the October 4th event.
Wrapping up
So — that’s everything we’re expecting to appear at Google’s jam-packed October 4th event. Stay tuned to see the announcements covered here at our blog, and of course we’ll have plenty of cases and accessories for the new phones as well.
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