If the Google Pixel is all you have been talking about since Wednesday evening’s product launch, we won’t blame you. It’s that beautiful. However, here is everything else that Google launched, along with the Pixel phones, at its product launch event.
The Google Pixel Buds
After making fun of Apple for ditching the headphone jack in its iPhone 7 lineup, Google has now gone the Apple-way, ditching — you guessed it — the headphone jack in the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2XL phones.
And the result? Google Pixel Buds, the company’s answer to Apple’s Air Pods.
The audio controls are on the right earbud, on a touchpad and they pair with the phone using Bluetooth. The Pixel Buds work for other android phones too, but they have to be running Android 7.0 or higher. The Buds are connected to Google Assistant as well, so all you have to do is just ask — whether it is to play music or make phone calls.
In addition, the headphones can also translate spoken language in real time, working with translation software built into the new Pixels, reports AP. The feature will be coming to last year’s Pixel models in an update.
Google Home Mini and Max
Competing against similar devices from Amazon and Apple, Google launched the Google Home Mini and the Google Home Max — Internet-connected speakers that can probably do everything except pick up your dry cleaning.
The Google Home Mini, rolled out as direct competition to Amazon’s Echo, is a small speaker, covered in coloured fabric. Powered by Google Assistant, you can use it to stream music through voice commands, or, if you have smart appliances, use the Mini to operate them.
According to AP, the Mini will cost almost $50, roughly the same price as Amazon’s smaller speaker, the Echo Dot.
The Google Home Max, which is the bigger version of the Mini, is a rectangular speaker with superior acoustics for playing music, mimicking Apple’s HomePod. Google is selling the Home Max for almost $400, $50 more than the HomePod.
Both speakers are due in December.
Google Clips
In a bid to showcase just how serious it is about its push into hardware, Google launched Google Clips, the company’s first standalone camera .
According to AP, Clips takes on compact cameras such as GoPro's Hero5 Session and Snap Inc's Spectacles as each strives to make the process of recording video simpler and more mobile.
The device uses AI and machine learning to make sure that users don’t miss moments. The camera is automatic and can be clipped onto surfaces, so there is no need for a “designated photographer”. It learns to recognise faces and takes short seven-second “clips” from which users can later pick and choose shots. Users also have unlimited Google Photos storage.
“Google Clips is coming soon to the U.S. for $249. In this first edition, Clips is designed specifically with parents and pet owners in mind. It works best with Pixel, and also works with Samsung S7/8 and on iPhone (6 and up),” Google wrote on their blog.
Google Pixelbook
“We’ve worked to combine the best parts of a laptop, a tablet, and a smartphone, to fit how we use technology today,” is how Google’s description of the Pixelbook reads.
The Pixelbook is the thinnest laptop Google has made so far, at 10.3 mm and 1.1 kgs. It also folds four ways, packing a 12.3 inch hi-res touchscreen, Intel® Core™ i5 and i7 processors and a charging port that shares with the Pixel phone.
There’s also a Pixelbook Pen — a responsive stylus — in the offing, although that has to be bought separately. Pixelbook is available in three configurations starting at $999 in the U.S., while the Pixelbook Pen is available at $99.
Google Daydream View
The Google Daydream View is a virtual reality headset that is an updated version of the previous iteration released last year. In combination with the Pixel phones — which are built for both augmented reality and virtual reality — the headset can be used for immersive VR experiences.
The new Daydream comes with more than 250 titles, high-performance lenses and three new colours.
(With inputs from Associated Press)
