From the import Google ’s bragging product event kick off on Wednesday , it seemed as if every speaker was attempting to peevishness expectation and say , in not so many words : “ We get it , you ’ve see this before . But this time … Google ’s doing it . ”
The most clamorous example of a Google spokesperson teeing up this admittance came from senior vice president of hardware Rick Osterloh . He reminded everyone in the elbow room about Google ’s history of bit by bit come to dominate field of the securities industry in which it was n’t first , but arguably became the best — areas like email , browsing , mobile OS , and even search . It ’s kind of like how Apple was late to MP3 players and smartphones , or how Facebook was n’t the first societal meshwork . And with that , we saw a series of products that grabbed feature article from all over the landscape and will ( maybe ) add a bunch of zeros to the Google bottom line someday .
Pixel 2
Osterloh underscore his sympathy for tech reviewers who have to publish about the same venial updates between generations of phone as a preliminary to the unveiling of thePixel 2 — an ominous sign for a phone that looks good , but does n’t offer anything particularly unequaled .
The Pixel line ’s big merchandising point , so far , has been its well - regarded camera , and the latest editions , the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2XL , have againwon congratulations from camera expert . But perhaps more significantly for user Google is adding the live photo and portrait modes that the iPhone has been rock for a while now . And like HTC ’s squeezable U smartphone , the unexampled Pixels come with a insistency - sensitive flesh . Neat !
And a year after Apple mimicked DSLRs with its portrayal mode feature , Google has answer with in effect the same feature film for its new phone ; a portrait mood that stands out only because it does n’t require two camera to achieve the effect . Google is n’t the first company to use software system to emulate a shallow depth of field , but when we judge out the Pixel 2 out ourselves , the resolution shove off us away — when it worked .
You ’ll also get 4 K video with the new Pixel , but the biggest rip off of the iPhone by far ( and to a lesser extent , the Moto Z ) is the exclusion of the headphone jack . You ’ll now be in dongle hell just like Apple fans . delight it .
Google Home Max
TheHome Maxis a blatant attack by Google to challenge Apple ’s HomePod with a figure that efficaciously crams the Google Assistant into aSonos Play:5form divisor . It features better sound quality than the received Google Home and more significantly it adapt to its position in the room as well as the situation , like sudden ambient volume fluctuations — kind of like Sonos !
Google Pixel Buds
Google ’s jumping into the Bluetooth earbuds game withPixel Buds , its very own variation of Apple ’s AirPods . Like the AirPods , these are just wireless headphones that can call up a voice assistant with a dab on the side and automatically pair with a phone .
But we can cut Google some slack water here for a few reasons . The Pixel Buds have a cord to keep them together , playing music and mass can be ascertain through touching gestures , and Google Assistant is built in . ( AirPods have an choice to tap for Siri streamed from your earpiece , or tap to run / intermission . ) The most telling feature demonstrated was an instant translation option that allegedly can render a conversation you ’re having in genuine - prison term with 40 different languages . It ’s a nice idea , certainly , but let ’s wait and see how that work out in the real Earth .
AR Stickers
With Apple puttingso much emphasison augment reality , Google had to invest extra time in promoting its own AR computer programing toolkit , ARCore , and the common canonic AR apps that let you see furniture in your room before you buy it .
Both companies appear to have been working on the construct for years , but Google ’s dancing nutrient stickers felt dangerously like Snapchat ’s dance live dog — one of theonly intoxicate thingsSnap could portion out during its most recent pay call with investor . Snap CEO Evan Spiegel ’s wife , Miranda Kerr , hates when companiesdo stool like this . Sorry , Evan .
Google Clips
Google Clipsis a modest lifelogging photographic camera , and perchance the most out - of - left - field announcement of the day . But there aretons of these thingson the market , and nobody ’s ever really figured out if this something thatanyone want . Google is betting that it can make the great unwashed deal by exact its creepy little tv camera is better than the rest at choosing when to automatically snap a pic — and that it will just get better through political machine find out over meter .
If lifelogging is something you want to do , this might be just the snoopy machine for you . But there are definitely other options out there that wo n’t put you back $ 249 . Or hey , you could just draw out your telephone set .
Pixelbook Pen
The style is not a young idea , but thePixelbook , Google ’s high - end Chromebook , has a high - end stylus that can be buy individually , and it surely looks a lot likeMicrosoft ’s Surface PenandApple ’s Pencil .
It ’s big and proffer 10ms of rotational latency , 60 degree of angulate awareness , over 2,000 story of pressure sensitivity , and it was co - designed by Wacom . It ’ll cost you the same price as the $ 99 Apple Pencil , but unlike that stylus , it should be able-bodied to function on more than one piece of ironware . Google saysyou can usethe Pixelbook Pen with any touchscreen if it ’s running an app that include the correct API .
Cayenne the Pig
At Google ’s Pixel case , Nest CTO Yoky Matsuoka indicate off all the new feature article that Google ’s fresh habitation company is pop the question . And in one demonstration , she used her pet pig bed Cayenne in an example of how you could track your pig ’s misdeeds by install a Nest camera in your house . This was a vociferous attack to take attention aside fromElon Musk ’s pet escargot , Gary . The move was made all the more baffling by the fact that Nest is n’t even directly competing with Musk . To which we must impart a very of import question : Gary , are you still okay ?
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