Google unveils latest Pixel phone, rolls out new TV service

SAN RAMON » Google will try to make a bigger splash in the smartphone market with a cheaper high- end model while it also aims to expand its presence on bigger screens with a new TV service.

The products unveiled Wednesday focus on two areas where Google has struggled to make significant inroads. Google also used a half-hour showcase streamed online to introduce a $99 speaker that is says has better acoustics for playing music than the cheaper ones that it has been selling primarily as a command center for its voiceactivated assistant.

Google’s latest smartphone represents the fifth generation of a device that was supposed to prove the Mountain View, California, company can make hardware as well as it does software after the brand made its 2016 debut.

Although Google’s software is used by billions of people on their smartphones, its Pixel phones have barely made dent in the market. Sales have been disappointing despite mostly positive reviews, especially for camera technology that has prompted Apple to introduce similar features in iPhones.

Google has sold a total of 19 million Pixel phones so far, including just 3 million of the last model released a year ago, based on estimates fromthe research firm International Data Corp. By comparison, Apple sold twice as many iPhones in just three months — April to June — during the middle of a pandemic when millions of people were stuck at home, based on IDC’s estimates.