Google brings out the hardware; PlayStation goes VR; Yahoo squeals.
Pixel phone gets Google Assistant, and sets its sights on Apple’s iPhone
WHY THE BIG FUSS over Google’s new Pixel phone? Because, unlike the Nexus series, it is more than a branding exercise. Google has integrated its own software into the Android 7.1 phone much more fully, including adding Google Assistant for the first time. The ultimate aim is to build an integrated suite of devices, a digital ecosystem, that offers a unified experience. This approach is what has made Apple so effective, and what puts the Pixel in direct competition with the iPhone.
There are two models. The Pixel has a five-inch 1920x1080 screen, a 2.1GHz Snapdragon 821 processor, coupled to 4GB of memory, and either 32GB or 128GB of storage. There’s “the highest-rated smartphone camera ever,” with 12.3MP, and a DxOMark of 89 (DxO Labs’ benchmarking tool for digital cameras). The Pixel XL is the same, but a little bigger, with a six-inch 2560x1440 screen, and a higher capacity battery. The Pixel does have a 3.5mm jack, but isn’t water-resistant, which has drawn some deserved criticism. It is also the first phone to be compatible with Google’s VR platform, DayDream. The phone is being built by HTC, a welcome boost for the company, which has been struggling recently. Prices range from $649 to $869, exactly iPhone 7 territory.
The Pixel isn’t alone—at its big launch event, Google had a few other goodies to show off. These included Google Home, a so-called smart speaker. It looks like a large air freshener, but acts as a voice-activated portal to music services and libraries, similar to Amazon’s Echo. It has few other tricks, too, depending on how wired your home is, including controlling video streaming via the Google Cast protocol. It’ll set you back $129. To make sure you can run it anywhere, the company also has a new Wi-Fi router. And, lastly, we have the $79 DayDream View VR headset, so you can comfortably strap the Pixel to your head.
However, the next big step has yet to emerge—the much anticipated Andromeda project. This is a merging of Android and Chrome OS. It has been a long time coming, but the ambition warrants it—a single OS usable across a slew of platforms, from smart devices and phones through to laptops. Expect more next year, along with new Pixel laptops.
Google Assistant is Google’s take on an AI-powered personal digital assistant. According to Google, it is “conversational, an ongoing two-way dialog between you and Google that understands your world and helps you get things done.” It can tap into the vast well of knowledge Google has built for itself over the years, and if you’ve logged in at all, it’ll have a fat file on your preferences.
Google’s previous hardware efforts have had a scattergun approach—Google Glass went nowhere. The Pixel and Google Home are properly integrated parts of a larger whole. The hardware is less important than the platform. Google wants to be with you wherever you are, and whatever you are doing. Competition is moving toward a time when the real focus is not so much about which hardware you are running, but on whether your digital world is powered by Google Assistant, Alexa, Cortana, or Siri.
The aim is to build a digital ecosystem that offers a unified experience.