Google event to showcase new products

Analysts expect Google to unveil its latest Android smartphones, a virtual reality headset and an Internet-connected device for the home that will rival the Amazon Echo at an event the company has set for Oct. 4.

Google has divulged few clues to its intentions. But analysts expect to see new phones that will work with Google’s latest Android operating system and will support a virtual reality platform called Daydream. The phones may also command a premium price: Some analysts predict that the new devices, under the Pixel brand, will cost $499 to $649, putting them in line with Apple’s iPhone 7, which starts at $649.

Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy, expects Google to team up with other manufacturers on cheaper smartphones ranging from $299 to $399 — priced similarly to the Nexus-branded phones it has produced in the past. (Some analysts expect the Nexus brand to be discontinued, but Moorhead thinks it will remain.)

Google should be aware that Apple has captured much of the higher-end smartphone market and be careful that the Android name isn’t associated only with cheaper phones, he said. “To me, they should charge as high a price as they can, without getting piggish on profits.”

Google spokeswoman Iska Saric declined to provide specifics on the new products.

“Look forward to seeing you on October 4th where all of your questions will be answered,” she wrote in an email.

Google may also discuss more details about its virtual reality headset and controller that will work with smartphones and the Daydream platform. Google didn’t reveal the price of for the headset when it introduced it in May. The Daydream platform could give Google an edge on Apple in the fast-emerging VR field, because the iPhone 7 has not been marketed for high-quality VR in the same way.

Apps for Daydream will be crucial to its success, said Ramon Llamas, an IDC research manager.

“If you are going to have just a handful of applications, this is going to be an expensive toy that only a few people will get their hands on,” he said.

In addition to the phones, Google is expected to reveal prices and a release date for Google Home, its Internet-connected device similar to the Amazon Echo. Users can speak to the device, which is roughly the size of a coffee cup, and ask it questions on topics like the weather, schedule appointments or check on deliveries. Google announced Google Home at its developer conference in May.

Moorhead said it is crucial for Google to get the device into stores for the holiday shopping season. Otherwise, “they will lose even more momentum to Amazon,” he said.

Google is far better known for its software like Gmail and search, not its hardware. But the bonanza of new products is part of the company’s plan to increase the number of users and time spent on its own products and services, said Ali Mogharabi, an equity analyst at Morningstar Inc.

“The more users that you have, the more businesses and advertisers that you can attract,” he said.