Google's October 4th Pixel Event
(Above) Pixel Phone
The Pixel Phone is the first phone made by Google
The main event on October 4th was to showcase the Pixel, the new phone by google. It features the Google Assistant, Google's new AI. IT is daydream Compatible, meaning it can provide a high quality VR experience when paired with a Daydream VR headset like the Daydream View(below).
Daydream is a platform for providing high quality VR and uses a Wii-like controller. As of now, the Pixel is the only daydream-ready phone available. It is reported that more daydream-ready phones will be released soon.
The Pixel has the highest DxOMark (camera rating system) of any phone ever made. It is the first phone to use the Snapdragon 821, the latest chip by Qualcomm. It comes in 2 sizes, the Pixel, 5.0 inches, 2770 Mah battery, and the Pixel XL, 5.5 inches, 3450 Mah battery. Other than screen and battery size, they have the same internals. It features quick charging, which claims to give you 9 hours of battery life in 15 minutes of charge. Pricing starts at $649 for the Pixel and $769 for the Pixel XL. Add $100 to bump storage from 32GB to 128GB. Full spec chart below.
Also announced is Google Wifi. Google Wifi is a little hockey-puck sized wifi router. It can be combined with multiple routers to provide coverage to a large area.
Pricing for this new Wifi system starts at $129 for an individual unit and $300 for a 3-pack.
Google Home is Google's competitor to the Amazon Echo(Alexa). It features the google assistant, and a touch sensitive top for control when you can't talk to it.
The lower part contains an omni-directional speaker and can be removed and changed for other color options. It uses Google's proven voice-recognition technology is expected to be a strong competitor to the Echo. It starts at $129 and the swappable bases are $20 each.
Both Google Home and the Pixel use the Google assistant. The Google assistant is a new, more human-like version of Google Now. It has the ability to complete tasks, such as setting an alarm, navigating to work, reminding you, telling you a joke, playing a game, changing device settings, and more.
Another product announced is chromecast Ultra. This is a premium way to stream media from a computer, phone, or tablet to your TV. It supports 4k video streaming so you can see your media in high-resolution. It starts at $69.
