Google launches their own Pixel phone
Inadvertently leaked by several vendors days before its launch, the Google Pixel phone finally made its official debut yesterday at Google’s grand launch in San Francisco. Departing from previous efforts like the Nexus 6P, the Pixel comes only with Google’s logo emblazoned on top. It aesthetically takes a few cues off HTC’s design language; no surprise seeing as HTC are the ones actually manufacturing the phone for Google this time out though this is the first time that Google has departed from co-branding the phones, instead opting purely for a ‘Made by Google’ approach for the device. The HTC connection was confirmed, via Phone Arena‘s inquiry which had Jeff Gordon, Senior Global Online Communications Manager at HTC, stating that “HTC is Google’s manufacturing partner for the Pixel.”
The Google Pixel comes with a 5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display with 441ppi sheathed in 2.5D Corning Gorilla glass 4 and has a Snapdragon 821 processor paired with 4GB RAM and either 32GB or 128GB of storage. The rear camera has a 12.3MP sensor with larger 1.55μm pixels for better image quality and an F/2.0 aperture. The front camera is an 8-MP model with an F/2.4 aperture and 1.4µm pixels. Video for the rear camera is captured at luscious 4K@30fps though 1080p@30fps, 50fps and smooth 120fps is available. Charging the onboard 2,770mAh battery is via a USB Type C port at the base that packs fast charging support, allowing for 7 hours of use with a 15-minute charge. A fingerprint sensor at the base unlocks the phone and has a few other interesting tweaks too for easier web navigation. The Pixel also comes in a larger size dubbed the Pixel XL that has similar cameras, specs and storage – 32GB or 128GB – but differs on account of a larger 5.5-inch 1080p Super Amoled screen and a larger 3,450mAh battery.
What makes the Pixel special though is not just the hardware, which is pretty solid to begin with. The phones run their latest Android Nougat 7.1 OS though the main draw here is the inclusion of their new Google Assistant that’s smart enough to understand context when you’re verbally interrogating it for answers. Queries like asking it for traffic conditions heading home or what time a restaurant nearby closes yield practical responses rather than just simply slinging you to a Google searchbar. That’s a real step up rather than having to couch all your questions like a Dalek. Handy, that.
Another benefit with the Pixel is unlimited storage of videos and photos at full resolution, which is a step up from the current option with Google Photos on most Android phones that downscales snaps to high resolution. The Pixel is available for preorder in the US, UK, Canada, Germany and Australia starting from US$649 for the 32GB 5-inch variant and US$749 for the Pixel XL with your choice of three colours – silver, black and ‘Really Blue’. There’s no official word yet on a local launch or if there’ll even be one but we’ll keep you posted.
https://youtu.be/Rykmwn0SMWU