Google unveils suite of new products including 2-in-1 notebook and language translating wireless earphones
GOOGLE has unveiled a raft of new consumer tech gadgets taking direct aim at rivals Amazon and Apple.
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GOOGLE has unveiled new phones, smart speakers and other devices including a laptop-tablet and wireless headphones that can translate languages for you in real time.
The company’s latest suite of consumer tech gadgets are infused with artificial intelligence in Google’s renewed bid to claim the high ground against rivals Amazon and Apple in the competitive AI arms race.
Here’s everything you need to know about Google’s new range of products.
NEW PHONES
The search giant has debuted its second generation smartphone, the Pixel 2 and the larger ‘XL’ version.
While the Pixel 2 looks almost identical to its predecessor, the 2 XL has seen some notable design changes. Like other premium phones on the market, Google has followed the trend of pushing the display right to edges of the phone’s face, reducing the bezel. As a result the XL display has jumped from 5.5 inches (14cm) to 6 inches (15.2cm).
Both the 6-inch Pixel XL and the 5-inch Pixel will also do away with the headphone jack, something Apple did with the iPhone 7 last year. After subtly mocking Apple for the move, Google has now followed suit.
Google has improved the already highly rated camera on the Pixel, boasting that it will take even better photos than the iPhone.
In Australia, the Pixel 2 will cost $1079 for a model with 64GB of storage, and $1229 for 128GB or storage. The XL will cost $1399 (64GB) and $1549 (128GB).
LANGUAGE TRANSLATING PIXEL BUDS
Google is taking aim at Apple’s highly popular Airpods — recently voted by customers as it best product — with its own version of wireless headphones, which boast the capability to translate 40 different languages in real time.
The earbuds use Google Assistant so you can converse with the AI-powered helper without taking out your phone. There is a touch pad on the right headphone bud to access Google Assistant which also allows you to toggle with your music.
Unlike the AirPods, they aren’t completely wireless as a cable connects each side of the headphone set.
The truly impressive feature of the earbuds appears to be the real time language translation. During a demo at the launch event, two Google employees had a chat on stage with one speaking in Swedish and the other responding in English as the headphones translated over the loudspeaker.
The feature will work on any Android-powered phone with the latest Google Assistant and will retail in the US for $US159 ($A202).
Google Pixel Buds work with Google Translate to provide real-time, two-way voice translation. We are living in the future. #GoogleEvent pic.twitter.com/piQKimHEgg
— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) October 4, 2017
SMART SPEAKERS
Google’s home speaker was released in Australia just a few months ago and the company has now unveiled a ‘Mini’ version.
The small disc-shaped speaker is covered in fabric and includes the same features rolled out in the cylindrical speaker that Google released in response to the Amazon Echo.
The company also unveiled a larger version for music lovers called the Google Home Max — a rectangular speaker with superior acoustics for playing music, mimicking Apple’s HomePod.
Like Apple with the HomePod, Google is promising that its Max speaker will learn your musical tastes so it can become a digital DJ that automatically selects tunes that you’ll enjoy. But the Max speaker will work with a wider range of music-streaming services than the HomePod, which is characteristically designed to be a companion to Apple Music.
Google’s voice-activated digital assistant will serve as the brains for all the speakers, just as Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri run their competing devices. All three technology companies are trying to establish their assistants as prescient concierges that understand people’s needs and desires to help them better manage their homes and lives.
Google is counting on the knowledge that it has accumulated through its dominant search engine to make its assistant far more intelligent than its rivals — a strategy that appears to be paying off.
PIXELBOOK 2-IN-1 NOTEBOOK
The 2-in-1 notebook is a convertible PC that can be used as a tablet and has a 12.3-inch (31.2cm) touchscreen display.
It’s the first laptop powered by Google Assistant and will support Snapchat, the company said.
At the launch event the new Pixelbook laptop was touted as a “high performance” computer powered by its Chrome operating system and designed as a rival to Microsoft’s Surface and Apple’s iPad Pro.
The device boasts 235 pixels per inch, has a backlit keyboard and contains up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of solid-state storage.
The Pixelbook is priced at $US999 ($A1,272) and will hit stores in the US at the end of the month but Australian pricing and availability is not known yet.
Meet Pixelbook, the first laptop with the Google Assistant, and Pixelbook Pen. pic.twitter.com/gnWuodoqi6
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) October 4, 2017
HANDS FREE CAMERA
In a surprise move, Google is introducing a hands-free camera that will automatically take photos and video for people looking to catch candid moments of their family, friends and pet.
The small, square device, called Google Clips, can be attached to a stationary object so it can capture images of everything within its range of view. It will rely on artificial intelligence to learn what and who is important to its users so it knows the best times to snap a photo or record video.
Google is promising that privacy controls built into Clips will give the camera’s users complete control over which images they want to transfer to another device or share with someone else.
— With AP
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