Google presents Pixel smartphones with “the best cell phone camera ever made” and other news, such as Home and Daydream View VR

A special event from the Google held in San Francisco (California) and the Mountain View giant certainly was excited to present a series of novelties to the world, both in terms of hardware and software.

Let’s take a brief look at them below?

Pixel and Pixel XL

The main and most widely awaited novelty of the day has a name: Pixel. Thus, the new smartphones from Google were baptized, following the celebrated line of tablets and laptops designed at home.

Pixel and Pixel XL

The Nexus line, which had been representing Google’s “official” smartphones for six years, was discontinued for a very simple reason: it represented only a “reference platform” so that other manufacturers could mirror themselves when creating their Android devices; it was designed jointly with other manufacturers (HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, Huawei, etc.) and had no great advertising or intent on selling in large volumes.

The real game starts now: Pixel is being widely publicized as the Phone by Google (“Google phone”), as it is a device entirely designed at the company – and only assembled by HTC -, thought from end to end as an integrated experience for users (remember anyone?).

The design, entirely based on aluminum and glass, comes in two sizes: 5 and 5.5 inches – this second is called Pixel XL, and the only differences between the two are in physical size, battery capacity (2,770mAh and 3,450mAh, respectively) and screen resolution (1920 × 1080 and 2560 × 1440 pixels, respectively). The specifications for the Pixel are as expected for a top-of-the-line smartphone in 2016: Snapdragon 821 four-core, 4GB RAM, AMOLED screen, Gorilla Glass 4 and 32GB or 128GB of storage capacity. Oh, and headphone output – which needs to be reported today.

One of the big stars here, according to Google, is the camera. A single, 12.3 megapixel, which received 89 points in the DxOMark test (site that is a world reference in camera evaluation). This is more than the 86 points of the iPhone 7 or any other smartphone, making the Pixel camera “the best cell phone camera in history”, as Google is loving to spread around. The device also shoots in 4K resolution at 30 frames per second or Full HD 1080p in slow motion at 120 frames per second.

The other great asset of Pixel, according to its creator, is software. This advantage already starts with Google Photos, which, for all smartphone owners, will give you unlimited space to store all photos and videos at full resolution. In addition, Google Assistant, the new generation of Google Now (largely more powerful and with an interface more similar to that of Siri) is built into the device – all within the new Android 7.0 7.1 “Nougat”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rykmwn0SMWU

Unlocked smartphones start at $ 649 for the 5 inch version and $ 769 for the 5.5 ″ version – adding $ 100 each to take 128GB of storage. In the United States, Google has an exclusive partnership with Verizon to sell them under contract. There are three colors: quite black (very black), very silver (very silver) and really blue (really blue – the latter, exclusive to Verizon), all available for pre-order today.

Daydream View VR

The Pixel will also be the first smartphones compatible with the Daydream View VR, which is the second big news of the day. Google’s first virtual reality device (not to mention Cardboard VR, of course) is unlike any other we’ve ever seen: with a body fully lined with soft fabrics and materials, the goal is to make the headset as comfortable and inviting as possible.

Google Daydream View VR

The Daydream View VR comes with a special remote control, full of positional sensors so precise that, according to Google, they allow you to draw with the movement of your hands. The small accessory has a specific compartment to be stored inside the headset when both are not being used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLLAA4ENIP4

Among the contents that will be available for the accessory at launch are a new game based on the movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, from the Harry Potter series, as well as a new Google Street View application and support for 360º YouTube videos. Daydream View VR initially comes in color slate, and two others (snow and crimson) will come later. The accessory costs $ 79 and will be available in November.

Chromecast Ultra

Google Chromecast Ultra

Continuing the flood of releases for the day, Google also announced the Chromecast Ultra, new version of its small (and successful) accessory that turns any TV into a smart TV powerful.

The new model preserves the design of the previous version, but now supports 4K, HDR and Dolby Vision, in addition to an Ethernet port integrated into the power cable for more reliable connections. The Chromecast Ultra costs $ 69 and will be available in December; to accompany the launch, Google Play Movies will soon offer 4K content.

Google Wifi

Google Wifi

In terms of connectivity, the company announced the Google Wifi, its first own router that has a series of cards up its sleeve. The device is modular, allowing multiple units to be installed within a home / office, creating a unique and intelligent network that directs devices to the fastest or least used frequency.

An application allows the user to granularly manage all aspects of his network, as well as to limit the access of certain people simply by pressing a pause button. The device will be available in December, costing $ 129 a unit or $ 299 in a three-pack.

Google Home

Google Home

Finally, we also saw the announcement of the Google Home, a smart home assistant along the lines of Amazon Echo. The speaker mix with JARVIS had already been demonstrated at Google I / O in May, but now we know more about its capabilities (such as natural language, the ability to connect to other devices like TV and the willingness to work together) – if there is more than one Google Home in the house, they themselves decide which one to answer the user’s call, for example.

Google Home will also come with a six-month subscription to YouTube Red (the YouTube version focused on music and original content) and will cost $ 129, also with a three-unit package costing $ 299. The bottom of the device is interchangeable and several colors / finishes will be available. It will begin shipping on November 4th.

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So, what did you think of the news? Does Apple have a lot to go for? Say your impressions right down here in the comments!