Google have held their annual Made By Google event in New York City on October 9th, showcasing the best of the best when it comes to hardware created by the tech titan.
While most of the latest hardware was previously leaked in the lead up to the event, there were still a couple of surprises from Google left for the event, with a real focus on lifestyle products to help us through the day-to-day.
Here’s what Google has announced today.
Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL
Let’s talk about Google’s latest flagship phones.
The smaller Pixel 3 continues a similar design as the Pixel 2 with some improvements inside, while the Pixel 3 XL has a notch. It’s been the trend of 2018, since Apple released the iPhone X last year, and has divided opinion.
MAIN FEATURES:
The camera is the main talking point here. InStyle Australia has a good wrap-up on both these newly announced devices.
There’s lots of artificial intelligence at work on the camera front, including Top Shot which assists in capturing the perfect photo each time, Night Sight assists in low-light situations without the need for using a flash, Group Selfie Cam makes use of the wide-angle front-facing camera which means that group selfies will be easier than ever to get everyone in the shot, without needing a selfie stick while Playground overlays different augmented reality characters rendered on a scene and can interact with facial expressions on both photos and video.
There’s also Active Edge, an easy way to activate Google Assistant and wireless charging is finally here.
Flip To Shhh is Google’s way of helping you disconnect from the world, as part of their Digital Wellbeing initiative, by simply flipping over the Pixel 3 so that it’s face down to automatically turn off notifications.
For the full list of specs, you can check out the details on Men’s Health Australia.
Pixel Stand
It’s been a feature that has long been missing from the Pixel, but Google is finally bringing it to the Pixel 3. Wireless charging is now supported, and with it is the release of the Pixel Stand.
MAIN FEATURES:
When your Pixel 3 is docked on the Pixel Stand, the UI adapts and makes it easy to see the display from wherever you are in the room. It also turns your Pixel 3 into a clock.
Pixel Slate & Pixel Slate Keyboard
While Microsoft has announced a refreshed version of its Surface tablet and Apple have the iPad Pro and range of Macbooks, Google have come to the party with the new Pixel Slate. The device can double as a laptop as well as a tablet, and runs on Google’s ChromeOS.
Pixel Slate Keyboard is a full-sized and backlit attachable keyboard, and is fully adjustable. It also doubles as a case for the Pixel Slate. It’s also compatible with the Google Pixelbook Pen.
MAIN FEATURES:
- All-new ChromeOS – UI is optimised for touch screen displays and a full desktop experience
- Clear 293 PPI screen with 6 million pixels
- Dual front-firing speakers, custom audio
- 8MP rear and front cameras with portrait mode
- Fingerprint sensor on the power button
- Customised launcher with apps that you use frequently and based on the time that you usually use them.
- Deep Google Assistant integration
- Wide-angle lens, excellent low-light performance
- Family Link functionality
- Night Light tunes the display temperature
- Built-in virus protection and automatic updates
- Titan Security
The bad news on this incredibly good looking device is that there’s no word on the availability of the Pixel Slate in Australia, however, will be available in the US, Canada and the UK at launch.
Google Home Hub
Smart displays are the new trend, and Google has joined in with the Google Home Hub. Competing against Amazon’s Echo Show, the Home Hub features a 7” touch display, WiFi, Bluetooth and ambient light sensor. It also completes the ‘Google Home’ family of smart-speakers which are currently available in Australia.
MAIN FEATURES:
There’s a couple of standout features of the Google Home Hub.
Ambient EQ fine-tunes the brightness and colours of the display based on the time of the day, while Home View provides a glance at everything that’s going on in your home.
Live Albums show up automatically on the screen as well to display your favourite memories. Machine learning will also only show the best photos, taking out blurry or low-light images from the feed.
You can find out more information on Google Home Hub over on Home Beautiful.
We were invited to New York City by Google for the ‘Made by Google’ event.
