Google announced during an online presentation on Wednesday evening which products will be released soon. It concerns a smart speaker, two smartphones and the new Chromecast. Information about Google TV has also been published.
Every year Google organizes a hardware event where the latest products for the coming months are presented. This year is slightly different, which is of course due to the pandemic. Not only is the range smaller, the presentation form is also more compact. In half an hour, Google announced four products, which we will discuss with you in this article.
Google Nest Audio
The first product is the Google Nest Audio. This is also the only product that Google officially releases in the Netherlands. The design is particularly striking when you place it next to the Google Home. The outside is made of fabric and there is only one button. With that button you switch the microphone on and off. Volume control is via invisible buttons on the top, as is the case with the Google Nest Mini.
Google promises that the Nest Audio will output 75 percent louder and 50 percent more bass compared to the Google Home. This is partly due to the 75mm mid-woofer and the 19mm tweeter. It is also true that there are now far fewer compressors, which increases the dynamic range. In addition, there is the Media EQ: an equalizer with which you adjust the sound reproduction. This applies to the chosen music, but also to the voice of the Google Assistant. In addition, the speaker can take into account sounds in the house, so that you always understand the Assistant well.
You can use two Google Nest Audios as a stereo pair and you can also include the speaker in an existing Google Cast network. Then you create a multiroom speaker setup with speakers from Google or other manufacturers that support Cast. The Google Nest Audio is available from October 15 in two colors: Chalk and Charcoal. The suggested retail price is 99 euros.
Google Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G
At the end of the year, we can also expect two smartphones from Google. The smartphones come to Germany, among other places, so you can get them from there. They are not officially coming to the Netherlands.
The Google Pixel 5 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. In addition, there is the security chip Titan M, a battery with a capacity of 4000 mAh (which is charged via USB-C or wirelessly) and you can immediately use Android 11. You also get access to three years of Android updates.
The OLED screen is 6 inches in size, has a Full HD + resolution and a screen refresh rate of 90 Hz. In the top left corner is a holepunch camera of 8 megapixels. The camera module on the back contains a 12.2 megapixel sensor (f / 1.7), which we also found on the Pixel 3. In addition, there is now a second sensor, namely a 16 megapixel wide-angle lens. The module is also equipped with a spectral and flicker sensor.
There is no face unlock, but there is a fingerprint scanner on the back. There is also an ip68 certificate and support for 5g. In October, the Google Pixel 5 will be released in the colors Sorta Sage and Just Black, for a suggested retail price of 629 euros.
The Google Pixel 4 a 5G falls somewhere between the Pixel 4 and 5. This device has a 6.2-inch OLED screen, 60Hz screen refresh, a Full HD + resolution and a holepunch camera.
Here, too, is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G under the hood. In addition, there is 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage space. The battery has a capacity of 3800 mAh and can only be charged via USB-C. The camera setup, on both the front and rear, is the same as on the Pixel 5.
The Google Pixel 4a 5G has a 3.5mm connection, a fingerprint scanner and a power button with a different color. The smartphone will soon be available in Just Black and has a suggested retail price of 499 euros in Germany.
Google Chromecast with Google TV
The Chromecast with Google TV is the final product of the presentation. Or actually they are two products. The first product is the new Chromecast. That is an HDMI dongle with a supplied remote control. Unlike other Chromecasts, the latest version has its own operating system: Google TV.
The communication is a bit confusing, but Google TV is basically an Android software shell for the Android TV media player. Google Chromecast with Google TV basically runs on Android TV, which makes it possible to install apps on it. Think of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney +. With the remote control you navigate through the menu, select apps and activate the Google Assistant (there is a special button for that).
Since the base is Android TV, it is still possible to cast content to the new Chromecast. The new device is already on the German Google Store and has a suggested retail price of 70 euros.
After the presentation of the Chromecast with Google TV, more information about Google TV has been released. A Google representative has announced that the software dispute is also coming to other devices that run on Android TV, such as TVs from Sony, Philips and TCL. Media players also come naturally, such as those of Nvidia for example.
It is striking, however, that Google Stadia does not immediately work with the new Chromecast. That will only happen in the first half of 2021. Because Stadia will then work on the Chromecast with Google TV, the idea is now that the game streaming service will also soon be released for other devices with Android TV. Finally, there is the news that the Google app with which you can rent and buy series and films is also being renamed Google TV. So you may soon be using the Google TV app on a device with Google TV.
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