News: Google Pixel

Yesterday at their big event in San Francisco, along with some shiny new tech, Google revealed their first own brand phone.  Developed in-house rather than using other manufacturers, Google have moved away from the Nexus range to take on Apple and Samsung.

Meet Pixel, Phone by Google

As expected (and leaked) Google have released the Pixel & Pixel XL handsets.

The devices are positioned to go up against the heavyweights of the smartphone market, and has some very impressive features to help them do so.

Pixel is the first phone to have Google assistant built into the OS providing a seamless experience, in what the demo’s showed, is a very polished virtual assistant experience.

Two of the demonstrations highlighted how it can help with your travels, be it assisting with translations or scanning your gmail and calendar for flight info.

Then there is the camera, being billed as the new best smartphone camera available.  At the start of last month, Apple released the iPhone7 boasting the best smartphone camera on the market.  Well it seems Google have pinched that title with a rating of 89 DxOMark, the highest score ever given to a mobile device. Google then go a step further and offer free unlimited storage for all your photos and videos (without scaling them down).  Very tempting it you are on an extended trip or gap year maybe!

Pixel’s camera lets you take stunning photos in low light, bright light or any light. Catch action shots as they happen with Smartburst, which takes a rapid-fire sequence of shots and automatically selects the best one. Use Lens Blur to achieve shallow depth of field and bokeh effects, making your subject pop. You can capture dramatic landscapes or make faces glow with new exposure controls.

The only differences between the 2 models, other then the 5″ v 5.5″ screens, is the resolution which is slightly lower on the Pixel compared to the XL and a bigger battery.  Otherwise both handsets boast:

• AMOLED Screens
• 4gb RAM
• 32 or 128gb Storage
• Snapdragon 821 processor
• 8mp Front Camera
• 12mp Rear Camera, both shooting 4k video

In a bold move, Google are also including  a Quick Switch Adapter in the box, which will help you move from your old iPhone to the Pixel!

The Pixel will come in three colours, with Really Blue being made available to the US market only.

There are a few notable exceptions to the offering though. The Pixel rivals are all water and dust resistant. Samsung offer wireless charge, iris scanning and have expandable Storage slots.  The Apple 7plus camera, although lower graded, offers more options for budding photographers.

The Pixel will start at £599 and the Pixel XL at £719 when they go on sale on 20 October.  They are both on Pre-order in the Google store now, with shipping being quoted as 6-7 weeks.

Remember if you are not to keen on the overall appearance of the Pixel you can invest in a Live Case to make it uniquely yours!