Google held its annual Made by Google event today in New York City, showing off the latest range of Google-branded products.
We had a good idea of what was coming, mostly thanks to rumours and leaks over the past few months. That said, Google still managed to pull out a couple of surprises with some new products and features.
So, here’s what you need to know…
Pixel 4 and 4 XL
As expected, Google unveiled a new set of Pixel smartphones: the Pixel 4 and 4 XL. These powerful smartphones bear some resemblance to their predecessors, but don’t let that fool you – these new models have some delightful upgrades.
The Pixel 4 has a 5.7” display, while the XL is slightly larger at 6.3” – both with a 90hz refresh rate. It’s worth mentioning the backlash over the Pixel 3 XL’s notchy display didn’t fall on deaf ears; the new XL comes equipped with a notch-less display.
Now, let’s talk about everyone’s favourite feature on Pixel phone – the camera. This time around we’ll see some significant improvements over the previous generation’s ridiculously powerful camera. But it’s updates aren’t limited to just an excellent new camera, – they include new features such as Super Res Zoom, Night Sight 2.0, Dual Exposure. Prepare to have your social media game elevated to a whole new level.
Additionally, Google has added a couple more noteworthy updates such as Motion Sense, which allows you to use some simple gestures to control the device. A new Recorder App has also been announced as a Pixel-only audio recording tool, but what makes this so useful is the speech-to-text transcription. Audio is almost instantly converted to text and is elegantly stored in categories, and the most interesting part is that you can search for specific words and it will locate the most relevant locations in the audio recording.
You might not be too fussed with how you currently control your phone or record audio, but still, it’s great to see a smartphone evolving outside of the typical display and camera improvements.
The Pixel 4 and 4 XL cost RRP $1,049/$1,199 and $1,279/$1,429 for the 64GB and 128GB models, and it will be released in Australia on Thursday, October 24th 2019.
Nest Mini
An all-new Google Home Mini was announced, but this time it’s been slightly renamed to Google Nest Mini. The rename comes as part of Google’s recent decision to shift all Home products to sit within the Nest family of products.
Apart from the name change, this new little voice-enabled Google assistant receives some much-welcomed improvements: it boasts 40 per cent stronger bass and the latest in machine-learning technology to improve the way it understands your queries. So pump up the volume and even use some slang when you ask Google to throw on your favourite tunes.
The new Nest Mini receives an environmentally-friendly refresh, and now made using a sustainable approach. Using recycled plastic bottles to create some of the device, you’ll feel a touch less guilty buying tech that tends to be built with rare earth materials.
The Google Nest Mini is priced at RRP $79 and comes in the following colours: Chalk, Charcoal, Coral and Sky.
Nest WiFi
Another Nest product has been unleashed upon us, and this time it’s a refreshed Google Home WiFi. Now called the Google Nest WiFi, it is about to make our internet-obsessed lives better. It’s essentially a user-friendly, supercharged router capable of doubling the amount of activity within your household and getting to those previously unreachable dark spots in your house. But what makes this little router even more special is that it comes with a built-in smart speaker. So if you’re a voice-tech aficionado, then this will be a fun upgrade to your boring old router.
The Nest Wifi comes in at RRP $269 and is available for pre-order in Australia today.