Google will launch an all-new Pixel-branded Chromebook and a miniaturized version of its Google Home smart speaker alongside new Pixel smartphones at an event this fall, according to a source familiar with the company's plans.
Details are scant on the new Pixel notebook, which will revive the Chromebook line after two years of inactivity, but AndroidPolice suggests it could be the fruition of Google's secretive "Project Bison" first reported last year.
According to rumors, the Bison has a 12.3-inch display, 32 or 128GB of storage, 8 or 16GB of RAM, and a thickness of under 10mm, with the possibility of a "tablet" mode. Originally tipped for a Q3 2017 release and with prices said to start at $799, Bison was said to be considered internally as a serious competitor to Apple's MacBook and Microsoft's Surface Pro, but it's unknown whether the new Pixel Chromebook will actually take this form.
Again, details are few and far between regarding the rumored Google Home "mini" that could debut at the company's fall event, but it's likely to be positioned similarly to Amazon's Echo Dot as a smaller, cheaper version of the $129 flagship model, offering existing Google Home owners a more affordable way of extending smart speaker coverage to additional rooms of the house.
Google's second-generation Pixel smartphones will come in two sizes and both models are expected to feature "squeezable" sides that enable them to perform different functions. The 4.97-inch device will by made by HTC and is said to have a 1080p display and stereo speakers, while the 6-inch XL handset made by LG will feature an AMOLED display with a 2:1 aspect ratio. Both devices are said to have no headphone jack.
There's still no confirmation of the actual date of Google's fall event, but the original Pixel smartphones were unveiled in October of last year, so expect it to be around then.
Top Rated Comments
Amazon really needs to get going as they have really fallen behind the Google Home.
Have both the Echo since it launched and now the Google Home.
I suspect since the Echo was first it is inertia versus reality why there is push back on this fact from time to time.
Just the foundation of the two are very different. The Echo takes the sounds of your voice and turns it into words that are then used as commands.
The GH takes the sound of your voice and turns into words but then has an additional layer of intelligence that it knows who is who and also understands what the words mean and gets concepts that then trigger actions.
This is why you do NOT have a manual with the GH with commands you memorize as you do with the Echo.
In our home it is why I believe the GH is integrated and the Echo was always my toy. I was motivated to learn the commands and memorize and then use the Echo and my family just was not as motivated to do so.
What is a head scratcher is new Amazon features. Google gives us the ability of the speaker to be a speaker phone. Call billions of phones. Amazon gives us "calling" that ONLY works to call another Alexa device. Really?
I say "call target" on my Google Home and calls the closest Target store. My Target store does NOT have a Alexa device waiting for a call. BUt it is deeper and more foundational. I say call mom and my Google Home calls my mom, wife asks it calls hers and kids it calls my wife. The Echo can NOT tell people apart which is ridiculous considering it is almost 3 years old!
This is a HUGE deal with music as with the Echo your kids mess up your music recommendation while the Google Home keeps it all straight without having to do anything. These devicers are suppose to make life easier and not add hassle.
Our biggest show off tech thing in our home right now is the iPhone used with the Google Home. My wife will click her shutter button on her iPhone and without touching a single additional button will walk into our home and ask for crazy details in photos and the TV turns itself on, input sets and the photo appears in 4k with HDR on the largest screen in the house.
It is the most friction free integration you can get. She already used Google Photos and there was no new button to press to make this work. So it is one click with the click being the shutter button.
But it is NOT only using has to be easy but what about set up? We simply purchased, plugged in and logged in and that was it. Google connected it all using your Google account.
BTW, you have not seen your iPhone photos until you see them in 4k with HDR on the largest screen in the house!
Also, I will be getting pixel to replace my old android.
Ridiculous to be at $1299 and $1599.
If you use Google Photos on your iPhone you take a photo and NOT do a single additional thing can later walk into your family room and see your photos in 4k and HDR on the largest screen in the house by just asking for very fine details in the photos.
We simply purchased a 4k Chromecast, Google Home and plugged them in and logged in and that was it. No clicks at all is the most seamless integration I can think of. What could be better?
But it is the only way to see your iPhone photos in 4k with HDR on the largest screen in the house. There is NOTHING from Apple to do this that I am aware of.
Me and my wife were hiking recently with a bright sun. These iPhone photos in 4k were truly breathless!
[doublepost=1503407145][/doublepost]To me the best hardware Google has ever made is the Google WiFi. We replaced our AirPort Extremes last Christmas when word came down on Apple ending. Purchased the Google WiFI and could not be happier.
Noticed on Amazon that the Google WiFi is now the most popular router sold. Not just the most popular mesh router but the most popular router overall! That has been true a couple months now.
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Computers-Accessories-Computer-Routers/zgbs/pc/300189
BTW, the last update from Apple was 7.7.8 for the AirPort line which came out late last year. We have had a number of pretty serious Broadcom zero days. We did get an update for our iPhone but nothing for the Airport hardware so people should be looking to replace if you have them.
"Why is Apple abandoning the AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express and AirPort Time Capsule?"