Yesterday, Google announced the ‘Google Pixel’, a handset bursting with new features.
With the Apple conference taking place little more than a month prior, all eyes were on Google to see what the search giant had up it sleeves. The company did not disappoint.
A handset with flagship features and ‘best-in-class’ camera, plus improved VR capabilities and the inclusion of a smarter personal assistant. Nobody had a bad word to say about the device itself, even if the pricing was a little steep. £699 for the Pixel is a fair price, while the XL was a bit steeper at £719.
However it was the other things Google showed which demonstrated the company was at the top of their game. The improved voice assistant capabilities and speech recognition proved that the company’s machine learning technology was a force to be reckoned with. Google has banked heavily on AI being a key part of our future and with Google Pixel, we’re beginning to see the fruits of their labour.
The handset will be the first to ship with Google Assistant, the successor to Google Now. By using the home button, it’s now possible to get added levels of context sensitive data. Google Assistant now has the ability to effectively analyse images and data displayed on a page, then open this data up to third party applications. In practice, this allows you to do things like say, reserve a table at a restaurant without even pushing a button. The implications for the future are truly massive.
Compare this to the Apple launch, which saw an admittedly decent handset but no real innovation. When it comes to forward thinking ideas and a company that has a solid long-term strategy going forward, it’s fair to say that Google are much more in tune with the future of mobile.
For more news, visit what Mobile’s dedicated news page.